Tether question.

[HONEYhas3]

I have a Caravan. The back bench seat only has 1 tether location. Sometimes I need to put my MDD in the back, but having her right next to my ODD only causes fights. I was wondering if I can use the D-ring around the metal piece on the floor to make a tether point?? Here are pice, please excuse the cracker crumbs, its from the stroller:

You can see the middle tether location, and the area on the floor where I would like to use the D-ring to make a tether point:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a393/honeyhineyho/tether2.jpg


This is a close up of the area:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a393/honeyhineyho/tether.jpg



http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a393/honeyhineyho/tether1.jpg

[QuassEE]

Although it would seem like a solid plan--the point of failure here is actually the d-ring webbing. The d-ring is designed for rebound forces, which aren't as great as forward-facing tethering forces. It's similar to the difference between the reinforced slots for FF use and the non-reinforced slots for RF use (and why we used to have to generally use the top slots for FF for convertible seats..).. FF crash forces are REALLY strong...that d-ring webbing strap would likely tear in two in a serious crash.

Having said that...technicians have often discussed using the floor pegs for tethering. Chances are that your tether hook does actually fit around that floor peg--it does in my Odyssey, and it did in my Sienna. If the floor peg is designed to restrain a whole seat to the vehicle, and on those seats we often see integrated tether anchors (on the seatback)..so it stands to reason that the peg is likely strong enough for the forces involved in FF tethering. Furthermore, it IS permitted to tether to a male seatbelt and that seatbelt is also often integrated into the seat, and connected by floor pegs, as well.

However, if this is not specifically an approved tether location by the manufacturer, it is still an unknown. We don't know for sure how this location will perform in a crash. As a result, I would have to tell you that ultimately it would be a parental decision as to whether or not to tether directly to that peg... since we just really don't know. You may want to call the manufacturer of your vehicle, but the chance of you getting an informed response from them is pretty slim.

-Nicole.

[QuassEE]

Something else I neglected to point out--keep in mind that when you're tethering to any off-centre tether location, you want to watch the angle the tether is connected at. We generally recommend 20 degrees, although we used to recommend up to 30 degrees..and manufacturer's instructions trump this recommendation, since some manufacturers have approved TA locations at greater than 20 degrees of centre.

-Nicole.