Securing furniture and appliances to the floor ?

[grantgoold]

I am about ready to start placing my sofa, refer, and stove inside the bus. Would like some ideas of how you are securing these items. Sure would like to have something that allows easy release for moving and cleaning. Ideas and pictures would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Grant

[robertglines1]

I just took a entainer apart. they used 90 degree angles about 1/2 wide with 2 screws in each piece.  I personally build reffer in a tight cabinet where it is wedged in. same with stove..most of moving problem will be front to back and needs most attention..side to side is important but not near as forceful as stopping and starting.

[Sean]

You should through-bolt everything to the skeleton.

Forces in a collision can be many times the force of gravity.  If you can't stand the bus on-end on the front bumper without having everything stay in place, then you will more than likely be killed by it in a front-end accident.

RV furniture and appliances are made to be bolted in place.  If you chose household items instead, you'll need to do some engineering calculations to figure out how to make brackets sufficient to hold the entire weight of the item in any direction.  For household refrigerators, I would weld or through-bolt to the bottom frame rails.  If those bolts don't line up with steel structure below them, consider welding or bolting some plating in place to secure it.

Sofas, tables, and chairs are probably less of an issue since they will usually be lighter and have a wide footprint for securement.

Remember that in many states, any seats used for occupant travel must be approved for such use, be through-bolted to the frame, and be equipped with seatbelts also through-bolted to the frame.

With regard to any "free standing" furniture such as dining chairs, equip these with some type of travel restraint system such as reinforced nylon webbing, or a "foot" that can accept a wing-bolt into a threaded fitting in the floor.

Much of our furniture is secured to the steel frame using riv-nuts.  This lets us easily unbolt it for maintenance without having to get at a nut from the underside.  The occupancy seats have nuts or threaded inserts welded into the frame.  Obviously this was all done before the subfloor and finish flooring went in.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[cody]

Sean, quick question, did you add metal to provide the frame for the bolt thru applications, none of the neoplans I've worked on had that much metal except for the tunnel and a few cross braces, many when they can't bolt to the actual framing put a large metal sheet of sufficient thickness under the floor and bolt thru that to provide protection against the massive gravitational pull in a sudden stop, and yes, I'm agreeing with you (scary isn't it lol), an accident generates massive forces that can send almost anything forward at speed and can become as lethal as the accident itself, I responded to an accident in which an older couple were both killed and the couch was sticking halfway out the windshield and the toaster was found about 50 feet in front of the motorhome, the driver had apparently fallen asleep and left the road hitting a tree.  Another thought would be to have the toilet situated where the person has their back to the front of the bus with a wall behind it. I'm thinking your not encouraging people to use lag bolts to secure things like furniture or seat belts then? lol    This an area that many don't give a lot of thought to unless they've been to accident scenes and have witness the possible carnage, as you plan your conversion, also plan your anchor points for objects that can become missles at the most inappropriate times.  And no I can't speel, history shows that some of the most brilliant people couldn't speel    Now say something that I can disagree with so I can get back to normal, this scares me. 

[happycamperbrat]

On this subject of flying objects in an accident, I want to pass on a tip that I thought was pretty cool in my motorhome. Next to the stove on the wall was a wooden box that was secured to a stud with the side facing the stove open. There were several magnet type tapes running across it. This was used to hold sharp knifes....... Wouldnt want to be in that kind of an accident with butcher knifes flying around 

[Sean]

Sean, quick question, did you add metal to provide the frame for the bolt thru applications, none of the neoplans I've worked on had that much metal except for the tunnel and a few cross braces,

We planned most of the furniture to coincide with the steel tubes of the floor support.  In places where it did not, Infinity welded in support, either extra tubes or plates as needed.  I was very insistent with them that all travel positions also have belts that were secured to the frame.  We used Flexsteel for all the trravel positions, so they already had steel frames with bolt holes.  Our two "easy chairs" are actually Flexsteel swivel captain's chairs and have integral lap belts.

I did have some concerns about the granite counters, which are only held in place with glue.  But it is epoxy based, and there is enough glue there to hold several times its weight.

Of course, we sit downstairs when we are driving, so anything that comes loose upstairs can't actually hit us.  Not true for the 1,400 lbs of batteries, though, which are on top of the front wheel wells on either side of the tunnel.  I had Infinity weld in a bunch of steel tubes across the bulkhead between the wheels and the seats, and that's in addition to the batteries being bolted down with retaining bars.  I'm not an ME, so I just padded the hell out of the raw calculations, and we probably have more steel there than we need.  But we're well under limits on the front axle, and the extra safety was worth it for us.

I've been in some coaches where almost nothing was bolted down, and you couldn't pay me to sit in those while they were moving.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[cody]

Now in regards to the magnetic strips holding the knives, if the magnetic orientation is the normal north/south and your going east or west then you should be safe unless the knives are pointed with the blade tips in the up position then that would reverse the orientation and your only safe route would then be a west/ east situation, I would try to avoid any accidents while driving in alignment with them as in an odd numbered highway that would be a normal north/south route.  I hope this clears up any corn fusion in regards to the knife situation.

[happycamperbrat]

Which way did he go       

[robertglines1]

I jumped out first and shared what the coach I just tore apart had.I think it was minimal. I build all my furniture as part of coach and fasten /contain refer and cabinets so they are contained by coach floor walls or roof framing..any loose objects are secured during travel.don't know the science but if you can keep a object from ever starting to move it is no problem.  the last coach (89) all the granite floor was put down with GE silicone caulk..had to change a few tiles/was so adhesive the came out like 1/4 pieces and pulled a layer of the sub floor with it.If you roll down a mountain all bets are off.  Bob

[Rick 74 MC-8]

I thought I heard some where things need to withstand at least 7 times their weight


                                                                        Rick 74 MC-8

[Prather]

You want to secure everything or have it where it can't become a missile.    Too test, drive along at 60 and slam on the brakes, take a left and right hand turn on a 25 mph corner at 35 mph.   Some time in your busing experirence you will be forced to do all three things at least once.

Prather

[PP]

I thought I heard some where things need to withstand at least 7 times their weight


                                                                        Rick 74 MC-8

Depends on your bus Rick. MC-7 = Mass Contents X 7. MC-8 = Mass contents X 8.....

[cody]

And then MC-9, just think of the size lag bolts required in a MC-12

[Rick 74 MC-8]

I guess with an Eagle you just anchor it to the road to find something solid (LOL) I'm Bad






                                                                                      Rick 74 MC-8

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Gee, with an MCI-1 you could probably get by with using scotch tape.