Installing in a new Montana S6

[CanadianMommy]

Hi there! We have a 2 year old Montana extended van, and live in Canada (if that matters lol). My 2 month old daughter is currently in a Graco Sungride Infant seat with base. She is currently in the second row bucket seat, driver's side (6 and 8 year olds in the 3 row in boosters and me sitting in second row with baby). I am concerned because there are curtain airbags on the seat and I am not sure if that is OK.

I also seem to have a love/hate relationship with the LATCH attachment; sometimes the indicator thing is showing orange while the seat is still tight, and other times it is fine. I think I will have to play(fight) with it more. I am hoping to get a TF SOON (like maybe in the next few weeks, but before the new year for sure) and unsure how it will fit. My husband's seat has to be more forward then he'd like it to be (just by one click; and he isn't a tall person lol) due to the rear facing seat behind him. I am concerned that the TF will be even WORSE for him. I am hesitant to move her to the other side (passenger side) where we could move the front seat forward, just because my husband drops the older kids off at the school kis-n-ride and they would have to get out into the traffic by the driver's side sliding door. If I put her in the back seat there is NO way I can get back there with her, and it doesn't seem like there would be enough room to get her in/out, and then she'd be back there by herself with me all the way in the front, and I don't like that option.

Suggestions? Is the TF going to be HUGER then my snugride when it is installed rearfacing? Does anyone live near Oshawa, Ontario, Canada to help with an install? THANKS! :) I just was given the link to this forum from a friend on another message board and it seems like a great community.

REBECCA

[shauburg]

I am not familiar with your two vehicles, but in my two vehicles a rear-facing True Fit (with top head rest for 22lb+ kids) does take up more room than the Snugride. For kids <22lbs, the True Fit can be installed without the top head rest, to give a better fit. Can you visit a Toys R Us or Zellers and try out the True Fit in your vehicle?

Can you clarify why you are planning to replace the Snugride before your daughter outgrows it? If you can keep your daughter in her Snugride as long as possible, then when she move to a convertible seat (like the True Fit, Radian, Martathon, etc...) it can be installed more upright (30-35° depending on the seat) to give more front passenger room than the 45° recline angle your daughter currently requires.

[Allport]

Hi Rebecca - don't know any techs in your area, but I will be travelling down from Ottawa mid-October to Toronto. If you still need a tech at that point in time let me know and I'll drop in on my way through (it will be a Tuesday or Wednesday). I'm an Instructor-Trainer for the SJA course and would be glad to help you out). The True Fit is quite a bit bigger than the SS1....

[bubbaray]

If you are open to other seats, the Britax Marathon usually takes up about the same space as an infant seat. Both my DH and I are tall and we've had no problems having our DDs' RFg seats behind us.

HTH

[Kristy00]

My husband's seat has to be more forward then he'd like it to be (just by one click; and he isn't a tall person lol) due to the rear facing seat behind him. I am concerned that the TF will be even WORSE for him.

Is the second row Captain's chair back as far as it will go? We have a safeseat (Bigger than a snugride) installed in the 2nd row captains chair of our SV6 and we can put the drivers seat all the way back if we need to. The trick was to put the 2nd row chair back.

[CDNTech]

What position is the handle in and how old is the Snugride (Date of Manufacture)?

2005 and newer seats (for sure) are allowed to have the handle up on the Snugride... if the handle is straight back/down, then moving it up could give your husband quite a bit more space.

The curtain airbags are not an issue at all with your Snugride. :)

At 2 months old, your daughter will still need close to a 45 degree angle that means most convertibles are going to take up more space than an infant seat.

An Evenflo Triumph Advance (Sears/Toys R Us) takes up very little front to back space because of the way it reclines and might be a good option for your vehicle. It will also fits newborns well and will last most kids to 5 or 6 years old (good booster age).

The harness adjustment is a little different than most seats because it has knobs on the side of the seat. If your captain's chairs are very sculpted you may notice the knobs dig into your vehicle seat back making it difficult/impossible to adjust the harness. You can get around this though... When you need to adjust the harness, recline the vehicle seat, adjust the harness, and move the vehicle seat back upright again. It rarely changes the install and allows you free access to the knobs.