Loose large furniture while OTR

[dtcerrato]

Gary has been posting really good questions here that are really fun to answer.
I have one that I posted on another forum and frankly the non-responsiveness concerns me.
It's not exactly a fun question to answer unless the owner/converter is confident that due diligence has been instituted.
Cutting to the chase:
How many busnuts have large furniture pieces or large anything that is not secure in a major OTR upset?
Unfortunately cord nor bungee tie down does not qualify for securement.
Remember in driving school when they told us that swinging your arm in front of a non-secured child won't stop it as on average it would take a 5000lb source (seatbelts) to arrest forward motion in a mild head on collision.
The thought of a large sofa pushing the front passengers through the windshield to the tarmac because it wanted to see what was it that made the bus stop so abruptly is in my head when I ask the question & frankly I'd rather be on the sofa - NOT

[epretot]

This is a timely question.

I have two modular couches that I need to secure.

I'm thinking of building a box under each to house a pull out table. This box would be bolted to the floor. I was wondering if I could then bolt the couch to the box.

The bottoms of the couch have 1/4-20 or 5/8 threaded inserts for the feet. I thought of bolting them down using those.

I can't imagine they are very strong, but would likely keep them from moving under normal conditions.

I'm more concerned about the free standing residential refrigerator and apartment style washer and dryer. They seem top heavy to me and the refrigerator has wheels.

I was thinking of bolting loops into the floor on either side and using a ratchet strap over the top.

Would love to know what others have done.

[Glennman]

My double recliner couch is bolted to the floor as is a small recliner. The passenger seat is bolted to the floor as would be typical for such a unit. My house type Magic Chef refrigerator is built into the cabinet that surrounds it. I tie the dining chairs to the table leg while underway. While these are not engineered methods (with the exception of the passenger seat), they are pretty secure. I would not be comfortable having everything just sitting on the floor.

[lvmci]

I did not remove the 2 seat tracts. Or overhead Ibeams holding the upper passengers cabinets, from the factory. The seat floor tracts hold the sofa, chairs, walls, refrigerator and closets. The seat height wall bracket rails have bolts holding the cabinets, walls shower frame and rear of refrigerator.  The two ceiling I-beams beside holding the front to back wiring, also hold the walls, glass shower walls and door frame, fronts of cabinets and closets,  wood door frames, refrigerator and ceiling high frames from cabinets. So most objects that could go flying in an accident have a minimum of 2 bolt points that were designed from the factory for accidents. I'm sure the MCI engineers solved those accident issues better than I could...

[Jim Blackwood]

I also retained the original floor tracks. Everything is anchored there, from the bulkheads at the bathroom to the cabinetry and the furniture will be as well. The appliance countertop is also anchored to the bulkhead and those are tied into the roof bolts. The appliances have floor bolts and are restrained against tipping by the countertop The fridge cabinet is also attached to the original overhead bins which I kept. I have been very concerned about making sure nothing moves under any conditions. I have even gone to the trouble of making specialized bolts that anchor to the tracks using the original T bolts and then allow the cabinets to be tightened to the floor with large nuts and washers. Same for the bed and wardrobes. So far I think it's pretty secure. It was tricky anchoring the major appliances in such a way that they could be slid out for servicing. Basically I did that with partitions and rails and then a locking system to keep the appliance from being able to move into the isle. In a rollover that should wedge the appliance against the countertop and hold it in place. But I don't intend to test it.

There is quite a minimum or exposed floor track. If I feel like it later on I may insert some hardwood or plastic strips to dress that up a little, or even install strip lights if I feel like getting fancy.

Jim

[luvrbus]

Most people do not like the built in dinette sometimes I wish I had one instead of the table and chairs which are hard to secure and a pain to do,the couch is going nowhere it is anchored inside the slide with the end tables

[windtrader]

Thanks for posting Dan. I admit I don't secure anything. The microwave can go flying, the dining table chairs(2) can take off. Coffee machine, etc etc. So far, six years in, I've been fotunate to not have anything large go flying. Plenty of doors have flung open, pots and pans and food lauch off. But it has been so few times, it hasn't been on my list. I do use those rubberized mats that keep things in place. I would say the most frequent and annoying displacement of things is the soap bottles in the tub. I forget to close them off and lay them in the tub. Finding them on their side and the contents spilled out is tops on my list.

[luvrbus]

Sonja has a Norwalk juicer that weighs almost 50 llbs I can set it non slip pads and the thing still finds a way to fall off if I am not careful,one good thing about slides I can pack stuff between the slides and put the slides in and they will hold things in place or break a table like I did by not setting the table correctly between the slides before I put the last slide in 

[windtrader]

I'd think youj can secure anything on a surface from sliding by some sort of method. you can even get glue down coasters to keep something from moving like that 50 pound juicer. Keeping something secure when 90-180 degrees upside down is another kind of problem that requires more involved solutions like straps and bolting things down to structurally secure mount points, etc.

[Nova Eona]

Worth keeping in mind that a lightweight car can go from 60-0 abruptly with minimal injuries thanks to modern safety conveniences and the comparatively small amount of mass in motion.  I'd guess that the vast majority of accidents involving much heavier busses do not include instantaneous deceleration due to the forces and masses involved; for the remainder, the incident is generally catastrophic enough that no amount of fastening will suffice.

That said, I'm still of the belief that everything which is not very securely fastened should, at a minimum, be behind something which is, but I recognize that the margin of accidents where that would be relevant is fairly narrow.

[luvrbus]

I'd think youj can secure anything on a surface from sliding by some sort of method. you can even get glue down coasters to keep something from moving like that 50 pound juicer. Keeping something secure when 90-180 degrees upside down is another kind of problem that requires more involved solutions like straps and bolting things down to structurally secure mount points, etc.

I solved the problem I bought her a cheap Breville light weight juicer and I leave the heavy Norwalk at home,the Breville  will stay in place with putty she uses

[Iceni John]

Under my Splendide washer/dryer I bolted a piece of heavy steel that protrudes an inch or so on each side, with two 3/8" bolts securing it through the floor to the structural steel underneath.   It's not going anywhere!   I'll secure my two eventual small upright freezers the same way.   The microwave / coffee maker / etc will live inside the upper cabinets that are metal-framed and attached to the roof ribs and structural steel above the windows with machine screws and PlusNuts.

John

[bronson]

Eric, I mounted my 2 couches  to 4x4 mounted to floor. The couch is on roller drawer slides with 4- 2 inch wheels supporting the weight.. when stowed the couch deadbolts to the floor. Way better built than anything in a factory rv. Stop by and check them out. I still have a set of tire covers for you. Gary Bronson

[dtcerrato]

I guess this post was more for "awareness" than anything. We all know these risks don't occur frequently but the possibility always exists. A point brought up on another forum of a similar post was people in the coach slamming into things during an upset or simply when braking in traffic is always possible when just moving around from being seat belted in the driver's or navigators seat. And going a step further- passengers seated in places farther back in the cabin w/o seat belts ie: table, nook, sofa, bed, etc! The risk is there & something to be aware of.

[Dave5Cs]

When we built ours we built most things into the cabinetry.  Stove I surrounded with concrete tile backer board for heat, refrigerator is screwed in and heater is below that. Every thing small we use Earthquack putty under like Sonja does it works great and you can get that on Amazon. Most things face eachother sideways so no forward movement. All chairs are air ride Bostrum seats and the table folds down but is also bolted to the wall. The couch is custom made and nolted in most every thing else is n cabinets and has slide locks on them.  Life is good.