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Topic: Safety Belts (Read 1057 times) previous topic - next topic

Safety Belts

The wife is not happy and does not feel safe in our coach with just a lap belt.  I search the Internet and found a 4 point belt that looks like it will work in our coach.  I will bolt them at the same point on the chair frame cross member and bolt the center strap on the same cross member in the middle of the cross member.  This should make the wife happy and feel secure.  They can be seen here.

John M.

4 Point Seat Belts - Push Button Buckle (Charcoal Shown)
John & Carm Morales

"We travel not to go anywhere, but to just go.  We travel for travel's sake.  Our great desire is to move."

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #1 –
John,
 
That looks like the answer to DW's prayers, especially with the retarder on.  ^.^d
 
What is the website on which you found this?
 
Thanks,
 
Trent
Trent and Jean Eyler
2000  U295  4003  WTFE  ISC  350
Build#5603 MC#17385

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #3 –
Quote
The wife is not happy and does not feel safe in our coach with just a lap belt

Our '99 U320, only a few numbers earlier than yours, has the original Villa seats with three point shoulder/lap belts. Maybe special order? We prefer them to just the lap belts, but they would be better if the position of the shoulder belt could be adjusted.

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #4 –
Trent, The link is in my original post above.  It will take you to the website.  The belts are $59 and some change for each.  They are available in many colors.  I think these will work fine and will move with the seat forward, backward and rotate.

Bob,  I have the original Villa seats also, but no shoulder belts.  Yours must have been added later.  I think these will work well.

T-Man,  She doesn't Complain about the lap belts in the T-Bucket.  Probably because the power has her glued to the seat. :D
John M
John & Carm Morales

"We travel not to go anywhere, but to just go.  We travel for travel's sake.  Our great desire is to move."

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #5 –
We went to Flexsteel factory to get two captain chairs recovered, ended up having new seats built with our fabric.  We asked for shoulder belts with new seats and they would not sell them to us, stating that front seats are DOT approved and the factory is not authorized, and does not want the liability from installing a different model seat or belt setup.
On the same point, our coaches are manufactured with steel cross beams in the floor to which front seats are bolted.  When seat brands are changed often the installer drills new floor holes for the new seat base's mounting hole pattern.  And no effort is made to drill and bolt to the steel beam, leaving the new chair vulnerable to breaking loose from floor with us strapped in, during a crash.

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #6 –
Barry,
On our Villa seats the belts are mounted to the frame of the chair.  We will be bolting the belts at the same location points on the sides and to the same cross member at the rear.

John M.
John & Carm Morales

"We travel not to go anywhere, but to just go.  We travel for travel's sake.  Our great desire is to move."

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #7 –
I've bought two new Flexsteel chairs as well as two new Flexsteel pedestals. Aside from the passenger chair pivot bolt constantly loosening itself, the original pedestals were too low to safely accommodate the powered footrest option added to the passenger chair. When I bought the new pedestals, I assumed the bolt spacing and pattern would be the same... apparently, Foretravel used different pedestals or else Flexsteel changed the bolt pattern spacing between the time our coach was built and when I bought the new pedestals. In any case, I wanted the pedestals to be bolted to the framing on all four holes so I made a adapter plates. Are used the necessity of making new adapter plates to move position of the driver chair forward about an inch and a quarter, and the passenger chair slightly towards the center line of the coach and forward. The adapter plates are made out of 12 by 12 inch by quarter inch thick steel plates. The bolts holding the chairs in place are wheel studs pressed into the back side of the steel plate (the inner bolt pattern in the picture) with counter sunk holes in the plywood for the flat heads of the studs. The chairs are easily removable now without having to go underneath the coach, should necessity ever present itself. The outer bolt pattern is the original one Foretravel used and all four holes pass through framing. The front bolts of the driver's chair are somewhat difficult to access from underneath, so I am glad to never have to do that again!
Don

Quote from: Barry & Cindy –
We went to Flexsteel factory to get two captain chairs recovered, ended up having new seats built with our fabric.  We asked for shoulder belts with new seats and they would not sell them to us, stating that front seats are DOT approved and the factory is not authorized, and does not want the liability from installing a different model seat or belt setup.
On the same point, our coaches are manufactured with steel cross beams in the floor to which front seats are bolted.  When seat brands are changed often the installer drills new floor holes for the new seat base's mounting hole pattern.  And no effort is made to drill and bolt to the steel beam, leaving the new chair vulnerable to breaking loose from floor with us strapped in, during a crash.
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Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #8 –
John,  I feel sure your new seat belts will be safe & strong as that cross member is a serious piece of steel.  We have no problem adding belts.  It is just the lawyers that get in the way for manufacturers.
 

Re: Safety Belts

Reply #9 –
Don & Tys,  First Class chair adapter plate.  Talk about why we do things ourselves, that is a good example, as I don't  think a shop would come up with it.
FYI, Flexsteel said our original chair base, not the tilt-raise, just the swivel base is not a Flexsteel product.  They also said our base is much lower than they have seen.  So it is another interesting Foretravel idea to make everything work ok.  We reused our base, but put in new bearing ring & tilt mechanism with our new chairs, so we did not have to deal with floor bolt holes.
Yep, the low base would not handle a built-in foot rest for our co-pilot chair.  And never having to go below to remove the base is pretty cool.  Clever to use pressed-in wheel studs instead of carriage bolts.
If you are still having problems with swivel nut loosening, is there room for washer & locking nut or thin double nuts?  It takes a fine adjustment to not squeeze the bearing ring too much and not have chair wobble.