Carseats for our car ??

[HnKsMama]

Im not really sure where to put this, but I need help finding a carseat for our car.

We have a 2005 Nissan Sentra, DH is 6'7 and has to have his seat (pass and drivers side both) pushed all the way back when in them. DD is in a Graco Snugride in the middle rear seat. The head of it is touching the backs of the front seats (we had this inspected and its fine as long as its not being pushed on).
DD now needs to go into a convertable. She is 3.5months, 16# and 24.5-25 inches. Her legs and torso are pretty equal but she is about 2 inches from the top.
We went the otherday to test out seats and we tried a Britax Roundabout and Decathalon first and we couldnt even get it in straight enough to even try and recline or strap it in.
Then we tried an Evenflo Triumph and while it fit it was pretty snug and left indentions in the backs of the front seats.
We then tried a Graco Comfort Sport and it fit great, no problems, but all of the reviews that I have read about it are for babies 6+ months and none any younger than that. I have asked on a parenting forum about it and some really like it but others say that we need to try and get a bigger seat in there because the CS only goes up to 30lbs RF. YES I want to keep her RF as long as I can, but our car is too small for anything bigger and we dont have the money to buy a $300 carseat.

And NO buying another car is NOT an option as others have suggested.

DD really needs to be in a bigger seat soon, but I just dont know what to do.
We reall only have about $100 MAYBE $150 to spend on a seat right now until around October, but by then she will be well out of her infant seat.

Can anyone help me please ???

[papooses]

First idea I have is to just install it outboard with the front passenger seat pushed up more so that the nondriving adult can sit in the back -- this will help baby stay entertained/soothed + the backseat is safer for every passenger....

Hopefully some of the others here have tried convertibles in your vehicle

[mominabigtruck]

Just out of curiosity why if you only have $150 max to spend why were you trying the decathalon? They're usually about a $100 more then that. The comfortsport pretty much is the worst value for your money because of the amount of time it fits most children. I would try the safety 1st uptown, you can get is for about $90 at walmart and has no base so you'll probably have to use pool noodles to get a good recline but it should fit pretty well.

I don't know how ya'll are but I always drive my car, always, so if your dh always drives I would just put it behind the passenger seat. If not try the uptown in the middle. Depending on how good you are at installing your seats and if you elr belts you might try the fisher price safe voyage. They run about $139 and if you do change seats alot they're very easy to install because you can thread the seatbelt over the cover instead of under and I can do mine in under 2 minutes.

[all together ooky]

You should be able to get the Roundabout in easily. The Marathon too. You just have to install it more upright. To do this you:
Pull the carseat away from the vehicle seat bight about 1-2 inches. Then press down on the carseat where the child's legs would go (by the adjuster, not the butt). Then tighten seatbelt/LATCH (whatever you prefer). This carseat will be very upright. Then use the top tether to adjust the recline where you'd like it. It is okay, and recommended, to have these seats braced against the front seats.

You can also get the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe for $129.
The Uptown should work too $90.

[HnKsMama]

Originally Posted by mominabigtruck

Just out of curiosity why if you only have $150 max to spend why were you trying the decathalon? They're usually about a $100 more then that. The comfortsport pretty much is the worst value for your money because of the amount of time it fits most children. I would try the safety 1st uptown, you can get is for about $90 at walmart and has no base so you'll probably have to use pool noodles to get a good recline but it should fit pretty well.

I don't know how ya'll are but I always drive my car, always, so if your dh always drives I would just put it behind the passenger seat. If not try the uptown in the middle. Depending on how good you are at installing your seats and if you elr belts you might try the fisher price safe voyage. They run about $139 and if you do change seats alot they're very easy to install because you can thread the seatbelt over the cover instead of under and I can do mine in under 2 minutes.

Because DH was supposed to get a bonus and then they decided not to give any this year. We both drive the car since it is the only one we tried the infant seat on the outboard, but when we had it inspected we were told NOT to put a seat outboard in our car unless we have 2 in there and cant avoid it.

Originally Posted by all together ooky

You should be able to get the Roundabout in easily. The Marathon too. You just have to install it more upright. To do this you:
Pull the carseat away from the vehicle seat bight about 1-2 inches. Then press down on the carseat where the child's legs would go (by the adjuster, not the butt). Then tighten seatbelt/LATCH (whatever you prefer). This carseat will be very upright. Then use the top tether to adjust the recline where you'd like it. It is okay, and recommended, to have these seats braced against the front seats.

You can also get the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe for $129.
The Uptown should work too $90.

I dont think that our car has a way to top tether a RF seat, FF we do because its in the back dash.
Do all RF convertibles have to be top tethered ?

