safety when traveling

[CricketSail]

Now that I have my RV, I'm getting ready to get on the road. Now for one of the practical things that has come up - what about extra travelers and pets, & having them ride safely? I would like to take the grand kids along, and their mom says ok, but what about seat belts and buckling up? There is the seat next to the driver, but what if I have more than one other traveler? Do they just bounce around in the back? What about pets - I have two dogs and a cat coming with me. So far they have never been crated, even for a trip to the vet (except for the cat, who Hates it). How can I safely bring along extra travelers?

[BirdbyBird]

Do your bench seat/s at the dinette still have seat belts? Most are manufacture with them. Or maybe you could have some added so that you would have more than the passenger seat belt available for visitors. Especially because they are children....grownups may make a decision to travel without a belt but I would not want to make that decision for anyone's child....

Everyone makes personal decisions regarding their pets. My golden, Herschel, always rode as navigator after his first few years of youth. Now my three all ride in their crates most of the times. The older ones occasionally get to ride free but they are so used to being crated for dinners and when I am absent from the rig for any amount of time that they take their treat and willingly jump in their crates. For me it is one less thing to worry about while I drive such as... sudden stops or something vibrating loose and falling to the floor. My crates take up valuable space in my short rig but they also protect my most valuable furry companions.

[Bethers]

It's a very personal decision about how you feel about traveling with the pets crated or no? How do you let them travel in a car?

As for children, yes, they need to be in seatbelts - and your dinette or sofa should have them.

[havingfunnow]

The William is firmly convinced that I cannot drive any vehicle unless he is standing behind my shoulder supervising. He's fine with crates in general, but had a real anxiety attack when we tried one in the van. Sometimes I wonder if an automobile accident led to him becoming a stray all those years ago. So, he rides free.

I think seat belts -- and booster seats for smaller kids -- are legal requirements these days. I've known many kids who rode safely in the back, but I wouldn't do that with somebody else's kids. If your seats in the dining area don't have belts, I'm sure that they can be installed.

[DearMissMermaid]

It's DOT law in the USA that your RV must have enough seat belts equal to the number it sleeps. So if your rig was designed with foldouts and table conversions etc. to sleep say 6 people, then your rig has seatbelts (some may be hidden away) for 6 people.

My dinette cushions have seatbelts HIDDEN. You have to hunt them down, then bring them out for use. I don't have a couch or sofa, but I have 2 swivel chairs, they too have hidden seatbelts that can be unhidden for rider use.

When you are parked and relaxing in your rig, you don't want to be stabbed by seatbelts, so many manufacturers hide them away.

So if your rig was designed to sleep 4, the manufacturer was required to provide 4 seatbelts minimum per the DOT. If it sleeps 5, then you have 5 seatbelts minimum.

Pet Safety...

True enough pets may be safer in a crate, but tie the crate to something so it can't go flying out the window in the event of a worse case scenario.

My little dog has never been crated, the rig is just too small for more "stuff". I do make him wear his harness or vest and short tether most times, so that he can't be thrown through the windshield etc.

My pet restraint is super simple. I mostly travel alone, so of course he loves to sit in the passenger seat. I use the seatbelt to hold his doggy bed in place there. Once he tires of window watching, he typically naps anyhow. The bed also keeps him from sliding off the seat. I hook a short leash through the seatbelt and attach to his harness or vest. He can sit in the seat or on the floor, but heaven forbid, if we are in a big wreck, hopefully he won't be thrown out of the vehicle or through the windshield.

I have let him ride "free" some, but I prefer to hook him in for my own peace of mind.

[MelissaD]

Depending upon the ages and sizes of your grandchildren you might also have to deal with booster seats.

The laws vary by state:
http://traffic.findlaw.com/traffic-tickets/seat-belt-and-child-restraint-violations-state-laws.html?DCMP=ADC-TRAFF_Gen-CarSeat&HBX_PK=car+booster+seats+laws
http://www.safercar.gov/parents/index.htm
http://blog.thebump.com/2013/11/22/new-rule-will-change-your-child-seat-requirements-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

In Indiana they are required to be in a booster seat until age 8. Many states don't want kids in the front set if there are airbags on the passenger side.

