Rear Seat vs Harness Belt Straps?

Just canvassing ideas here...

I'd like to keep my rear seat in the CJ5, for posing with the boys on a sunny Sunday in town , but I'd also like 3 or 4 point harnesses to hold me in when I'm off-roading. I've just bought some new front seats suitable for the harnesses but where would I base the harnesses without decapitating the rear passengers? :?

What do people do?

Cheers

Stuart

 

I have seen people put in a loop on the main roll bar loop. It loops horizonally behind the front seat. The harness ties into the loop and the loop doesn't interfere very much with backseat passengers.

 

When I had Toyota seats with headrests in my 2A, I had shoulder harnesses, Y pattern, that bolted to the floor right behind the fronts seats and connected to my lap belts, which I still use today. The harnesses don't work with my current set-up.
I loved them as they kept me secure in the seat, and I felt I would never come out in a rollover in the dunes.
I don't know why most folks say this style is a design no-no; could someone please explain why?
Also, not to berate Boyink, but the TJ shoulder harnesses appear to me to only be useful in a front end impact, not upside down; the lap belt would have to serve that purpose.
Your thoughts on that Mike?

 

I am in a similar predicament. I am looking for some new 4 pt harnesses so that I can tie them into the cage to compliment my seats. I do not have a backseat nor ever want one, however I do have a fuel cell in the way right behind the seats. I can not simply tie them to the floor as that would negate the idea of everything attached to the cage. I could run the shoulder straps to the rear near the tailgate and attach them to the rollcage. That would seem to be the safest, best method although it would definately get in the way of camping storage. I might see if I can run them down in between the seat and fuel cell.

I don't know. We'll have to see what I come up with.

Kevo

 

You can attach the shoudler belts to the floor/frame/cage... BUT....IMPORTANT, you must have a support cross bar which the belt will be routed over. The cross bar also helps support the seat back incase of an end-over-end rollover. If your seatback beaks in an end-over-end rollover the 3 point Lap/Shoulder harness will not hold you in the vehicle. The shoulder harness cross bar or mount must be no less than 4", (I believe), below your shoulder (read the belt instructions to verify the manufacter recommended distance). Also, if you run without the cross bar you run the risk of bending the seat back forward in a frontal collision and then submarining under your lap belt, which can lead to severe internal or spinal injuries. The seatback can NOT support any large loads in a crash, forward or backward. The only seats which can are the newer seats with integrated belts, like in newer Dodge or GMC Pickups, I think the older Land/Ranger Rovers had integrated belts in the 70s also. If you do not want the cross bar or hoops hanging down from the rollbar, do what Mike did in his CJ6, best comprimise.

 

I've seen the cross bar used on a couple of Jeeps, which seems to be fine, but that does kinda prevent anyone getting into the back seats via the front doors (unless they are an excpetional limbo dancer...)

I'd heard that the belts need to be of a certain angle (i.e. not straight down to the floor) for safety reasons, but without a cross bar this means attaching them somewhere at the back of the truck (either to the roll bar strut or to the top of the wheelhouse).

SA