[UlrikeDG]

No rear facing convertible must be tethered. A few rear facing convertibles may be tethered, including those by Britax. The rules for tethering a rear facing seat are different from those for a front facing seat. You don't have to have a pre-installed tether anchor for a rear facing seat, just a non-moving, structural point (like the leg of the seat in front of the car seat).

The center seating position is preferred, but it is acceptable to install a seat in the outboard position. In fact, if a good fit cannot be achieved in the center position but can be achieved outboard, the outboard position is the best option. The tech was right that it was best to move the infant carrier to the center position, since it fit well there, but he was not right to imply that this rule is absolute in all circumstances.

If she's still 2" from the top of the infant carrier, I'd leave her in that for now. If you can wait until she's a little older and has better head control, you can install the convertible more upright than 45 degrees, which will give you more room.

Also, push the front seats all the way forward, install the seat, then shove them back as far as they will go*. You need a minimum of 10" between the front seat occupant(s) and the frontal airbag(s). You'll probably be surprised at what will actually fit back there. I was able to fit a relatively large Britax Marathon in the back of my tiny Saturn Wagon, for example, but not at a 45 degree angle.

*As far as I know, Evenflo is the only seat manufacturer with rules against bracing a rear facing seat like this. I don't know if it's all their models or only some of them, but be sure to check the manual just in case.

[snowbird25ca]

Originally Posted by UlrikeDG

If she's still 2" from the top of the infant carrier, I'd leave her in that for now. If you can wait until she's a little older and has better head control, you can install the convertible more upright than 45 degrees, which will give you more room.

This is exactly what I was going to say. She can stay in the carrier as long as she has 1" of shell above her head. So if she has 2" right now, she has 1" of torso growing room left in the seat. So probably at least another month - and that can make a big difference for head control.

I'm not familiar with the back of the sentra, but we had a saturn ION and had a rf'ing MA in there quite upright, also we had an AO in the center position at almost a 45 degree angle when my dd was 4months old. I really dislike the alpha omega seats, but anything narrow you should be able to do the same thing as we did with the AO and have it go right between the two seat backs.

And definitely flip the front seats forward and slide them forward while installing the seats - it makes it much easier to get a seat installed in a small back seat.

Britax seats are great in that they allow you to tether rear facing and that gives you a lot of adjustability in the recline. In general the marathon is a better deal for your money, but the roundabout does have a shorter shell. The drawback to the shorter shell, is that it'll be outgrown early enough that you'll need to buy another harnessed seat, whereas a marathon will fit most kids until they're old enough & mature enough to use a booster. The fisher price safe voyage deluxe is the same shell as the marathon, doesn't have built in lock-offs or the ability to tether rf'ing, but has high harness slots and a 55lb weight limit, so it might be an option for you provided you could get a MA to fit.

The comfortsport tends to be a well-liked seat while it fits, but kids outgrow it really early by height. For that reason, it's just not really recommended.

[HnKsMama]

Originally Posted by snowbird25ca

This is exactly what I was going to say. She can stay in the carrier as long as she has 1" of shell above her head. So if she has 2" right now, she has 1" of torso growing room left in the seat. So probably at least another month - and that can make a big difference for head control.

I'm not familiar with the back of the sentra, but we had a saturn ION and had a rf'ing MA in there quite upright, also we had an AO in the center position at almost a 45 degree angle when my dd was 4months old. I really dislike the alpha omega seats, but anything narrow you should be able to do the same thing as we did with the AO and have it go right between the two seat backs.

And definitely flip the front seats forward and slide them forward while installing the seats - it makes it much easier to get a seat installed in a small back seat.

Britax seats are great in that they allow you to tether rear facing and that gives you a lot of adjustability in the recline. In general the marathon is a better deal for your money, but the roundabout does have a shorter shell. The drawback to the shorter shell, is that it'll be outgrown early enough that you'll need to buy another harnessed seat, whereas a marathon will fit most kids until they're old enough & mature enough to use a booster. The fisher price safe voyage deluxe is the same shell as the marathon, doesn't have built in lock-offs or the ability to tether rf'ing, but has high harness slots and a 55lb weight limit, so it might be an option for you provided you could get a MA to fit.

The comfortsport tends to be a well-liked seat while it fits, but kids outgrow it really early by height. For that reason, it's just not really recommended.

The Sentra is quite a bit smaller than the ION is. DS has a AO and when its in there it takes up the entire drivers side outboard and then some. RF it has to be completely upright to get it in.


Are there any other carseats that have SIP other than Britax ?
Our car isnt rated to great for side impact... that is why the tech told us NOT to use the outboard.
Does BRU sell the fisher price ? I really do not want to buy a seat that I cant look at in person. We did that with an Evenflo infant carrier and we had to send it back because it didnt fit right.

