Five Point Harness Installation - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

We know it's hard to fork over dough for something that doesn't improve your 4x4's off-road performance, but let's talk about safety for a minute. For all on- and off-road use, we advocate wearing seatbelts, but when you start getting extreme (rockcrawling, mudding, or short-course racing such as at our 4xFun Fests or U.S. Truck Fests), you really need to step up to a racing harness. Why? Because it's your best protection in a rollover. But dirty-side-up landings are fairly rare, so the harness's more practical benefit is to anchor you so you can drive your very best. It also keeps your head from smacking the rollbar in bouncy situations. Knowing that you're safe and secure can also give you an extra edge.

131 9809 Strap One On deist Safety Set Photo 35194095 PhotosView Slideshow You don't need fancy racing seats in order for a five-point harness to be effective. In fact, if your 4x4 has a bench seat, you'll really appreciate staying glued in the best driving position instead of sliding and bouncing around under stock seatbelts. And if you do go over, you'll be comfy and headache free. For this '73 GM pickup, crotchstrap location was determined with the driver in the seat. Then the seat and carpeting were removed and the floorpan was drilled to accept Deist's forged-steel eyebolt. Chris Overacker of Mountain Off Road Enterprises (M.O.R.E.) showed his trick to keep from piercing the fuel tank below. Always check before you drill. We chose Deist's snap-in mounting system for the lapbelts and crotchstrap so they'll be easy to remove if necessary. Note the large 2 1/2-inch washer that goes under the floor to reinforce the floorpan where the forged eyebolt is anchored. Deist offers several mounting systems to fit different applications. Replacing the stock lapbelts with Deist's heavy-duty, 3-inch-wide harness and hardware was easy. Overacker used a 7/16-inch drill bit to open up the stock 1/2-inch, coarse-thread mounting holes. Then Deist's 7/16-inch, fine-thread eyebolts slid through and were secured from below with nuts and washers. Deist suggests using the latch-type buckle shown here for off-road use. It's simple, rugged, and reliable. Deist's Latch-Guard feature prevents accidental release of the harness due to snagging a sleeve or glove gauntlet on the lever.
Proper positioning and anchoring of the shoulder harness is critical with any five-point system. Deist recommends anchoring the shoulder harness immediately behind the driver and approximately 4 inches below shoulder level. In this rollcage-equipped Chevy, that meant adding a horizontal crossmember. Mounting this at the wrong height can cause serious injury in an accident. Don't cut any safety corners when you install your harness. Even if your rig doesn't have a rollcage, Deist offers a variety of shoulder-harness designs and expert installation tips to get you strapped in right. Then get expert help with the installation. Once the new crossmember was in place, the 3-inch-wide Deist shoulderstraps wrapped around the bar. According to the company, this is the safest, most effective way to rig the twin shoulderstraps. Feeding the strap end back through the bar slide as shown is a necessary safety step. The crotchstrap keeps you from sliding out of the bottom of the harness during frontal impact. Therefore, we didn't hesitate to slit the big bench seat in order to run the strap in the right place. If you're running your daily driver 4x4 in competition, here's a way to keep your stock belts and add the harness for extra safety when you go racing. Overacker fabricated custom L-shaped eye brackets to anchor the Deist lap belts. The eye brackets and stock belts were secured in the original anchor holes using 7/16-inch bolts. Here's the finished installation with the Deist harness in place of the stock seatbelts. In a racing-seat installation, Deist recommends that the lapbelts be anchored approximately 2 1/2 inches forward of the point where the lower seat and backrest intersect. The Chevy's stock mounting points, which we used, are farther back. In this setup, either set of belts can be used without interfering with the other. However, seatbelt rules vary depending on the type and class of competition and the type of 4x4. Be sure to check the rules for both your particular class and your 4x4 before installation.