How upright can a RF convertible be again?

[Holly]

I have a Radian and a Scenera in my car, both RF. No matter what, the Radian has to be in the center in order to fit RF at all back there. I've had my 2 year old in the Radian and my 1 year old in the Scenera behind the passenger seat because I'm the one who sits in the passenger seat and I dont need the seat as far back as my dh does so there is more room for a car seat there.

So since we have access to 2 yr old's radian from the drivers side, my dh is usually the one to put her in and get her out. Its harder for him to do it because you have to climb in and kneel on the seat and lift her in. I don't mind doing it, but he's the one who usually does just because since he drives when we are together, he's the one already on that side of the car.

Anyway, I decided to see if I can get the Scenera to install behind the drivers seat so it would be easier for him to get her in, and I'd put the baby in the radian and I'd do it from the passenger side. I dont mind climbing in to get the kids in, Rf is safer, and the radian has to be in the center, so I climb in, it doesnt bother me because they are safe, and it's really not hard to climb in anyway.

The scenera seems to fit there, I still need to belt it in, I'm waiting for my husband to fix the seatbelt right now because the belt was all twisted and folded over on it's self, but if I can get it installed tightly, how upright can it be? It's a lot more upright than it was when it was behind the passenger seat.

I can probably take a pic later, but it will be a while, dh wants to leave as soon as I get the seat in.

[CandCfam]

Up to 30 degrees.:)

[azgirl71]

RF seats can be between 30* upright and 45* reclined.

[Holly]

How can I tell what the angle is?

I installed it and got it tight, and we put my 2 yr old in and she seemed way cramped like that, so we put her back in the Radian and put my 1 yr old in the scenera. She seemed comfortable, but I can't tell if the angle is 30 degrees or not. Does it look ok to you, or does it look too upright? She is almost 14 months, so she's old enough to be upright isn't she?
Oh, also, I had changed the strap height to fit my 2 yr old, so I was going to change it back again for the baby, but with it being more upright, the slots I moved to are just slightly above her shoulders. It's ok to leave it like that right? will the recline of the seat really affect how the strap settings will fit on them?

Here you can see how the Radian is more reclined.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/bearicksen/CS1.jpg

She was way tired, so thats why she looks so grumpy. She could have laid back a little more than that too, she was trying to get out.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/bearicksen/CS2.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/bearicksen/CS3.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/bearicksen/CS4.jpg


This is how reclined she has been, this was Christmas day.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/bearicksen/CS5.jpg

So, how does it look? Does it look ok?

[CandCfam]

The straps need to be at or below for RF; I personally wouldn't be okay with them being above if below is an option.

How To Guesstimate a RF angle (http://home.earthlink.net/~carseatsite/reclineangle.htm)

Do the paper trick, then grab a protractor and mark off 30 degrees. Hold that up to the seat to see where abouts the angle falls on the paper. That'll give you a rough estimate.

[azgirl71]

The Radian looks fine to me. The Scenera looks to upright by just glancing at it Try the paper trick the PP posted about. Also if DD head flops forward instead of laying back or to the side when she falls asleep in the car seat it it to upright snd needs to recline more. Just a guess, but I would say it is about 20-25* on the Scenera right now.

[snowbird25ca]

The Scenera is definitely too upright. If you were having troubles tightening the harness properly or the straps stripping off her shoulders in the lower slots AND she's less than 1/8" under the slots in the shell, I'd be ok with them being up. Otherwise I'd move them back down.

If your hubby needs the drivers seat back that far in order to drive, I think you're going to have to move the seat back to the passenger side. I don't think you have enough room to get it reclined enough in that seating location.

[Holly]

Ok, thanks guys! I thought it looked a little too upright too, but I couldnt tell for sure. I'll move it back to the passenger side tomorrow. I'll move the strabs back down too. When her seat was reclined more, she fits great with the straps down, but when the seat was upright, the next setting up was just slightly above her shoulders.

[azgirl71]

YW :D