2004/5 forest river lexington 210

[Tom914-6]

Hello everyone. I was on here before but it was a while ago and lost my information. I just purchased the 210. Has anyone come up with a better seat belt system for passengers? Not sure if sitting sideways is safe in a crash but a thread on here about the slack in the belt at table is a bit concerning?

[bikendan]

Moved thread from the Dollars and Cents sub-forum to the Lexington sub-forum since the OP's questions are specific to a Lexington model and not about Dollars and Cents.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Tom914-6

Hello everyone. I was on here before but it was a while ago and lost my information. I just purchased the 210. Has anyone come up with a better seat belt system for passengers? Not sure if sitting sideways is safe in a crash but a thread on here about the slack in the belt at table is a bit concerning?

What was your member name when you were here before?

[Tom914-6]

I can't remember the computer that had my info crashed. I purchased a 24 foot Salem Lite 2019 I believe? I got help with the slide out I remember. This was a deal I couldn't pass up. I am retired and a new truck is out of the question and a used truck at these prices is ridiculous. 90 percent of the time it is just the wife and myself but occasionally I do want to take my grandchildren. We do not want to stay in a motel and we do want to camp. I want my grandkids safe if worse comes to worse we will take two vehicles. I have looked at a few options. We have a welder and access to good metal so fabricating is not out of the question. We restore old Porches so safety is always number one concern.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Tom914-6

. 90 percent of the time it is just the wife and myself but occasionally I do want to take my grandchildren. We do not want to stay in a motel and we do want to camp. I want my grandkids safe if worse comes to worse we will take two vehicles. I have looked at a few options. We have a welder and access to good metal so fabricating is not out of the question. We restore old Porches so safety is always number one concern.

How many grandchildren? How many seatbelts do you need in addition to the ones in the rig?
The first thing you probably should try is to tighten up that dinette seatbelt. They are usually bolted to something attached to the frame. If you remove the cushions and the plywood, you can see what's available to tighten or attach another seatbelt.

They sell aftermarket seatbelts with mounting kits and strong bolts.
Our rig has seatbelts on the couch which faces sideways and there are holes in the plate under the couch to attach another seatbelt. Not sure if I'd be comfortable putting grandchildren there.

Welcome back to the forum!

[Tom914-6]

Two grandchildren. Yes I looked at the seatbelt situation on the bench seat for the table. There is a very heavy frame under the seat that attaches to the Van frame. If they would have extended that frame that is under the bench seat back to the wall it would be as solid as the front cab. Nothing stopping them from doing it they just didn't. We are thinking of extending the frame back to the wall, we have the welder and can get strong metal. Then your seatbelt comes straight up from the frame not a length of slack. You could then come straight up with heavy metal and put shoulder harnesses on. The other option is to find bench seats that have a shoulder harness and attach that directly to the extended frame and remove the bench completely. It only needs to be two seats. I agree sitting sideways is dangerous from any angle of accident. We still have our pull behind and are paying it off so when the right truck comes along we will grab it. We could sell the 04/05 any time for what we paid.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Either option sounds good for securing those precious grandchildren in your rig. We have friends that prefer traveling with the children in the rig rather than in a truck with a tt. Bathroom stops are easier when it's in the rig. They turn the television on when the kids are really bored.

Please let us know what option you pick and how it works out.

[Tom914-6]

Ford econo vans have two seat benches with shoulder straps. Slightly narrower than the bench seat by about 3 inches. We can add the metal to safely attach these seats and make them 1000 times safer than what forrest river has. Their bracket for the seat belts are attached directly to the frame from what I can see. The fact they didn't run the solid framing to the back of the bench seat is bewildering to say the least. In a hard accident something has to give and it wouldn't be the frame of the camper. It would be the body of the passenger. I am in contact now to see how much the cost is for shipping. The seats themselves are relative inexpensive. So which would be safer a Toyota Highlander with the children in it or a heavy frame 2004/5 Lexington? My money is on the Lexington because any car or pickup hitting it is going to hit a very solid frame.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by Tom914-6

Ford econo vans have two seat benches with shoulder straps. Slightly narrower than the bench seat by about 3 inches. We can add the metal to safely attach these seats and make them 1000 times safer than what forrest river has. Their bracket for the seat belts are attached directly to the frame from what I can see. The fact they didn't run the solid framing to the back of the bench seat is bewildering to say the least. In a hard accident something has to give and it wouldn't be the frame of the camper. It would be the body of the passenger. I am in contact now to see how much the cost is for shipping. The seats themselves are relative inexpensive. So which would be safer a Toyota Highlander with the children in it or a heavy frame 2004/5 Lexington? My money is on the Lexington because any car or pickup hitting it is going to hit a very solid frame.

The frame may be bigger or heavier, but have you seen photos of any RV in a serious collision with another object or rollover? The upper part of the “house” disintegrates as its only light weight material……mostly thin wood, fibreglass, and a multitude of other materials that will become missiles. There’s no “people cage” in RVs like REAL vehicles.

Check this photo of a diesel pusher and the Jeep it was towing. I would’ve chosen the Jeep for survivability.

[Tom914-6]

By the looks of that accident it looks like the RV took the brunt of the collusion? I agree in the event of a roll over a solid SUV is much safer. This is the only long distance trip we are looking at with the grand kids and it would only be a tank of gas there and then a tank back to make the trip.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by Tom914-6

By the looks of that accident it looks like the RV took the brunt of the collusion? I agree in the event of a roll over a solid SUV is much safer. This is the only long distance trip we are looking at with the grand kids and it would only be a tank of gas there and then a tank back to make the trip.

If this truly is the only long distance trip (one tank of gas each direction) then like you mentioned in post #4, take two vehicles for the safety of the grandkids and enjoy the adventure.

[Tom914-6]

I agree.