Seat belt installation on Max IV questions

[Toynut]

I purchased and installed a Rec Industries roll cage kit on my Max today. The kit is fairly straight forward to install even though the instructions are a bit lacking and I had to enlarge a few of the upright cross bolt holes a bit to get the through bolts to line up properly.
The question:
The seat belt installation section referred to illustrations that were not printed on the two page document. They also indicate that I have to drill the lower tub to connect the seat belt support rail.
Even though they supply fender washers to prevent pull through, I don't relish adding any new holes in the plastics if I plan to float it (I know I can add some sealer and I do have a bilge pump installed). I question the strength of this arrangement, as the seat belt bar is not connected to the metal frame rail as I expected. I could always run over to a local racing harness manufacturer (RJS) and have something custom fabricated for this application, but I would still have to figure out the inboard mounting points for a side by side installation.

I am also wondering how/where the members (who installed a suspension seat) attach a seat belt, as you can't bounce in a sprung seat with a cinched seat belt across your lap.
My truck fleet have the belts attached to the suspension seats, I assume someone figured out they needed to do the same on their Max machines.
Any pics would be welcome!

[MaxRules]

Toynut, You do need to install those seat belt brackets. The biggest problem I've seen on vehicles with a custom made roll cage is the fact the builder over looked the serious problem of weight sagging the upper body. The Max IV has basically zero body support all the way down the sides. The weight of the roll cage will sage the body and drag on the 26" tires. It has been a while since I installed a cage, but I believe the front seat belt bracket goes just behind the seat cushion and sits on the seat frame to help support the upper body across the center. The rear seat belt bracket, if I remember correctly, only goes behind the seat frame and supports the upper body from left to right, but does not offer support off the seat frame (and I don't know why). Call the Max factory and have them tell you for sure. All their manuals are lacking so don't hesitate to call for clear information, you want to be sure the cage and supports are installed correctly. Just call 800-255-2511, dial zero for the operator, and ask for Jay.

[Mike]

Like MaxRules said, those seat belt brackets will help keep the body from sagging. There are a lot of pictures that may help you out in the gallery if you look through the Max section. Here are a few of the first ones I came across that may help:

Here is my wifes Max IV. Look across the picture at the other side of the tub. You can see the hole where the seat belt bracket used to be right under the front engine cover latch.


Here is a picture from the other side:


Here is a picture of the seat belt brackets in a stock Max IV. You can somewhat make them out here:


Here is a picture of nozzleman's max iv. You can see the bolt where his front seat belt bracket used to be:


For the harness on a suspension seat, I bolted mine to the frame. I just tighten the belts when I sit down. They do get just a little bit of slack in them when the seat compresses but it really isn't much. If it were a high speed machine I may be a little more concerned with it but really its main point is to keep someone inside the cage if it flips, not necessarily to immobilize their body against the seat in this case. Here are a couple of pictures of the seat in my wife's max:

[Toynut]

OK Mike, based on the picture with the lifted Max, the cross braces are installed where I thought they would go.
Doesn't it seem a bit odd to have the seat belts (which might be subject to hundreds of pounds of pull in case of a rollover), basically secured by two bolts that are backed by fender washers through relatively thin plastic? Is that area of the lower tub submerged when the vehicle is swimming, or are the seat belt bracket bolt located holes above the waterline?
I like the suspension seat modification on your Max, which in all reality makes the Max IV a 3 seater, as I do not see anyone riding 2 in the front on a stock control location twin stick unit. I did see a thread on a modified left stick that allowed for left side driving but I can't seem to relocate a how-to thread on it (linky would be much appreciated).

[Mike]

The hole for the bolts will be out of the water while you are floating but your tires will throw a ton of water on them anyway. The washers are so big that I haven't seen a max leak there before. For piece of mind you can silicone the washers to the tub. As for the strength of the seat belts bolted that way, the lower tub and that brace do a good job of working together and making for a solid mount. Don't worry about it not being strong enough. The only thing I would caution you on, depending on whether your body is sagging a little right now or not, is to possibly lift the sides of the tub up some before marking your holes. Or, just mark your holes a little further out to help pull the lower tub up a little.

The thread for left seat driving, if it is the same one I am thinking about, was made by jerseybigfoot. Just search using his user name as a parameter and it should come up for you.