Britax Roundabout, Recline....Aaarrrggghh!

J

Jessica

Guest
Britax Roundabout, Recline....Aaarrrggghh!

Hello. I am hoping for a little more help on my RA.

I have a 5 month old, 18 lb., rear facing baby. I am able to achieve a rock solid installation, with it tethered to the anchor of the captain's chair it is installed in (using Swedish method).

The angle, however, is too severe for my baby. My dad,engineer that he is, purchased a piece of foam specially designed to help with the recline from our local Babies R'Us (it's called the car seat leveler- it's like a warped pool noodle).

I can achieve a great recline with it (although it does not exceed the manufacturer's stated limit of 45 degrees).

I read on here about people achieving a 45 angle with the tether alone. In my vehicle- I could tighten until next March, and it wasn't going to help that much.... Then I read another quote on here about Britax not technically endorsing noodles or foam

What's a mommy to do?My seat slips into the bight, and I end up, even tethered, with a little kid who looks like his head is falling off his shoulders.

Is the seat leveler overkill? Or should I go to one lone pool noodle, and use that? What exactly is meant by not taking the seat further than horizontal?

I looked at the photo album of Caviller's Odyssey RA installation, and my car seat is tipped slightly higher than those pictures, but the angle is not exceeding 45...I know, because my dad used his giant protractor to check...(that's the kind of family we are... ;-)

What's the best advice on this, the recline issue? I can't see a safety tech until next weekend, so I feel like I'm a little lost.....

Thanks so much!

Jessica
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murphydog77

Guest
Re: Britax Roundabout, Recline....Aaarrrggghh!

Hi Jessica. What vehicle are you using? Britax says that you can use a tightly rolled towel to fill up the space beneath the seat in the bight. That said, I have used a noodle or 2 to help with recline on a RA before.

There are some things you can try before resorting to a noodle. Have you tried putting the base directly into the back of the captain's chair, so that the base is level with the ground? That's what I did in my Sienna and it worked for me. You could try adjusting the recline of the captain's chair to get that to work. You will have empty space at the bight with this method.

Can you try tethering it to a front seat leg instead of the anchor on the captain's chair the RA is on? Just the change in angle may help you pull the RA toward a better angle for your baby.

I think personally I would try a tightly rolled towel, as Britax suggests, before using the car seat leveler bought from BRU. JMO.

Heather
 
J

Jessica

Guest
Thanks.....

I have a Chevy Venture '02. There is no acceptable place for tethering in front. The seatbelt stalks are oddly positioned, and even using the d-strap, it just didn't work.

I'll try a tightly wrapped towel, and see if I can do a better job with that. If I can get the seat to stay forward of the bight- hopefully that'll help with the recline, since we won't be starting out in the hole, so to speak!

I like the foam wedge, and that seat is cemented in place, but it just seems like too big of a piece of foam. I know it's probably not, but it just looks odd to me.....

Okay- thanks- off to try plan B.......

Jessica
 
C

Caviller

Guest
I made the comment about Britax and Noodles-

At a conference, Britax clarified that they prefer you to get all the recline with the tether, then you may use a noodle or towel to "fill in" the gap between the carseat and vehicle seat. There is no practical difference between a tightly rolled towel or a foam wedge, other than the size.

Clearly, if this method doesn't work quite enough for you, it is probably better for you to make the choice to get the necessary recline with a noodle/towel if adjusting the tether doesn't give quite enough.

Darren
 
U

UlrikeDG

Guest
If you're talking about the spot behind the driver, there IS

If you're talking about the spot behind the driver, there IS a place to tether a Roundabout rear facing. I've done it. I'll talk to my friend and hopefully, I'll be able to take a picture of how I tethered my seat rear facing in her vehicle later this week.
 
J

Jessica

Guest
Wow!

Ulrike-

If you can describe the spot after talking with your friend- I'd truly appreciate it. We could not find any non-moving spot that was suitable, and when we called Chevy and spoke with a car seat safety person, we were told there was no appropriate forward anchorage spot from that position- which is why we settled on under the captain's chair it was seated in.....They advised us, if using a rear facing tether, to use it the way we have it, but if you have a suitable location, please let me know, and I'll call them and pass it onto them as well.....

And Caviller- thanks for the information. I am glad to know that there is no real difference between the towel and the foam. I tried using the towel this afternoon, and it's still at a bad angle (when I applied pressure to the tether- it compressed the rolled towel and I lost most of any angle benefit I had of keeping it out of the bight.), so I am going to try with a single noodle, and see if that will do a better job.

