RV travelers- do your kids sit buckled in car seats for your whole drive?

[snocrossmechanic]

This is a great debate. Well except for the posts where people are not giving advice but giving orders. I have had most types of RV's. Towable, 5th wheel, and now class A. I have 3 kids all under 6.

We sold the 5th wheel and replaced it with a Diesel pusher class A. We did not have enough room for the car seats in the rear of the truck. Even with 4 doors the room was not going to work. Our Class A has seat belts on the two couches and the front seats. When sitting in the front we are buckled. When in the rear of the coach the infant is in a car seat, facing sideways, right behind the passenger front seat. The other two kids are on the jack knife couch located in the slide. We had all good intentions of using the seat belts all the time but it is only some of the time. The kids go to the bathroom while heading down the road. My wife makes meals as we go and keeps the back of the bus in order.

We checked the laws and there is nothing regarding occupants in the rear of the coach. The front seats are mandated to wear seat belts.

We are very safe people and thought quite a bit before we made the leap to the Class A. We knew there would be movement while going down the road. We knew there was an issue with the car seats. We also knew that I would be driving a 35,000 lb vehicle and we drive much slower and carefully. I keep a distance because stopping is much further than a passenger vehicle.

I'm not sure if we made the right choice but we researched and made our choice. We drive from Minnesota to Florida a couple times a year and have done just fine. Life has some risks and we take them each and every day. Drive safe and enjoy whatever vehicle you go down the road with.

Mark

 

[smacca1956]

Life has some risks and we take them each and every day. Drive safe and enjoy whatever vehicle you go down the road with.

Mark

I agree with you Mark. We just took our Class A to FW from Maine and had our grandkids with us, 13, 11, 9. We also had a friend of my daughter's who had a 5 yr old. The 5 yr old was made to sit in his booster seat belted in for the whole trip unless he wanted to use the bathroom. He did great but the other kids were not always in seatbelts. We cautioned them all about moving about and did the best we could. We too drive carefully and at a slower rate of speed in the motor home. We thankfully all arrived back to Maine in one piece.

 

[RVinMomma]

We start out with the kids in their seats belted in. After a few hours they get up to color, stretch their legs, get a snack, change diapers, and go to the bedroom to take a nap. Sometimes the kids want to ride up from a navigate, we make sure they are belted into their carseats at that time. Once naps, snacks, coloring and such is over they go back into their seats. To each his own i guess,

 

[cruising spud]

Just my opinion-there are a lot of awful things that can happen to us that we have absolutely no control over. Why wouldn't I control the ones I can? We all buckle up.

 

[gots2pitt]

My kids are buckled up sideways when riding with grandpa and grandma. Keeps them safe in a minor accident. Major accidents are not pretty with a Class A. Think 100 gallons of diesel and 50 to 100 lbs of propane. Not that there is a right or wrong answer.

 

[Dwnkingsley]

How old are the children and what states will you be travelling thru? The laws are different in different states.

 

[North of Mouse]

snocrossmechanic, your wife MAKES meals while traveling down the hwy. 60-70mph???? We also have a class A, but would never move around so freely. I have gotten up to go to bathroom occasionally or grab some snacks, but that's it. Even then, invariably my husband will have to break for something and I have to grab to hang on. As a PP mentioned class A accidents are not pretty. Anything loose goes flying toward the front. Don't count on this big rig you're in to protect you and your little ones because it can be worse than a smaller vehicle that everyone is buckled up in. Driving safely, leaving room between you and front vehicle, etc. is good defensive driving, but I can't tell you in all the years we have driven a coach that people have cut us off or almost stopped in front of us because they decided at last minute to exit. They don't think, or care, that we can't stop on a dime. Pull over at a rest area to cook, let kids run around, better safe, than sorry Just because the law doesn't say, it will not protect you - got to use your own common sense.

 

[LISmama810]

I'm a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (meaning I educate parents about and help them install car seats). I'm also a mother of three (4 months-7 years) and an RV owner.

When we were shopping for RVs, we considered only travel trailers and fifth wheels. Class A and C were out specifically because there is no safe way to restrain everyone.

Motorhomes are not the same as school buses. School buses are built like tanks. Motorhomes are built like plywood and fiberglass on a frame. School buses incorporate compartmentalization, meaning high padded seatback that contain children in crashes. Even in cases where school buses hit semis or go down embankments, there are very rarely deaths or serious injuries. An RV wouldn't fare as well. Not to mention the huge number of projectiles in RVs.

If you're going to use a motorhome, please make sure EVERYONE is buckled. Keep in mind there are rarely ways to do that completely safely or legally for everyone. No child restraint allows for installation on a side-facing seat, and lap belts aren't safe for anything except installing a harnessed restraint.

 

[k4dcf]

I am with snocrossmechanic, We allow limited movement while underway if traffic conditions warrant it to use the bathroom or make a light meal . Otherwise all passengers are in seat belts. This is one of the reasons we upgraded from a travel trailer to a Class A.

