It seems to me that except for the customized "band bus" rigs, motor homes for average Joe can safely handle only two people while over the road. None of the other seating really lends itself to "extra" passengers. Our "Brand "W" dinette bench that faces forward has seat belts, and we can strap the grandkid's car seats in there. We would like to get a bigger coach (Barth, I hope) but all of those with couches don't look suitable for passengers. Is it just that the RV users travel only in pairs?

Just a guess, but I suspect the Barth, as an upscale toy, was marketed to an older, wealthier audience, with scant consideration for more than two passengers. Indeed, my sofa has a placard warning that it's not to be occupied when the coach is in motion.

I haven't looked, but I'd wager there's no belts in the dinette either, though our former s.o.b. had them.

One of my SOBs, a Southwind, had two swivel chairs with seat belts. Each had a placard stating that the seats were not to be occupied while vehicle was in motion.

Go figure.

I did install seat belts on a dinette on yet another coach. Not too big a deal.

Hi Ferret,

I agree, however, I do know of some families who have traveled with the family with 25 and 28 footers, using the couch and some of the earlier desisns have that "gaucho bed" set up. But the seat belt situation is indeed a problem. On my coach I only have waist belts and that causes us some concern.

Gotta say, when Deb and I look at newer coaches which shoulder belts and air bags we indeed like the idea.

This goes beyond just safe seating while on the road. We've looked at tons of coaches of all sizes and inevitably they are designed for two. Even the larger DP's with slides and all don't accomodate two couples or a couple with kids when it comes to sleeping quarters with a tiny bit of privacy.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

This is an excelent discussion. Deb and I have talked many times about the fact that we wish we would have started our RVing when the kids were young. I think that we have agreed that if we had, we probably would have gone the travel trailer route. For under $20K one can buy a 25 foot lite travel trailer with a queen bed at one end and bunks at the other. You can even get triple bunks. Of course TT's are kind of dedicated to the RV park life and not to much as self sufficient as a class A, but you definately have the privacy, and the utility that family travel calls for.

Then again, unless you're towing with a megabucks suv, you don't have the comfort on the road for the kids. I have yet to see a coach with two dedicated suites, however small, for giving seperate sleeping quarters to mom and dad, and the kids or another couple. When we go with the neighbors and their kids, we fire up the genny and the kids sit in the back and watch videos or play games and we don't hear a peep for hours! Not having to stop for bathroom stops is an added bonus.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

Ah, Danny, are you riding with the neighbors in a motorhome, or in the tow vehicle for a trailer? You said the kids were happy with the videos in the back, but with a generator running. If you are talking about being in a motorhome, how do they have those kids seatbelted in?? We need to be able to transport 2 wee grand children in those unwieldy child safety seats required by law now. GROAN! Need to make our Barth child passenger friendly. Heaven only knows how the cops view this with one the age required to ride backwards, and the other frontwards!
We sure do have a Big Backseat tho!

I am ashamed to say we have broken the rules several times. When we went for a one week trip with daughter Libby and friend Katie. While in transit they were in the center twin room with labtop hooked to a inverter and playing games. The only seat belts in the coach are on the cockpit seats and they are not shoulder belts.

On brand new coaches with sofas and dinettes, seat belts are only on the sofa and on the dinette bench facing forward only.

Maureen, I don't believe you will be able to make your Barth childsafe like the rear seat of an automobile, unless you were able to firmly secure the seats to a frame member someway.

A couple of thoughts:

In my coach, the side sofa has lap belts which do not face front, as do the front cabin seats. These are not ideal, but remember that deccellaration is what causes injury in most accidents (ie stopping fast) and striking the interior (windshield, dash, steering wheel).

With the mass of the Barth, you are not going to deccellarate at the same quickness as a passenger car unless you are tangling with a like sized vehicle or larger. Mass and inertia is your friend, in this case.

Certainly lap shoulder belts are ideal, but only lap belts in something so large is not exactly bad.

To solve the dilemna in my coach, I put lap belts in the rear facing seat of my dinette. I then used them to hold my children's car seats (which had 5 point restraints). Rear facing is ideal for the majority of accidents since the head is resting against a support and cannot hyperflex under deccellaration. This also lets them sit at the table to do drawing, snacking and TV watching to pass the time. When the children are too big for these seats (over 80 pounds) I will have to re-evaluate. Three point harnesses will do minimal injury prevention in side mount positions as the couch provides, since they are "open" on the one side. I might be tempted to put a full 5 point harness in, to remove the necessity for an inertia reel, which won't work anyway in side load.

The kids I talked about are young teens, and the truth is there is no protection for them when in the middle bedroom watching videos or playing games in our coach. I would never put a passenger in a tow vehicle, although I'm told you can with a 5th wheel. Safe driving and proper equipment will save more lives than seat belts in death traps.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

quote:

Originally posted by Windsor Dalrymple:
A couple of thoughts:

In my coach, the side sofa has lap belts which do not face front, as do the front cabin seats. These are not ideal, but remember that deccellaration is what causes injury in most accidents (ie stopping fast) and striking the interior (windshield, dash, steering wheel).

With the mass of the Barth, you are not going to deccellarate at the same quickness as a passenger car unless you are tangling with a like sized vehicle or larger. Mass and inertia is your friend, in this case.

Certainly lap shoulder belts are ideal, but only lap belts in something so large is not exactly bad.

To solve the dilemna in my coach, I put lap belts in the rear facing seat of my dinette. I then used them to hold my children's car seats (which had 5 point restraints). Rear facing is ideal for the majority of accidents since the head is resting against a support and cannot hyperflex under deccellaration. This also lets them sit at the table to do drawing, snacking and TV watching to pass the time. When the children are too big for these seats (over 80 pounds) I will have to re-evaluate. Three point harnesses will do minimal injury prevention in side mount positions as the couch provides, since they are "open" on the one side. I might be tempted to put a full 5 point harness in, to remove the necessity for an inertia reel, which won't work anyway in side load.

Just a note


My wife and I, rarly wear seatbelts, while traveling in our Barth.

Recently, in a panic stop situation, we fared alright, although the wind up clock from the rear shelf bounced off the dash.