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Old 03-26-2023, 12:06 AM   #1
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Installing Seatbelts

Going through the 2000 Monaco I bought, it looks like it has 2 belts for the front facing dinette seat and 3 more for the couch.

What I want to know, has anyone installed belts for the rear facing dinette seats, and how did you go about it?
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Old 03-26-2023, 08:11 AM   #2
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Although not against the "rules" it is not recommended to face backwards in a vehicle, or at least based on this aritcle I found.

https://www.campervanlife.com/vehicl...t-regulations/




But it you are going to do it do it right. Look at how the other seat belts are attached.

In my old Class C I moved the furniture around and used the same mounting hardware. The used large washers and nuts bolted through the floor.

In my current Class A I took the couch out that had 2 sets of seat belts mounted in the slide. The used large ~2" round washers on the bottom with bolts and lock washers.

So just copy how they mounted the other seat belts.
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Old 03-26-2023, 02:22 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jacwjames View Post
Although not against the "rules" it is not recommended to face backwards in a vehicle, or at least based on this aritcle I found.

https://www.campervanlife.com/vehicl...t-regulations/




But it you are going to do it do it right. Look at how the other seat belts are attached.

In my old Class C I moved the furniture around and used the same mounting hardware. The used large washers and nuts bolted through the floor.

In my current Class A I took the couch out that had 2 sets of seat belts mounted in the slide. The used large ~2" round washers on the bottom with bolts and lock washers.

So just copy how they mounted the other seat belts.
That's interesting because the article says it should be forward facing but later says that rear facing is preferable over side facing, which the stock couch is set up for
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Old 03-26-2023, 07:03 PM   #4
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Yup, confusing for sure.
Our addition seat belts are for the couch in the slide which is side facing. We seldom have a passenger but I guess it is still better then not wearing one at all.
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Old 03-26-2023, 07:59 PM   #5
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I ordered the seat belts from Amazon.
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Old 03-26-2023, 10:40 PM   #6
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Yup, confusing for sure.
Our addition seat belts are for the couch in the slide which is side facing. We seldom have a passenger but I guess it is still better then not wearing one at all.
Yeah I won't be using this motorhome for much in the way of trips, just one convention a year, couple times a year locally for my fireworks stand, and eventually to live in while improving a property

But the trips out to convention are often done with many fellow club members and it would be nice to have lots of open seats and split gas more ways

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I ordered the seat belts from Amazon.
Got a link?
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Old 04-08-2023, 08:29 PM   #7
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Old 04-09-2023, 04:11 AM   #8
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My old couch had belts correctly bolted to the floor but I can't make the new chairs equally safe so guess what, no passengers. Makes for a quieter trip.
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Old 04-10-2023, 05:46 AM   #9
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IcePyro-

I recommend against the idea of installing seatbelts for the forward dinette seat.

Seatbelts protect occupants from "flying around" in the event of an accident. I don't know for sure (I'm not a vehicle engineer), but I suspect the most common accident case for which the seatbelts are designed is a sudden stop from high speed. In that case, the passenger mass moves forward until restrained (or not).

In the case of front-facing seats, this means the seatbelt tightens. In rear-facing seats, the seatbelt loosens.

The difference is crucial. In front-facing seats, the seatbelts take the load. In rear-facing seats, the seat takes the load.

Here's the rub: The rear and front dinette seat structures can be flimsy and lightly attached to the slide floor and exterior wall. They were on my coach.

See the attached picture. It shows the steel truss Monaco built under the rear dinette seat to transfer the seatbelt loads to the floor and rear slide wall. Monaco could have chosen to bolt seatbelts through the slide floor, but didn't. The structure also ensures the belt load goes (roughly) across the hips, instead of mostly downward, which would be the case if the belts were bolted through the floor. This also reduces the chance of seat structure collapse.

In my opinion, during a high-speed stop passengers in the front dinette seat, belted or not, would break the seat back and bottom and essentially lose any protection the belts might provide. That's why I recommend against adding seatbelts in that position.

That issue aside, should you look under the slide you may find the through-bolts for existing seatbelts use an unfamiliar bolt design. It's called an "elevator bolt" (as in, a grain elevator). You can buy them from several sources; I prefer Bolt Depot (link to their elevator bolts here).
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Old 04-11-2023, 03:14 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IcePyro View Post
Going through the 2000 Monaco I bought, it looks like it has 2 belts for the front facing dinette seat and 3 more for the couch.

What I want to know, has anyone installed belts for the rear facing dinette seats, and how did you go about it?
Another aspect of the question. Do the floor bolts for the seatbelts need to go through a metal floor member or can they just be mounted through the other material such as the wood floor?
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Old 04-11-2023, 09:23 PM   #11
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Another aspect of the question. Do the floor bolts for the seatbelts need to go through a metal floor member or can they just be mounted through the other material such as the wood floor?
Good question, I don't believe my front facing seat belts have much in the way of bracing, I think they are just installed with thru bolts
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Old 04-11-2023, 10:37 PM   #12
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On our coach the dinette and couch seat belts are through bolted to the floor, with 4" square plates. Our couch luckily has 3/4" plywood floors with a metal liner on the road side.
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Old 04-13-2023, 01:29 PM   #13
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Good question, I don't believe my front facing seat belts have much in the way of bracing, I think they are just installed with thru bolts
I took my coach to the shop I normally use. Asked for new seatbelt anchors and they said they didn’t know if it would be possible. Actually, I think they were concerned about the liability.
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Old 04-16-2023, 01:17 AM   #14
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So I looked closer and my front facing dinette seatbelts ARE bolted to a framework which takes up most of the space under the seat, but the couch belts are thru bolted to the floor...now granted the couch is the pullout type and has a pretty solid frame itself but I found that interesting

I am going to rethink the rear facing dinette seats for now, and if I do go through with adding them I think I will opt to weld together a frame like the front facing seats have, maybe see if I can add additional bracing to the seatback as well
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