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

[dreambound]

We're new to RVing, so I am not sure what the accepted safety precautions are. Do kids sit buckled in carseats the whole time or is there a little more freedom of motion when on the road? I'm sure there are common sense answers to these questions, but I'm just curious about what others do in regards to little kids in rv's.

Thanks

 

[AuburnJen92]

I am SURE I am going to get slammed for this, but we start out the trip with DS3 in his car seat, which is hooked up to one of the front seats of the coach. I have to let him out to go to the bathroom while we are driving because we can't stop fast enough to prevent an accident. I will also play games with him in the floor when he gets squirmy. We try our hardest to keep him in the seat for the whole trip. I try to sit on the floor in front of him in case something happens. Videos and sleep will only last so long....

 

[dreambound]

Thank you for your honest answer! I hope no one gets slammed for their honesty because I really do want a realistic picture of what others do when traveling with small children.

Thanks!

 

[campingcorgi]

Ours has always been in her car seat (most of the time ). She has occasionally been sped to the potty when traffic looks calm and now that she is 7 we will let her sit buckled on the couch when the traffic is very slow. We have been able to keep her in a car seat by buying a $250 Britax carseat that can be used with just a lap belt and goes to 80 lbs--and we only have one kid.

Safe seating for kids is my #1 complaint about rv's. They are advertised as 'family friendly' but they totally ignore the laws about car seat usage. I have written letters to rv manufacturers and rv magazines about this issue. Finally now they are beginning to make a very few rigs that have what you need--locking forward seating with a lap and shoulder belt not with an airbag. And don't get me started on rigs with loose recliners and dinette chairs! I don't want to lose my head in a sudden stop to those loose things!!

Our little one had a little trouble understanding at first that she could be loose sometimes and buckled in sometimes. Finally at about age 2 1/2 she figured it out--when it was a 'little house' she could be loose but when it was a car she buckled up We still call it the 'little house'!

 

[mickeymouse1017]

I am SURE I am going to get slammed for this, but we start out the trip with DS3 in his car seat, which is hooked up to one of the front seats of the coach. I have to let him out to go to the bathroom while we are driving because we can't stop fast enough to prevent an accident. I will also play games with him in the floor when he gets squirmy. We try our hardest to keep him in the seat for the whole trip. I try to sit on the floor in front of him in case something happens. Videos and sleep will only last so long....

I have to agree with AuburnJen92 (well that is except for the team, sorry Jen but "ROLL TIDE). My DD 3 (3 as of last week) HATES her car seat. She is always begging to get out even on short trips around town. Of course, she is not allowed to. In the RV, I try to keep her entertained with her favorite DVD but we usually spend time playing on the floor or sleeping in the back bedroom. I agree also that the RV's are not made with the safety of the little ones in mind. But, with your child, you have to use your best judgement and do what is best for you and your child.

 

[BeckyScott]

I'm glad someone brought this up.

Our RV is old- 1978- so you can imagine what the seat belts look like. There are the lap belts attached to the dinette benches and that's what we've done with the kids so far, but we haven't taken a long trip either.

The boys are 7 and 9, and the 9-year-old is over 5 feet tall and 100 pounds. So it's not like they're toddlers, we don't use boosters for them anymore because in our state they're both big enough.

My question is, what if we drive all night? We are planning to do that, as my DH usually works nights, so on the way down to Florida he will still be on "3rd Shift Time" and we'll probably drive thru that first night. What do you do with the kids when they want to go to bed? Just stick 'em in the bunks? Our RV, the bathroom wall is right next to the bunks, so half the bunk is closed in.

I wasn't sure what laws were in place, if any. My plan was to keep them at the dinette, belted in, whenever possible. Except for potty runs. And when they got sleepy, to just let them go to the bunks. Is that okay to do?

 

[kimluvswdw]

We have a 33ft motorhome and I think it has seatbelts somewhere, but we have never used them. My kids lay on the couch or sit at the table playing games.

 

[FWCamper]

When my kids were in car seats they were always in their car seats for the whole trip (17hrs.) When they out grew the car seat they were buckled. At the time we had a booth dinette that had a seat belt and there was a recliner behind the passenger seat that had a seat belt. The older coach was very family friendly with seat belts.

My kids are now preteen and teen. Our new rv has 2 couches and loose dining chairs, so as of now they are no longer buckled in. My DH says they are designed for 2 people not families. I would say this new coach is not seat-belt friendly like our older coach was. If they want to sit up front with DH then I make them buckle up.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I don't think there is any special engineering which makes an RV any safer for "loose" passengers in a collision than any other vehicle. In a front end collision at 65mph, a loose kid becomes a 65mph projectile.

