Sit/sleep in over cab while driving?

Yup, grew up riding up in the overhead of my dad's TC; best view in the house for traveling!

My kids have ridden in the overhead of my Class C a few times when they were younger, but it is usually loaded with "stuff" while driving (the bags from their significant others, pillows, sleeping bags, etc) now, and they are older and don't care so much about the "cool" factor.

Many class Cs now have heavy entertainment systems and storage there instead of a bed, so the weight (static vs dynamic) is likely a moot point. It would be extremely rare for road debris heavy enough to go through the window to be high enough to do so. And realistically, nowhere in an RV other than the driver/passenger seat is likely very "safe" in a major accident.

BTW, bukhrn, on the road that I grew up on, the County would spray oil, then spread gravel on top, and allow the vehicle traffic to work it into the existing pavement. THAT was how they repaved the road every couple of years!

bukhrn wrote:

Steeljag wrote:

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

Lol!

Worked then...should be good now ? Back in the "sixties" people were also working with lead based products , breathing asbestos, sucking down coal dust, dumping oil into creeks, etc....LOL......

:E We NEVER did that, we sprayed the old motor oil on the dirt road by the house to keep the dust down. :B

LOL !

As kids, we spent most of our travel time in the cabover of our parents' TC. It was the ONLY way to travel and all the kids wanted to ride with us (rather than in the other cars). Nothing like looking out the front window while making a hairpin turn.

Never had anything hit the front window. We all laid front to back, so at most we rolled side to side. Never had any movement where we moved backwards toward the back of the RV.

Other than in a rollover, I personally think the cabover is safer than the dinette. Sitting with a solid table top at gut/heart level (depending on size of person) and having to stop suddenly just seems to be textbook for internal damage.

I do believe it is illegal for small kids to ride up there now - they have to be in a carseat/booster seat, no exceptions. Older kids and adults would likely not be comfortable up there "front to back" and if they lay side to side, they risk rolling off the cabover with a sudden stop.

My childhood in the cabover is the main reason why I bought a class C - even though I can't drive and ride up there, sleeping nights up there bring back good memories.

Long story here, but take it as you will.
When I was younger (a lot younger) I worked at a place that sold RVs. Later at both Thetford and Chrysler. I was long convinced that I wanted either a C or a TC so children (yes, they were always part of the plan) could ride up there and see out the front window. Then, for a short time, I did some data analysis for NHSTA. I got dragged into the RVs while there. So, I looked. There were a goodly number of cases where both Cs and TCs rolled over and that cab over area was crushed flat. I did a very quick look at the compiled data. If there were occupants in the overhead, then there were a preponderance of fatals in the data. I changed that plan as much as I did remember the picture of little smiling faces looking forward.

Matt

Well, there use to be a day when grade school kids could hold hands and walk around the playground.... not any more! There was a day when high school kids could not touch each other in school either, now they make-out in the hall right in front of the principal's office!


Times have changed. Yes, you can, and probably get away with it. But in the event of the big "if".... could you live with yourself knowing serious damage may have occurred to your loved one, or even yourself?

We have rode up there for many thousands of miles , of course we wore football helmets and were wrapped in bubble wrap , will that satisfy the naysayers ?

When i was a kid my folks had a 70s something Winnebago, I used to climb up on that huge dash and nap while my dad was driving down the road lol

Steeljag wrote:

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

Lol!

Worked then...should be good now ? Back in the "sixties" people were also working with lead based products , breathing asbestos, sucking down coal dust, dumping oil into creeks, etc....LOL......

:E We NEVER did that, we sprayed the old motor oil on the dirt road by the house to keep the dust down. :B

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

Lol!

Worked then...should be good now ? Back in the "sixties" people were also working with lead based products , breathing asbestos, sucking down coal dust, dumping oil into creeks, etc....LOL......