Help determine safest option - front seat 06 Dodge 1500 quad

U

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I lost the argument with my husband as to whether we can take our family of 6, on a camping trip in our truck. I wanted to make it work in our van.

The best I can tell, there is not an option to turn off the passenger airbag. I also can't find in the manual, if there is a weight sensor in this truck? Does anyone know, and if so, do you know what the weight is that causes it to turn off? The middle seat is a lap belt only.

My plan was that I would ride in the middle seat since there is only a lap belt and I would put my oldest in the passenger seat with a booster. I am hoping for insight into whether that is the best option, though. My 9.5 yr old is 56.75" and 68lb. She rides in a Harmony booster. 6.5 is 45.5 " and about 47lb. She rides in a Nautilus. Other 2 kids are rear facing 2 yr old and 5 month old.

Given that my husband won't budge on taking his vehicle on our 5 hr drive (each way), what is the safest option? I can post pics of my oldest in the front seat, but I know the airbag is the biggest issue. The manual is so vague, it has a lot of language that just says, "your vehicle may have"...
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Is your six year old harnessed?

I'd rather not sacrifice your life for a camping trip, so ideally you don't sit in that middle seat. It's not safe for anyone who isn't in a harness. Just not an option at all, period. If your husband wants to take his car, great. I'd follow in a second vehicle.

If your six year old is harnessed, that would be best over the booster or the rear facers, but you're lacking a tether in that situation.

But no matter what, you're looking at a child in that center position. If your six year old is not harnessed, not sure you have a safe option for six people in the truck.

Is there a headrest there? I don't think so. So without a headrest, if you were sitting there, you'd move forward in a crash with no upper body restraint. Without an airbag for you (you may glance off of the driver or passenger airbags, or both), you'd likely hit the dash. There's upper (impact with dash) and lower (jackknifing over the lap belt) spinal risks. Then you'd rebound back. Without a headrest your head would go back over the top of the vehicle seat. There's upper spinal risk (whiplash). Really, there's no safe way for anyone not in a forward facing harnessed seat. And that's not ideal, because there's no tether. If your vehicle is totally cool with a rear facer that may be an option, but you'd want to read the manual very very very carefully about their wording with kids in the front center with the airbags. If they're fine with rear facers in the front because the airbags aren't an issue, then it's very much an issue for you to ride there because there's nothing to stop you until the dashboard. If they're not ok with rear facers in the front, that gives me a little more hope about the overlap of the airbags in case there is an adult in the front center. You'll still have life altering injuries, but you may not hit the dash.

But, if the manual says, "You can place a rear facer in the front center and we're fine with that", then that may also be an option for your family, and put the six and nine year olds in the back. If you can place a rear facer in the front center, I'd do the older, and move that seat as far back as possible. But your vehicle manual must be quite clear that they're fine with it.

Wendy

Wendy
 
U

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Thank you for the advice! I want to be clear that this is not my choice; it also isn't that he want to take "his" vehicle...I think I have a typo there. His reasoning is we would have needed to have an aftermarket hith installed on our van (pulling a pop-up), and there is a lot more room for camping equipment in the back of a truck. He is very risk tolerant (and thinks cat seat laws are rediculous), while I am very risk adverse, especially with my kids. I rear face to the limits of our seats which with our kids tend to be past 3. My dh grew up taking cross country try vacations with him and his siblings riding loose in the back of a pick-up with a camper shell attached. My mom pulled over if we unbuckled.

I know it isn't safe for anyone to be in the middle with the lap only, but I could handle a life altering injury to myself more than I could to my kids. Would the passenger seat be safer for my 9 yr old or 6 yr old (she is harnessed in a Nautilus), than a harnessed child in the middle? The manual is very vague in general, but does say no rear facing in front seat. You are right; there isn't a headrest in the center position. The Nautilus wouldn't be tethered in the passenger seat either, correct? Do you have any idea at what weight the airbags typically turn off because of the sensor?

Thanks for helping me weight the options.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
No idea on the weights. They're different for all vehicles. Some cars are 60 pounds, some are 100.

I'd put your six year old in the middle and your nine year old in the back, you on the passenger side. I would never put you there. All parents would put themselves in the center first, but no need to kill yourself over a camping trip. It's really not worth it.

I'd also follow behind in a second car. I understood what was going on, and get your husband's reasoning. I'd rather load up a truck for camping and towing as well. Totally. I follow and agree with his logic 100%. However, when it comes to the people, I'd shimmy some kids over to the van, and have you drive that with a couple of kids. Less bickering, more elbow room, yes, double the gas, and safe for all. Then you can also share the hauling load, so even hauling stuff can be done as safely as possible.

Wendy
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Wendy - 2 vehicles would be my first inclination as well. I really just don't see him agreeing to that as an option, though. I think our vehicle has a large towing capacity (and the camper is fairly light).

So, while not ideal under any stretch of the imagination, a harnessed child in the center isn't likely to be killed or SERIOUSLY injured by the driver and passenger airbags?
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Right. They may be more injured than they would be, with the lack of tether, but I wouldn't expect death or serious injury. Seats must pass testing without a tether. Now, that assumes a backseat install, and the sled doesn't have a dashboard. BUT, if the question is six year old in a harness in a seat that will protect their upper body and head (even without a tether), or you without any of that, I choose the child. Ideal? Nope. Better than you there? Yeah. This is a "best of the worst" situation, rather than ideal.

Wendy
 

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