May kids ride in the back of a 5th Wheel in the US?

9/19/2022 12:00:19 PM

As of 2021, these 23 states legally allow you to ride in a fifth wheel in motion: Arizona, California, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

CampingWorld also discusses it and has a list of states.

Both recommend strongly, however, that you do not allow it, for reasons such as lack of safety equipment, as well as overheating. Both also strongly suggest checking on the law in every state you travel, due to specific requirements (like two-way communications, etc).

Personally, I would not allow it, even with radios.

9/19/2022 1:03:44 AM

Like so many things in the USA, this varies state by state. In most states, no-one may be in the back – not a responsible adult, and not a child either. The concerns are that there are no seatbelts, that the trailer might flip during an accident, and that there is no way for the people in the trailer to know that you are about to swerve or brake hard – not even a panicky swear word which is all most people manage to say when an accident starts. It’s not realistic to think you would get on the walkie talkie to say "hang on!" when someone cuts you off and you have to stand on the brakes.

That said, some states allow it. Here’s a quote from the California rules that I found on on an RV Forum:

Here is what the California Vehicle Code Section 21712 says about
that:

(g) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle that is towing a
trailer coach, camp trailer, or trailer carrying a vessel, containing
a passenger, except when a trailer carrying or designed to carry a
vessel is engaged in the launching or recovery of the vessel.

…..

(i) Subdivision (g) does not apply to a trailer coach that is towed with a fifth-wheel device if the trailer coach is equipped with
safety glazing materials wherever glazing materials are used in
windows or doors, with an audible or visual signaling device that a
passenger inside the trailer coach can use to gain the attention of
the motor vehicle driver, and with at least one unobstructed exit
capable of being opened from both the interior and exterior of the
trailer coach.

That thread includes plenty of passionate arguments why being in the back is horrible, along with people saying it’s just the same as moving around in a large bus. I don’t think it is the same, because of suspension differences and because the 5th wheel can flip under circumstances that would not flip a bus, but I have never been in a moving 5th wheel and I have been in a moving all-in-one.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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