You know, I am a fan of the Britax RA, but right now, I have to say, as for ease of installation, out of the 4 rear facing seats I've owned, as a rear-facing seat, this one is really hard to get a good angle on. Tighteness in the seat- it's terrfic, but the angle is proving to be a pain. For comparison's sake, I put in our older, rear facing FP Safe Embrace, and got a great angle right off the bat, with no wedge or adjustment needed.

I am really hoping that we can get this settled in at a better angle, or else I am probably going to store it until he can be turned around, which is ages and ages from now.

And one other thing, which all of you probably know. Britax said it was acceptable to use both lockoffs when rear facing in order to prevent or stop the tilt the shoulder belt can give in the installation.

I'm sure you all knew that, but we found that out when we installed it, and it really does help....

Thanks again for the information, and for your efforts, Ulrike, to tell me where I can tether it alternatively.

Jessica
 
U

UlrikeDG

Guest
I'll have pictures sometime this week...

There's nothing wrong with tethering it under the seat it's in, especially if that's where Chevy recommended. I spoke to my friend today, and she & I are going to get together later this week, so I can take pictures how I tethered the RA in her Venture.
 
S

safeinthecar

Guest
Re: Britax Roundabout, Recline....Aaarrrggghh!

It could be you arre tightening the seat belt so tight that you can't pull the tether tighter. Think of it like a teeter totter. The seat belt and the tether pull against one another. I have always been able to get the angle I wanted (except in cases where there just wasn't enough room) and I have never had to use a noodle or a towel when I could tether it. Here's what I do, sit the RA on the vehicle seat and thread the belt (do not lock the shoulder belt by pulling it all the way out.) Pull the slack out of the belt so that there is no excess but don't worry about getting the perfect rock solid installation. that will come later. Close the lock off. You can use both if you want but it is not nessesary.Also you do not have to lock the shoulder belt by pulling it all out. the lock off is designed to work with a shoulder belt that does not lock and it won't tip the seat sideways the way the locked shoulder belt can. At this point the carseat should be sitting at a much higher angle than you want.(and yes it will be in the bight of the seat) Now attach the tether and tighten it until you get the angle you want. As the seat tips back the front edge comes up and puts pressure on the seat belt ,making it tight. If you can't tighten the tether enough to get the angle, open the lockoff and let the seatbelt loosen a little. Close the lock off and tighten the tether more. When you have the angl you want test how tight the seat is. If it moves more than1 inch tighten the seatbelt. Usually I don't have to do this . The installation is so tight that I can shake the car with the carseat. Be extra careful about using noodles or towels with the RA to get the angle right. I have seen people warp the front edge of the RA (by the recline adjuster) by putting stuff under there and then putting their body weight in the seat.

Kim McDaniel
CPS Tech CA
safeinthecar@earthlink.net
 
J

Jessica

Guest
It worked!

Safe in the car!!!!

The teeter totter analogy worked like a dream. I did what you said, and lo and behold, with any noodling or towelling, or any bolstering of any sort, I got a terrific angle for my baby, and the installation was a breeze!

You were right- I was anchoring it with the lap/shoulder belt so tightly that I wasn't giving the tether any room to help it pull downward.

Doing the teeter totter thing let it recline backwards, and at the same time, everything tightened up so nicely that I can't budge the seat- the car swayed before the seat did!

Thanks so very much- my baby will be so grateful to sleep in comfort when we travel now!

Jessica
 
J

Jessica

Guest
One more quick question.....

Following Safeinthe car's installation- I didn't have to ever put pressure on the seat of the Britax RA to get the seatbelt tight. I have usually put my knee in it to get it rock solid, but I didn't have to this time. The teeter totter action of the tether and the seatbelt working together made it tight on its own.

Stupid question, but if you've got it so tight the car sways when you try and move the car seat, it probably goes without saying that you don't need to put your weight on it, right?

Thanks.....
Jessica
 
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safeinthecar

Guest
Re: Britax Roundabout, Recline....Aaarrrggghh!

You are absolutely right. As long as you get it tight, it doesn't really matter how you did it (unless of course you do something kooky like taping it down) LOL.

KIm McDaniel
CPSTech CA
 
C

Caviller

Guest
Re: One more quick question.....

If it doesn't budge front-to-back or side-to-side, you have no slack in the lap belt, and the lap&shoulder belts are both coupled in one or both lockoffs, it sounds like you have a good installation.

Of course, if you still have any questions, it never hurts to see a local technician, preferably one familiar with Britax rear-facing tethers! It's never a wasted trip, and even if yours is in perfectly you can always come back and brag that you were one of the very few visitors who arrived with a good installation:)

Darren
 

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