Bolting down furniture

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CatCaretaker

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How do you bolt down furniture in your rig, for all of you who have put together your own living space? How would you do that on the metal floor of a van or truck bed? Any favorite resources in the internet or on YouTube? This is for a total newbie now :)
 
PlusNuts.

Into the roof, wall pillars as well, anywhere a heavy load needs to be attached to flimsy sheet metal.
 
Good tip. Better than sheet metal screws I'd think.
 
I have everything bungee-corded to the walls so it won't fall over.

And i have all my storage bins velcro'd to the shelf so they don't slide off.
 
Think about what happens to anything heavy flying through the air toward the back of your head(s) in a highway-speed accident.

Travelling with kiddies I pay more attention than most but. . .
 
All of my 'furniture' - bed, kitchen cabinet,pantry, toilet cabinet, are all screwed to the floor using the pocket screws. The drawers have safety catches on them. The pantry door needs a better latch so right now I have it held extra tight with a pair of bungee cords.

Other than my pillows there's not much that can fly around inside the van in a fast stop.
 
I have a steel tradesman's cabinet that was bolted through the floor and to the channel where the walls and roof meet. Quarter-inch bolts. I relocated the cabinet but anchored it the same way. The wooden cabinet I built myself is also bolted through the floor and the steel bulkhead, and the end of the bed is bolted to that cabinet. The insulated box I built for my fridge uses the former passenger seat's mounting bolts. As Bob Dylan sang, "You ain't goin' nowhere."
 
I know a lot of people put a sub floor of plywood down but do not bolt it to the floor because of the possibility of rust. I did bolt my plywood down but I made sure that for every hole I drilled into my floor that I coated the new cut metal with some epoxy paint to inhibit any rust ever happening. It was more work but hopefully in the end it will be worth the effort.

The rest of my interior can now be bolted to the floor as well as secured to the wall and part of the ceiling using plus nuts. Every part of the build gets added to the part before it so it is all interconnected.
 
John61CT said:
...Think about what happens to anything heavy flying through the air toward the back of your head(s) in a highway-speed accident...

Years ago, a wonderful man in my life was *killed instantly* by a loose metal toolbox when his Volvo station wagon was struck by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign. 

So often, I see RV & van set ups which completely ignore this very great danger.  Batteries, especially, must be well secured.  What might otherwise be a minor collision can turn lethal with heavy flying objects.

Think about this...
huh.gif

Charlotte
 
Depends on design really. My interior is a bunch of separately made items, all together forming one big U, and them mounted to eachother. Bulkhead becomes couch, becomes, closet, becomes kitchen, becomes cabinet, becomes bench, becomes other side of bulkhead. On their own any single freestanding piece would move a lot but all mounted together and you can shake the whole van from any part of it without so much as a wiggle.

As for individual items ... Totes, bungees, and shelf lips are your friends. I also like to use those rolls of shelf foam stuff since it helps hold things in place and cuts down on rattles and such. Heavy items like batteries and Aquatainers should be housed in a way which guarantees they cant move unless you want them to. Dedicated cabinets for them plus ratchet straps cover that issue just fine.

I know a lot of people opt for curtains but a sturdy bulkhead ensures nothing comes flying into the back of your head should you have an accident. I'll gladly trade the ability to have a swivel seat or plenty of room to recline in exchange for reduced risk of decapitation.
 
I need my front seats to recline, one day want swivels, so no bulkhead.

Here's a cheap tool for PlusNuts

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Yakima/8880036.html

works with 10-32 threaded only

for example

WBKkdFA2ZVk5QOwBN0XNEfuJm



The nuts themselves should be purchased from an industrial supplier like

http://www.aimfasteners.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/RIVNUTCATALOG2010.pdf

Note there are two 10-32 sizes depending on the thickness of the sheet material, works with fibreglass, wood, plastic as well.

Get stainless by ordering with prefix SS.

About a buck each, vs $8 from etrailer.

AIM has the tools as well, better quality for about $50.
 
The pic came from etrailer to show dimensions, that is an SAE version, 10-32 thread as stated.

Metric ones are "M8" "M10" etc.

Make sure to get STAINLESS not plain steel.

And use galv paint, if going through to outside butyl tape etc
 
And pre-bulbed not good for steel sheet, you want a very tight fit in the hole, those are for soft sheet like plastic.
 
John61CT said:
Think about what happens to anything heavy flying through the air toward the back of your head(s) in a highway-speed accident . . .

An acquaintance was in a 30 MPH head on collision.  Air bag deployed, no problem there.  She was knocked out by a flying kleenex box she had in the rear window.  Out of work for 8 months.

There is a lot of energy released in even a slow speed crash.  Anything that can fly around in an accident needs to be constrained well.  Depending on the weight of the object(s) bungie cords may or may not hold, magnetic latches may or may not hold.  I really don't want my kitchen knifes flying around.

 -- Spiff
 
Spaceman Spiff said:
An acquaintance was in a 30 MPH head on collision.  Air bag deployed, no problem there.  She was knocked out by a flying kleenex box she had in the rear window.  Out of work for 8 months.

There is a lot of energy released in even a slow speed crash.  Anything that can fly around in an accident needs to be constrained well.  Depending on the weight of the object(s) bungie cords may or may not hold, magnetic latches may or may not hold.  I really don't want my kitchen knifes flying around.

 -- Spiff

What did she have in the tissue box? A brick?

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/box-of-tissue-in-car-crash/
 
Lots of taxis I've ridden have pretty hefty tissue boxes on the back shelf
il_570xN.1210436832_bb4i.jpg
 
MrNoodly said:
What did she have in the tissue box? A brick?

What I know:  She was stopped at an intersection.  Drunk driver coming the other way hit her head on at an estimated 30 MPH.  Only thing that hit her was the air bag from the front and a flying kleenex box behind the ear (just the box, how full, size and orientation unknown).  Diagnosed as a concussion.  Headaches and dizziness; took 8 months before doctors cleared her to return to work.

From my job in a previous life of testing products to failure, I know that orientation of an object has a huge effect on the shock load imparted (i.e. edge or corner as opposed to a large flat surface).

 -- Spiff
 
Quote: John61CT "Travelling with kiddies I pay more attention than most but. . . " end quote.

This is the dilemma I'm having at the moment. In a C class, I'm trying to figure out how to keep my son in a child's car seat that can be bolted down like it is in my car. Stupidly I watched accidents on YouTube about what happens inside of RVs. I won't be hitting the road just yet so I still have time to figure that out. I'm not looking at a truck and camper but with a sealed opening from the camper to the truck.
 
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