Co pilot chair location

[grantgoold]

For those of you who have installed a co-pilot chair in an MCI 9, can you give me some hints on how you got it done? Things to watch out for........ access points....

Thanks

Grant

[bevans6]

Don't drill into the air beam when you are looking to bolt the seat down...  I built a steel frame that picked up framing steel on the outside and inside of the air beam.  I think the best way would have been to retain the stock seat tie-down rails and mount from them, but mine were gone.  Many build a floor of varying degrees of removability and trickiness to cover up the stair well so the seat can be farther forward.

Brian

[Ednj]

Grant,
I did mine the safest way I could think of, I didn't want the seat to be able to rip out in case of a crash like butterfly bolts can.
So I removed a section of the floor in the area where the chair would go and welded in a ½" plate 2'x2'.
That caught all 4 frame members.
I covered over the plate with ¼' then ½' plywood, my finished floor is hardwood.
I placed the seat in position, drilled and tapped the bolt holes. I used ½' bolts to secure the copilot seat.
That's my way.
ED

[grantgoold]

When you installed, how far forward was the seat and how did you gain access to the bolts from underneath. If you take away the entry panel on the left side as you enter the bus, do you have access to the space below the original floor board?

Grant

[Jriddle]

Grant

I set ours back just enough to have a place for your feet. I welded seat track across the bus to hook into. Not sure it will be as strong as Ed's but figure it is good enough. Not sure you can protect incase of a head-on crash anyhow. The structure of the front of my MC-9 doesn't look like it will take too much. I'm sure it is designed to absorb the crash down low. It's kind of like wearing a seat belt in an airplane good for bumps but not so good in a crash. I don't think the panel you describe will gain you much access.

John

[Ednj]

When you installed, how far forward was the seat and how did you gain access to the bolts from underneath. If you take away the entry panel on the left side as you enter the bus, do you have access to the space below the original floor board?

Grant

I'm sure they are all different but my front most bolts for the pedisal are 12" back from that stairwell left panel. No access behind that panel.
You might get access if you can remove the top wheel well outside above the tire.
12" back alows the foot rest on the recliner to clear the dash.

The plate I welded under the floor was drilled and tapped so no need for access, the plate became the nuts.

[Scott & Heather]

We removed our stairs and I rebuilt them in a spiral staircase fashion. Here's a pic. We ended up just removing the seat though...she sits on the couch when we're underway and reads a book when she's not making me a sandwich haha!   Honestly, I don't recommend this. It's a pain...those stairs.

[johnjem]

Whats the Harm in going thru the beam i can see into mine as it is now And i can stick my hand into the beam to thread the washer and nut,just got to make sure i dont hit the bags line!Thats what i plan on doing other then that u have a plywood floor!Wha do think?

[bevans6]

Think that the suspension loads for the whole front of the bus are driven up into the air beams, and if they are rotten what is holding the bus up?  You can plate the beams and put different air springs in, but at the end of the day the loads have to transfer into the bus chassis structure through the air beams and if they have gone missing due to rust worm, what is holding the bus up?

Brian

[grantgoold]

Thanks for all the input and pictures! I was just thinking about all the options and then looked at my brand new leather captain chairs and noticed the VERY small (DOT Approved) bolts that hold the seat to the pedestal. It almost seems like six or eight large wood screws into two inches of flooring/plywood would be stronger than the four little bolts holding the seats down?

I like the idea of finding the original seat track and securing the new pedestal to that track. I hope I can find the track again now that I buried the sucker many moons ago!

Thanks again!

Grant

[Jriddle]

Yup you don't want to drill into an air beam. I have firsthand experience when I drilled into one in the back. It wasn't much fun welding back up as there was another layer of metal I drilled through before I dilled into the beam. I had to cut an access hole to weld up beam.

John

[grantgoold]

If I air up the bus, and block appropriately, is there space enough between the air beam and the wood floor to get four bolts in place. Obviously, I would only want to do this once? Anybody got pictures of when they took out their floor and could see the air beam below?  Now my mind is racing thinking that perhaps I could get enough space to make this work?

Ideas and opinions!

Grant

[Jriddle]

Best I can do.
I am out of country now but will be back next week I will work on mirror deal then.

John

[grantgoold]

John, thanks for the picture. I would assume that the two large tracks running vertical in the picture were the attachment points for the original bus seat track? I seem to remember the passenger side seat attached to the outside wall and the first track moving into the middle of the bus and the second seat attached to the second track? If so, a simple measurement would give me a nice idea of the location of the tracks.

Thanks again.

Grant

[Jriddle]

Grant
I can't measure for you as mine is covered over same as yours In the picture the tract that has grinding marks is where the seat rail was.

Good Luck

John