I'll try again, this time with the right address:

Dana Morphew wrote:
>
> I just got under the Vanagon to look for any sign of strengthening for
> the jump seat leg positioning brackets or mounts or whatever VW calls
> them and saw nothing.  No welds, no bracketing, and no gussets.  I could
> only look at the two outside ones as the areas under where the inside
> ones are positioned are obscured by the tank.  So, it seems VW may have
> cut a 'safety corner' when they installed the mounts in the Basic '90
> Vanagon?  The pegs at the bottom the legs fit into my mounts with metal
> to metal contact...no plastic interface.
>
> I've never had anything but the pullout bed and the jump seats.  No
> middle seats that would have required tracks.  I personally feel that,
> as long as the occupant is belted in with factory designated mounts and
> hardware in good condition and properly installed, the seat is likely to
> stay in place as long as it, too, is mounted with treated hardware that
> is up to the task it may be asked to perform.  Hell...life may have some
> risk to it and especially in a collision, but please don't think this to
> be a fatalist attitude.
>
> -Dana-
>
> Captain Ray Nemo wrote:
> >
> > Look close under the floor.  The tracks that are currently in your bus or were
> > in your bus are merely bolted to the floor.   BUT the bolts run through some
> > thin support that runs, not just through any part of the floor.   I've long
> > since forgotten how many bolts held the brackets and the 7 seater bench in
> > place, but it was just a few.  I'm guessing six or eight.
> >
> > Shouldn't you be ok with a similar number of high strenght bolts w/
> > appropriate (large) washers holding the jumpseats?  I hope so coz that's how
> > the Captain mounted his weekender middle bench in a rear facing position....
> >
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