Car seat in a motorhome.

My daughter is 10 months old and we have a britax boulevard. We are supposed to be leaving tomorrow on a camping trip, and are having a hard time fitting the seat in the motorhome.

It can't go in the front seat due to air bags, which leaves the captains chair behind the front passenger seat. The only problem is that the seat will not fit rear facing like that. The only thing is to turn it sideways, or forward facing.

What do I do?

What are the motorhome laws in the state of Florida.

Why won't it fit rearfacing? Would it fit if installed in a more upright position?Sideways and forward are not options. Can you turn the airbags off? Can you purchase a lower profile carseat that might fit Rearfacing? Can you drive behind in a separate vehicle?

Motorhomes in general are not very safe for carseats.

Some relevant threads:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=1748

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=3548

IF the seatbelts in the captain's chair behind the driver's seat are, indeed, mounted to the frame of the RV then I would install the Boulevard more upright. Did you know the 45 degree recline angle is only necessary for newborns? What exactly is the problem you're having with the BV rear-facing?

mom2pjs said:

Why won't it fit rearfacing? Would it fit if installed in a more upright position?Sideways and forward are not options. Can you turn the airbags off? Can you purchase a lower profile carseat that might fit Rearfacing? Can you drive behind in a separate vehicle?

Click to expand...

Can't purchase another seat. Can't turn the airbags off. Can't ride in another vehical.

It doesn't fit rear facing because there is a partition that sepperates the cockpit from the rest of the bus, and it hits that wall and pushes it upright.

I had it installed like that, and it looked REALLY upright to me. How "upright" would be it safe to install it like that? Angle-wise.

The seat belts in this seat, are indeed anchored like the front two (which is why we got this motorhome!), and now I'm totally bummed that the seat doesn't fit.

I *does* fit rear facing, but it just looks really really upright. At maybe a 30 degree angle, or even a little steeper.

Totally off topic, but I can still remember when my sister was about 2years old my parents went out a trip in their motorhome and my dad took her highchair, one of those little tykes plastic ones, and bolted it to the floor in between the front two seats. So really you shouldn't feel bad, almost anything you do short of strapping them to the front of the motorhome is going to be safer then that.

I think 30% is fine for a child this age. The issue with infants is that their heads can flop forward and close off their airways. Assuming she is typical (w/o physiological problems) I'm sure she has good head control at this time, and 30% will be fine.

-Michelle

Only infants need the 45 degree recline (NEVER ever more than 45 degrees), older kids can be really quite upright at about 30*

Have you asked the motorhome manufacturer if an airbag shut off switch can be installed & have you read the vehicle manual through yet

Also, be careful about whether or not the vehicle seat is bolted into the frame: which frame (the actual strong frame or the fake wood frame?) So far as I know, only the front driver + copilot seats are actually bolted into the real frame....

Motorhomes are pretty dangrous vehicles on the whole I'm both furious & disappointed that my parents didn't listen to me. They have a huge 6 passenger truck that could easily attach a good sized comfortable camper on the back & this would allow everyone to ride safely when not stopped, but they got an RV *sigh* I was hoping there'd been some safety improvements since I'd last looked into RVs, but no -- the seatbelts in the back area are a joke since they are not bolted into the real frame *UGH* (Any occupant could easily be ejected from their seat in even a minor crash, impacting the interior as well as other occupants!)

North_Of_60 said:

Can't purchase another seat. Can't turn the airbags off. Can't ride in another vehical.

It doesn't fit rear facing because there is a partition that sepperates the cockpit from the rest of the bus, and it hits that wall and pushes it upright.

I had it installed like that, and it looked REALLY upright to me. How "upright" would be it safe to install it like that? Angle-wise.

The seat belts in this seat, are indeed anchored like the front two (which is why we got this motorhome!), and now I'm totally bummed that the seat doesn't fit.

I *does* fit rear facing, but it just looks really really upright. At maybe a 30 degree angle, or even a little steeper.

Click to expand...

Upright is ok at this age I think unless she literally can't keep her head up and is looking at the ground. I don't know specific angles. Maybe post some pictures. Good luck.

I just wanted to thank everyone for the replies. We're back, and I'm happy to say to that we got the seat installed nicely. I just didn't have it back far enough (the vehical seat), it was adjusted all the way forward which was why it was kind of cramped. I feel like a total dork, but we were happy with the way we got it all figured out.

Thanx again!

I'm very glad that everything worked out for you. I was wondering

You can be proud of your posting though, before you did so, I hadn't even considered how dd would safely travel in an RV if we ever purchased one. I've always wanted to get a small travel trailer, but dh had wished for a small RV. This just provides more ammo in the argument IF we ever have the funds for it.