Child seats in RVs

DH & I are planning to sell the house, buy some sort of RV, and travel for about two years. (Woohoo! We are excited!) We've narrowed it down to either a fifth wheel towed by a one ton truck or a class A.

Honestly, we'd prefer the class A. We're shopping used, and we can get more features in a class A than a fifth wheel. Space is about the same, but storage is much larger in the class A. Driving is easier, no setting up in the cold/heat/snow on arrival, and we already have a little Pontiac Vibe that could be towed and used as a local getaround vehicle at each stop. (If we go the fifth wheel route, we have to buy both the trailer and the truck, which is why it's more expensive.) Pretty much the only thing holding us back from the class A is my concern about our kids, currently age 2 and age 8 months.

We're not looking at the ones built on a truck body with thin walls. The class A's are built on bus bodies, and are probably heavier than most buses. Something like this:


I'm torn because I feel like the vehicle itself being so huge, heavy, and visible offers them some protection, much like a school bus. And they would be harnessed in seats with good side impact protection (currently a Boulevard for DD and I may look into one for DS or a Radian XT over his current Marathon). When we're driving around locally, I would rather be driving them in our small car that has good safety ratings than an oversized pickup that is cumbersome and difficult to maneuver. But the highway safety is important to me too. I know I've always told people they can't put child seats safely in RVs, but honestly I always thought of the truck body ones, and being in an actual bus shell seems different to me.

So would you let your kids ride in captains chairs that faced the front of the vehicle? How about a captains chair that faced backwards? What about the side facing couches?

DH and I discused this at length and decided on the 5th wheel, because I'm not comfortable putting child seats in a Class A.

No, you can't put car seats on rear-facing captain's chairs or side-facing benches.

:yeahthat:

Absolutely not on rear- or side-facing seats. That's one of the cardinal rules.

I might be ok with forward-facing captains chairs as long as they (and the seatbelts) were actually bolted to the frame. Also, every. single. thing. in that vehicle would need to be locked/secured.

Weren't there some photos floating around here of an RV crash? IIRC, it showed a bunch of stuff that wound up flying OUT the windshield of the RV. (Anyone?)

I'd be much more comfortable with a fifth wheel.

The problem as it's been explained to me is that aside from the driver and passenger seat, the other seats in the vehicle - while they may be equipped with seatbelts, don't have to pass the same standards in regards to anchorage locations/reinforcement/load bearing requirements.

Rear facing and side facing seats are a no-no.

So I guess what I'd be looking in to would be checking the number of forward facing seats with seat belts, and exactly how the seatbelts in the back of the unit are anchored. Maybe some manufacturers choose to follow FMVSS/CMVSS rules in all seating locations and maybe some don't?

Best of luck with what you decide to do. I don't think there are any easy answers when it comes to kids and RV's.

Hmmmm.....good point about the loose items flying around the RV.

I know you're not supposed to do rearfacing or sidefacing seats. I absolutely would not install seats on the sideways couch. I just asked since I was asking all the other questions anyhow. But I haven't found a model yet with more than one forward facing seat....they're always two captains chairs facing each other at a table. I didn't like the idea of putting DS on the rearfacing seat, and I was wondering if other techs felt the same. I'm glad to know that I'm not being ridiculous for hesitating on this.

We'd love to do the class A, but especially with all of you backing up my concerns I think we'll probably end up with a fifth wheel.

Yeah, no way would I ever put a seat on a RF vehicle seat. Especially not in a motor home. Last year my IL's drove their RV to Disneyland from AZ and thought I was ridiculous that we rented a car since I wouldn't let my kids ride in the RV. They have tons of projectiles, including TV's, knives, etc not to mention all the unrestrained adults.

An Aurora said:

DH and I discused this at length and decided on the 5th wheel, because I'm not comfortable putting child seats in a Class A.

No, you can't put car seats on rear-facing captain's chairs or side-facing benches.

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I would really like a Class A but we went with a pull behind for reason #1 of car seats.

Don't ask your salesman, they don't know. They may pretend to know, most will just look at you like you are crazy if you question the safety of the other belts. They will say of course they are crash tested, and most of them probably believe they are.

Look at Forest River XLRs. That is what we have and I love it. No regrets!

Have you considered the convenience factor of being able to park the RV and take just the truck for short trips?

"Honey, I just realized we're out of milk, toilet paper, and diapers."

"I just got this monstrous thing parked and hooked up!"

"Well hop on your bike and ride five miles in the rain to that gas station we passed on the way in!"

I think they were planning on towing the Pontiac Vibe, which would satisfy that need, Debbie.

But, I'd still go w/ a 5th wheel.

Starlight said:

I think they were planning on towing the Pontiac Vibe, which would satisfy that need, Debbie.

But, I'd still go w/ a 5th wheel.

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:doh: I swear I read the whole post! It must've been the shiny picture distracting me!