Convertible car seat in Ford F150

My son just reached the limit in his Graco Snugride and we need to get a carseat for my husband's car. I just installed a Britax Boulevard in the back seat of my car. My husband, though, has a Ford F150 with no back seat, so there's not a lot of room. Plus, he needs something rather narrow because he might sometimes drive with my son in his car seat and my older stepson in the truck as well. He wants to get the Combi Coccoro because it's really narrow and will be great for travel because of the stroller that we can buy with it (like a Snap 'n' Go, but you can put the car seat forward-facing in it). However, according to the store where he was looking at seats, my son (13m, 20.8lbs, 29") has too long of legs to be RF and would need to be FF. I understand that, by law, he can be FF now, but I REALLY want him to be RF as long as possible. What other narrow car seat would fit in his truck, will allow room for my stepson, and is easy to install/remove (for when my son isn't with him)?

Thanks!

There are no limits on leg room rear facing. Who told you there were?



There's Piper at five years old rear facing in her Radian.

The Coccoro sounds like it would work well for you guys. Just know he'll likely need something to rear face in longer after it, though.

The Cosco Scenera would work as well, as would the Safety 1st Avenue.

How old is DSS? Is he forward facing? Is there a shoulder belt in the middle or just a lapbelt? I ask because the driver's side airbag can come into the middle, and you cannot put a rear facing child in front of an airbag. So your DSS would have to go in the middle if he's forward facing. But if he's in a booster or seatbelt and there's no shoulder belt there (and is there a headrest?) then he wouldn't be safe there.

Wendy

I think that's what the guy at the store told my husband, but I could be wrong. I was so mad at him for being okay with FF that I might have misheard the reason. I'll find out when I get home.

As for DSS, he's 13, so just a seat belt for him. Currently, if all three are in the truck, DS is on the passenger side (airbag shut off) and DSS is (uncomfortably) in the middle. The truck is his work car, or else we'd get something larger. He mainly just drives DS to daycare in the morning and the rest of the time, DS is in my car.

Yeah, that's not right (*adds one more nickel to the if-I-hear-about-the-legs-rear-facing-again mental piggy bank*). Rear facing a seat is outgrown by height when the head is less than 1" from the top of the shell. Legs have nothing to do with it. Protecting legs are an added bonus. We're trying to protect the spine.

Is there a shoulder belt and headrest (to the level of the 13 year old's eyes) in the middle position? If not he's at risk of whiplash and spinal injuries.

Wendy

The middle seat has a backrest that's about shoulder-high and has a shoulder and lap belt. Unfortunately, I don't think the truck has a manual shut-off for the passenger seat's airbag, but it's only based on the weight of what's on the seat.

Most trucks w/o backseats do have a manual shutoff. It would be wise to double-check.

wendytthomas said:

There are no limits on leg room rear facing. Who told you there were?

There's Piper at five years old rear facing in her Radian.

The Coccoro sounds like it would work well for you guys. Just know he'll likely need something to rear face in longer after it, though.

The Cosco Scenera would work as well, as would the Safety 1st Avenue.

How old is DSS? Is he forward facing? Is there a shoulder belt in the middle or just a lapbelt? I ask because the driver's side airbag can come into the middle, and you cannot put a rear facing child in front of an airbag. So your DSS would have to go in the middle if he's forward facing. But if he's in a booster or seatbelt and there's no shoulder belt there (and is there a headrest?) then he wouldn't be safe there.

Wendy

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Are you sure it is healthy to have her rear facing at that age. I agree rear facing is best for as long as possible. However, I would be very concerned about legs being folded up like that. That can not be good for the development of the spine, especially on longer trips. Also, you mentioned the only requirement for rear facing is the 1" from the top of the seat. My seats (Graco Comfort Sport and Evenflo Symphony) also have a weight restriction on rear facing (35# max)

Unregistered said:

Are you sure it is healthy to have her rear facing at that age. I agree rear facing is best for as long as possible. However, I would be very concerned about legs being folded up like that. That can not be good for the development of the spine, especially on longer trips. Also, you mentioned the only requirement for rear facing is the 1" from the top of the seat. My seats (Graco Comfort Sport and Evenflo Symphony) also have a weight restriction on rear facing (35# max)

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Absolutely sure. In Sweden they routinely rear face until 4-6 years, and have since the 1960s. And their traffic record shows the lack of kids dying that we can only wish we'll have some day.

Her legs were straight out there, not folded. She was always far more comfortable with her legs rear facing than forward. Also, there are fewer chances of leg injuries rear facing since her legs cannot gain momentum to go flying forward (nor her arms, in addition to her spine).

She's sitting properly, just as she would be forward facing, and her spine is straight and braced, so I cannot see how it's dangerous for spinal development. If you have any links to show where you've seen it's a concern I'd love to see them.

You're right, I didn't mention the weight limits rear facing. The OP's son was nowhere near them, and in her case she was concerned because she'd been told he was at the height limits by having his feet touch the back. So I discussed when a seat is really outgrown by height, which has nothing to do with the legs. If she'd been told that she had to turn him because he was 20 pounds then I would have mentioned the weight limit, but probably not the height. But you're absolutely correct, it's the weight limit (35 pounds in the case of her Boulevard) or 1" of hard shell above the head (with the exception of the Safety 1st Complete Air, which allows the head to the top of the headrest). In the case of my daughter's picture above, she was 32.5 pounds in a 33 pound rear facing seat.

Your Comfortsport only goes to 30 pounds rear facing, not 35. Your Symphony goes to 35.

And for the record, I'm not at all opposed to five year olds rear facing, it doesn't concern me about spinal development (which is also nearly ossified by that age, btw, I'd be far more concerned about spinal development in the 0-2 year old range when the bones are ossifying), but she didn't ride like that normally at five. At five she was forward facing and occasionally in a booster. She was rear facing because my mother and brother were in town and we needed to fit the two of them in the backseat with her, and the only way to give them shoulder room enough was to use the Radian rear facing. She rode rear facing for about a week, then I turned her forward again.

Wendy