I am sure I will get beat up a little beat with the questions but.....

I am about 40 years old, as a kid I probably road thosands of miles in the back of the pickup as have most other country kids my age. If you would have some kids in the back of a pickup theses days you'd probably get 10 years in federal prision for child abuse.  So this leads me to my queston....anyone ever let people ride in the LQ when traveling? 

Mike

If I'm not mistaken, different states have different laws, governing the passengers in a towed trailer or carried truck camper. I would check with your local DMV or state police to learn about the actual legalities.

I know you will catch holey hell, if you inadvertently leave your better half in a rest room, when leaving a fuel stop. You will have some serious tense moments, when you arrive at your destination, minus your passengers.

I think it's OK with a king pin/fifth wheel plate hitch. It's a no no with a bumper pull/goose neck ball type hitch.... Your state may vary. As for me, everyone will be seated and belted in the cab of the tow vehicle. No body's going to be riding in the trailer that I'm pulling..... Suppose one of those kids decides to open the LQ trailer door going down the road.....???!! You were a kid once...... And what is "toilet food video games"?

Being a father of 4 myself, I understand the desire to allow them to travel in the LQ.  However, I am only aware of laws that allow 5th wheels to have occupants.  Like what was mentioned before, the travel trailer and gooseneck ball isn't considered safe enough.

That being said, the issue for me has always been the saftey in an accident.  In the back of a pickup you were at least aware of what was going on around you and could prepare.  The worst that could happen is that you would be thrown from the vehicle.  I don't mean to make it sound like thats a good thing.

In a LQ, your passengers are isolated from their surroundings.  They have no ablility to see forward, only to see what they are passing as the scenery is passing the window.  But more important than that is what happens to all the "stuff" thats in the LQ when the blue haired librarian pulls out in front of you when you are going 50mph?  There are microwaves, refers, tv, dishes that can all go flying and do bodily if not deadly damage.  The chance of this happening is more probable if you have a DYI LQ than if you have one professionally done.

This has been a problem in Motorhomes for years.  It's why Winnebago pulls a unit off line at random, lifts it off the ground and flips it over.  Then they drop it from about 6" off the ground just to see if anything falls out.  This issue is also at the heart of several current wrongful death lawsuits against Monaco, Fleetwood and Jayco motorized products.

Just upgrade the tow vehicle and add the rear entertainment system so the kids can play the PS3 and watch DVD's.  If they are boys, just keep a large bottle in the back for the call of nature

No... I know what you meant.

Go back and read it without those comma's...

Anyway, I'm still not going to haul mine, nor your children in a trailer while traveling on the highway.... Suppose you get rearended, T-Boned, rollover, etc...?? A horse trailer with a LQ may be safer than a RV camper, but not by much.

I haven't ridden in our LQ although I have been tempted once or twice. I think a better way would be to buy a motorhome and tow your horse trailer with that. then your kids could be strapped down for the most part and still have the food, games and loo.

I not only worry about the rollover or T-Bone but lots of people like to ride with their fridge running on the propane. This opens you up to a possible fire if you are in an accident as there is an open flame. We turn the propane off when we travel as you might survive the wreck but probably wouldn't survive the fire that could possibly ensue. I have more than one friend that has had an accident with their horse trailer.

Be safe out there.

I wouldn't - couldn't - ride in any sort of a trailer when traveling, because i get car sick there almost instantly. heck, I can't even stand in the back when we move across a campground to the trailer dump. Seems strange since i don't get car sick in a vehicle, unless I read for a long time.

But I have three personal comments about allowing others to ride in my living quarters when traveling. 1)Years ago our local funeral home director was killed when transporting a coffin from one location to the other (this isn't a joke, its a true story) He hit an animal with his vehicle, the coffin wasn't secured as well as he had thought, and it flew forward and struck the funeral director, killing him. Riding in a large area such as a trailer makes such a thing very easy to happen. If the driver eve had to brake hard, swerve, or hits a deer, objects will become traveling missles. 2)Last year i was driving home in early evening after a show, towing my stock trailer with my mare in the back. A deer jumped in front of me, I though I would be okay and then two other deer followed the first. I braked hard and missed them by inches. But I can only imagine what the ride was like for my mare, who was in the large trailer without a seat belt, or even a slant load stall. I'm sure it was nasty for her, but i don't think that hitting a deer or two would have been better. Likewise, if a person is standing up when the driver brakes hard, it would be really easy to fall forward and take out a tooth or hurt yourself. 3)When we were working on our DIY living quarter this winter, we had to cut a hole in the aluminum skin on our Featherlite to run in electricity. Until then I had no idea how thin the walls are in an aluminum trailer!!! Did you know they are only about the thickness of a dime? Hitting something as small as a lamp post could push a hole in easily. Yes, my trailer is now reinforced with plywood, and likewise most living quarters have some extra strength with paneling, etc, but they are still flimsy and easily damaged. Even at a low speeds another vehicle could easily push into the trailer if t-boned.

I guess it comes from being a worry-wart and a nurse, but I just don't think its worth taking the chances. And yes, I too rode in the back of a half ton briefly. But that didn't mean it was the best thing to do.

I was told by a commercial hauler that no one would be in the trailer I had a friends horse go to the vet office and I said that I would stay with the horse in the back and the driver say he could drive with me in the back  

My kids always wanted too but we would not let them. (not that we did not want them too, just a safety factor)

Don't have to worry about it any longer, they turned 18 (now they know everything) and moved out!

I believe its because the "connection" of the two is more secure with a 5th wheel hitch.  There is more surface area of both the kingpin and hitch in the bed of the truck.  All 5th hitches pivot front to back, and most with pivot side to side so the connection stays more secure when the trailer shifts.

You have a valid point that horse trailers are typically heavier on a similar length.  Both the coupler and goosneck are very stong, if not stronger than the setup on an RV.  It may be a case of perception over reality.

Some thoughts from the RV world.... http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/15849254/gotomsg/15849405.cfm