muston Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Has anybody out there fitted seat belts extra in back of avantgarde 140 ? we would like to buy motorhome like the layout, but have 2 grandchildren to accomodate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Assuming this Avantgarde is of an age when seat belts were not required for travel seats, I think the best advice would be to avoid this vehicle and seek a similar layout (few are unique) in a van with fitted seat belts as standard. Simply stated, if you want to fit belts for safety reasons, as I assume you do, you will find it very expensive, time consuming, and technically difficult, to retro-fit belts that would give reliable performance should the situation arise. The exception would be if belts were originally fitted, and a previous owner had removed them, leaving the attachment points in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I echo Brian's advice. Forget thinking about adding seat-belts to a rear U-lounge (which is what a Compass Avantgarde 140 has) - even if it were technically feasible, the belted passengers would have minimal protection in the event of a rear-end accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Unsure of your exact model but do not even think about using seatbelts on side facing seats. Even if they are still allowed (I don't think they are), they are recognised as causing serious internal injuries in the event of a crash. Apart from your organs being messed about, the hips are also likely to be smashed. Seatbelts should be on a metal frame fastened to the steel chassis and it is this that causes the difficulty and high cost of retro fitting seatbelts. If they are on the backwall of the motorhome, bear in mind there is no crumple zone and so the rear occupants will take the full force of any rear impact. I'm pleased that you are taking child safety seriously. Try and find a layout you like with three factory fitted forward facing passenger seats. Then test the children to ensure they fit. Most motorhome passenger seats are designed for the average 75kg adult. Some owners find it difficult to fit child safety seats for the very young to the adult belts in motorhomes because of the shape of the motorhome seat cushions and narrow motorhome seats whilst others find their children easily slip out of the adult seatbelts. You will have to comply with the regulations governing the use of child car seats that came into force on 18 September 2006 and apply to car drivers as well. Persevere though and you will find a suitable model that provides for reasonably safe transit of all the occupants. Many motorhomers safely take their children or grandchildren away with them. Your grandchildren will love the experience. Good hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Only have a MH with forward facing belted seats, for the safty of your granchildren. I thought that retro- fitting of seat belts was not allowed?Maybe to do with the age of the van? We have a dinnette with two fitted seat belts , bought this layout, to accomadated the family, when used by son's and grandchildren. Best of luck with your search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Hi Muston and welcome to the mad house. :-D I believe this is the model you are looking at: http://www.becksmotorhomes.com/vehicle/2007-compass-avantgarde-140 The simple answer is no, you can't fit seatbelts in the rear of this. Seatbelts need to be fixed to a substantial cage structure under the seat base which also extends up the rear for the upper mount of the seatbelts to attach to. This all then has to be securely attached to the vehicle's base chassis. As the rear seats in the Avantgarde are well back from the main chassis, on the overhang, I can't see how any 'cage' can be securely attached, never mind the questions regarding safety in the event of a rear-end shunt. The only thing you could do would be to change for a different layout which already has to purpose built rear travel seats included. Also, be aware that any child sitting on an inner rear seat in a child seat could potentially be thrown sideways and tip off the side of the seat so you need to think about this for your grandchildren too, motorhome rear seats are not like rear car seats as they don't have the car 'sides' to help keep them in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 As far as I'm aware retro-fitting seat-belts to vehicles is not currently illegal, but the safety (and legal) implications of doing it badly should be self-evident. There have been two recent-ish MMM articles about this - July 2008 (pages 182-183) and July 2009 (pages 193-196). The former is an editorial covering the rear seat-belt issue generally and the latter describes retro-fitting extra belts to a Rimor 677 6-berth motorhome. The July 2009 article is particularly interesting as it reveals that, although the add-on custom-made belt system for the Rimor's rear-facing dinette seats worked well, the original belt system for the forward-facing dinette seats was much less satisfactory when it came to attaching a pair of child safety-seats. So, even if a motorhome is equipped as standard with safety-belted seats in its living area, it will be important to check the functionality of those seats if you plan to carry small children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosbotham Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 As others have said, it can't be done safely/economically. The makers know this, which is why the model has now been made low-profile/2-berth (unfortunate as most users only ever have 2 people on board and use the overcab as a dumping ground). However, if you're buying new there's now the 145, which addresses the issue via adding a half-dinette, albeit at the expense of making the lounge slightly smaller. See http://www.elddis.co.uk/motorhomes/981/autoquest_145.html. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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