9 people in a “Large RV that sleeps 7”?

[pdmlynek]

This is a great forum, and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me with my newbie questions several years ago. We liked RV’ing much more than we originally thought, and may eventually buy one once we retire. Another newbie question.

Are there any issues with having 9 passengers (including the driver) in a “large RV that sleeps 9”?

We would like to rent a large, 30-foot Class C unit from a large US recreational vehicle rental place to visit the New England and the Maritime provinces this summer. There will be 9 of us, namely, four 50-yr olds and five teenagers.

The rental place advertises their large units as having a “maximum capacity of 7”. We rented this unit the last time, and I think that there may be enough seat belts for 9. We know that it will be a bit cramped, but one or two of us will sleep in a tent anyway (due to snoring).

Is there any practical, legal, or contractual reason why we should not rent it, and use it with 9 people?

Thank you for any guidance.

[dexters]

Originally Posted by pdmlynek

The rental place advertises their large units as having a “maximum capacity of 7”. We rented this unit the last time, and I think that there may be enough seat belts for 9. We know that it will be a bit cramped, but one or two of us will sleep in a tent anyway (due to snoring).

Is there any practical, legal, or contractual reason why we should not rent it, and use it with 9 people?

Thank you for any guidance.

When you asked the rental place ... what did they say?

[Old-Biscuit]

Inquire with Rental company if they have restrictions on number of people....it's their rig and their rules so there may be a contractual clause

Are you going to have a second vehicle OR rely on that Class C for ALL excursions/shopping/sight seeing???

[GoneToTheDog]

In a 30ft Class C....with 9 people....and all of the things each person will bring on board....I imagine it would have to be near or over the carrying capacity.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Just because you 'can' doesn't always mean you 'should'.

The rental company will most likely be interested in the safety and liability aspect of what you propose.

Another thing that may need more investigation is where you will 'camp' on this trip. Boondocking with 9 people would not be fun. I'm doubtful that very many campground/RV parks would welcome you either.

You may be better off with TWO RVs.

[W5CI]

Most RV's are built for two people, you put nine in a 30 footer and they cant turn around much less sleep. so because the dealer says it will sleep seven, maybe if 5 are small children

[Sandy Swede]

Originally Posted by GoneToTheDog

In a 30ft Class C....with 9 people....and all of the things each person will bring on board....I imagine it would have to be near or over the carrying capacity.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Just because you 'can' doesn't always mean you 'should'.

The rental company will most likely be interested in the safety and liability aspect of what you propose.

Another thing that may need more investigation is where you will 'camp' on this trip. Boondocking with 9 people would not be fun. I'm doubtful that very many campground/RV parks would welcome you either.

You may be better off with TWO RVs.

x2 I think GoneToTheDog covered it.

But if you do it . . .

[Glenn and Kathy]

There's no way a 30 ft class C would be considered a large RV. I would not be interested in being in a RV that size with eight other people, I don't care how well they all get along. I agree with GoneToTheDogs go with 2 RVs.

Glenn

[Mudfrog]

Originally Posted by GoneToTheDog

In a 30ft Class C....with 9 people....and all of the things each person will bring on board....I imagine it would have to be near or over the carrying capacity.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Just because you 'can' doesn't always mean you 'should'.

The rental company will most likely be interested in the safety and liability aspect of what you propose.

Another thing that may need more investigation is where you will 'camp' on this trip. Boondocking with 9 people would not be fun. I'm doubtful that very many campground/RV parks would welcome you either.

You may be better off with TWO RVs.

I would bet money that a 30 foot class c would be overloaded with 9 people and their supplies. I'm fairly certain there would not be enough seating (seatbelts) for travel anyways.

Another vehicle to carry passengers is in order, following or leading the way. Matter of fact, having it along would certainly be handy at times. As far as sleeping, could be done in a 7 sleeper motorhome but it would be tight.

[MRUSA14]

Even if it were safe, which it's not, I seriously doubt anyone would enjoy that for more than a day. You would wind up hating each other.

[Old Crows]

I can't help but comment..... 9 up in a 30' RV??? It may 'sleep' 9.... but seats far less maybe 4 or at best 5. I doubt that you are going to find 9 belted positions in anything but a bus or passenger van.

