Sit/sleep in over cab while driving?

It's kind of strange...

you'd think that anywhere there are belts it's safe to ride. not usually true, as they say front facing is the best/safest way to ride. Obviously any lap belts in the dinette are going to be of limited help.

However Minnesota, as an example, allows you to ride in a trailer, truck camper, or fifth wheel. Knowing that no RV's have shoulder belts unless you're in the cab of a class A, B, or C... it's surprising.

I spent a lot of my youth riding in the cabover area of Dad's Minnie Winnie with my sister. Dad was usually not in a hurry, never really went over 55. And we rode that way in the early/late 70's both up and back down the Alcan (whatever it's called now) highway when it was dirt and potholes.

Guess it depends on what you would think is safe. I don't know that I'd put my grandkids up there now.

Simple rule of thumb-no proper seat and seat belt, don't ride there.

The cab over area is not a safe riding position. Roll the dice if you wish.

That is where my four dogs ride! :C

Secured in fastened down crates for their safety.

Fla904 wrote:
Is it safe to relax in the over cab area of a class c while driving? Aside from the obvious (laws, fly out the front in a wreck, fall down etc) is there any danger? Such as the roof collapsing or something like that? Do you ride in the over cab? If no, why not?

I believe there's a difference between a static load and a dynamic load. Bouncing down the road will increase the stress on the structure.
I would not be as concerned about it totally failing as I would it causing eventual damage/leaks.
What does your manufacturer say about riding in the over cab area?

That said, if I was a kid, that's where I would want to ride. :)

I'm a solo RVer. When I'm in the cab over, I can't reach the gas pedal or the steering wheel. :)

We rode many miles in the cab over of our parents tc taking in the sights and survived. Looking back on it, we would have been unguided missiles in a wreck. It is likely illegal now.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
It is built to full support the weight of folks sleeping up there while parked.........rolling down the road doesn't change that.

IS it safe??
NO in the greater sense of the word cause of crashes.

But having grown up in the 60s all of the kids in neighborhood road in bed of pickup trucks, road in the cabover of truck campers, raced or bikes up/down the streets w/o helmets, swam in ponds, ran with scissors and drank water from hot rubber garden hoses.

And my kids have done the same.
Personally I can not go thru life worrying about the various What IFs.
I have a different view that 'what is will be' and there isn't a thing one can do about that outcome.

I run my fridge on propane while in motion also.

So YES I take some risks....measured ones not full blind eyes shut ones.

Exactly how I feel about it. And to the person above me, we sealed off the window for heat and cold purposes it was either to hot or to cold, so it has a wood board over it that's screwed and sealed over it. My main concern was the thing falling off the front of the RV while in motion or collapsing somehow lol. If you wreck in a RV and you're anywhere other than the passenger or drivers seat the outcome will likely all be the same....

It is built to full support the weight of folks sleeping up there while parked.........rolling down the road doesn't change that.

IS it safe??
NO in the greater sense of the word cause of crashes.

But having grown up in the 60s all of the kids in neighborhood road in bed of pickup trucks, road in the cabover of truck campers, raced or bikes up/down the streets w/o helmets, swam in ponds, ran with scissors and drank water from hot rubber garden hoses.

And my kids have done the same.
Personally I can not go thru life worrying about the various What IFs.
I have a different view that 'what is will be' and there isn't a thing one can do about that outcome.

I run my fridge on propane while in motion also.

So YES I take some risks....measured ones not full blind eyes shut ones.

It's not wise idea for several reasons. Besides the ones you mention a couple come to mind. If there's a front window, it's almost never made of laminated safety glass like a windshield, and possibly not even tempered glass, so anything that happened to fly up and hit it could easily cause shards of sharp glass to come flying in. Also, the cabover structure usually is one of the weaker parts of the RV, and having a lot of weight bouncing around there is liable to cause trouble sooner or later. (This also applies to storing stuff there.)

Mine has a warning sticker stipulating that it is not to be occupied while the vehicle is in motion.

That said, it sure does look like it would be a lot of fun and afford a great bird's eye view. I've stuck a dash cam up there, but much as I'd like to be able to permit it, no people up there while in motion.