 

[snocrossmechanic]

Hi all. Let me explain a few things on my previous post. Yes my wife will microwave something and grab a soda out of the fridge once in a while. We do use the bathroom when traffic is light. My youngest stays buckled in a car seat that is secured sideways on one of the couches. The other two spend time on the other couch or buckled in the passenger seat.

We communicate as to when and how anyone is going to move around. Let's all understand that it is not often and we do pull over as well.

Yes the RV is not a school bus. It is a diesel bus that is the same as many commercial busses going down the road. Ours is not a lightweight class A but we refer to it as the rolling tank. Either way anyone would be a projectile if not secured in an accident.

So my original point still stands. We made the choice and do our best to keep everyone safe. Enjoy your travels where ever you go and whatever you drive.

 

[SgtClaymore]

Click it or ticket!!!

 

[advfhorn]

Honestly no. Years ago we tried but we gave up except for the FRONT seats they require full seat belt. I have one rule though ... "be somewhere!!" In other words don't stand in the hallway, get to where you want to be and SIT or lay down. That does not mean kneel. We are high up and drive between 60-70 mph and if something gets in our way we intend to hit it straight on and the rest is in God's hands. You cannot be in a hurry when you drive something that large.

 

[tiggerdad]

AH! At long last, another tomb to explore!

Not nearly as dusty as some of the other ones, but still...DANG! My torch went out!

 

[harriettbrawner]

How many of us, myself included, have ridden the Disney buses with young children after insisting that they be buckled up in the car for the drive down? I've never heard of a major accident involving one, but with people standing in the aisles it would not be pretty for anyone.

 

[tiggerdad]

No different than riding a school bus, or a city bus I guess.

Now, I've done some exploring here and this thing dates back to 2007! That's pre-me!
Otherwise it has a few off topics, but nothing special.

 

[morrik5]

We installed an anchor under the dinette seat and installed the car seat there. We have not done long trips over 2 1/2 hours with either grandchild but last year our 2 yr old dgd was strapped in most of the way down where she ended up having a nap but on the return home she was alllowed to sit a bit with the adults on the couch. Our 6 yr old dgs sat on his booster seat belted in on the couch. We frown against moving around unless it's to go to the bathroom enroute. What else can you do, like mentioned motorhomes are not really made for child restraints imho.

**Edit** - did that sound clear? The anchor was bolted on the floor inside the bench seat and the car seat was installed on top of the bench. We had to remove the cushion so that her knees didn't hit the table.

 

[DryCreek]

We installed an anchor under the dinette seat and installed the car seat there. We have not done long trips over 2 1/2 hours with either grandchild but last year our 2 yr old dgd was strapped in most of the way down where she ended up having a nap but on the return home she was alllowed to sit a bit with the adults on the couch. Our 6 yr old dgs sat on his booster seat belted in on the couch. We frown against moving around unless it's to go to the bathroom enroute. What else can you do, like mentioned motorhomes are not really made for child restraints imho.

**Edit** - did that sound clear? The anchor was bolted on the floor inside the bench seat and the car seat was installed on top of the bench. We had to remove the cushion so that her knees didn't hit the table.

Our Winnebago Sightseer Class A (29R) has the tether behind the forward facing dinette seats. There are also seatbelts for the sofa. If/when we have an infant or toddler, that is where they would be strapped in (dinette). The Class A we have is not some plywood encased melange of lightweight lumber. The passenger compartment is a steel cage. The rest of the coach is square tube aluminum with layers of fiberglass. The roof structure is also aluminum tubing over fiberglass reinforced lauan, and the chassis is a Ford F-53 platform with all steel outriggers. Winnebago tests their new designs by suspending them upside-down and dropping them from 5 feet. The coach must not seriously deform in that test - all walls must be intact with no roof or floor separation. So, driving down the interstate at my cruising speed (62 to 65 m.p.h.), I think that I would feel safer in my 18,000 pound RV than say, a Honda Fit or Toyota Prius.

On the road my wife will get up occasionally to go to the restroom or grab me another beer (J/K about the beer).

Growing up, I remember riding in the rear-facing seats of our big 'ol Vista Cruiser station wagon. With no seatbelts. I also remember sleeping back there on an impromptu pallet fashioned from the bundle of blankets we always carried. I wonder how I even made to my mid-fifties.....

 

[snowmedic]

I remember riding in the rear-facing seats of our big 'ol Vista Cruiser station wagon. With no seatbelts.

Or riding on the wheel wells in back of a pickup going down the highway. Ah, the good ol' days.

 

[tiggerdad]

Or riding on the wheel wells in back of a pickup going down the highway. Ah, the good ol' days.

Sitting on the tailgate with our feet swinging just off the road. Yep, good ol days.

 

[snowmedic]

This was probably pretty safe also.