Successful Three Across thread

[munchkin]

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2005 Explorer Sport Trac (pick up like Explorer)

Passenger - middle - driver

RF Marathon - RF Radian - FF Frontier
LATCh or belt - belt - LATCh or SBP belt




FF Marathon - FF Radian - FF Frontier
LATCh or belt - belt (recline down) - LATCh or SBP belt




Can also use the Frontier in Booster mode (although it is harder to do with it LATChed in, because you can't scoot the seat over) with the Radian either FF or RF (easier when RF).

[munchkin]

2007 Ford Focus

Passenger - middle - driver

FF Frontier (LBP) - RF Radian - RF Marathon
All with seat belts and tethered.





(The trickiest part was buckling the Marathon in because the stalk is on the other side of the middle belt.)


The passenger seat can be moved all the way back , so if you switch the Frontier and Marathon, the drivers seat could go all the way back (just make sure you put the Frontier in first because of the belt layout).

Forward facing the Radian or Marathon would not work because the sides of the top of the Radian flare out too much.

[Mama Jo]

2007 Kia Sedona LWB, 3rd row

Vivo
BLVD - with seatbelt
Turbo

Not checked by a tech, but the BLVD's solid... and it's pretty hard to screw up a couple of boosters...

Ok, so it's an easy one. I'll try other configurations with my other seats as I have time...

The middle seatbelt in this is kinda of tricky to work with because of the 60-40 split. It would probably work best to put a Radian in the drivers side position (which I plan to do at some point) because that seat offers the least amount of room based on the placement of the seatbelts.

[heyruthie]

no pics yet (try soon!) but I just did my first sucessful 3-across in my Mom's 2003 (I think!) Honda CRV. It consisted of:

High-Back Turbo Booster (driver outboard)
FFing Scenera with seatbelt install (center)
High-Back Turbo Booster (passenger outboard)

This is probably just "3-across 101" for all you experts out there, but it was my first try, and I was so happy it worked! I did it!

[elle7715]

Passenger-FF Radian, center-RF Radian, driver-RF Diplomat in a 2008 Chevy Cobalt. All with LATCH, but if the RF Radian in the center didn't have the new RF foot I would have had to use the seatbelt for the Diplomat. Still a good install. Can't recline the Diplomat as much as I'd like but it worked for the quick trips I needed it for.


overlap

[finn]

I finally have a successful 3 across

1998 BMW 318i

Passenger - Britax Multi Tech rf (only place it can go) Sealtbelt

Centre - Safe and Sound (Britax) Protector Harness ff (for use from 14kg to 32kg with lap belt)

Driver - Nania BeWay Booster ff (harnessed to 18kg/40lbs then as a booster to 36kg) Seat belt





Passenger - Britax Multi Tech rf (only place it can go) Sealtbelt

Centre - Safe and Sound (Britax) Protector Harness ff (for use from 14kg to 32kg with lap belt)

Driver - Britax Companion rf, seat belt, without the base, there is no way I can get the base tight enough.

[Blondie87]

In a 2000 Toyota Avalon- all with seatbelt.

Radian XT RF, Keyfit 30 RF, and Vivo. - VERY hard to buckle Vivo. Judi *saw* the 3 across, but didn't check it.

Boulevard RF, Radian XT RF, and Vivo. - Easier to buckle Vivo, but still took some work..

[Patriot201]

2006 Honda Civic

* Recaro Vivo (using seatbelt, of course)
* RF Sunshine Kids Radian XT (installed using seatbelt and RF tether)
* Graco Nautilus (installed using seatbelt and FF tether)

Two installed carseats are independently secure. This is a TIGHT fit, but it works.

[scoutingbear]

'05 Toyota Highlander

KF30 (no base) driver's side, RF Radian, turbo HBB (it wouldn't work on the other side...couldn't reach to buckle

RF MA, RF Radian, GN (all seat leaned slightly to the buckle side of the seatbelt but were all independently secure)

FF MA, RF Radian, GN (see above)

Not inspected by a tech; all seats were independently secure

[skylinphoto]

In a '94 Oldsmobile Cutlas.
22lb snugride, ff cosco scenera, 22 lb snugride

rf cosco scenera, GN, rf cosco scenera

all seatbelt (with locking clips) installs (no latch in this older car)
not checked by tech but all are great independant installs.

[brelza]

We have a 2008 Mazda speed 3 4dr hatchback. We can get 3 FPSVB in the back row since the middle seat sits front a tad.

