Help please - Radian80s in a Town and Country...

[Jac]

I just got Radian80s for my almost 4 year old twins. They are so excited and wanted me to swap out from their Wizards right away.

Right now I am in a rental car after having an accident. The rental is a 2008 Town and Country. I drive a 2005 Town and Country.

My twins are 34 and 35 lbs.

My youngest daughter is in one of the captains chairs in her Boulevard. We usually keep the other captain chair folded into the floor so that there is room for the dog (a big dog, so he needs some space). The twins have been sitting in the back bench seat - both seats installed with the shoulder belt. I was able to get a very snug fit in my own car and in the rental car with the shoulder belts and the Wizards - NO PROBLEM.

Well... in the rental car, with the Radian 80s I can not get the seats to stop being able to slide forward and back - it is pretty good sided to side; but forward back is definitely more than an inch.:mad:

also... in the rental car the seat belts are the type that you pull them all of the way out and then they ratchet back in. In my 2005 model they don't do that. Does that mean that I can not use the Radian80 with my seatbelts - that I must do LATCH?

I haven't found anything on the Radians mentioning something about a lock off clip like the Britaxs have...

Oh, and one more... DH drives a 2000 Expedition. We usually put all 3 seats across the middle (even the Britax fit w/o a problem in that car). Will the Radians be more of a problem in his car. Or is it possible that they will work better in his car?

We plan to also get either Nautilises or Regents for the twins too (the Wizards have some problems and Britax is replacing them). I guess if we had to I could use the new Britax seats in my car and the Radians in DH's car...

Oh yeah, one last question - I read the instructions on how to adjust the recline on the Radians; but I can't seem to do it. Any advice????

TIA!
Jac
William and Victoria - 5/27/04
Elizabeth - 3/26/06

[CDNTech]

You'll want to use the tips/tricks from this thread for installing... http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=28939

The seatbelts in your 2005 are lightweight locking latchplates (same as described in the link I provided) and lock at the latchplate automatically when you buckle it. They stay locked by keeping the lap/buckle/shoulder portions of the seatbelt all parallel to each other.

The 2008 seatbelts are called switchable and you *must* pull them all the way out in order to lock the seatbelt when installing a child restraint.

Britax have built-in lock-offs... Radian's do not, you must lock the seatbelt by pulling it all the way out in the 2008.

For getting a good install with the Radian, you'll probably want to pull the foot down (recline) for ease of installation. You need to grab the gold bar underneath the base of the seat and pull it forward while pulling the center of the base down/out of the seat. The gold bar runs in a "C" groove and needs to go from one side of the C to the other in order to recline the seat.

[keri1292]

While you definitely need to figure out the seatbelt installs, they can be installed with LATCH until the child hits 48lbs. LATCH is significantly easier with most Radian installs. You could then find a tech in your area to help you with the seatbelt installs. :)

[Jac]

Thanks for that link. I feel like I have them in much better now.

But... I'm confused about the tether. From reading the manual I can't tell if I MUST have the seats tethered if my kids are under 40 lbs - even though it is installed with the seatbelt, not LATCH. The vans (rental and my own) only have one tether position in the bench seat and it is in the center of the seat - I now Know I can't use it for both seats (asked about that previously). From looking at the link provided it looks like it is OK to find another secure spot to tether to - could that be right or am I misunderstanding?:confused:

Also, about the seatbelts in my 2005 van - I have noticed that once I latch my seatbelt that the lap belt portion seems to lock into place; but I still have some freedom of movement with the shoulder belt. Is that what is going to happen when I install these in my van - the lap belt portion will lock in place? Should I also use the buckle looking thing to lock it in?

[Defrost]

But... I'm confused about the tether. From reading the manual I can't tell if I MUST have the seats tethered if my kids are under 40 lbs - even though it is installed with the seatbelt, not LATCH. The vans (rental and my own) only have one tether position in the bench seat and it is in the center of the seat - I now Know I can't use it for both seats (asked about that previously). From looking at the link provided it looks like it is OK to find another secure spot to tether to - could that be right or am I misunderstanding?:confused:

Unless you're in Canada, the Radian does not require a top tether, though of course it's always recommended to use it whenever possible.

For FF, you cannot find another secure spot to tether to - in the link they're talking about RF tethering, which is an entirely different set of crash-forces. FF carseats must be tethered to approved tether anchors only.

Also, about the seatbelts in my 2005 van - I have noticed that once I latch my seatbelt that the lap belt portion seems to lock into place; but I still have some freedom of movement with the shoulder belt. Is that what is going to happen when I install these in my van - the lap belt portion will lock in place?

Yes, that's exactly right. You have locking latchplates, and they only lock the lap-portion of the seat belt.

Should I also use the buckle looking thing to lock it in?

I'm not sure what you mean, sorry?

[CDNTech]

Is that what is going to happen when I install these in my van - the lap belt portion will lock in place? Should I also use the buckle looking thing to lock it in?

The 2008 will lock at the retractor... so the lap and shoulder portions will be tight.

The 2005 will lock at the latchplate... so only the lap portion will be tight. It will hold the seat in place. If a collision occurs, the Emergency locking retractor will kick in and lock the shoulder portion which will keep the entire seatbelt locked.

The buckle looking thing is called a locking clip and *no* you do not use it with either of these seatbelts. :)