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Veteran
 
Location: Houston, Texas | hello, we are installing seat belts on our # 397 and the passenger side doesn't have the treaded shoulder mounting hole, I have one only on the driver side, don't know if it suppose to have one on the passenger side ?
help need input......
Rico & Carmen
397 |
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Extreme Veteran
Location: Scottsdale, Aridzona | is #397 an A or a J ?
Did you find one in the PARTS BOOK ? Look - http://www.fmcmotorcoach.com/Manuals.html
Buckle UP ! Lou #120 |
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Veteran
Location: Houston, Texas | We have an "A" Model......
Rico & Carmen
397 |
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Extreme Veteran
Location: Scottsdale, Aridzona | Same question - Did you find it in the Parts Book ?
Hint - Group 3 |
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Elite Veteran
Location: Victoria, BC. Canada | I get Rico's confusion here as the on-line manual does not have illustrations on the seat belt configurations; so it's not of much help. I will check my paper manuals, too, as I have a couple of them.
Mine (a J-model like yours, Rico) also has the bolt on the pillar behind the drivers seat for the top anchor. Nothing on the passenger side.
I'm going to address this on my coach before the Or. Rally as my wife is anxious about not having a shoulder belt. I'm also going to try to install a couple of lap-belts on the rear facing 2-positions.
My thoughts are that the anchor point where one would locate it on the pillar just behind the window is likely hollow aluminum tubing of little thickness. Anyone else done this who could verify how thick the
material is on that pillar?
Can a 7/16" hole simply be tapped into it?
My parts guy can get me a couple of these - http://www.sup-auto.com/assets/safetproducts.pdf - for under $40 ea.
My hunch is I'll end up making up a small 1/4" or so thick plate (say 2" x 3" and having a 7/16" nut welded to it then screw/glue it to the pillar with 4 good (1/4" or so) sheet metal screws.
As long as they didn't pull out, the shear strength should be more than adequate. I know a 3" common nail has somewhere around a 250 - 300/lb shear off rating.
Again, any input/suggestions from someone whose pulled this off or thought about it, would be appreciated.
Terry
#846 |
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Veteran
Location: Olympia, Washington | Terry, I don't know what they are called but they install like a 'pop rivet' without the pop. Set into sheet metal and unscrew the mandrel leaving a female threaded rivet. They work great. |
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Elite Veteran
Location: Victoria, BC. Canada | Heli-coil?
If that's what you mean, I thought about it but figured maybe there ain't enough meat in there. Maybe the place to start is to drill a 1/4" or so exploratory hole to see how thick the material is and what sort of depth is available to work with. Think I'll order a couple of the the Superior kits and get going on it. End of Sept will be upon us in no time.
Terry
#846 |
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Expert
Location: Cottage Grove, OR | I think what he is thinking of is a rivet nut. I used them to attach my microwave support frame to the coach frame. It is also what the bolts that hold the aluminum engine compart panels screw into. |
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Elite Veteran
Location: Victoria, BC. Canada | Hey Rico, if you haven't done your seat-belt yet, maybe this will help: http://www.fmcowners.com/mbbs22/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?msg=upd...
Cheers,
Terry
#846 |
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Veteran
Location: Houston, Texas | hey Andy, I think this will definitely work, on my way to ACE hardware store......
Thank You |
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Elite Veteran
Location: Victoria, BC. Canada | Good. Just remember, splay the wrenches about 22 1/2 degrees - just enough to grip your hand on it like a pair of big pliers - and hold the one on the cap screw still, while turning the lower nut tighter (down). Once I felt the riv-nut starting to snug in the hole tightly, I rotated the bolt approx another 1 to 1 1/2 rotations. When you're satisfied it's home, reverse the force on the wrenches to break the nut/bolt free. Good luck.
Terry
#846 |
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Elite Veteran
Location: Victoria, BC. Canada | Almost forgot Rico: if you go with the Superior 3-point kit I referenced above, you may need to extend the left (release button) strap, depending on who's going to be sitting there. I ended up buying an additional single lap belt to make it longer and have more adjust-ability.
Terry
#846 |
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Veteran
Location: Olympia, Washington | So when is the SIR system (air bags) going in? |
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Elite Veteran
Location: Victoria, BC. Canada | No air bag; just the ole' bag :-)
Terry
#846 |
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Veteran
Location: Oslo Norway | I'm tempted to go with this modification my selves. But then I might end up having to provide documentation on the sheer strength on the pup-nuts in this exact application. According to EC regulations over here the upper fixing point of a retrofitted 3-was harness like this has to be able to withstand a force of 5kN in the traveling direction. Have to look at the pop-nut specs and the thickness of the aluminum frame it goes in to. If any doubt I'll be better of with the original configuration. |
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Seat Belts, 3 points.......