Child safety in a prevost

[Kaynjay]

We have a prevost as well as a newborn baby. We are wanting to take a trip to visit family in the next couple of months and I am clueless about child safety in a motor home.
Could anyone shed some light? It seems nearly impossible to attach a car seat in the prevost.. What do people do?

Is it legal to feed, change, play with your child while you are going down the road? I'm assuming the safety rules are quite different in a motorhome verses traditional car travel. We are clueless about this.

We don't use the prevost often, but feel it would be the perfect way to travel with a young child as it would be a home on wheels while we're away.

Any advice??
Thanks.

[Can-AmDuo]

Personally I would remove what you call the bench seat and have at least one maybe two captains chairs installed with integrated 3 point seatbelts. The new Thor Axis 4.2 comes this way. IMHO it is a very good way to transport children. I have been looking into this so that I can RV with my grandchildren.

[falconman]

I think it's pretty simple. Install seat belts in the best location possible. It may not be as safe as rear facing factory seat locations but anyplace is safer that none at all. If it has a sofa, belts can be installed there even if they are side facing. The biggest threat is going to be having a child unrestrained and fly through the air. Those that allow children to be unrestrained while driving down the road haven't been to many accidents scenes to see what happens when occupants start flying around.

[PastorCharlie]

Five killed 13 injured only two of the injured were wearing seatbelts


Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of accidental death for all young people from one-year-o...

[Kaynjay]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Tires???? I thought it was about seat belts. I agree with Dennis. I have been using RVs for over 40 years with my own kids and now Grand Kids......I pretty much do like Dennis says-----for one thing you would never get anywhere with kids if they were always strapped in......So make it acceptable and comfortable to YOU. For one thing if you are a prudent, safe, driver what are the chances of having an incident????????

Yes, this post has zero to do with tires. The bus is like new and well maintained. Totally irrelevant. Thanks for the responses. We are obviously using common sense with how this is approached. I personally feel a child is safer in a prevost or motorhome than in a car due to the size factor.
You can't not use your motorhome just because you have a child in a car seat. RV's are used with family everyday, so I know something can be done with a car seat. My question was, what is the best approach as we haven't used it with our child yet. Plain and simple.

[ferndaleflyer]

Tires???? I thought it was about seat belts. I agree with Dennis. I have been using RVs for over 40 years with my own kids and now Grand Kids......I pretty much do like Dennis says-----for one thing you would never get anywhere with kids if they were always strapped in......So make it acceptable and comfortable to YOU. For one thing if you are a prudent, safe, driver what are the chances of having an incident????????

[hone_eagle]

No child is restrained in a school bus ,however they NEVER get up and walk around they all are required to 'sit safe'. That is 'bottom on seat bottom' and 'back against the seat back'.
Drivers also are allowed to bring younger (pre school) children of their own ,they MUST be in a car seat.
If we still did the the things the way we were brought up ,there would be a few less of us,and since we don't have 8-9 kids anymore .................

[Ramair]

Executive (Dennis) said it best. Just use you common sense and all will be great.

[kalynzoo]

One post mentioned the law of physics, I'd rather apply the "Law of the Lugnuts", the vehicle with the most lugnuts win. In my mind as a long time RV vacationer (not science just an opinion)the danger to the child or any passenger are the flying objects from unsecured items. You know, the toaster, the coffee pot, dishes, all those little things we forget to secure. Naturally I would not want to put an infant alone on a coach, even in a brick home, as they might roll over and out. When the twin grandkids, now 6, were only infants, we put them in car seats secured only with the couch seatbelt. There is no testing or data to show this is safe or secure, it just kept them in place. Now they are allowed to sit at the table, even walk to the bathroom while we are in motion. I believe highway tests prove seat belts keep you from going into the windshield and being ejected from the doors...neither apply in a large motorhome. Be safe, love your family, protect them every way you can and always be there for them. But you are providing a great deal of protection by putting them in a Provost instead of a smart car with a seatbelt.
Happy Trails.

[dcbrewer]

Executive wrote:
A Prevost is a party bus....children are not allowed.....:W:W:W.......Dennis

When we travel with the grandkids, they follow my rules...much like a pilot in an aircraft. If they're in a front seat, and the coach is moving, they're buckled in..period..no exceptions. Other parts of the coach they may move around freely, lay on the bed, the couch, use the restroom although they may NOT use the shower. They may watch TV or play video games although I usually point out things of interest to them as we travel. That said, if I FEEL there's an issue, rough road, heavy traffic whatever, then I say buckle up and they scamper to their seats and sit buckled until I give the all clear signal.....my coach, my rules, YMMV.....Dennis

Dennis, life would have really sucked, if we had been raised under all the rules and regulations of today. Going by all the rules today, we should have been dead by the age of nine. Thinking back about all the crazy things we done, and the fun we had!!!! Feel sorry for kids today. And we do use seatbelts, most of the time..

[bsinmich]

You said you don't use the Prevost often. How old are the tires? That could be a greater concern than the car seat.

[Executive45]

A Prevost is a party bus....children are not allowed.....:W:W:W.......Dennis

When we travel with the grandkids, they follow my rules...much like a pilot in an aircraft. If they're in a front seat, and the coach is moving, they're buckled in..period..no exceptions. Other parts of the coach they may move around freely, lay on the bed, the couch, use the restroom although they may NOT use the shower. They may watch TV or play video games although I usually point out things of interest to them as we travel. That said, if I FEEL there's an issue, rough road, heavy traffic whatever, then I say buckle up and they scamper to their seats and sit buckled until I give the all clear signal.....my coach, my rules, YMMV.....Dennis

[Busskipper]

Kaynjay wrote:
We have a prevost as well as a newborn baby. We are wanting to take a trip to visit family in the next couple of months and I am clueless about child safety in a motor home.
Could anyone shed some light? It seems nearly impossible to attach a car seat in the prevost.. What do people do?

Is it legal to feed, change, play with your child while you are going down the road? I'm assuming the safety rules are quite different in a motorhome verses traditional car travel. We are clueless about this.

We don't use the prevost often, but feel it would be the perfect way to travel with a young child as it would be a home on wheels while we're away.

Any advice??


Thanks.

When we were faced with this issue for the Granddaughters we went back to the factory and had additional seat belts properly installed. If it's on the road and I put it in Gear the Kids are in SEAT BELTS.

Simple, if you need to feed or change them, easy just pull over take care of business then strap them back in and head down the road.

JMHO,

[PastorCharlie]

In both MH that I have owned there were 4 seat belts in the dinette seats, two for the forward facing and two for the rear facing. The rearward facing would be the better choice. If it is possible to retract the table it would give a safe area to attend to the child while traveling. Just remember to always have it protected from being thrown forward in the coach due to a sudden stop.

Perhaps a retrofit is needed until the child is old enough to use the regular seating. The cargo is more precious than the vehicle. The vehicle can be changed back anytime.

[gemert]

Ours is a 2003 and there are no seatbelts anywhere other than the front seats. Tried several dealers to get some installed and no one will do it because of liability. We are still new at it and we have an 8 and a 14 year old. We just keep them in the back and hope for the best. I will find a way to install some myself but they will have to face to the side because there is no fore and aft seating. Make the best of it.