Does anyone know anything about this seat ?
http://albeebaby.com/coincocarse.html

[LeeLi]

The Intera on the link is another 3-in-1 like the Alpha Omega, there are some differences but the idea is the same. So if the AO already doesn't fit in your car then the Intera won't either. 3-in-1s are not generally recommended around here because the top harness height is low and it tends to be outgrown for FFing very quickly, especially given what they cost.

About SIP, car seats are not tested for side on impacts so it is impossible to know for sure what seats offer good side impact protection. The euro clones of the Britax seats have been through the required SIP testing there and I think they all get good scores. So it's hard to say what car seats provide good side-impact protection, although all car seats provide some protection. RFing also provides more SIP, so it's less of a concern with kids who are RFing like your DD.

Your DD might fit in the snugride for several more months, so you should have a chance to experiment with different seats. It you want to see how the FPSVD fits in your car, you could try with a tester Marathon from BRU since the shell and thus the fit should be identical.
Also, by the end of the summer the new Triumph Advance will be out, and it sounds like it will be a great seat for the price(same as the current Triumph). By then your DD might have enough head control to use it at less of an angle, and the Triumph easily adjusts to be quite upright RFing.

[papooses]

Britax, Recaro, Compass & other such foreign-based manufacturers do conform to US frontal crash testing standards (when stated so on their stickers) as well as European side impact testing.... Britax advertises some of their seats with "TSIP" because they perform marginally better than the others in such testing, but all of their seats pass. We don't have side impact standards for carseats yet in the US, but any 5 point harness is safe when correctly used!

Features to consider for a child of tall parents include: tall shell/frame, high top slots + deep side wings with EPS/EPP foam (like in bike helmets: this is likely similar to "TSIP").

The center seat is generally the safest point during impact, but this depends upon the carseat + vehicle manuals. If an outboard installation is more secure than a center install) and/or it allows safety to be more evenly distributed for all vehicle occupants, then it is most certainly a good safe choice. Your child will still be the safest person in the vehicle & you will be safer in the back with kiddo than you would be sitting up front! (Which means you've increased the likelihood of being there to provide optimal caregiving while kiddo grows through life)

[HnKsMama]

I am seriously about to pull my hair out with this !! I really dont know what to do.

DS seat is no longer in there since he doesnt live with us all the time so DDs seat is in the center. The problem is that the car is WAY too small for a very big seat. We tried a Marathon when we went back to the store , but there is no way. We cant even use the top tether for it to recline it and to get it in there correctly even with it braced against the front seats our seats are leaning forward so much that we hunched over.

We tried DS seat RF (his is actually the EB version of the AO) and the problem is that the top is too tall for our car. And DH is so tall that he has to have his seat all the way back.
We called the dealer where we got our car and talked to someone about carseats and they have been getting several calls about it so they said Nissan is suggesting the Triumph, but we tried it and while it fit it was rather snug and we couldnt get it adjusted.

I was hoping that she would stay in her infant seat till Sept when DH deploys, but I really doubt that is going to happen. She only has 2 inches left in it and that is with a sposie on, with cloth shes at the limit, so we are having ti use sposies each time we put her in the seat.
She is actually too big in length for her swing too !

I would rather have to buy another carseat sooner than to get a bigger one and not be able to install it correctly.

In Sept after DH deploys we are going to be staying with my parents so when Im with them fit issues shouldnt be a problem in there Sorento, but my car will be the main one since I dont drive theirs. A Marathon would have no problems fitting in there, but if it cant fit in mine why buy it just for their car !

[Kellyr2]

Hey guys, how does a Scenera compare to some of the others mentioned on this thread? I'm talking with her on another board too, and thought maybe it would fit, and then she could get a different hwh seat in a few years.

[UlrikeDG]

Actually, I think the Scenera is one of the better options for her.

[singingpond]

Originally Posted by HnKsMama

We tried DS seat RF (his is actually the EB version of the AO) and the problem is that the top is too tall for our car. And DH is so tall that he has to have his seat all the way back.

Just wanted to be sure you had tried the AO without the base. We've used an AO in our Corolla, and there is still reasonable space in the front seat (it can't go all the way back, but not too far forward either). The AO is definitely not too high in the Corolla; however, I realize that your car may be even smaller, so my apologies if you've already tried this.

Katrin

[HnKsMama]

Originally Posted by singingpond

Just wanted to be sure you had tried the AO without the base. We've used an AO in our Corolla, and there is still reasonable space in the front seat (it can't go all the way back, but not too far forward either). The AO is definitely not too high in the Corolla; however, I realize that your car may be even smaller, so my apologies if you've already tried this.

Katrin

I dont think that the base of DS seat comes off. I dunno. I have looked but I dont see anyway to get it off. His is an older one... like 4yrs old.

