Most RF leg room?

[hunypooh77]

What seat would you say has the most leg room for ERF?

[Blondie87]

Depends- do your car's seats recline at all?

Most likely the First Years True Fit. But since I can recline my seat backs a little bit, the True Fit sits so low and my Boulevard is higher, so it hits the angle and has more room. If that makes sense...

[Splash]

Generally speaking it would be a True Fit. The Alpha Omega should also provide a decent amount of leg room. The deeper the seat, the more legroom you get.

[armywife12]

My son has much more leg room in his True Fit than he does in his Marathon. The True Fit seems to have a deeper seat than most other convertible car seats

[hunypooh77]

No recline...I ask because my dd is about to turn 2 and has long legs. We are taking a 1200 mile trip to disney and I was considering turning her ff in her marathon to make her more comfy (and to watch movies) but I was convinced not to by some ladies on here. She has definately been getting more and more uncomfortable for longer periods of time, so I was wondering if maybe a different seat would work better.
We have already decided to take my hubbys crew cab f-250 so we have more room.

Here is my original post, if interested....
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=70223

[hunypooh77]

I also have an evenflo titan delux that I used for maybe 2 weeks before buying a marathon because I didnt like it very much...but would it give more room?

[solmama]

The TF has tons of rf leg room. You should see the stuff my ds can fit in it besides his legs (toys, snacks, etc)!

[ctbcleveland]

I don't have a true-fit, so I can't compare, but I think the sunshine kids radian seat offers lots of RF leg room compared to a MA. The "sides" are much lower than on a Britax and the seat does not sit on a base - so my son hangs his legs over the side.

His legs are free enough to constantly KICK me if I sit next to him. (maybe that is not the added benefit you'd like though.)

Be prepared for complaints FF too. Kids complain because their legs just hang there - with no support below them.

[thepeach80]

Yeah, we've never had the TF either, but the RN we had was better for that than the Britax seats. If you can recline it, it'll give more leg room and she'll probably be able to see the movie, my rfing kids can still watch our DVD player. :)

[LuvMyCharlie]

I think it really just depends on the kid. My DS has more actual legroom in the TF. He's just now having to slightly bend his knees. However, he much prefers to hang his legs over the sides of his MA. If your child is at the point of them having to actually cross their legs to sit RF, they may or may not be more comfortable having them hang over the side. Why don't you test her out in both seats then ask her which one she likes better? I'm almost sure that by two, a child can tell you what they DON'T like. :)

[LuvMyGirls]

As far as watching movies, Meredith uses a portable DVD player on her lap while Kaylan uses the one built into the van. Our Town and Country has a plug in right by her seat for traveling.

We also found the best DVD player for toddler last Thanksgiving. It's by Phillips and it doesn't have a "top" screen that opens like most do. It is a flat unit and the screen slides up to access the DVD like slider cell phones do. The battery lasts about an hour and a half. When she used the regular ones, she would also push the button and pop open the disc access and take them out. Now, she leaves it alone and the design makes it easier for her to hold since it's the size of a regular closed player.

[snowbird25ca]

I'm thinking the Titan would be similar in leg room to the MA, though it might be a smidge more. When it comes down to it, the Britax convertibles are probably 2nd in line for least rf'ing leg room, with the Recaro convertibles being first. I think the True Fit and the Radian would offer the most room. The Radian because the sides are low enough that it's easy to drape the legs if she found that more comfy, and the True Fit because it's just so much deeper and is wider as well, so really gives a ton more room. The EFTA is significantly better in terms of leg room than the MA as well, but not quite as much as the TF.

[tarynsmum]

DD has a lot more leg room in the Radian than in the Marathon - both in the seat depth and also in the low sides/draping over the side aspect (however, even when she criss-crosses her legs, she has a ton more leg room. I think it's one of the reasons she prefers the radian to the ma.

