Truck Conversion & Toterhome Community - View Single Post

Mike E · 04-22-2003, 01:41 PM

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for getting back to me. I see what you're saying about the kid's car seats and mounting the seat belts to secure the seats in a forward facing position with the back to the rear wall of the sleeper. While I love the lounge feature with its table for the kids, my 6 year old, who will be 7 in the fall, has already graduated to a booster seat and thus I need a shoulder harness-lap belt combo like in a regular car and I won't let any of my kids ride in the front seat, although that might be okay in the truck. Even if it is, I'm sure my wife will want to ride up there sometimes so I still need a solution for the back area. I am aware that most motorhomes either do not have belts at all or what they have is inadequate, with lap belt only and in seats that are not forward facing. One of the reasons this is such an issue with me is that during the past year a motorhome owner in my area lost his daughter in a crash while she was riding in the back of their motorhome (apparently unbelted). Although that can happen regardless of one's precautions, it still spurs me to do my utmost to prevent a mishap. Therefore, unless I can find a way to adapt shoulder belts adequately, I will be relegated to Kenworth's studio sleeper system which already has two shoulder harnesses on each side and a lap belt in the center (better for infant & kid's seats). This system can be seen on Kenworth's webpage in their Adobe PDF brochures for sleepers/interiors and studio sleepers and in the W900 & T800 brochures. I'm not sure how KW secures the upper & lower mounts of the shoulder-lap belt combo but if anyone has an idea of how to safely & securely adapt such a setup to other sleepers, feel free to let me know. Unfortunately, each company's sleeper has at least one feature that I like, such as Volvo's lounge, Peterbilt's full size sleeper door & eye level fridge, and so on, but no one has all these features in one system, which I suppose is the reason for custom builds. However, I need the sofa-bed with shoulder-lap belts before I can think of anything else so right now it looks like Kenworth or a custom build is the only game in town (both expensive) and this will affect which trucks I can choose from. Unfortunately, Kenworths tend to be a bit more pricey than other trucks similarly equipped and Larry has pointed out that they are virtually impossible to inexpensively convert to single axle. I may not ultimately do that but it's nice to have the option. I know there are others with kids out there so if anyone has any thoughts, fire away.

Mike

04-22-2003, 01:41 PM	#8
Mike E Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Yorba Linda, CA, USA Posts: 35	Hi Kevin, Thanks for getting back to me. I see what you're saying about the kid's car seats and mounting the seat belts to secure the seats in a forward facing position with the back to the rear wall of the sleeper. While I love the lounge feature with its table for the kids, my 6 year old, who will be 7 in the fall, has already graduated to a booster seat and thus I need a shoulder harness-lap belt combo like in a regular car and I won't let any of my kids ride in the front seat, although that might be okay in the truck. Even if it is, I'm sure my wife will want to ride up there sometimes so I still need a solution for the back area. I am aware that most motorhomes either do not have belts at all or what they have is inadequate, with lap belt only and in seats that are not forward facing. One of the reasons this is such an issue with me is that during the past year a motorhome owner in my area lost his daughter in a crash while she was riding in the back of their motorhome (apparently unbelted). Although that can happen regardless of one's precautions, it still spurs me to do my utmost to prevent a mishap. Therefore, unless I can find a way to adapt shoulder belts adequately, I will be relegated to Kenworth's studio sleeper system which already has two shoulder harnesses on each side and a lap belt in the center (better for infant & kid's seats). This system can be seen on Kenworth's webpage in their Adobe PDF brochures for sleepers/interiors and studio sleepers and in the W900 & T800 brochures. I'm not sure how KW secures the upper & lower mounts of the shoulder-lap belt combo but if anyone has an idea of how to safely & securely adapt such a setup to other sleepers, feel free to let me know. Unfortunately, each company's sleeper has at least one feature that I like, such as Volvo's lounge, Peterbilt's full size sleeper door & eye level fridge, and so on, but no one has all these features in one system, which I suppose is the reason for custom builds. However, I need the sofa-bed with shoulder-lap belts before I can think of anything else so right now it looks like Kenworth or a custom build is the only game in town (both expensive) and this will affect which trucks I can choose from. Unfortunately, Kenworths tend to be a bit more pricey than other trucks similarly equipped and Larry has pointed out that they are virtually impossible to inexpensively convert to single axle. I may not ultimately do that but it's nice to have the option. I know there are others with kids out there so if anyone has any thoughts, fire away. Mike