1988 gmc vandura tethering

[Unregistered]

Hi,
Have a 1988 GMC Vandura
has a bench seat in the third row with three seat belts (not retractable, just lapbelts with the size adjuster thing -- like the kind often found in the middle position only)
two captains chairs in the middle row with retractable lapbelts (not shoulder belts)

i have two britax frontiers and one marathon (rear facing) to install

i'd like the two frontiers on the back bench and the marathon on a captains chair.

in the manual for the frontiers it doesnt specifically say anything about the type of seatbelt that doesnt retract (as far as i could find), i'm assuming this type is ok?

as far as top tethers go....
the seat belts for the bench seat are connected directly to the floor on what look like tether hooks bolted to the floor, can i use the middle seat seatbelt anchors to attach the two frontiers tether strap to?

the car seatbelt bolts are arranged as follows:
four bolts to the floor with the two outboard bolts having one seatbelt anchor and the middle two with two seatbelt anchors (to make the six total seatbelt parts needed for the three seating positions)
so if the middle seat was unoccupied would it be alright to use each middle bolt for each outboard frontier?
hope i'm making sense here

and i'm assuming the rear facing marathon is fine in a retractable (locking) lapbelt? is it better to tether to its own seat using the britax loop anchor thing, or tether to the drivers seat base?

any help/suggestions appreciated

tia :)

[QuassEE]

That's a lot of information :)

Are you from Richmond? ;) I knew a Tia from Richmond waaay back. Can't be too common a name around here...

Firstly--tether anchors...because it's an '88, you'll have to check the seatbelt section of your manual and possibly call GM and find out whether or not they have a part number for your van. If they do, they will install at least one anchor free of charge. If they don't have a part number, we'll have to get creative. It's possible something may exist that GM has after-the-fact approved for tethering--I know this was the case with some of the cargo hooks in the mid-90s at least...

If there's no chance at retrofitting tether anchors, then you can put the Frontiers into the centre row, and tether them to the male portion of the seatbelt in the back row.. You either fully extend the seatbelt and fully tighten the tether, or somewhere inbetween--as long as it's secure, and not at an angle so that no additional slack is coming out of the belt. As an alternative--as you've pointed out, you have some hardware on your floor. You'll have to talk to GM about suitability there.. There are some weird "rules" with older GM vehicles..as previously mentioned.

Next--seatbelts...Your lapbelt only seatbelts in the back lock by their very nature. Sometimes these do slip, and if you find that is happening you can actually flip the buckle portion over so it's upside down and that will usually stop the slipping...but for the most part, it shouldn't slip as long as it's not sitting on an angle. As for the seatbelts you described as being retractable in your centre row--I'll need a little bit more information on what they look like. If you can snap a photo, that would work... I honestly don't deal with anything older than mid-90s cars anymore so I can't quite picture what you're describing.. Also try pulling the seatbelt out about 2 feet, pausing, and then trying to pull it out a little bit more--does it allow you to pull more slack out?

If you do have to use those centre seating positions for the Frontiers (and we figure out what type of seatbelts you have there) then your Marathon will go in the back row. If you choose to tether rear-facing, you can do so per manufacturers instructions. Do not tether to the vehicle seatpost where the Marathon itself is (per Britax). If fyou do have a method to tether the Frontiers in the rear, the Marathon can go centre and the RF tether would be to a non-movable part under the driver's or passenger seat.. if it's in the back row, it'll be to one of those centre captains chairs.

It's late, so hopefully this is clear... It's a tough situation because I'm totally unfamiliar with your vehicle, and so you may have to do a bit of footwork.

-Nicole.

[Unregistered]

Hi thanks for your kind reply,

The user manual does make mention that a 'child restraint with top strap' can be installed but also states that "the anchor bracket is supplied by the company that makes the child restraint system". Will contact GMC regarding tether anchors directly.

I actually tried to install the two frontiers tonight and was quite unsuccessful. Placed them on the bench and tried to use the lapbelts, but the lapbelt buckles meet in the middle of the wearer's lap, so the buckle portion actually has to be fed through the carseat and meet its other half in the middle of the carseat. I tried both long belt path (which i don't have enough seat belt for) and short belt path (which causes the buckle/latch to lay on the inside of the carseat -- under fabric padding, but still not feeling too comfortable). Is this acceptable/not? (i did try twisting the buckle end, but the way it is attached to the floor of the van there is about 3 feet of webbing from the rear floor to point it comes through the bench seat, so the whole lot just twists and twists and doesn't appear to get shorter)
the bench seat was VERY squishy and i couldn't get the carseats in tight enough, even when i tried tethering to the floor hardware already available. Will try again with more patience tomorrow. I think the lapbelts loosen too easily and you said in your post to flip the buckle portion so its upside down, the user manual says this: "if it comes loose, flip the adjustable latch plate over before reinserting it in the buckle", does this just mean buckle it upside down? or am i missing something?

haven't even tried the marathon yet... will try that one on the bench tomorrow and see if it does any better, and the frontiers on the captains chairs (tethered like you suggested to the male portion of the unused bench seat seatbelt).

Will also try to get some snapshots tomorrow to help describe.
The captains chairs lapbelts are attached to the side of the chair itself, and not directly to the floor. the chair is attached to the floor by a central post (the chair swivels to face forward/rearward... this may cause issues trying to rear-tether the marathon in the third row). the seatbelts retract, and do seem to lock when pulled out all the way (gives me hope that i may get a successful install)

ps. not from richmond
tia was just short for "thanks in advance", shame on me for being lazy typist!

[QuassEE]

Okay, so for the hardware being supplied--this used to be the case in the 80s and even into the early 90s..many carseats came with a generic tether bolt! We've transitioned to tether anchors being the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturers, though, for compatibility and placement issues that arose with the genric anchors.

Play around with your installs a little bit more, and if you are unsure about the seatbelt locking mechanisms then let me know.. If you pull the seatbelt all the way out and it seems to lock upon retracting, then it is locked.. if you pull it partially out and it doesn't allow further slack, it's also locked. If it doesn't lock at all, there's still a way to lock it but this requires a part...

You're right about the flipping of the seatbelt buckle--as per the instructions....the buckle won't be upside down, but the male seatbelt portion does get flipped. Just flip it over--you can have this twist in the seatbelt, it's totally fine.

-Nicole.