[Patriot201]

2006 Honda Civic



FF Britax Parkway
RF Sunshine Kids Radian XT (seatbelt/RF tether)
FF Graco Nautilus (seatbelt/FF tether)




RF SafetyFirst Avenue
FF Cosco Scenera
FF Sunshine Kids Radian XT
(all installed with seatbelts)



FF Britax Boulevard
RF Sunshine Kids Radian XT
FF Recaro Vivo
(all installed with seatbelts)

[skiersnowboarder3]

2005 Kia Spectra

nauti used as a backless booster, RFing radian, nauti with harness

The backless booster was really difficult to fit in. I had to compress the car's seat quite a bit. I haven't actually put kids in this combo yet. I'll let you know tomorrow how practical it is.

[emandbri]

I posted these in another thread but I'll put them here too.

Van is a 2004 sienna. These are my kids and my two nieces dressed for my brother's wedding.

middle row rf marathon, forward facing radian, graco tubo booster.



back row

12 year old in seat belt, 10 year old in seat belt, sunshine kids monterey




This is my friend's car, I have permission to post the pictures. Car is a pontiac grand marque I think 91.

rf marathon, graco snugride, and parkway

[kirsty]

in a ford mondeo 98

britax hi-liner highback booster
britax elite
nania topo backless booster

the booster seats are really hard to buckle the kids cant do it them self i have to buckle all three in, even a 9 year old which feels silly.

[skiersnowboarder3]

'05 Kia Spectra

FF nautilus w/ harness, RF radian 65, nautilus as backless booster

I do have a picture but it is stuck on my camera because I lost the cord and neither of my computers have an SD outlet. One of these days when I'm at my mom's I'll upload the picture.

The booster was hard to get into place because it just barely fit but once it was in buckling was pretty simple. Much easier than with the back. I would buckle it behind the belt path then put the belt in the red zone after it was buckled. I got the radian to fit between my seats so the front seats were almost all the way back. That was the first time I was able to do this.

[Pixels]

2002 Honda Civic sedan

Driver's FFing Radian, seatbelt
Center RFing Radian, seatbelt
Passenger FFing Radian, seatbelt

All independently tight, and I am a tech.

It definitely was not easy. First I had to position the center seat, and install the driver's seat. Then actually install the center seat. Then get the passenger seat in. Trying to install the passenger seat before the center seat didn't work, and neither did installing the center seat before the driver seat. There was twisting of the female belt stalk on all three seats. The center seat was one full twist, but I couldn't tell you how many on the outboard seats. Probably one or two (but definitely not more than three).

[skiersnowboarder3]

promised picture

[firemomof3]

My first successful 3 across
2006 Kia Sedona 3rd row bench
Graco MyRide ff passenger side, seat belt install
Parkway Booster center
Radian XT rf latch install

Not checked by a tech but both seats are rock solid and there is plenty of room for the parkway to be buckled.

[Carrie_R]

Not sure how much help this will be, but I'll contribute anyways in case it may help someone sometime.

97 Pontiac Grand Am

Century Ascend, Cosco Touriva (FF), Evenflo Express

All in harnessed mode, installed with seatbelts, no tethers (don't think there were any.)

Very, VERY tight install -- if you're going to try this (or similar) expect scraped up hands. I believe it touched the door on at least one side; I didn't know any better at the time. Someone with more experience may have been able to achieve a better install; I thought being able to close the doors was victory enough. We rode this way for about a year.


2002 GMC Safari

Have had many combinations of car seats in here -- just listing a few...

All installed with seatbelts, l/s-l-l/s, listed driver-middle-passenger.

2nd Row
Cosco Booster*/Evenflo Express/Snugride w/o base (may have fit with, never tried it)
Cosco Booster*/Snugride w/base/Evenflo Express
Cosco HBB/Snugride w/base/Nautilus
Cosco HBB/Snugride w/base/Graco Airbooster
MR65/Snugride w/base/Cosco HBB**

3rd Row
Apex/Scenera FF/Apex
Apex/Scenera RF/Apex
Cosco Highrise/Evenflo Express/Cosco Highrise
Cosco Highrise/Scenera FF/Highrise
Highrise/Scenera/Cosco Summit



To be honest... I find it hard to believe that any combination of seats couldn't be somehow worked out in this van. We have to do a bit of crawling under/around to get kids INTO their seats, and it helps to have kids who can buckle (or mostly buckle) their harnesses, but you do what you have to do. (Pre-reharnessing, my rule was that whomever wanted to sit in the "back corner" had to be able to buckle themselves.) Worst seat to buckle by far is the Scenera in the Apex config, but I think that has more to do with it being a RFing Scenera and less to do with the configuration.

*Not sure model name... high back booster that has no harness. Cosco or Dorel something. (Voyager?) We always called it "brown seat," ha ha.
**Not 100% sure this config is an acceptable install, due to the play between the SR and the MR, but I'm guessing if the psg seat can be moved forward, you could put the Snugride outboard and the HBB in the middle.

None of these were tech-checked, btw... I'm very much not a tech, but my car seats do NOT move once I've installed them.