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Gundog's avatar
Gundog
Explorer II
Oct 24, 2018

Adding seat belts to a class A?

I would like to add a couple more seat belt positions to our 2005 34H Fleetwood Expedition. The coach has 5 seat belt positions now the 2 front seats and 3 on a sofa. My thought is to add 2 to the forward facing seats at the dinette I would remove the table because I see no way of securing it in an accident. I would make sure the lap belts are secured to a frame structure. Is this an OK modification I am just looking for opinions no lectures.

Here is a link to the brochure showing the floor plan mine is the 34H.
Fleetwood Expedition brochure 2005
Thanks Mike

13 Replies

  • Just attach to any frame member. Seat belts are widely available. (I've bought a couple of different types for our older MG.)

    :)
    Lynn
  • I have actually done this in coordination with the coach manufacturer. They sent me the additional seat belts for installation. The coach came with only one belt per direction in the dinette however the dinette has room for 4 people. I did not need to remove the table. The couch has only two belts but room for 3 people. I used steel frame attachment brackets to allow the installation of the second seat belt at the dinette. The existing carriage bolts are completely through the floor and into the structure underneath the motorhome. The critical thing if you are adding new belts where there is no existing attachment point then you will want to plan for the placement of the attachment bolt. I suggest you use grade 8 bolts, washers, and nuts. If you are attaching to the floor decking you will want to drill through the floor and use a large carriage bolt and put a large fender washer on the bottom and the top as well as use a nut on the top to secure the bolt to the floor and a separate nut to secure the seat belt to the nut. Depending on your application and location you may wish to have a steel bracket fabricated (I used steel brackets I had around my shop.) to hold the end of the seatbelt. I worked carefully with the OEM representative and emailed them photos of my installation and design. Ultimately, your family is safer in a motorhome vs a car the seatbelt just keeps them in one location if an accident occurs or if sudden braking is required. If you like I can post pictures of my installation.
  • I would guess that any seat belt attached to a structural frame member is better than no seat belt at all.