Motorhome travel with small children

[Jimsig]

Also- Fire departments are NOT the place to learn how to install carseats. You are better off with a site like Carseats For the Littles .org and finding an actual certified carseat tech. Fire departments are safe places for baby moses drop offs, but they do not have training on carseat installation.

Actually a lot of fire and even police stations are the place to go. They will inspect and help to make sake sure it is installed correctly, sometimes they will even install it. They have someone who was trained in it so sometimes you have to make an appointment when that fireman or officer is on duty. In my town it's the police who do it and the next town over it's the fire department. Some states have other places that will inspect/help it like AAA or even hospitals. From the link below you can find your state and then a list of places.

https://www.safercar.gov/cpsApp/cps/index.htm

 

[rideswithchrist]

Actually a lot of fire and even police stations are the place to go. They will inspect and help to make sake sure it is installed correctly, sometimes they will even install it. They have someone who was trained in it so sometimes you have to make an appointment when that fireman or officer is on duty. In my town it's the police who do it and the next town over it's the fire department. Some states have other places that will inspect/help it like AAA or even hospitals. From the link below you can find your state and then a list of places.

https://www.safercar.gov/cpsApp/cps/index.htm

This is true, I should have clarified- but it is not usually
the firemen or police that are the ones doing the fitting, it is a carseat tech that is using the local emergency service locations
Some people have been wrongfully told to take their car to the local fire department and have the firemen or police check for correct installation, only to be turned away because "we don't do that here".


I would not just trust anyone to "inspect" installation of car seats, certified tech are up to date with not only current seats and "laws" but also overall safety.
(ie, in Florida, my 5 year old does not "need" a car seat legally- even though research shows kids should be in a booster well past 5/up to 52".)
I still do my own research on safety because it really seems the laws are about as basic as it gets and not so much about safety.

 

[rideswithchrist]

Yes to both. The kids were simply too close and prone to irritate each other. And getting them in and out was definitely uncomfortable...

When we went last time, we had to swap carseats too for our rental car- the kids were 3 in a row driving from TX to FL. We planned lots of activities to keep them occupied, every 2 hrs there I had something hand them (snack, activity, etc) and we stopped in each state to get out a bit. It was close but they did ok. It is DISNEY afterall. I would not want to do it again, but if we had to, it would not be a big deal.

 

[Judique]

I am open to the option of putting one in the front seat, but I have to find out the details on the best way to do that.

You would have to be able to turn off the air bags to use the front seat safely, if your vehicle is air bag equipped.

To the poster that mentioned school buses: regular school buses are safer because of compartmentalized seating. Your child is more than 30 times safer in a school bus than in your personal car.

I also ran into the fire department issue when trying to install a seat for my grand daughter. Never did find an expert tech.

 

[WDWNerd]

We just bought an RV. Our manual says that car seats should be buckeled in facing forward or backwards, not in the seats facing sideways.
Hope this helps!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

We just bought an RV. Our manual says that car seats should be buckeled in facing forward or backwards, not in the seats facing sideways.
Hope this helps!

I'll have to do the same!