Britax Boulevard Help?

[lmc]

I just bought a Britax Boulevard for my ds who is 8 months old, about 28" and 16ish#. The seat is installed rear facing in the middle of our backseat and secured with the seatbelt. When my son is in the seat, I am unable to tighten the harness at all. I can take him out and tighten the harness very easily, but it doesn't seem to move at all if he is in the seat and I am trying to tighten the harness around him. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there something that I am overlooking or doing wrong?
Thank you!

[natysr]

Are you trying to get the harness tight with a single firm pull? If you are, that is the problem. The Marathon and Boulevard harness adjuster both work using a ratcheting motion. You will need to tug the adjuster strap straight out using a Tug - release - tug -release-tug release. Pause, pull up on the harness straps above the crotch strap. (this does 2 things. 1) it is peace of mind that the crotch buckle is buckled securely and 2) it lets out any harness slack over the thighs.) Then go back to the adjuster strap and tug release, tug release a couple more times.

It sounds like a PITA when typing it out, but once you get used to it, it just becomes routine and is quite easy.

Also, when checking the harness to see if it is snug enough, don't check it near the lap/belly area. It is only necessary to check it at the shoulder level to be sure you cannot pinch the harness at the shoulder level.

[Defrost]

Also double-check the harness and make sure it's properly threaded. Sometimes a harness will still tighten easily without the child in the seat even if it's not threaded properly, but putting the child in the seat reveals that something's not right.

[lmc]

Thanks for the suggestions, when I have ds in the seat and try to pull on the strap to tighten the harness, it doesn't seem to move at all, I've tried to pull, release, pull, release, pull... but it doesn't seem to move even a little--I've tried to make sure that the hugs pads aren't in the way where the harness threads through the back. Is it possible that the seat belt installation is interfering? The first time we installed the seat, we accidentally put the seat belt over the bottom harness strap, and boy, was that ugly. I will definitely check to see if there is something wrong with the way the harness is threaded through, maybe that's the issue.
As far as having the whole thing snug enough, I try to get it tight enough over his shoulders that I can't fit a finger or anything else, for that matter, under the strap (right over his shoulder), is that a good approach, or is there another way that I should look at that?
Thanks again for the feedback, I am really excited to have this seat, but wasn't anticipating so much difficulty adjusting it.

[Defrost]

As far as having the whole thing snug enough, I try to get it tight enough over his shoulders that I can't fit a finger or anything else, for that matter, under the strap (right over his shoulder), is that a good approach, or is there another way that I should look at that?

Actually, the new approved technique for checking snugness is to try to pinch the harness strap at the child's collarbone. If you can fold it, it's too loose. This generally leaves enough room for a finger, though, so it does sound like you may be trying to get the harness too tight. If it's hard to visualize how to check that way, there's a thread here somewhere with a picture... I'll see if I can find it...

Ah, here's one:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=23629

See how she can pinch the strap? That harness is too loose. But "just right" has a bit of room in there, too, except it slides through your fingers when you try to pinch it.