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Topic: Traveling with children... (Read 623 times) previous topic - next topic

Traveling with children...

Hello Travelers,

I am wondering what the options are for securing car seats in Foretravels.  I need to secure one rear facing seat right now and see that expanding to two in the future. (Then two forward facing seats, then forward facing belts for four if possible...)

A sideways facing install is not acceptable and I don't want to take up the passenger seat.

Has anybody every hard mounted the loose recliner and added belts?  What about a 2nd passenger seat mounted behind the first one? (Long term solution)

Walking out to the coach right now to check how the couch belts are mounted. (Hoping they are on a cross member and our seat base can be secured front to back using whats there)

Thoughts/Comments/Suggestions welcome.

Cheers

Chris



Chris 1999 U320

Re: Traveling with children...

Reply #1 –
The original owner of our coach had the dinette benches fitted with 2 seat belts each when the coach was built.  I don't know if that might be an option in your coach (or what ours are attached to; we belt the Posse in on the couch with their Easy Rider harnesses).
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320

Re: Traveling with children...

Reply #2 –
I think the majority of our trips has been with a kid but never more than one at a time; one 11 and one 12-months. We used the rear-facing bucket seat (just behind the co-pilot's seat) in our U225 with new seat belts and that's where they sit. Not easy to keep an 11-year-old in one seat. though.

My plans include securing the recliner (which now just sits on the floor just as if it were a stix-n-brix house). I am going to drill through the floor and send a 1/4" rod up with a hook on one end and thread the other end so that I can use a fender washer to spread the load underneath and a nylock nut underneath. The idea is to hook the base of the recliner and hold it in one position. Then another seat belt instllation. We have only one seat belt on the sofa right now but plan on installing another. This will give us 5 passengers plus driver.

Our coach also has that little half-dinette which I did not much like at first but is perfect for setting up a kid for meals. It's a bit tight for us (ahem!) bigger folks, however; but I can still manage to wedge myself in. Not an easy seat-belt install there, though.

You seem to be planning on carrying quite a group. :)

Craig
1993 U225 36' Unihome GV with PACBRAKE exhaust retarder, Banks Stinger and Solar Panels.
Toad: 1999 Jeep Wrangler 2-door soft-top.

"No one has ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke."

Re: Traveling with children...

Reply #3 –
Chris, I'm glad you are starting out by thinking ahead. You are not only going to get your children used to camping but also show them that the same seatbelt rules that apply in the family car also apply in the family motorhome. I would suggest that you contact the factory for their advice about the proper mounting of seatbelts. It isn't just a matter of attaching a belt to the floor. That 50-pound child can easily turn into a 300-pound dynamic load in an accident. Then there is the matter of the proper angle of the belt relative to the body. The engineers on this forum can give you a much better explanation than I can. I don't want you to go through the work of putting seat belts into your coach and then find out that they are just as much of a hazard to your child as letting the child ride unbelted. Do it right the first time.

Re: Traveling with children...

Reply #4 –
Thanks David...

I am a Mechanical Engineer by birth/training/profession and can guarantee that anything installed will be very robust...

For the short term with an infant getting the car seat based secured and level is not going to be all that hard. (I can use the current couch belt hard points and a 3" web strap. Very strait forward add a slit in the fabric fold and pay attention to routing. It has to be undone to deploy the couch in sleep mode but thats not a big deal.

Long term I see ditching the recliner, the loose kitchen chairs on the "North" end of the table and configuring a 2 (small) person bench seat in that location that can be forward facing, rear facing, or flattened for a 3rd bed. Maybe the "back" of the forward facing bench becomes the seat at the table when flat...  Need to look at a few mini vans and see if there are any OEM options out there.

This would give 4 forward facing belts plus the two couch belts for a traveling 6 belt solution. Would also give an extra bed (even if it is a narrow one.

I remember looking at a VW based motorhome (Alegro???) that had a really clever  2nd row of seats. Might have to do some digging there as well.

Chris 1999 U320

Re: Traveling with children...

Reply #5 –
Be motor home by Winnebago was the "Rialta" might have been other brands
Tim Fiedler    2025 LTV Unity MBL on Order
2000 Chevy Tracker 2 Door Convertible 4WD Now lifted 4.5"
1985 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston
Murphy Rebel on wheels with 175HP Titan
Cessna P337
1980 48' Westport MY (!/4 Share)

Re: Traveling with children...

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Tim Fiedler –
Be motor home by Winnebago was the "Rialta" might have been other brands
Yup...My Rialta on the VW chassis had 4 captain's chairs in the front section.  Was a great traveler vehicle.
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: Traveling with children...

Reply #7 –
Chris,

In our SOB previous motorhome, I built a raised metal base for the couch and rotated it to face forward. The extra base was to raise the couch by 6 inches to provide a better view for the 3 kids, to attach the seat belts, and to transfer the load to 4 corner bolts that were drilled through to the area of the wheel wells. There was about 10" of room between one end of the couch and the wall, but you had to duck for the overhead bins. I also added platforms around the rear bed to sleep them three across. The front couch would still jackknife flat for the two of us. I had the same plan for our '99 36', but the boys are now old enough for me to be comfortable with them belted sideways.

Chris