Car Seats in RVs – Where to Safely Place Them

Before even deciding if we are going on this trip, we have to find out if we can. Our son, Caleb, is only 8 months old and will be just over a year when we leave for our trip. He will need to ride in a car seat. Almost everywhere you look on the web you will find parents who believe riding in a car seat in an RV is a death trap. They say that RVs are unsafe for babies for many reasons. Here are the top 3 reasons why other parents say you should not use a car seat in an RV:

1.     Safe use for car seats requires a chassis-bolted seat belt in a forward-facing seat.

2.     RV seats are not crash tested.

3.     Any loose items can become deadly projectiles in a crash.

Basically if we love our kid and don’t want to risk his death, we should cancel our trip. I really don’t want to believe this is true. There must be same way for us to make a safe trip with a baby in an RV. 

My first step will be to break down the three problems above.

Problem 1: Car seat needs to be chassis-bolted (bolted to the frame of the car) in a forward facing seat.

We really have two problems to solve. First you need an RV with a seat in the forward facing position. Many RVs have seats that are forward facing, but what do you do if you only have seats facing the side? You can do one of two things: either place the child in the side-facing seat (not approved by car seat manufactures) or place them in the front passenger seat with the air bags turned off. This is really important. If you cannot turn the front passenger airbags off then it is much safer to place your child in the side-facing seat in the back, even if it is not chassis-bolted.

The real problem here is having the seat belts bolted to the frame of the car. Before purchasing or renting an RV, take a look at the seat belts. On the RVs where the seat belts are bolted to the frame of the car you should see the belt connected to metal usually where the seat buckle is. Even on the couch you should see the seats connected to metal. For safety reasons most newer RVs do have chassis-bolted seat belts, but it is always a good idea to check for yourself.

Problem 2: RV seats are not crash tested.

Almost all class B RVs are crash tested because they are seats in a van. If this is a big concern then you may want to check out some of the class B RVs like Roadtrek, where all the seats are crash tested for safety.

Problem 3: Flying Missiles in a Crash

Seriously? If you are in a crash, your car and anything in it may cause you damage. So will driving in a car filled with luggage and travel gear. Just make sure things are not going to fly around while driving. Most RVs have great locking mechanisms to make sure the cabinet doors do not fly open. Are you really going to let the chance of an accident where your car gets smashed to pieces stop you from going on an RV trip? I’m not. That being said, if this is really a big concern for you then you can get a class B RV. Since they are built from a van it will be less likely to be smashed to pieces in an accident.

Okay, so since we don’t have an RV yet, we are going to try to find one with the safest seating possible for our baby. So what is that? The only truly safe way to transport your child in an RV is in a rear forward-facing seat with chassis-bolted belt, in an RV where all the seats have been crash tested, and in an RV that is least likely to be ripped to shreds in an accident. In my opinion, the only safe RVs for babies are class B RVs or 5th wheels that can be towed by the family car where everyone can be buckled in safely.

Here’s a quick summary of where to put a child in a car seat in an RV in order of safety. Keep in mind the only two safe ways are the first two.

• Rear Forward-Facing Seat with Chassis-Bolted Belt
• Front Passenger Seat with Airbags Off
• Rear Forward-Facing Seat with Lap Belt
• Rear Side-Facing Seat with Chassis-Bolted Belt 
• Rear Side-Facing Seat with Lap Belt