Seat Belt Question

[TallPaul]

I am installing seat belts on the dinette benches in my motorhome for the kids. There is one on the forward facing seat, but it is spaced wide enough for a 300 pound man. Also the mounting method prevents removing the seat tops. I want to put two belts, one on each bench. The benches are framed in square cross section welded aluminum tubing (about 1") and have internal cross braces that are pretty substantial. Easiest seat belt installation is to mount the two halves of a belt on the cross brace, one on either side. This will result in the belts essentially coming out at the same point (about 2" spacing at mount). Would this be a problem in a severe deceleration event (i.e., crash)? Could it cause a crushing force from the sides that may result in an injury vs having the belts mounted about 16 inches spacing?

I can pad the sides of the brace with wood to get closer to 5-6 inches spacing and run a longer bolt if that is worth the bother.

Kids already tested this setup by belting into the back of the pickup using parts of two different belts that share the same mount. They said it feels fine.

 

[Al]

Well I don't know how large your kids are or whatever. I personally wouldn't have my kids riding in a setup that was not specifically tested/approved for a kid or an adult (depending on the size). I'm super fanatical and that's just me.

 

[Tosh]

If the kids feel fine, it's probably alright for up to a 5 mph accident. I would have made them a bubble wrap suit before I added seat belts.

 

[TallPaul]

Quote:

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If the kids feel fine, it's probably alright for up to a 5 mph accident. I would have made them a bubble wrap suit before I added seat belts.

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You're obviously kidding about the 5 mph. Surely the difference between normal spacing and what I am talking about is not going to matter at well above 5 mph. Actually the bubble suit is not a bad idea, especially when you consider that the forward facing kid would flop forward and get a head banger on the dinette table. So, you see, the seat belt mounting width seems to be a small issue relative to other things. Sure I could ban them riding in the dinette, but on occasion it is handy. As a rule, they ride on the couch which does have normal seatbelt spacing, but is mounted sideways. That may be good if they get thrown sideways into the back of the passenger seat, rather than forward as they only have lap belts.

And to think when I was a kid nobody wore seat belts.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Any seat belt is better than none. My wife freaks over our motorhome not having seatbelts behind the driver compartment. You can get hit from a variety of points of impact. So your idea is fine. A shoulder belt helps in the neck area injuries. A lap belt just helps them from flying around or out a window.

 

[TallPaul]

Good point. And in a Class C motorhome, I suspect that in a severe accident, say a rollover, all but the cab is going to be trashed. Then what good are the seat belts? What I propose is sturdier than what was in there from the factory.

 

[The_Jeff]

You should put them in if for no other reason than consistency of all wheeled vehicles require belt use.

Of course if they ride a school bus without 'em, that blows it out the window.

You may find something else-- like a parachute or scaffold harness-- that similarly restrains the waist belt portion from one single rearward point.