Kids riding positions

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Jackolantern22

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Jun 17, 2019
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Okay, so this may be a silly question.... but when traveling in a Class C (24'-29' range), where do y'all have your kids ride?

It seems to me that a great situation would be to have two seats aft of the driver and navigator so that, if desired, the family could cruise as though in a normal vehicle. But that doesn't seem common.... We're likely taking our two boys (ages 9 and 4) on the road this summer for their first RV experience. I have some experience but never with the kids... if my wife and I are up front, are the kids simply belted at the dinette or the sofa (one of the options I'm looking at has a sofa with two seatbelts)?

 
We have a class A but I would imagine it isn't too different. We have seatbelts at the dinette and also on the couch.
 
If  they are anything like my kids were you want one at the dinette and one on the couch so they have room to spread out and have room for their stuff..
 
A second row of forward-facing and seat-belted passenger seating would certainly be desirable for people with families, but few buyers are willing to dedicate the space (and $$) for that. You are talking about an extra 4-6 ft of length and a couple solid seats with anchored seat belts.  There is a legal problem for the RV makers as well, because as soon as they designate a position as a passenger seat, they open themselves up to liability claims if it turns out to be less than perfect in an accident. The legal concern has actually caused RV makers to remove seat belts from places of questionable safety, e.g dinette seats and side-facing sofas and lounge chairs. 
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
A second row of forward-facing and seat-belted passenger seating would certainly be desirable for people with families, but few buyers are willing to dedicate the space (and $$) for that. You are talking about an extra 4-6 ft of length and a couple solid seats with anchored seat belts.  There is a legal problem for the RV makers as well, because as soon as they designate a position as a passenger seat, they open themselves up to liability claims if it turns out to be less than perfect in an accident. The legal concern has actually caused RV makers to remove seat belts from places of questionable safety, e.g dinette seats and side-facing sofas and lounge chairs.
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Wow. So if those come out as seating options, where do people sit? Only in the front seats? Seems counter to an RV experience.

Thanks very much for the replies.
 
They sit wherever they can manage to hang on. And accept the safety risks.

Seat belted in a sideways facing sofa or on a bench facing a dinette table isn't much improvement.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
They sit wherever they can manage to hang on. And accept the safety risks.

Seat belted in a sideways facing sofa or on a bench facing a dinette table isn't much improvement.
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Yeah from the research I've done, the seatbelts are pretty much only there to keep you from flying around. We don't have enough seatbelts for everyone so I let them double up in a seatbelt on the side facing couch if they want, or they can sit without a seatbelt at the dinette if the person on the outside seat has a seat belt on.
 
There is a lot of angst on this subject.  Ideally all passengers really should be belted, but it is not required for those outside the driver area. Buses are not equipped with belts other than front seat, even school buses.  There are various reasons for that, some practical, some based on accident statistics, and maybe a few that are perhaps self-serving excuses.

Safety experts will testify that occupants in larger vehicles are much safer than those in smaller lighter ones. Size and weight is an advantage if colliding with a smaller vehicle. It even helps a little if colliding with a bridge abutment or another large vehicle. Even a severe case like a rollover is more likely to result in bruises, cuts and broken bones than in death.  The net is that occupants in a large vehicle are a lot less susceptible to severe injury in an accident.  On the downside, an RV is full of corners, edges and objects that can cause a lot of hurts if the passengers get thrown around.  Common sense is that seated and belted passengers are going to be less vulnerable.

Having survived a non-trivial motorhome accident, I can tell you it is true.  However, large covers a broad range, and a 25 ft Class C or B-van has more vulnerability than a 40 ft Class A.  Even though the van-based RV has the engine in the front. Height and weight are the main factors, and a 12,000-14,000 lb class C still dominates over a 3500-4000 lb SUV.
 
Use the Search button above and the search term "child restraint" (with quotes) to read some prior discussions on this subject.
 
We are also questioning the safest options, in our case for occasional trips with grandkids. So far, I have read a lot indicating that front facing is required for a car seat to help. Our rig does have anchored seatbelts for this purpose in the dinette. Of course, it's on the slide out, so..??? The next spot recommended is rear facing, but not with car seat. I didn't research about infants in rear facing carseats, but neither of us needs that anyhow, right?
Then, side facing might be ok, but we don't plan on either of them riding side facing as on the couch. Only one is still in a car seat, and technically it's a booster. Sorry I can't tell you exactly where I got this information, but you can find this too. I started with Triple A, and other legitimate sites.

I tend to pay a lot of attention to some of the folks here, like RV Wizard, and others too of course. RVMommaToo, I am not disagreeing with you putting your kids on side facing couch, just saying what I found for kids my grandkids ages and size.? We all know, mothers know best.

I hope more people will add their thoughts on this. Like you, I would like to know what the experienced have found to be best for our little ones. Obviously, the adventure and experience of RVing is something every kid should have!
 
I'm sure front facing is best, but with only 2 front facing seatbelts other than the driver (one in the passenger seat and one at the dinette) and 6 kids, it just isn't possible for all of them to face front.
 
I've done some reading on this, as my grandchildren will occasionally travel with me.    One observation is that if people are buckled at the dinette, that the dinette table should be removed.    The thinking is that movement in a collision would cause the person at the dinette to suffer a hard blow to the abdomen from the table edge.
 
You are absolutely right! And if there were 2 people sitting across from each other I wouldn't want to be the one on the front side!
 
TheBar said:
You are absolutely right! And if there were 2 people sitting across from each other I wouldn't want to be the one on the front side!
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In the Rv's I have seen they usually dont have belts on the front side of the dinette.  I always assumed this was so your neck didn't receive a tough blow in a frontal collision. 
 
KandT said:
In the Rv's I have seen they usually dont have belts on the front side of the dinette.  I always assumed this was so your neck didn't receive a tough blow in a frontal collision.
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My Class C had 2 sets of belts on each side of the dinette. Its a 1997 and I've seen other older ones with belts on each side so the laws may have changed or they were specially ordered.
 
two belts in the forward facing side of the dinette and three belts in the sofa.... they alternate between them.

When they were little, I always felt the dinette seats, with the table set up in bed mode, was by far the safest.

I've often dreamed about a super c rig built on an F-550 chassis or something even larger, with a crew cab chassis.  The second row (or even all of them) being captains chairs that could swivel.  Gary is prob right that most wouldn't be willing to give up that real estate, but If budget allowed I'd seriously look at one like that.  I think it would be a great solution...giving safer and more comfy seat options while on the road
 
seatbelt at the couch, so the kids can do their drawings and play thing too while we driving
 
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