Air Seat Air Supply

[Melbo]

No this is not a musical question concerning bad 80's music.

I just acquired a used truck seat with air ride and I am wondering about the air supply for the seat ( not the musical group  ). I have an MCI 8 with the air tank under the drivers seat and ALL the air plumbing in the spare tire compartment.

Where is the best spot to tap in that will not affect the air system operation and still supply the air for the seat.

Thanks for the help.

Melbo

[luvrbus]

Any where on the auxiliary side will work Mel but you are going to need a regulator some people don't use the regulator but I find it makes for a easy adjustment 

Find the tank the air horns are tied into that is a good spot

good luck

[Melbo]

Cool

Thanks Clifford I will tie in just before the air horn button (still right there on the floor and works) BUT what kind of regulator should I use ---- the same type as on the air tensioner and what should it be set at for pressure.

Thanks for the help.

Melbo

[luvrbus]

Something cheap Mel like one of the presets off a bus Eddie probably has a garage full you may do alright without one but, when the 125 lbs hits the seat control it goes up in a hurry and it hurts don't ask I know that coming down was a lot better   50 or 60 lbs work nice

[gus]

An air ride seat is a waste of time in a modern bus such as yours. In my '54 4104 it was necessary but my '66 4107 rides so much better I have just a regular sea, there is no need for an air ride.

I'm pretty sure your later bus has at least as good a suspension as my ole '66 even if it is an off-brand!!

[Melbo]

I did not buy the seat for the air ride it just came that way. When you sit on it with no air it settles down way low. I figured it was easier to use it like it was designed to be used rather than try to do some re imagining of what it could work like.  It also has manual and electric adjustments --- I guess the electric is also a waste of time when I can adjust the seat manually but I will connect it as well. Also as a side note I already had a drivers seat that I have used since I bought the bus but now I am replacing it and will use it somewhere else. All in all I'm sure it is all a waste of time BUT you should see the grin on my face while I waste it. Thanks for the heads up Gus.

Melbo

[TomC]

While I run with the air seat all the way down most the time, the air seat comes in handy when you want to reposition your self if running into the sun. I pump it up all the way to block the sun at times. You'll have fun with it.
Now all you need is an air ride shower! Good Luck, TomC

[Jnbroadbent]

Well air ride sure won't hurt 

I pulled one out of a UPS truck, they had a simple plastic regulator with plastic lines.

[gus]

The air part is only for adjusting to the driver weight, it is not for height. That is the reason for elect and manual adjustments. I'm sure you already know this but a lot of people don't.

Pressure too low and you hit bottom on bumpy roads, too high and it ejects you out the bus roof!

[luvrbus]

The air seats adjust for height and weight the non air systems trucks now have air seats with a built in 12v compressors you see that seat on lots of farm equipment too times have changed

[belfert]

I had an air line in the driver's area going to solenoids that sent air to the luggage door locks.  I removed the air locks as they were a pain.  I reused the air line for my air ride seat.  It doesn't seem like it gets too much air.

[bevans6]

I always wanted an air ride seat so I could bounce up and down like the yahoo's on Ice Road Truckers...  I figured with the 50 lb clutch pedal on my MCI if I pressed the clutch the seat would go up and the pedal would stay where it was...

Brian

[gus]

True, I always let the air out of mine when I come into town and need the clutch!

[sdc53]

I had to learn to drive with the heel of my right foot planted on the floor, not the pedal. Lots of bouncing can make it difficult to apply partial cruise throttle as the distance between your leg, foot, and the pedal is changing.

Scott

[RJ]

I have damaged L4 & L5 discs in my lower back due to an air ride seat that collapsed on me suddenly when the bellows burst as the air-suspended coach was traversing a washboard section of pavement at 25 mph. 

Seat belted in, coach went down, seat followed.  Coach hit lowest point of roadway, started back up.  Seat still going down as coach started back up, bellows burst, seat bottomed out, coach coming up threw seat upward also.  Coach reached high point of washboard, started back down again while seat's still going up.  Seat reached max upward travel, got yanked back down by coach's downward travel, where it roughly bottomed out again and stayed there. 

Driver's back (mine) was subjected to compression, then severe extension (being held by seat belt), then severe compression again.

Ouch!

Only good thing to come out of it was physician put me off for a month while it healed.  Today it only bothers me after 2-3 hrs driving the car or truck; behind the wheel of a bus - with the more vertical seating position - is much less fatiguing.

So just a head's up about the remote possibility of it happening to someone else. 

FWIW & HTH. . .