Seat belts installed incorrectly..... Safety Hazard

[russm311]

Inspected a broken male end to a seat belt in my 2013 Newmar and found that the manufacturer had installed the male end of the seat belt backwards....  leaving only two small crimped brackets to hold the belt, instead of the "safety bar" that is supposed to hold the belt.

In the pictures, the left one is the incorrect build......   with the "safety bar" only being held by the two small tabs as seen in the picture on the right.     The middle picture is installed correctly....   with the "safety bar" holding the seat belt properly.

I checked the other seat belts in my RV and they are all wrong.....  

I will be contacting Newmar as soon as they come back to work on Tuesday

Check your seat belts....   these were assemblies that were installed during initial build.

 

 

[bm02tj]

Good catch you will save someone life 

[dickandlois]

Russ, Welcome to the FMCA Forum !!!

Your second post was a good Catch. Have a feeling that you might be new to the forum, but have been around coach's or something that uses set belts.  

We tend to take items for granted and new owners tend to be overwhelmed. 

Rich.

[manholt]

Welcome and thanks!  Please keep us posted on Newmar follow up!

 

[ispjs]

Interesting find.  Since your pics are stacked one on top of the other, which one is the left and which one is the right?

[russm311]

Sorry about that.. in the preview, the pics were side by side....

The top pic is incorrect....   the middle pic is correct...

BTW.... don't be fooled because the "safety bar" is behind the seat belt loop..... the key is which side of the seat belt that the safety bar is on...  front or back....  if on the back, the only thing holding it together are the 2 small tabs you see in the bottom picture.

I will post Newmar's reply on Tueday.

 

[ispjs]

Okay, thanks.  I looked at mine and I "think" they are installed correctly.  Still interested in what Newmar has to say.

[elkhartjim]

Thanks for the post. Just verified mine are correct.

[russm311]

Just as a follow up.....   spoke with Newmar this morning....   the rep I spoke with seemed to be concerned, and I sent them the pictures.   Have not heard back from them at this time.

I have to think that this is more than a potential problem for several manufacturers....  the seat belt looks like the same one I have seen in many different brands of RV's....  and is probably a generic assembly that is supplied to many.  Typical attachment on the floor and wall just above shoulder height next to the captain chairs.    My RV is a 2013 Newmar Canyon Star, so I would tend to think owners of coaches in the 2012 - 2014 year ranges might be involved, but it won't hurt for everyone to take a close look.