Overhead bunk

[RVMommaTo6]

Before buying my mh, I looked at a lot of different ones all with a drop down bunk over the driver because that was a requirement I was looking for. All of the non-Thor bunks came down and covered part of the windshield and/or rested on the driver seat, clearly they had to be put up before driving. Thor, the one I have, doesn't block the view of the driver at all, and I assumed I could just keep it down at all times. I just read the manual and it says to put the bunk up before driving. I can't see why, any ideas? I don't want to do anything unsafe, but I've been looking at it closely and can't figure out how that could be dangerous. I would prefer to keep it down.

 

[Old_Crow]

Might have something to do with the strength of the mechanism that moves the bunk up and down.  May be stronger with the bunk locked in the "up" position, where having the bunk down will subject the mechanism to stresses it's not designed to handle.
A lot of stuff on RV's is of marginal strength in order to save weight and money.  Power folding steps is another example.

 

[Joezeppy]

Or perhaps a potential safety issue if you have to exit the driver's seat quickly? Even though you have room to drive, it could potentially hinder your exit in the event of an emergency. Even if it doesn't, the manufacturer is covering their butt by saying it must be stored.


And then there's the person who sues after an accident saying "The manual did not say I had to store the bunk so I let my toddler sleep up there while I was driving."

 

[RVMommaTo6]

It does say not to have people sleep up there while in motion, there's the warning sticker on it saying that and saying that kids can get hurt if they fall out of bed lol, duh. But then the manual says to put the bed up before driving.
The mechanical aspect makes sense, although it's "resting" on a shelf type thing when it's down so you would think it would be the opposite if it was for mechanical issues. Idk

 

[SeilerBird]

My guess is that the lawyers are the ones making these stupid decisions. And none of those lawyer ever owned an RV.

 

[RVMommaTo6]

That was what I was hoping because I would really prefer to keep the bunk down since 2 of the kids will be sleeping up there nightly and the bed needs to be completely cleared before being put up. That would be a pain to do every day.

 

[SeilerBird]

I had a 27 foot Tiffin class A and it had an overhead bunk over the drivers seat. I ended up ripping it out but I would not have hesitated to drive with it down. Taking it out was a total pain because it was such heavy duty hardware. It would not have come down in a wreck.

 

[RVMommaTo6]

I think I'll plan on asking some friends to look at it and see if they can see any way it would be unsafe. If it's a safety issue, I'll put it up, but if it's anything else, I'm going to leave it down.

 

[ArdraF]

Tom mentioned his probably wouldn't come down in a wreck, but the opposite might be true.  If it's not latched/locked in place maybe it could go up in a wreck and hurt someone or hinder getting out in a hurry.  Not to mention lawyers etc.

ArdraF