Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1 Installation Questions

[TheNimpsGirl]

So I'm a newbie here to posting (admittely not to lurking)... and while DH and I don't have any kids just yet, my question is actually about my friend's car seat. Yes I know, it's a 3-in-1 and sadly, no, she can't bring it back as our other friends son has already used it for a few months FF.

The thing is, neither her nor I have any idea how to instal this thing RFing for her son (he's 6 months old, 16 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long) in either of our cars. When I asked her (because she has to get him out of that snugride soon because it experies soon) how it instals RFing she said she didn't know and I've only ever installed bucket seats before.

I guess what *I'm* mainly concerned about is when he is in my car and I have him (once or twice a week). My car is a 97 Mercury Sable and I know the seat belts I have in the back are I believe, switchable (I have to pull them out for them to ratchet and then I can't get it to pull out any further, is that right?). Also, the middle belt has the option of being only a lap belt or connecting to a shoulder portion... I don't know if that one acts the same as the outboard ones as I only have used the lap belt for the snugride base.

I tried looking up the manual on line because she says she doesn't know where she put it (and honestly, I haven't even looked to see if it's connected to the thing).

Sooo...

Does anyone know where you can find the manual on line?

Does this seat have built in lock offs? I can't find a description saying it does, so I'm assuming no. If it doesn't, then I need to do what with my seatbelts? Pull them out when installing the car seat? Or could I just use my lap belt in the middle and not worry about locking clips (I know you can't use those on lap only belts) or the shoulder belt?

Sorry to be so wordy... but thanks for any help or advice you can give me! :)

[Judi]

I would use the lap belt, in the middle. Less problems.

[Judi]

www.dorel.com

[snowbird25ca]

No, the seat doesn't have built in lock-offs.

Describe the middle seatbelt for me a bit more - is it one where there's a piece that comes down from the ceiling and then anchors into a mini buckle, then you take the main buckle and buckle it up as usual? Or is it a lap only belt with a tail you pull to tighten?

If it's a lap only belt, putting it in the center will be pretty easy. If it's a lap/shoulder section that uses the mini buckle stalk to form one of the anchorage points, then it should have a switchable retractor on the shoulder portion. Check your vehicle manual to see how to use the center seatbelt when installing a car seat in the event that it's not just a plain lap belt with a tail you pull to tighten up.

You'll need the model # and DOM in order to get the instructions, and then just visit the site that the PP gave and you'll be able to download and print them.

Some helpful tips that the manual doesn't address:


remove the base when installing rf'ing - it's almost always necessary to do this to get a good install.
have a rolled towel or pool noodle with you to get an appropriate recline - towels that are folded to be about 12" wide and then rolled super tight to form about a 5 to 6" diamater on the end are usually perfect for a baby just outgrowing the bucket seat. You'll place the rolled towel right against the seat bite or right against the seat crease and kind of push it in just slightly, then set the front of the carseat right on top of the towel with the front edge of the carseat touching the vehicle seat.
unhooking the front of the cover will make it easier to access the belt path.
be sure to read the manual for if the seatbelt should be behind or in front of the buckle - depending on age of seats and designs, I have seen both as being listed, so you'll want to make sure you use the correct placement for your specific seat.
if you're using a lap belt, pull the seat cover to the side so that you're able to take the tail end of the lap belt and poke it up through the edge of the belt path so it's poking up into the seating area. This will make it easier to tighten the belt because you'll have the belts parallel to each other.
Put pressure near the bum for a more reclined install, and near the feet area for a more upright install.
Just loosen the lap belt and re-tighten it if you need to adjust the angle slightly - the size of towel roll I described is usually perfect for this seat and it's just a matter of where you put the pressure when tightening the belt.


This is just kind of a quick and dirty list of installation tips for the 3in1 seats. If you have questions or want us to check what you've done once you've read your vehicle manual, read the carseat manual, and tried installing the seat, then feel free to post and ask. If it's a specific question about what you've done so far, pictures are always helpful too. ;)

[TheNimpsGirl]

Thanks for the responses :)

About the middle seat, snowbird25ca what you said about the one portion coming out of the seat at the top and connecting on top of the stalk of the lap belt is correct. However, the belt portion does have a tail you can pull on.

I have read my car's manual and it says you must always pull out the shoulder part of the lap belts before installing car seats, but it isn't exactly 100% clear to me about what happens with the middle seat, so I've just always used just the lap portion (which is what I'll probably just do with this one too).

And thanks for the Dorel website, I've been horribly sick this past week and for the life of me just couldn't find it on line. So thanks for that :)

Now I've just gotta get my hands on the seat sometime this week and try it out. And I'll defintly take into account all the tips you gave me! I'll post back if I have any issues!