Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Monday, September 10, 2012

Motorhome issues with toddlers




Once Isaac Passed us by with no damage, we reverted to our plan to visit our grandson over the labor day weekend.  Since it was a long weekend, our daughter Heather and granddaughter Victoria wanted to go along.  The original plan was to leave on Friday AM, but due to Isaac, Heather could not find a substitute teacher for Friday. So we departed late afternoon for the journey to our grandson's home.

We never carried any passengers with us in the 39' diesel motorhome over five years on the road, so this was going to be a new experience.  We first became aware of some of the issues in carrying children who are required to be in these modern car seats that resemble a space shuttle seat at a rally in AL with our new small motorhome.  The dealer sponsoring the rally asked us to talk to a potential buyer about how great it would be to travel with small children in a motorhome.   They were looking at a larger class C than our little 24'.  So before we talked to them, we asked ourselves if we could carry any kids in ours.  We discovered that there is only one seat in the dinette approved for a child seat and in order to use that the table had to be in the down position.  In our little motorhome that meant a parent could not go along or have to sit on the other side of the dinette with their legs straight. Then we checked the model they were interested in and found it was exactly the same.  So we declined to encourage them since they had three small children and could not legally carry them in the motorhome.  Then I looked at the arrangement of our old motorhome that was much larger with more seats , but found essentially the same problem.

 Before this trip we reviewed our limited options and our daughter decided she could sit in the dinette with her feet up for the 400 mile journey each way.  Better her than me! After an overnight stop in Montgomery, we arrived at our destination early Saturday.



We had great visit and the two grandchildren had a chance to look each other over.  Aleister has a small collection of electric driven vehicles and Victoria had her first ride in one of these.  I think she enjoyed it but Aleister had the pedal to the metal and it may have been a little intimating for her.





The trip home was uneventful and the new motorhome continues to impress us.  We have already done a number of things with this little one that we never did with the bigger one. 

Back home our week has been spent working on getting the house in more order and deciding which paintings and pictures go where.  We also have spent a few days looking after Victoria, while her regular baby sitter deals with some family issues.  We are glad that we did not toss everything out when we went full time. Now Victoria can play with a small wooden store set that was made by her Great Grandfather more than sixty years ago in the far away land of the Netherlands.







Yesterday we sat out on the back porch and enjoyed the cooler weather that has shifted south at least for a few days.  I can see that  we will be spending a lot of time here in the coming months.


The end.

 

14 comments:

Paul and Marti Dahl said...

Traveling with little ones is a big challenge. You'd think that MH manufacturers would include better ways to attach car seats, after all, they tout RVing as family friendly.

Great pix of your grandkids, Victoria certainly is growing into a beautiful young lady. Hope her dad has a shotgun, he's going to need it in just a few years to keep all the boys away! ;c)

Great "The End" picture, it was a two-fer!

Travels with Emma said...

It amazes me that all the seats in my rig (other than the front two) have seat belts, but also have signs that say this seat is not intended for occupancy when vehicle is in motion.

What in the world are the seat belts for? To make sure you don't jump up during dinner??

Luci & Loree said...

Love that cute little baby buggy!! Your back porch does look like the perfect place to relax and take in the nicer weather!!

Karen and Al said...

That's something I've never thought about since we don't have grand kids. Glad you worked it out.

Mike and Terri said...

Enjoy your cooler temps!

where's weaver said...

I think you made the correct decision not taking the kids. With them not secure and with the added noise, it may not have made a pleasant drive.
So glad the MH worked well for you two.
Victoria is still a little doll. I just love to watch kids play by their self. They have such great imaginations.

Gail Houle said...

You made the right decision not encouraging that family. Manufacturers need to be more safety minded going forward.

Sue and Doug said...

great end shot!!..love it..that Victoria is growing up so quickly!!

Donna K said...

That wooden store set looks like a real treasure. Glad you saved it. Looks like Victoria was enjoying it. I noticed the same thing in our motorhome as what Judy says. All the seats are belted and they say don't ride in them. We do, and our grandkids do but they are teenagers.

Bob said...

I think that, "not intended for occupancy while in motion" is just someone who got carried away with applying those safety stickers. If there's seat belt, then it's meant to be sat in.
I swear RV manufacturers haven't a clue sometimes when it comes to practicality. I'm always looking to see how many seat belt are in an RV.
Loved the little "klompen" in that set. Cute.

Rick said...

I guess I never really thought about babies traveling in MH's but it's a great point - thanks for bringing it up.

Great pics of your beautiful grandchildren.

Gypsy said...

Back in the 1970's we visited my brother & s-i-l in Kansas City, and over a weekend took a trip to Ft. Riley & other sights in his Class C. We had 3 kids then and no one was bound & trussed and strapped in. There were no seat belts in those days, and in retrospect while it may not have been as safe, it was probably a lot more comfortable.

Elaine said...

hummm I also like Bob thought if there were seat belts it was meant to be sat in..our sofa in the tropical class A diesel has seatbelts on the sofa and thats where i fasten the kiddos seats...

Sherry said...

That little Victoria is just darling. I love seeing her play with that great wooden play set. I agree that some things just have to be kept.

I'm with Paul and shocked that motor home manufacturers don't have an easy set up for at least a couple of little ones in seat belts.