[lovinwaves]

You might try putting a small bolster like pillow under her legs for the long car ride :thumbsup:

My daughter fit comfortably rear-facing in a Marathon up until about 4 years old.

To answer your question though...I have found the Radian to provide us the most rear-facing room.

You can also try maybe removing the headrest on the back of the vehicle seat to give her feet another place to 'hang.' Just be sure though that you remove the headrest from your vehicle or place it in a very secure place while traveling in the car. Those prongs coming out of a removed headrest could be scary in terms of projectiles.

[bobandjess99]

Yep..true fit and radian..although the AOE does provide a lot..my dd ( who is 4.5, 40 lbs and 40 inches, way too large to actually ride Rfing) loves to climb in and sit in her brothers rearfacing AOe and has pleanty of room for her legs....the Ma really provides the least, except for those pesky recaros.....I'm not sure about the titan, honestly..I have one, and the depth of the shell is decent..as long as she still fits of course, you might try them out to see......

[henrietta]

DS loves our EFTA b/c of the extra leg room. He is much more squished in our Britax Decathlon than the EFTA. We've taken long trips w/him rearfacing in it. He sleeps much better on trips when the seat is rearfacing, as it's more reclined. The trips we've taken w/him forward facing, he fussed a lot more. When it reached bedtime, and I was still driving, he was screaming to get out (and I was in the middle of nowhere!)

hths

henrietta

[hunypooh77]

Thanks for the replies. DH doesnt want me buying "another" seat just to make the trip...:rolleyes: He thinks he might be able to remove the arm rest in the seat back so she can stretch out her legs (she rides in the center seat) I was a little concerned about there being a large open space where the marathon will be pushing against the seat so he is going to maybe put some wood down lower where the arm rest would be. I am thinking wood is less giving than a padded arm rest so it might be able to work?

[Jeanum]

Modifying the vehicle seat and using wood in place of part of the vehicle seat is not advisable and I would strongly discourage him from doing so. :( The support from the vehicle seat plays a role in keeping the child restraint properly installed and performing properly during a crash and modifying the vehicle seat is risking potentially compromising crash performance. Adding a piece of wood to the equation is another safety risk because the wood come break or come loose when subjected to crash forces, and the piece of wood could become a dangerous projectile in a crash that could injure the little one or other occupants in the vehicle.

[hunypooh77]

Modifying the vehicle seat and using wood in place of part of the vehicle seat is not advisable and I would strongly discourage him from doing so. :( The support from the vehicle seat plays a role in keeping the child restraint properly installed and performing properly during a crash and modifying the vehicle seat is risking potentially compromising crash performance. Adding a piece of wood to the equation is another safety risk because the wood come break or come loose when subjected to crash forces, and the piece of wood could become a dangerous projectile in a crash that could injure the little one or other occupants in the vehicle.

You should see the home made shelf in the bed of the truck...it was there when we bought it and dh likes it so he wont remove it. The truck has a cap and the previous owner built this shelf (with a 4-5 inch lip around it) across the bed against the rear window of the cab. I keep yelling at him for putting tool boxes and other stuff up there because in an accident the stuff would end up right in dd's face!:mad:

Trying to discourage dh from turning her ff...he says he is not driving for 12+ hours a day listening to her whine....:(
The seat sits pretty upright in the truck, would installing it with a pool noodle to recline more maybe give her more room?

[Jeanum]

Yikes on the shelf and toolboxes by the rear window. :eek: Hopefully those toolboxes aren't making the trip to Disney.

Trying to scoot the RF convertible a bit farther away from the vehicle seat bight (the crease where the vehicle seatback and vehicle seating surface meet) before you tighten up the installation might buy her a bit more legroom, and/or encouraging her to sit "criss cross applesauce" style. Reclining the RF convertible more deeply by using a pool noodle in the vehicle seat bight might help if she doesn't mind it more reclined. Some older rear facing kiddos might protest if they're less upright, but probably worth a try.