Adding Seatbelts

[hotrod 32]

My 2000 35U Adventurer does not have belts at the dinette. The newer models now have them.The cushions are slotted for seatbelts. Will a dealer add these for me or does it impose some liability issue? I was tempted to do it myself but the dinette is part of the slideout I would just rather have it done professionally.

[hotrod 32]

My 2000 35U Adventurer does not have belts at the dinette. The newer models now have them.The cushions are slotted for seatbelts. Will a dealer add these for me or does it impose some liability issue? I was tempted to do it myself but the dinette is part of the slideout I would just rather have it done professionally.

[troth]

That's a tricky issue... Certainly your motives to install belts are sincere, and the liability issue does enter into play. Based on that, I would think that the only way to resolve this is to see if Winnie would do the work or offer a retrofit kit. Either way, I'd call Foest City first and go from there.
If you think about it, should there be a serious accident/injury, your insurance would certainly want to look at the coach & belt installation before resolving a claim.

[BigRedLancer]

IMHO, I would not add a seat belt that was not installed at the factory. The added belt would give me a false sense of safety. I frankly don't trust the dinette seat belts anyway. There is no head rest to catch your upper body with the recoil of an impact. A lot of bodily injury is the result of motion after the initial impact.

Again, this is just my opinion.

[Cruzer]

I had installed them on my Suncruiser 33V. No dealer will want to do this because of liability. Federal standards require Winnebago to test them to 500 lbs pullout so you won't get this done at the factory either. But, I wasn't concerned about liability, just common sense. Normally nobody sat at the dinette anyway but for those rare occaisions when someone did, I didn't want them ricochetting around the coach. I wasn't so much concerned about an accident (wher you'd smack your face on the table anyway) as I was a panic stop or sudden maneuver that could cause someone to become unseated. So, I put them in myself. Then when it came time to trade it in, I removed them for those same liability reasons.

The flip up dinette meant that I had to weld up an angle iron framework to distribute the stress across a greater area of the sides of the bench, which still allowing me access to the storage area. I could not mount them to the floor because the base of the slideout is smooth aluminum skin. If any bolt were to protrude it would tear up the slide-out sealing gasket so that method was out. The frame worked out well and the belts were strong enough to contain it's occupant during a Crazy Ivan maneuver.

On my present coach I don't do that. For one thing, we have chairs now instead of a booth but we also have a J lounge in addittion to the couch so there's plenty of room. We now have seatbelted positions for 7 as OEM equipment.

[The Shadow]

Mark is right on about the liability. We came close to buying a Travel Supreme but it only had 2 belts - pilot and copilot - and we MUST have three. The salesman said I could have them installed at many garages - but they couldn't do them. My #2 son just happens to be an MEng who just happens to work in Detroit and this is in his area given that he is involved with things crash testing components.

It turned out that no one would put these in for the reason Mark points out - liability.

I'm surprised Mark about your comment on the factory. If belts in a certain location (for us it was the sofa bed) are an option, I think they would have done the testing and would not have a liability concern since they could have been factory ordered for that location.

[Cruzer]

But Winnebago doesn't put belts on the dinette benches, therefore they aren't tested and certified so they won't put them in on a special request. I'm assuming this costs money and for a one-off request it isn't worth it. Belts on a sofa bed are another matter because it's a standard option. We did have belts on our Rest Easy couch in the Suncruiser.

[The Shadow]

Hmmm. That is interesting. The brochure for our 39W shows belts for the booth facing the front - but they aren't there.

They may have added them in 2005. I "think" we saw them on some units at LazyDays in April.


Have a look at the floorplans.
Floorplans

[BigRedLancer]

My 2005 Sightseer has two seat belts on the couch and three at the dinette. Two face forward on one faces back. There is also a sticker behind the couch on the wall that states, "This seat is not intended for occupancy while vehicle is in motion." I guess the rear facing belt at the dinette is for a child safety seat.

[tderonne]

Yup, dinette belts were new for 2005. At least in Adventurers. They use carriage bolts throught the slide floor. There might be different structure though, cant tell of course. (Assumably the carriage bolts go directly through some structure.) Mark, are you sure they said 500 pounds? Might as well tie your shoelaces to them if that's the case. Car seat belts anchor points must withstand 5000 pounds. Maybe someone missed a zero?

(I thought about adding them, not for full grown adults, but for a carseat. They wouldn't have to be as strong for a 25 pound loaded carseat as a 250 pound adult.)

[JanBCarter]

Must admit I'm a little disappointed in this seat belt issue inasmuch as I relied on Winny's floor plans as a guide and bought my used Journey DL in small part because it showed seat belts standard for the dinette which would allow our grandkids to safely amuse themselves coloring and such while on the road. Not the end of the world, but.... Glad I found these Winny forums... what a great help. Thanks to all, particularly the hard working folks who keep them up.

["007"]

Jan, Welcome to the forum
You do not have to feel confined to just the Winney forum on irv2, everyone roams around to give advice on any subject. Thats why its a friendly site, yup just family. "007"