Adding to the family next year, need some advice....

[Debn31]

Hello All
Have read before but never posted.
We are planning on adding a third child to our family at some point in the near future (As in,conceiving sometime early next year hopefully).

Our current children are two boys (2 and 4 years).

We have started thinking about carseats and safety for the three well in advance.
My questions are:

Is it possible to place three across in a 98 Corolla? The configuration could be the following:
2 Radians (both FF or one RF, my second son technically could be FF, but I prefer RF if possible - he's average height, 34.5 " but a total lightweight at best 25 pounds), or we can also put my oldest in a Graco TurboBooster (with a back)...as my 4 Year old is very large for his age (43.5 - 44 ", and 44 lb). He is good about not unbuckling, and we had issues with the short straps on the Radians that never got fixed (long story, involves PJM distributing). We have two Radians and Graco Turbo Booster already, and I would purchase newer Radians if will work best (again, we stopped using the Radian with my oldest due to the shortstrap problem).

Would a Camry offer more room than a Corolla? An Accord?

We have been considering purchasing a "new" used vehicle, but I really like Toyota or Honda.
A true minivan is out of the question, but we have considered looking into the Mazda 5. So far I've only read good things, but I want to be sure my kids are safe so I am not sure about safety with the Mazda 5. Anyone know much about them personally?

Hubby is probably going to become a CRT but in the meantime, I am a crazy woman who likes to plan wayyyyy ahead ;)

Sorry for the millions of questions. Appreciate any tidbits of knowledge anyone can throw my way! :)

[debn31]

I forgot to ask in the last thread I posted...
Does anyone have any successful stories regarding a Radian RF in a Corolla?
We "sort" of did....though we didn't have it checked like we should have (have had them checked now though, they're both currently FF), and I'm not sure it was safe enough. When my youngest hit 22 lb and 18.5 months, we finally turned him around (my knees were pressed hard against the dashboard all that time).
I still hate that he's not RF now though (another reason to consider the Mazda 5, really...)
How unsafe is he at 25 lb and 2 years??? He's sooo slow to gain weight, unlike our oldest.
I think they can be RF to 35 lb, isn't it?
I was just unbearably uncomfortable with it RF (it was outboard, not in the middle, as dh is 6'1" and had to have his seat all the way back), so that meant it had to be behind me.
Would any other convertible be better RF and just as safe as the Radian?

[Neatfreak]

If I recall correctly, the Radian is one of the tallest convertible seats. Maybe it's even the tallest?

The room for the front seat passengers might be improved upon by installing the RFing Radian more upright. Your post didn't mention how reclined it was in your Corolla, but since your little passenger isn't an infant, the seat doesn't have to be reclined at 45 degrees.

If you are interested in looking at other seats, one of the more affordable options would be a Scenara (or maybe an Uptown). It's shell is shorter and it RFs to 35 lbs in the US, but the trade-off is that it has lower harness slots and a lower max weight limit overall (40 lbs). That's why larger seats like the Radian and the big Britax convertibles (MA, BLVD, DC) are nice to have available as well. I'm not sure how much room one of those (or the Evenflo Triumph Advance) would give you compared to the Radian.

The True Fit is an interesting seat as it has a headrest that comes off to make it fit better RFing, but I am not sure if your son has already passes the size limit for installations that don't use the headrest.

[Defrost]

I have a Mazda 5 and I love it. It's a great car - fun/easy to drive, excellent carseat installs in the 2nd row, great gas mileage, and excellent crash-test results in Europe and Japan.

It just has one tricky problem - the seat belts in the 3rd row are a nightmare. They are positioned considerably forward of the vehicle seat. This makes for a very poor fit for boostered kids and even out-of-booster older children, teens, and adults. It also makes for tricky carseat installs, though I've had luck with quite a few and only found two to be incompatible (one was the FF Radian, btw.)

I personally will not use the 3rd row for kids in a booster or just the seat belt, but that doesn't mean you have to rule it out. You've got many years before you have to worry about not having a carseat to put back there!

As for your RF question for your youngest - at 18 mos, I would still want my child RF; at 2 years I wouldn't sweat it so much, though at his weight I'd be a lot more inclined to find a way to do it. The Radian can be tricky to install more upright, but it can be done and it might help with your comfort issue. As for RF weight, it depends on the seat. Newer convertibles are now coming out with 35lb RF weight limits, but the older Radians have 33lb limits.

Just about ANY other convertible would give you more legroom with it RF behind you. The Radian's RF "boot" and the height of the shell just don't give it much leeway in that regard. I played around with the Marathon and the Radian RF behind the driver's seat in our VW Golf, and with the MA, I could get enough room for my dh to drive with the seat all the way back and reclined a couple of clicks. With the Radian, I could only get enough room for me to drive (and I have short legs.)

As for your 3-across question, keep in mind that adding a booster to the mix will make buckling them HARDER, even if they fit better. Reaching between a booster and a carseat to buckle is no fun!

[singingpond]

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=47298&highlight=corolla

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=46913&highlight=corolla

I have a RF Radian in my '96 Corolla; it only fits in the center because it takes up so much space front-to-back. However, it has been instrumental in getting 3 seats across. Buckling a Parkway booster next to it is a bit difficult, but doable.

Katrin

[Unregistered]

Thanks everyone, some helpful info!
Now I guess we just need to try out some configurations and see if we can make it work in a Corolla first, and if not, purchase a newer used car.
I am about to go on the warpath though, regarding the short straps on my radian, as we only discovered this in March, and then I did some reading through this forum.
So, I may wait to see what happens with those first.

Have book marked this site and LOVE it!
Will likely be coming back with more questions for you all.

[Jeanum]

Hi, your mention of a short strapped Radian and usage of the CRT acronym for carseat technician indicate that you're in Canada. The Radian and Scenera models certified in Canada rear face up to 30 lbs. rather than the rear facing limits of 33 lbs. and 35 lbs. for their respective U.S. certified versions. I think a few members on the Canadian and International forum here have recently seen/purchased Canadian versions of the Evenflo Triumph Advance and Learning Curve/First Years True Fit convertibles with 35 lbs. rear facing weight limits, although they're likely wide enough to be less successful candidates for 3 across installations in a Corolla. I'm going to move your thread to the Canadian and International section of the forum to help tailor future replies to your location, as well as your separate post about short strapped Radians purchased in Canada. :)

[debn31]

Thanks Jean, Yes I am in Canada...
STill learning the ropes here (I should just join as a member already :P)

Thanks!