Not like the days when we just hopped into he back of the ole station wagon or pickup truck.

[JudyJB]

If you still can't find the seatbelts after looking under the couch and dinette, it may be that they were removed. In any case, there should still be the bolts that originally attached the belts to the floor, and you can probably get a dealer to install some. Hopefully, no one has recovered the floor!

Because I took out my dinette I lost three seatbelts, but I still have two tucked in the couch. I leave them underneath until I have grandchildren with me.

[BirdbyBird]

As Judy mentioned....some of us have altered our rigs and lost seat belts in the design changes.....

[CricketSail]

Thank you all. That was really helpful. My rig is 2007 and I think has had several alterations. It's in great shape, but I expect I will have to retro-fit some things, seat belts being one of them. I'm going to write the dealer who sold me the rig about where seat belts may be hiding, she's been very helpful. Thanks.

[CricketSail]

PS I think the pets will be fine, I travel with the dogs a lot in the car. They usually sit by me in the passenger seat and I have restraints and very comfortable harnesses for them so they don't mind wearing them most of the time. Also I got a screen (thanks to you guys for recommendations) rather than having the built in railing I had planned for the over cab bunk. It screens in the over cab bunk full length - or, it goes across the back of the driving cabin to keep pets out of there and tethered somewhere else while I'm driving. (And it neatly stows behind the driver seat when not in use ). So pets fine, grand children, working on it.

[Anniepoo]

>Not like the days when we just hopped into he back of the ole station wagon or pickup truck.

Thanks, that brought back some memories of various pickup trucks

[monik7]

PS I think the pets will be fine, I travel with the dogs a lot in the car. They usually sit by me in the passenger seat and I have restraints and very comfortable harnesses for them so they don't mind wearing them most of the time. Also I got a screen (thanks to you guys for recommendations) rather than having the built in railing I had planned for the over cab bunk. It screens in the over cab bunk full length - or, it goes across the back of the driving cabin to keep pets out of there and tethered somewhere else while I'm driving. (And it neatly stows behind the driver seat when not in use ). So pets fine, grand children, working on it.

Where did you get the screen and where does it hook at the ends. Thanks.
Sandi

[CricketSail]

The screen I ordered online from Walmart I think. Or maybe Target. It had a really stupid and complicated system for security to a bed with all kinds of straps and hooks, which I disposed of. But it's long, so that's good, and I can just brace it in place.

[Deeann]

Here's something to think about if you don't crate your pet and tie it down securely:

If a pet is roaming free in your rv and you have a collision, you pet becomes an airborn missle. Back before baby seats were invented, thousands of babies died in auto collisions when they were violently ripped from their mothers arms, their mothers being in the front seat with a seat belt on. Even a tiny baby will become the equivalent of hundreds of pounds of force when being thrust out of the mothers arms. A 15 pound dog riding in an rv at 60 mph becomes deadly to any person in that rv if there is a wreck. That dog flying through the air is more than enough to snap your neck or crush your chest. It's like having a strong man swing a sledge hammer at you with all the force he can muster. Really......stop and imagine that for a moment. And if you have a large dog weighing 50, 60 pounds and the dog gets hurled in your direction you better be right with God.

Not trying to scare anyone, but people don't think about things like this. They don't want to crate little Fido because he doesn't like it. Well......little Fido could kill them easily if he goes flying. Just saying......

[Bethers]

I'm okay with that - as all my years in animal welfare I've seen more injuries and deaths with crated animals than those free. They are more agile than we humans. That said, if I died because my animal became a missile, I'm okay with it. I have considered some of the safety belts for animals - but the reports on them still aren't good ... they aren't tested properly and have been known to hang a dog in what wouldn't be life threatening situations.

Lots of sides to every story ... until they are mandatory I'll carefully chose my options ... and hope that when they are they'll have done the proper testing.