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Old 02-21-2015, 07:59 AM   #1
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Child seat (LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)

I'm looking to buy my first Airstream Interstate. I know RVs are not required to have LATCH installed but does anyone know if airstream has LATCH or if you can install the system aftermarket. My wife is very firm on this system being installed for a baby due in April and our three year old.
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Old 02-21-2015, 08:19 AM   #2
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Not sure about the 15s but my 2013 does not have the latch system.. Not sure if there is an aftermarket system that can be installed if there is I would like to get it...

We have a 19 month old and it's not that hard installing his car seat without it but it would be soooo much easier having it..
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Old 02-21-2015, 08:35 AM   #3
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I truly believe that the latch system must be installed by the manufacturer. Please note that you will be able to use Child Safety Seats in any vehicle equipped with a seat belt system. If you or your wife are concerned with the proper installation of a child safety seat, please contact SafeKids.org and there you will find schedules for when and where you would be able to take your vehicle to a Safety Seat Check-Up. These are trained individuals who have gone thru a 40 hour+ class and hands on demos to correctly install safety seats. No worries, they can take you thru the entire process of making the child restraint system safe for your precious cargo.
(PS - I know because I have gone thru the training and I was a certified installer.)

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Old 02-21-2015, 08:51 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sterlin761 View Post
I'm looking to buy my first Airstream Interstate. I know RVs are not required to have LATCH installed but does anyone know if airstream has LATCH or if you can install the system aftermarket. My wife is very firm on this system being installed for a baby due in April and our three year old.
Airstream Interstates definitely don't have them as OEM. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 covers requirements for child safety restraints (the removable parts). FMVSS 225 covers the design of child safety restraint anchoring systems (the part built into the vehicle seat). And just for the sake of completeness, FMVSS 208 covers seat belts in general.

According to FMVSS 225, the requirements for child restraint systems only apply to vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. Even the original Sprinter 3500 van, before the Airstream conversion, would not be required to have LATCH-equipped seats, though Sprinter 2500 passenger vans would be so required.

You will not be able to legally modify the Airstream Interstate's seats to incorporate LATCH hardware. You are not a vehicle manufacturer or upfitter and there are no FMVSS-compliant aftermarket do-it-yourself kits. At least none that I'm aware of. And if you did install one yourself, it would not necessarily be FMVSS-compliant because you would not have performed the necessary laboratory testing of its strength.

There are some manufacturers of child safety seats that make FMVSS-compliant seats that don't use the LATCH system yet still meet all of the same safety requirements. These are made specifically for use on airplanes and school buses and work with regular seat belts, and can be used in an Airstream Interstate without modification to either the van's seat or the child seat. Only buy one manufactured after September 1st, 2007 that has the "FMVSS 213" label. I can't give you a source, though. I'm familiar with the FMVSS, but I've never had kids and so never bought a child restraint system.
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Old 02-21-2015, 09:38 AM   #5
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Thanks for your help.
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Old 05-07-2015, 08:08 PM   #6
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I was just looking at the 2016 Interstate Owners manual now available on Airstreams web site. They now have the child seat LATCH system on the seats. See attached pages from the new manual.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf 2016-Airstream-Interstate LATCH.pdf (195.9 KB, 315 views)
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Old 05-08-2015, 08:55 PM   #7
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Since you only have 2 kids, the seats will be fine secured with the shoulder harness belts in the 2nd row of seats. The rear seats are the ones not as safe for kids since they only have lap belts. I have 4 kids, so for the rear, I bought car seats that hold kids in shoulder harnesses for up to something like 80lbs (that's the max). I strapped the car seats in with the lap belts. The buckle would end up in the middle of the car seat...right in the kid's back, so I bought seatbelt tighteners to relocate where the belts buckle. (http://www.amazon.com/Diono-Mighty-T...t+belt+ratchet) Hope this makes sense and helps. I don't have my AI anymore, so I can't take pictures for you.
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Old 05-16-2015, 10:08 PM   #8
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Latch

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxster1971 View Post
I was just looking at the 2016 Interstate Owners manual now available on Airstreams web site. They now have the child seat LATCH system on the seats. See attached pages from the new manual.
Thanks for the info. I can start looking at the new air streams and please the family.
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Old 07-23-2015, 05:58 PM   #9
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The 2016 Interstate Lounge has LATCH but the Interstate Grand Tour does not!
My wife tried to have this installed on our Grand Tour but they have not crash tested this vehicle therefore will not install it. Any ideas on how to have a safe seat for a toddler in the Grand Tour Airstream?
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Old 07-23-2015, 07:16 PM   #10
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The 2016 Interstate Lounge has LATCH but the Interstate Grand Tour does not!
My wife tried to have this installed on our Grand Tour but they have not crash tested this vehicle therefore will not install it. Any ideas on how to have a safe seat for a toddler in the Grand Tour Airstream?
Purchase an airline child seat. Airline child seats attach by means of seat belts only, no LATCH. If it's safe enough for an airliner that would crash at 250mph or more, it ought to be good enough for a van that might crash at 70mph.
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Old 07-23-2015, 08:10 PM   #11
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Don't regular child seats have a seat belt mounting option or are they all LATCH only now?
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:38 PM   #12
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Thanks Pro..... If my daughter can be assured, I will add a 1/4 inch eye bolt through the existing hole in the frame of the lounge seat where it is bolted to the floor with 1/4" stock. This will be the teather attachment over the back of the seat and down to the floor frame and the eye bolt. The std lap only belts will go through the child seat base. So, one grandchild on each end of the lounge and an adult in the middle (why no headrest for the middle?) The pre existing holes in the seat frame may handle a 3/8 inch bolt. Is that overkill (npi)?

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Old 02-02-2016, 10:48 PM   #13
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I am getting ready to transport precious grandchildren in my 2016 Interstate GTX (Grand Tour extended). If you buy an Interstate model that has one or two second row captain seats behind the driver, according to the owners manuals, those second row seats will be equipped to meet the LATCH requirements. For any other rear lounge seating, there are no attachment points std, but I am attempting to do a workup that will pass muster at the local fire station at least. You will have easy/complete access to the back of the rear lounge if you have such floor plan.

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