SS1 Lock off question

[purple826]

Our seatbelts have a sewn-in latchplate. The lap portion does lock.

When installing the SS1, the sewing part near the latchplate ends up IN the lock-off. Is this still safe?

~nikki

[An Aurora]

I take it you are installing in the center seat? With a sewn-on latchplate you must have an ALR. In that case, the lockoff is not necessary, so get the seat tight and then close the lockoff over the belt :)

What car do you have?

[snowbird25ca]

I take it you are installing in the center seat? With a sewn-on latchplate you must have an ALR. In that case, the lockoff is not necessary, so get the seat tight and then close the lockoff over the belt :)

What car do you have?

With the SS1 base the lock-off always has to be used, even with a lap belt, you still use it and the tail gets clamped into the lock-off as well. :)

If it's lap only like An aurora is thinking, then as long as you're not forcing the lock off shut, and the seat is tightly installed prior to closing the lock-off, I believe it's fine.

From the looks of the manual, Graco isn't differentiating between l/s belts with sewn on latchplate when the lap portion has an ALR or switchable retractor, vs. l/s with sewn on latchplate and both retractors being ELR.

If it is a lap shoulder belt with the sewn on latchplate but ALR lap portion, I would call Graco to find out if it's allowed or not. Otherwise, a lap only belt with an ALR is considered compatible, and as long as you can get the seat tightly installed before closing the lock-off, and are able to close the lock-off over top of the thicker webbing, then it's ok based on the manual.

If you're having troubles getting the lock-off closed and haven't done it already, you could try twisting your buckle stalk up to 3 complete turns in order to move the stitched part out of the way of the lock-off. :thumbsup:

It's not an option to skip using the lock-off with the SS1 base though, so if you can't get the lock-off shut, you'll either need to select another seating position, or install the seat without the base.

eta: The reason I'm thinking about checking with Graco if it is a lap/shoulder with sewn latch-plate, is that even with the lap portion locking, I'd wonder how the belts would lay in the lock-off... and whether the shoulder portion would fit into the lock-off parallel with the lap portion.

[purple826]

It is a lap shoulder belt with the lap portion locking. Outboard. We have DS RF in a FPSVD currently and he'll be 22mo when baby comes. I'd prefer to have them both RF outboard to make it easier to get them in (and prevent DS from poking at baby or tossing his soft toys on him/her).

The seats DO fit side by side RF. '93 Buick ;) .

I have called graco about the belt and they said it sounded okay to use. I brought this up a few months ago when we thought we'd have to buy a new car because the manual said "separate retractors are not okay." Because the lap portion does lock (pull it out and it clicks back in) several other moms/techs said the belt should work. I double checked with graco but didn't ask about the sewing in the lock off as I didn't know that's how it would end up.

"I'd wonder how the belts would lay in the lock-off... and whether the shoulder portion would fit into the lock-off parallel with the lap portion."

The shoulder portion would lay on top of the lap portion (the way it should) alright but I'm not sure if closing the lock-off on them would hurt the sewing of the lapbelt. Here's a picture of the belt: http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/nikki82984/?action=view&current=DSCN0226.jpg

Here's the print on the belt (though I'm not sure that means anything as the car is so old :) ): http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/nikki82984/?action=view&current=DSCN0227.jpg

The seat is tight before using the lock-off. When we installed it in the center for DS it was a lap-only belt (the easy kind - no retractors :) ) and once the base was tight it was tough to close the lock-off then too (though no sewing was involved). So, I'm expecting the lock off to be tough to close again but not sure about the sewing.

I haven't tried twisting the buckle stalk yet.

How is Graco c/s? They've seemed pretty short when I have talked/emailed them. Would an email with pictures do better than a phonecall do you think?

Thankyou :)

[snowbird25ca]

I'd twist the buckle stalk, the stitching doesn't look THAT far away from the buckle, and the way the latch plate is sewn on is different than many of them. Looking at the set-up, I think you're fine provided you can get a good install and that the lock-off will close.

You might do it in reverse in this case, twist the buckle stalk - because that should get the stitching out of the way, then buckle, tighten the seatbelt lap portion backwards as tight as you can, and close the lock-off over both the lap and shoulder portions of the belt. Then switch the lap belt to ALR. That should make it so the lock-off closes without putting too much stress on it, and you should then be able to just feed/bounce/jiggle the excess belt into the retractor once it's switched if it doesn't retract enough on it's own. Then check for movement once you've got the slack into the retractor and see how that works. :thumbsup:

eta: You can also try sliding the base farther away from the buckle itself and seeing it that makes a difference if twisting the buckle stalk isn't enough. The lock-off has to be used though - you can't leave it open and you can't route over top of it. :thumbsup:

[skaterbabscpst]

With a sewn-on latchplate you must have an ALR.

Some GM vehicles have switchable retractors on lap belts with sewn-on latchplates. Depending on the vehicle and the CR in question, it can make for a very simple install or a very tricky one.

[purple826]

This is how it looks with the lock-off open. I tried twisting the bucle stalk (not this pic) but it's so short that I can only do 1/2 a turn so the button would be facing the seat and near impossible to unbuckle. Is a 1/2 turn okay or would it have to be a full turn? If it needs to be a full turn, DH might be able to make it work.

(The shoulder portion is not flat in the pic - it would be lined up though when I close the lock-off.)

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/nikki82984/?action=view&current=DSCN0246.jpg

I would need to get the lap portion to click in about two more times for it to be tight enough (need DH to do this) but even so, I don't think the red piece in the center of the red section would be on the sewing once the lock-off is closed. the edge of the sewing may be in it but I don't know if that's a "no no" or not.

I don't have the option to switch the seatbelt's locking on or off - it just locks after the lap section has been completely pulled out.

Don't worry, I'm not tempted to not-use it ;) . I just really want to use the base - provided it works with the seatbelt.

Thankyou for all your time, the ideas really are helping! I'm glad it sounds like there should be a way for this to work! :)

~nikki

[snowbird25ca]

I think the stitching looks like it's not going to interfere with the lock-off right now. :)

What I meant by waiting to switch the lap portion was to not pull it all the way out when you buckle it. I don't know if that's possible to do or not though as I'm not sure how long the lap portion is. ;)

Even if it is locked right away, just pull it tight from the buckle to the lock-off, close the lock-off, then get the remainder of the slack into the retractor. That should make it easier for you to close the lock-off and you should still end up with a tight install. :)

[purple826]

Ah-Ha! :D Got it. That might work.

I had been buckling and then pulling out the seatbelt to get it to lock. If I buckle then tighten to lock-off and close THEN pull out seatbelt to lock it might work... good idea :) .

I'll give it a shot. We have 9wks before baby's due, I just want to get this all straight early. I may have more questions in a few weeks when we move DS's FPSVD outboard. :)

Thanks again.