Class A Coach with 4 proper seats w/ seatbelts?

[mkiidaddy]

Hi all,

First post here... thanks in advance for your wisdom & advice.

We are a family of four looking to downsize from 3,000+ sqft house to a smaller house & Class A motor-home combo. Sort of a "Home base + travel home" type arrangement.

Mom/Dad have 8+ years experience living/traveling on sailboats, so limited space living is not a mystery.

We have owned & camped in a popup and really enjoyed it.

Our biggest hangup with the Class A type is the lack of proper safety for our 5 & 9 year old children.

Question is simple. Does any company make a 2+2 type arrangement with 2 front seats + 2 proper forward facing back seats, all with OEM installed seatbelts/anchors?

Ideally, the back 2 seats would swivel freely all the way to face the back of the coach.

I did search the forum before asking, but this is a tough question to nail down with an accurate search.

Thanks, and looking forward to learning & eventually contributing.

Mike

[wa8yxm]

I do not know of anyone who makes a Motor home with 4 FRONT FAXING seats but most larger motor homes do have 4 seat belts. two are side facing.

The 4 Year old should be OK in a side facing seat as is your co-pilot. The 2 year old may need to be in the passenger seat (not sure) been 36 years since I had to worry about a 2 year old.

[rgatijnet1]

As mentioned, Safari made one in the 2007-2009 era that was a 40' toy hauler with four captains chairs. The toy hauler section in the back had TWO queen sized drop down beds as well as a queen size drop down bed in the front. This model came with a front diesel engine. It was the Safari Simba line of coaches.
Here is a link to one:Safari Simba

[msturtz]

There is a lot of misinformation an misunderstanding about Class A motorhomes. First off is physics. Class A motorhomes are on light medium duty all the way up to heavy duty chassis. The weight class ranges from GCWR of 26,000# to 80,0000#. This means you are larger and heavier than most other vehicles. The only things heavier and larger are commercial vehicles. While there have been accidents that have involved Class A motorhomes that have struck commercial vehicles but in general the accidents involve much smaller vehicles. The net effect of this is the smaller vehicle will be at a significant mass disadvantage and in general the motorhome occupants will be safer. Modern motorhomes include seatbelts in usually the dinette as well as the sofa. The idea is to keep the person from being tossed forward into something. But keep in mind that large Class A motorhomes cannot and will not stop as fast as a car or truck unless you hit a immovable object such as a concrete wall or similar object. Most accidents involve two vehicles not a wall. There were some older motorhome designs that did not include rollover protection. I don't know of any that do not include it now. I have seen some bad rollover accidents involving Class A motorhomes and they don't collapse in on the occupants. Now compare this to a Class 2 - 3 truck towing a large 5th wheel. The truck's safety systems are designed to protect the occupants in a crash at the vehicle's GVWR not GCWR. The complicating factor is if you are towing a heavy 5th wheel trailer significantly complicates the safety margin. You are still in a light duty Class 2 - 3 truck but are towing a 10,000# - 20,000# massive 5th wheel that dwarfs the vehicle base weight. All choices have pros and cons. I have owned towable units, Class C motorhomes and now our short Class A diesel pusher. We have twin 5 year old kids and a 13 year old. We have car seats installed for the twins and expect our 13 year old to use a seat belt. Just to put a little more context on who I am. I also have a Commercial Driver's license, including passenger and school bus endorsements. I have worked for the last 20 years at a heavy truck manufacturer that manufactures trucks from Class 5 to 8. It never ceases to amaze me to watch people pulling a 15,000 - 20,000# 5th wheel behind a Class 2 - 3 truck. Just because the OEM says you can technically "do" it does not mean that it is as safe in an accident that an unloaded truck would be. You have a lot of mass trying to still move in the same direction and the relatively light truck is simply along for the ride. If a 5th wheel were what I wanted based on my family's needs I would tow it with a Class 5 - 7 truck modified with rear truck seats in a modified sleeper compartment for safety. I would also have a headache rack installed to prevent the 5th wheel from crashing through the truck during an accident. I believe based on my experience that my kids are safer in our class A than in a 1 ton truck towing a 5th wheel or class C motorhome.

[MrWizard]

quite a few 'A's have 3-seats
a second seat behind the co-pilot, that swvels and has a seatbelt
usually a fold down tablet between them

i'm sitting there right now as i type this

but '4' is a rare thing, you can always buy one with the floor space
remove the oem sofa, install a smaller sofa/love seat ? and add the fourth seat
its not difficult to drill four holes and bolt it down, and two more for the belt anchors

[Lancslad]

Our 2011 Georgetown has 2 belted seats as part of the dinette. One faces front the other rear across the table behind the drivers seat.

[gbopp]

I think if you want four seats in a Class A, it will be a custom installation.
Our 96 Southwind has a seat behind the front passenger seat. It swivels and will turn to the front.
If I wanted a forth seat, I would have to remove the couch. Losing the couch would not be acceptable to me.

Most Class A units are designed for two people. So, you will probably be looking at some custom work and probably losing something.
Only you can decide if it's worth the trade.

But, I think it is a neat idea. The kids could see the country while traveling rather than staring at phones or computer screens.
I hope you find what you need. Enjoy your travels.

[Lwiddis]

Safer in a truck pulling a 5er.

[Corkey05]

For the last few years all motorhome manufacturers have installed seatbelts on the sofa. If there's a loveseat it's hit or miss.

[J_R2]

in 07 we looked at a safari by Monaco that had quad seating up front. That's the only one I recall seeing.

[MountainAir05]

Any high end and high $$$$$ diesel Couch that you have build will have what you want. Can't say I have seen off the shelf models that will have what you might want. Have you search and how much are looking at spending over a few hundred thousands.

[MitchF150]

Not that I've ever seen.. Once past the 2 front seats, you might see belts on the couch that's up front, but pretty much, in MH and Limo's anything past the 2 front seats is just like a "bus".. Heck, you can have open containers in the rear part of MH and limos as long as it's all "personal" transportation.

Do public buses or even school buses have seat belts?

What you are looking for is one of those 12 passenger vans that have belts for every passenger.. Then tow a nice TT to be your "house"..

Good luck!

Mitch

[mkiidaddy]

Well, yes I pretty much agree 🙂

2nd option is 5th wheel setup, but we'd like to consider both if the 2+2 Class A is something that exists.

Thanks for the reply,

M

[JaxDad]

IMHO the terms “proper safety” and “motorhome” just don’t belong in the same sentence.

A typical class A motorhome has the crash resistance of an egg, it’s really strong, until it’s not.

Do a little research on school bus design, you’ll see what I mean. The floor is high so a car colliding with it goes under the children, not into them.