 

[BearwithMouseEars]

The same can happen on a school bus right ?

 

[dreambound]

I hope I didn't just start a spicy thread!

I should have also asked what regulations there are in regards to laws and child restraint in recreational vehicles.

Thanks for the honest responses everyone. Just to be clear, I'm talking about 6 and under kids. If I had it my way, my kids, husband, and myself would have 5pt restraints in all vehicles.

I think we may have to break our vow to never buy a portable dvd player, just for this drive.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

The same can happen on a school bus right ?

Yep. But the question wasn't about school busses.

 

[AuburnJen92]

Yep. But the question wasn't about school busses.

Well, to answer the question anyway, there are the backs of the seats in front of the kid to stop him, so in reality, the 55mph (because they have govenors on them) kid only travels about a foot. In an RV, the kid travels much further, depending on where he is. That is why I prefaced my previous statement by saying I stay in front of him. If he is playing on the floor, I will be more than happy to be his squishy wall. I have plenty of padding! I am not saying it is right to do, but sometimes I have no choice for the sake of all the sanity of the adult folk on board!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Well, to answer the question anyway, there are the backs of the seats in front of the kid to stop him, so in reality, the 55mph (because they have govenors on them) kid only travels about a foot. In an RV, the kid travels much further, depending on where he is. That is why I prefaced my previous statement by saying I stay in front of him. If he is playing on the floor, I will be more than happy to be his squishy wall. I have plenty of padding! I am not saying it is right to do, but sometimes I have no choice for the sake of all the sanity of the adult folk on board!

Hate to ruin your day, but you would also be a 65mph projectile.

 

[AuburnJen92]

Hate to ruin your day, but you would also be a 65mph projectile.

You are not ruining my day. I was fully aware that I would be a projectile. I just plan to stop before my kid does. I am well versed in the laws of inertia. Kids get grossed out when you tell them about the three impacts of a car collision. I used to teach science lab until I decided to teach teachers instead.

 

[Mac and Us]

I'm going to get flamed for this but we're talking about our children here......

We travel from NH to Disney at least once a year in a motorhome. Our daughter (5.5 yearsold) is in her car seat buckled in at all times with the exception of at night when she is buckled in laying down.

I was able to find a harness that attaches to her car seat/booster seat to convert it to a 5 point harness. The harness we use at night is made for children who cannot sit in a car seat. The harness goes over her shoulders, has 2 straps that go around her body and 2 straps between her legs....this gets attached to 2 sets of lap belts.

Our daughter complains but we keep telling her that if she wants to see Mickey then she has to be buckled. There's always the radio.....crank it up if you can't stand to hear the complaints.

An RV is a moving vehicle folks. Buckle them up, please!

 

[AuburnJen92]

I was able to find a harness that attaches to her car seat/booster seat to convert it to a 5 point harness. The harness we use at night is made for children who cannot sit in a car seat. The harness goes over her shoulders, has 2 straps that go around her body and 2 straps between her legs....this gets attached to 2 sets of lap belts.

And where did you find this? I have looked and looked, but what I have come up with is the only solution I have found so far. You may not like it, but it is the best for me right now. We don't have seatbelts on the couch, but if you can offer a suggestion without telling me to give myself a migraine driving by turning up the radio (and yes, I have done this), I am listening.

 

[YellowXterra]

Have you ever seen an RV thats wrecked? They don't meet the same safety standards as a normal car or truck. There is no way I would drive one with anyone out of a seat belt.

 

[dreambound]

This is all very helpful information. For the record, this is our first motorhome trip. I have never even set foot in an rv ever in my entire life, so this is all new to me. (Also the longest drive I will have made.)

Thanks!

 

[BeckyScott]

dreambound, we're in the same boat. We haven't taken the rv much of anywhere at this point, so it hasn't been an issue.

My only experience with it, is that a very very long time ago, I had a job where I lived on a train. (think about that and piece it together) So the concept of your "house" moving is not a new one. But I didn't have kids. I do remember, the people that did have kids, they used those nets, like truckers use, around the kid's beds.

In that situation, there were no seat belts, everyone just moved around freely. The biggest hassle I remember wasn't so much your person moving around, it was securing all your junk so it didn't fall. But. A train isn't moving in traffic, you know, it's a pretty straightforward situation. Having said that, when accidents happen, they aren't pretty, because people and stuff fly.

I am sure my kids will be happily occupied with the GameCube for most of their waking hours, so belting them at the dinette would work. We want to marathon-drive it as much as possible, but we do have a dog with a small bladder so we're going to have to stop regularly unless I can potty-train her somehow. I'll have to make everyone get out and jog in the parking lot.