Installing Car Seat Mounting Brackets in our Skoolie

In this blog, we share our process for installing car seat mounting brackets in our skoolie, including a diagram of our school bus conversion car seat latch system.

Disclaimer: We are not professionals and, therefore, are not imparting any professional-level knowledge from the manufacturer to you. We are only sharing what we did. Please do your own research.


How we installed our car seat mounting brackets in our school bus conversion

We built a custom couch in our living room that was attached to the steel frame of the bus. 

We decided to have three points of latch contact like a passenger vehicle’s car seat latch system

Diagram showing the car seat latch system in our school bus conversion.

Skoolie Car Seat Installation Tips

Overall, the installation is simple. As with most projects, measure twice and cut once. We also installed the same brand car seat for each of our children, so there was no variation in how we would attach our latch points.

Plan the attachment points

Plan to attach the mounts to the steel ribs of the school bus. Since we had to accommodate 3 car seats, we first made sure every car seat would align along a rib of the bus.

Drill the top tether mount

To install the top tether eye bolt, Eric drilled through a rib of the bus to the exterior, between the windows. Install the top tether mounting bracket closer to the base of the couch, so the center of gravity on the mounts stay low. Drilling between the windows requires some steadiness, since a slip may cause the glass to break.

He purchased these wall mounting eye nuts.

Drill the two batch latch mounts

To install the base latch mounting brackets, Eric drilled through the wood in our couch. He installed 2 base square brackets per car seat. He made 2 holes per mounting bracket, for a total of 4 holes.

He purchased these square u bolts.

What hardware quality did we use?

Purchase bolts with a high shear rating (for example: Grade 8 bolts), so they are less likely to break in a collision.

Side-facing instead of forward-facing or rear-facing

Due to the design of our couch, we had to install our car seats facing sideways instead of rear- or forward-facing.

Car seats installed in Skoolie | 12 Hacks for Living in a Skoolie
Three kids riding in a school bus conversion in car seats.

The likelihood that car seat placement would affect the outcome of a crash is lessened given the construction of a school bus compared to a passenger vehicle. Most school buses do not have car seats, so our opinion is that a car seat facing any direction is better than none at all.

We have 3 children who would otherwise be in car seats that are: 

  • 2 forward-facing 
  • 1 rear-facing

Because of the size and construction of the bus, compared to that of a passenger vehicle, we do not feel that the issue of forward-, rear- or side-facing is as significant of a concern as it would be in that of a normal passenger vehicle. 

  • 2 at the base
  • 1 at the back, commonly called the “top tether strap”

Car seat recommendation for Skoolie

We purchased the Graco 4Ever DLX 4 in 1 from Amazon. We like how their base latches have a quick release feature with the press of a button, rather than depressing a lever.


YouTube video

How to store a car seat in an RV when not in use

We unclip the seats from the couch and store the three car seats in the shower and close the curtain. We then replace the couch cushions to have additional seating in our living room. Those couch cushions are typically stored under the rear bed when the car seats are installed, so they are also out of the way when not in use.

Disclaimer

We do not recommend traveling with any unsecured passenger in any moving vehicle, and we feel that this is the best and safest solution for our family since we do not tow another vehicle with us or drive separately anymore. Our suggestions do not follow the manufacturer guidelines. Please do your own due diligence.

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Thanks for following along with our journey! – The HildeFam

Ingrid
Ingrid

Swedish-American mom, wife, travel vlogger & property manager. I like drawing on my iPad at cafes when I have a moment alone, and the idea of hiking and nordic skiing!

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