Josh NZ Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hey all. I was fantasizing the other day about when I finally get my Landy road legal and it occurred to me that if I was to remove my roof plus door tops and run just the windscreen, where do my seatbelts mount? As far as I know, the only mount is on the sides of the cab. Has anyone done or know of anyone who has done a swap to harnesses or something similar? Is my roofless fantasy even feasible? If yes, anyone know exactly what would be involved in making the change? I reckoned that the most likely place would be to mount them to the bar bit that the front seats rest against. But I am no expert, so I thought I'd ask the knowledgeable lot who i have to come to love, the LR4x4 lads! Please share your thoughts, it would be cool to see a think-tank of sorts and bounce some ideas round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Military seat belt hoop, either ex-mod, pattern, or home made. P&P make one I think, I'm making my own from 1½" BSP tubing. Roofless is entirely feasable, and reguarly to be seen in Series circles. Some people do mount the reels on the rear bulkhead, I don't like them because they pull down on your shoulder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeriesEwan Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 one day i will buy one http://www.johncraddock-trim.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=4151&category_id=79&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I'd think twice before going for harnesses - they are quite a faff especially if you're getting in & out of the car regularly and can make it hard to reach some of the controls when you're strapped in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 What he said They are a right royal pain in the backside ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 EJ, do you have a picture of the hoop? Google is not my friend on this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuck Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 ^^^^^^ What they said. Harnesses are ok in a comp motor when rules dictate that you wear them, pain in the arse in a road going vehicle. You will find yourself loosening them off so you can move which negates the point of fitting them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 If I was to just shift the mounting points of the belts, is the rear bulkhead a good place? Im not bothered about seatbelt comfort as I won't be doing a lot of road miles, mostly over landing and hunting trips. What's the deal with the legal side of things regarding shifting mounts? That craddocks bar looks the part!! Might recreate my own version of that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcc1979ian Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 i asked the same question a few weeks back and got shot down in flames and suggested that the only real safe way was to mount to a roll bar/cage, but i still thing the top of the bulkhead is doable, may ask again when i get nearer the time for them unless you get an answer first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Mmm, keep an eye on this one too, got some good brains answering! I like that craddock bar design, but I think I could make it slightly lower profile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 The Series 2 went through the MoT with the seatbelts on the bulkhead, no issues on that side. Have a look at the bottom of all wheel trims web page for a seat belt hoop ........ http://www.allwheeltrim.co.uk/Frames.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 i asked the same question a few weeks back and got shot down in flames and suggested that the only real safe way was to mount to a roll bar/cage, but i still thing the top of the bulkhead is doable, may ask again when i get nearer the time for them unless you get an answer first. In fairness, it would be unwise to recommend anything but the safest option, what with the risk of being sued and all. Personally I'd not recommend a bulkhead mounting, as in the event of a crash (which is the point) the forces involved would drive you down into the seat, collapsing your spine, or causing you to submarine in the seat - sliding forward INTO the direction of the impact. But in the real world bulkhead mountings would probably rip out before your spine is damaged. Whatever you do, consider that in the event of a crash the power involved is huge - I actually doubt that the standard shoulder mounting for a series hard top is adequate, but, as it's manufacturer approved it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Mmm, a sobering thought gazzar! I actually found myself think thinking the same thing about the factory seat belts when I first got my landy. However, I don't intend to hit the highway much at all, I would say that the max speed I would do on a given day would be 20-30mph and I know it still doesn't justify the actions of changing the seatbelt position, I think I will try bulkhead mount and see how I feel about it. Can't say I'll be testing it crash wise though haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 ...you hope not....look what happened to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I did read that thread actually, very sobering reminder!! I bloody hope I don't suffer that misfortune! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 At the very least please consider putting in a hoop and using that. A decent engineering/fabricator should be able to make one up for you at minimal cost. Get the top mount just above your shoulder. As long as the hoop is well attached to the chassis it would be more than adequate. Remember that bad things usually happen as a consequence of a sequence of events, and it would be the one day that you HAD to go fast on the highway that it all goes horribly wrong! G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Military hoops are fastened to the capping, not he chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcc1979ian Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 is their anyway then that you could possible incorporate a hoop into a truck cab to install harness's or would the space be too limited? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 I would say its possible, there's ample room on the rear bulkhead just in front of where the rear wall of the cab sits. Youd just have to use pretty low profile mounting plates etc. plus your could make it so its nearly tight to the shape of the cab which would help it blend in nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Barrett Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I've got a Trakkers fabric truck cab fitted after removing the hard roof on my 90 The quickest solution is to put harnesses in, and mine are attached to the bulkhead with a spreader plate behind the seats (which when you think about it should possibly be on the outside not the inside of the bulkhead) and it has passed numerous MOTs with the harnesses here. However, I reiterate what has been said above with respect to what a PITA they are. Once strapped in you can't even reach the handbrake for example. I've been looking for a solution to allow me to put inertia belts back in but can't find one as yet and even Trakkers don't have an answer for me. Both belt hoops linked to above fit to the tub cappings which don't work for me because of the truck cab. I'm thinking of contacting Safety Devices to see if I can get the bulkhead hoops only from them as they are more substantial and don't rely on body cappings for fitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Yeah, I also thought harnesses for a quick and simple solution but having been educated on the pros and cons I think a hoop is the way to go, I will get a low profile version of the craddock unit made and mount some inertia belts from there. I'm not a fan of the static belts, I'm so used to having modern jappas that I may as well use inertia belts. Hopefully none of this will affect my insurance cost! It's uninsured currently because it's not road legal but if I can sort the belts before I go in for my cert I can hopefully convince the fellow to write it in as standard. I wonder if any different legalities exist in NZ compared to England Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Yeah, I also thought harnesses for a quick and simple solution but having been educated on the pros and cons I think a hoop is the way to go, I will get a low profile version of the craddock unit made and mount some inertia belts from there. I'm not a fan of the static belts, I'm so used to having modern jappas that I may as well use inertia belts. Hopefully none of this will affect my insurance cost! It's uninsured currently because it's not road legal but if I can sort the belts before I go in for my cert I can hopefully convince the fellow to write it in as standard. I wonder if any different legalities exist in NZ compared to England Everywhere is different. The English MOT is a fairly gentle exercise compared to the Irish NCT, and I believe that in France you are extremely restricted as to what you can do in terms of modifications. All good fun! G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challo Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I currently have harnesses in my Defender but intend to install seat belts soon. Fridge Freezer summed it up perfectly. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyRoverlander Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Mine's a softtop and I didn;t like the idea of not having an roll over protection at all.. I wanted to do a full internal cage but that was not going to work. My head would be too close to the tubework. So it ended up as a rollhoop. That's where I fixed my harnesses onto. Forces, even at 30mph, are HUGE! So the mountings have to be very very solid! Here's lots of info: http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Harnesses/ Happy reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.