Questions about habitat seats.

[maltster95]

I apologize if I missed anything, but ive been struggling with finding information on this particular subject. I'm currently looking at a fuso fe145 crew cab for a vehicle to hold a 16 ft box. Depending on the legality and safety I was also considering, if I can find one, and fg instead and having the extra seats mounted in the box. My assumption is that I would just need to attach the seats to the frame, and eventually subframe, but I'm not certain how registering and ensuring I'm following the law with a setup like that would work. I'm located in Utah and I've seen similar rigs, but none have had the seats mounted in the back for traveling.

 

[Toasty]

I could be wrong but I believe you need to have a cab pass through in order to carry passengers in the living area. Or so I remember from when I was looking into exactly this.

 

[maltster95]

Thanks Toasty I would definitely like a pass through for the build, even if its something only used in emergency situations. I'm wondering if I should get in contact with the dmv for additional details on the requirements.

 

[gator70]

Dealing with the same issue.

Look at MB Sprinter back seats, bolt frame through floor to subframe

 

[NatersXJ6]

It probably has a lot to do with the overall strength and type of your habitat box, but I personally wouldn’t bolt seats to the subframe.

If you go to a junkyard and look at lots of types of cars and trucks, I believe you will find the vast majority of seats and belts are bolted to a reinforced floor section of the body. The frame and body will move differently and even separate in a bad crash.

Personally, I think I want my body to go with the vehicle body, not be somehow attached to a frame or subframe. Of course, subframe design matters here too. The forces generated by a crash aren’t all that high compared to the strength of steel, so bolting to the body with large reinforcing washers to spread load is probably acceptable practice.

Choosing seats with integrated belts will make this much more simple as well.