There's weight to consider. Using the OCCC numbers where 1 warm body equalls 145 lbs, you have 1386lbs of warm flesh. That's as much as the OCCC (Occupant & Cargo Carrying Capacity on my View Profile..... about 41lbs over actually.... Where you going to put all the baggage, clothes, fluids, beer and crisps????

Not to be snarky... well, OK, snarky it is..... This is not your best plan. The only way I'd do something like this is if it were the Zombie Apocalypse and the dudes were close in..... like a block away.

Reminds me very much of the fate of then Lieutenant (later Captain) William Bligh and the 'loyalist' crewmen who were set adrift in the Pacific after the Mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Nineteen men in a 23' Jolly Boat... 4K + miles over open water in 47 days. There's a lesson here....

From Bligh's Wiki page....

The mutineers provided Bligh and eighteen loyal crewmen a 23-foot (7 m) launch (so heavily loaded that the gunwales were only a few inches above the water). They were allowed four cutlasses, food and water for perhaps a week, a quadrant and a compass, but no charts, or marine chronometer. Most of these were obtained by the clerk, Mr Samuel, who acted with great calm and resolution, despite threats from the mutineers. The launch could not hold all the loyal crew members, so four were detained on Bounty for their useful skills; they were later released in Tahiti.

Tahiti was upwind from Bligh's initial position, and was the obvious destination of the mutineers. Many of the loyalists claimed to have heard the mutineers cry "Huzzah for Otaheite!" as Bounty pulled away. Timor was the nearest European outpost, 3,618 nmi (6,701 km; 4,164 mi) away. Bligh and his crew first made for Tofua, only a few leagues distant, to obtain supplies. However, they were attacked by hostile natives and John Norton, a quartermaster, was killed.[6] Fleeing from Tofua, Bligh did not dare to stop at the next islands (the Fiji islands), as he had no weapons for defence and expected hostile receptions. He did however keep a log entitled 'Log of the Proceedings of His Majesty's Ship Bounty Lieut. Wm Bligh Commander from Otaheite towards Jamaica' which he used to record events from 5 April 1789 to 13 March 1790. He also made use of a small notebook to sketch a rough map of his discoveries.
Bligh had confidence in his navigational skills, which he had perfected under the instruction of Captain Cook. His first responsibility was to bring his men to safety. Thus, he undertook the seemingly impossible 3,618-nautical-mile (6,701 km; 4,164 mi) voyage to Timor, the nearest European settlement. Bligh succeeded in reaching Timor after a 47-day voyage, the only casualty being the crewman killed on Tofua. From 4 May until 29 May, when they reached the Great Barrier Reef, the 18 men lived on 1⁄12 pound (40 grams) of bread per day. The weather was often stormy, and they were in constant fear of foundering due to the boat's heavily laden condition. On 29 May they landed on a small island off the coast of Australia, which they named Restoration Island, 29 May 1660 being the date of the restoration of the British monarchy. Over the next week or more they island-hopped north along the Great Barrier reef—while Bligh, cartographer as always, sketched maps of the coast. Early in June they passed through the Endeavour Strait and sailed again on the open sea until they reached Coupang, a settlement on Timor, on 15 June 1789. Several of the men who survived this ordeal with him soon died of sickness, possibly malaria, in the pestilential Dutch East Indies port of Batavia, the present-day Indonesian capital of Jakarta, as they waited for transport to Britain.

That's sort of the way I see it..... 9 bodies in a 30' boat. Not going to turn out well....

[pdmlynek]

Thank you, everyone. I appreciate the views of each of you.

It seems that it is unanimous: it is considered to be unwise to put 9 people into a 30 foot C class RV touted to be for 7 people.

We'll travel some other way....

[KCFDCapt]

A rule of thumb I try to follow in my plans for the Motor Home:
6 for drinks
4 for meals and
2 for sleeping

Of course there are exceptions at various times, but that works well for us.

[Hgrace56]

My Class A Fleetwood Terra SE 33s sleeps 8 has 8 seatbelts and is posted maximum 6

[TonyDi]

Most previous post covered it pretty well. I'd like to add that many campgrounds restrict the number of campers in a site. Six is the usual number.