Ok, got the tug working properly, hack is almost adjusted correctly.
Now, I need to know if I can give my 3 year old daughter a ride, legally, in Washington State. I KNOW that she can't be on the bike - she has to be 5 to do that - but what about in the hack?
Really, this is probably just a "ride around the block". But I need to know. Thanks in advance.
The kids aren't riding upon a motorcycle. No specific statutes address motorcycle passengers except citing the helmet ruling. Many Washingtonians carry under 5 passengers in the sidecar. All must have helmets. Some use child seats safety belted into the sidecar.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
thanks Lonnie. You are a wealth of knowlege. I'm going to try to fit the kid seat in it, with a belt. Gotta make a junkyard run to buy a good lap belt to pull that off. Kid helmet coming soon too.
I suspect that you'll be okay especially with the restraining devices of belt and child seat. That shows serious consideration to provide car like safety for a child in a side"car". As Lonnie said, your child won't be on the bike. And if you stay on side streets you probably won't see any police anyhow.
Get a new universal 60" lap belt from Schucks.
Lonnie
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the 5 year old limit is for all motorcycles regardless of their configuration (Trike, sidecar, two wheeler).
I just checked with the State Patrol.
Sorry to hear that.
Was having technical difficulties anyway - can't get the car seat into the sidecar.
sorry to hear that,..up here I had 2 officers comment to my daughter,( when she was 3) how cool her sidecar was, one look at her carseat and head restraint and I was commented upon by them about my thorough safety for my child..cheers, crawf.
Junkyard seat belts aren't a good idea in any case. Seat belts have a useful life of about 5 to 7 years max after which they may or may not be safe to use.
Since a new universal belt with mounts is only about $20.00 it's cheap insurance compared to one that's been in use, exposed to sun, heat, cold and dirt.
If you find one with a buckle that you really like then you can have new webbing sewn to it and wear it as a belt. That's quite the fashion statement now with seatbelt buckle belts in a myriad of colors made just for that purpose using refurbished buckles from junkyards. Or you can buy one ready made for about $19.00 in almost any color and buckle combination.
Well, I think the issue is moot for now.
1) kid seat doesn't fit in the SC
2) Daughter thinks the motorcycle is too noisy.
While I'll keep working on getting her to interact with the bad dangerous world a bit more, I don't need to make it more dangerous than it already is. We'll try again, if I can get a kid seat into the SC.
good news is that my wife got us a sitter so I can take her for a "sidecar date". So at least *someone* in my family is excited about it =)
test drive the hack around the block with the child's favorite stuffed bear in the chair, leave it parked in the drive and let the child find the bear in it,..explain that you we just taking bear for a spin, bear loved it, and you would be happy to take the child too,..the kid'll beg to go,..hehe have fun with momma, cheers, crawf.
that's a great idea! =)
Can't speak to legality there, but for practicality, when my 3 year old is in the sidecar by herself, she usually sits on a booster seat (rather than full size car seat) and is strapped in by a seat belt. She's small, so we use a 3/4 helmet in XXS with a washrag tucked into the top of it to make it fit better. Works like a champ and she loves it.
Do you use a shoulder belt or just lap belt? I don't have anywhere to attach a shoulder belt.
We use a lap belt, but have considered adding shoulder straps, which can be set up to go up over the back of the seat if you use more of a racing harness.
