Does Anyone Know About Child Safety in an RV?

how old is the RV? Most newer models have latches at the back of the seat.

You're not pregnant yet. You've still got 9 months if you are pregnant right now.

Go back to the dealership and have them show you where the latches are and if they aren't there how they will install them.

You got some good advice. I bet there is a way to make it safe or later trade it in for an RV that is safe. BUT...I want to also advise you to enjoy your RV with your husband and try not to be critical about it. You don't even have a child yet! How fun that he bought a small RV...he is thinking of family trips and enjoying quality time together! The best! We are doing a 3 week RV trip with our kids this summer going around to U.S. National Parks and we are SO excited. We have been talking about doing this for years. Our kids are ecstatic! We have been camping with them since they were toddlers and they LOVE exploring, fishing, gathering wood for a fire, making s'mores and riding their bikes around the campsite. It is amazing family time. Everyone is off the computer. Everyone is enjoying each other. The kids see all kinds of cool things when we are out in nature. Try to see the positives in life. When you do have a baby remember they don't stay a baby for long. It's a very short time in the big scheme of things.

My dad has a 40' Bounder with 3 pull outs. The sofa and the table both have latches and seat belts. Pull back the cushions and look for the latches.

What YEAR is this RV?
Is it a Class C or Class A? (A class C has the van front end with the bed overhang and the Class A is a box) - I ask because there are different features on each chassis.

You're NOT pregnant. And even if you were - you'd have months to prepare. Depending upon the brand of RV? You can take it to the manufacturer and have them install child safety latches.

RVing is a blast. Don't be negative! ENJOY!!

My advice is to enjoy your marriage and take some fun RV trips with your husband. Maybe use some of those trips to work on making that child that you want!!

And then in the future - when you have a child and your child is old enough to travel - think about car seats.

I agree about contacting manufacturers. I'm not sure there's anything unique about a captain's seat or bucket seat, since regular autos have a variety of seat types. So having a quality seatbelt to secure a good quality carseat should be fine. The table, most likely, is removable or collapsible, so a child wouldn't hit against it anyway. Those bench seats should have seatbelt down behind the cushion - fish around and you'll find them! Our rentals had seatbelts in the couch, the bench seats, and the one bucket chair we had on just one vehicle.

I think you're ticked off at your husband, which is understandable if he bought a big-ticket item without your involvement. But that's a separate issue than child safety, especially because there is no child here yet. Approach both of them separately. Certainly, a big investment that didn't allow for a child is a problem, but I'm not sure that's the situation here.

We rented an RV on 3 separate occasions for vacations, and I have to say that we had a remarkable time. We enjoyed traveling with all the comforts of home (well, in a compact space!), and we really enjoyed going from place to place without having to unpack and move into a new motel with each stop. We found the friendliest people at campgrounds, and got a lot of help from staff as well as very experienced camping families if some little thing went wrong that we didn't know how to fix. Our son enjoyed playing with other kids, running around the wooded areas, fishing in the pond, and every other low-tech form of entertainment, you name it. He has developed into an independent and confident man who works well with so many kinds of people and who isn't dependent on luxurious surroundings, video games or other technology to have fun. I attribute this to a lot of things, but his experience in traveling with us and meeting new people is high on the list.

And all of those kids traveled safely in a wide variety of RVs and campers.

Yes! just have fun with your husband and worry about the child seat part later! LOL.
Honestly I have no idea about car seats in them. We didn't get ours until kids were bigger, 6 and 8 I think. We've had SO much fun traveling! Congrats! Contact manufacturer like people said and maybe ask your local law enforcement. I think they might know, at least what the law requires.

Ok, after doing some research......If it's an older RV might not be safe for child. IF you do put child seat in it, sounds like the only place would be the bench seat that faces forward. If it were me, I'd probably have fun with this one until baby is born and then either get one that has bucket seats (classB?) or get a pull behind trailer camper and ride in a normal truck.

We've looked at buying an RV also, and I did a lot of research. What I found is that the safety varies a lot base on the manufacture and RV model. RV manufactures are only required to comply with federal seat belt standards for front seat passengers. Rear seats may have seat belts, but you need to know what the seat belts are anchored to. In a few RV's that we looked at, the seat belts were only anchored to a piece of plywood, not to the vehicle frame.

Also keep in mind that a car seat needs to be in a seat that is facing forwards or backwards, not sideways. Any loose objects need to be strapped down, and cabinets need secure locks.

With all that said, we decided that if we proceed with an RV purchase, we're going to have custom seats installed so that we know that our child will be safe. You can do the same.

As others have stated, start by contacting the manufacturer.

Life should not stop because of a child. Your husband still deserves some joy. Appreciate him now and consider your future child later....

I guess I honestly wouldn't even worry about it today. You don't have any kiddos yet, even if you caught pregnant shortly, it would be a year before you had to worry about it (longer I am guessing since most folks don't start traveling the open road with a newborn). By that time, you may sell the RV and purchase something different or a million other things could happen . . .

There is a lot of back and forth on this subject - everything from "never, ever, put a child in an RV if you love them," to "let them run free just like on a city bus, you don't have safety belts." Also, I would check with your local police dept to see what the actual laws are vs. what you would feel comfortable with.

Good luck!

If you had Googled this, you'd have found lots of good info.

http://thecarseatlady.com/rvtravel/
https://saferide4kids.com/blog/traveling-children-rvs/
http://blog.rvshare.com/things-need-know-rv-seat-belt-laws/

But seeing as you don't have any kids right now, it's a bit early to worry about it.

I would imagine that this is a common question families have when looking at RVs. I would suggest either contacting the manufacturer of your RV, or even going to an RV sales dealership to discuss what safety features YOUR model has, and how you can retrofit your vehicle to accommodate other passengers, including infant seats and children.
Enjoy your travels!! T. :)

Since you don't have a child and are not pregnant why is this an issue?

When you get pregnant or after you give birth you could trade it in for something that has more child safety features or just sell it and be done.

We were looking at buying one you drive - last year. I Googled and found all the info I needed online. Some (newer) ones had seat belts on the bench seats with the table I found. Older ones did not always come with this, but you could have them installed.

I saw pictures on the sites I googled, that show strapping a child seat in. I would take a look - there are safety regulations just like fitting a baby car seat into a car or van. They give detailed info.

There are articles on this in the RV world. The first question is this - do the bench seats have seatbelts or, even better childseat anchors? If there is a seatbelt or anchor/tether installed on the bench at the table, you can probably put in a car seat.

https://www.campingrvbc.com/blog/rv-safety-where-to-put-t...

Aren't there seat belts in the seating? I think it's a law that everyone in the RV has to have a seat belt on when it's moving so every seat has to have a seat belt.

A seat belt holds a car seat in place no matter the sort of seat it is.

But since Barb made the point that seat belts might only be tacked into plywood I'd be sure and research this further.

You could always figure this out later, much later.