I begged DH for a Corolla but he didnt like it. The Corolla is quite a bit bigger than our car is.
DH has to have his seat all the way back no matter where he sits, so the middle is best while he is here. DS isnt living with us so we dont have him in there right now. I wanted to use his seat, but it doesnt go, if the top was shorter it would go.

The space between the 2 front seats is small and the snugride is squeezed in that space and touches both seats, so the Britax seats dont go between.

Our manual to the car says no less than a 12in min from passenger to the airbag and with a seat RF behind the passenger seat it puts me too close to the airbag.

Im really pulling my hair out right now.

I never even thought about it, but DH is on a few forums for the car and he is going to ask about seats since there are a few tall drivers with RF seats then we are going to go tomorrow BACK to BRU and test out ALL of there RF seats not just a few.


I dont know if I said earlier or not... but the top of DDs head is 2 inch from the top of the SR so that means technically she only has 1 inch left right ??


http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...cture011-1.jpg

Here is the back seat of our car with BOTH seats adjusted for me and no carseats. When DH drives his seat has to be all the way back and that only leaves MAYBE 4 inches between edge of seat and back of front seat. When DS is in there he has to pull his legs up into the carseat or put them on the back of the front seat.

[UlrikeDG]

Legs are not a concern rear facing.

Another option for you: put the rear facing seat behind the passenger seat, put that seat as far forward as necessary, and you sit behind the driver (when you're not driving).

Also, put the passenger seat more upright! With it reclined like that, you're probably not going to fit much of anything behind it.

[mominabigtruck]

Here's how you take the base of the ao off. Set the seat in front of you and look on the right side of the base where the seat meets the base. YOu should be able to see a little tab that pushes down. Now look on the other side, same spot, you should see a metal dowel. Take a screwdriver or a knife and while pushing down the tab push the dowel from the other side. Once you get it out on the right side you can pull it right out. Then your seat should pop right apart. I had a rfing aoe in the backseat of a hyundia accent which is a tiny car and didn't have any problems so I know it can be done. I'm just wondering how you're installing them because looking at your backseat it looks like it should fit unless you're trying to super recline them.

[skaterbabscpst]

Originally Posted by UlrikeDG

Also, put the passenger seat more upright! With it reclined like that, you're probably not going to fit much of anything behind it.

Absolutely. Not to mention if your seat is too reclined, it can cause injury in a crash, it's much safer to be upright.
FWIW, I was able to fit a rear facing Marathon in my 1996 2 door Jeep Cherokee Sport. The front passenger seat did need to be completely upright, but the passenger was more than ten inches from the dash once the Ma was installed and the seat put back into place.


Here is a picture of my daughter RF in her MA in my Jeep. If you'd like a sideways view, I'm sure I can arrange that.

[singingpond]

Originally Posted by HnKsMama

I dont think that the base of DS seat comes off. I dunno. I have looked but I dont see anyway to get it off. His is an older one... like 4yrs old.

I begged DH for a Corolla but he didnt like it. The Corolla is quite a bit bigger than our car is.
DH has to have his seat all the way back no matter where he sits, so the middle is best while he is here. DS isnt living with us so we dont have him in there right now. I wanted to use his seat, but it doesnt go, if the top was shorter it would go.

The space between the 2 front seats is small and the snugride is squeezed in that space and touches both seats, so the Britax seats dont go between.

Our experience has been that the AO, without base, fits OK in the same space a Snugride fits. We have two AO's, one purchased 2001, the other 2004, and they both come off the base in exactly the same way (another poster described how to take it apart, and that sounds about right from what I remember, but I would have to look at the manual to be positive). Without the base it really is a fairly compact easy-to-install seat -- worth a try, anyway, since you already own the seat.

Katrin

[Kellyr2]

She can't put the baby in the rear passenger side and then sit behind the driver - they have 2 kids. The ds that she mentioned putting his legs up, is her older, FF kid, who has no leg room when the dad is driving.

[HnKsMama]

Hey Kelly, is there a seat that is comparable to the regular FPV (not the deluxe) that we could try out ??

I really do not want to order something online without trying it first then have to pay again to send it back if it doesnt fit. YKWIM ??

We are going today to look again. We planned to go earlier but our AC went out and had to have housing come fix it.

[UlrikeDG]

I thought the FF seat was in the center.

Regardless, something has to give. Either the people in the front are going to have to sit farther forward and more upright than they're used to, or they're going to have to find another way to make it work. It may suck for a couple of months until the littlest one gets old enough to handle sitting more upright, but seeing as that child doesn't ride with them all the time, it's not as big of an irritation as it could be.

[HnKsMama]

Originally Posted by UlrikeDG

I thought the FF seat was in the center.

Regardless, something has to give. Either the people in the front are going to have to sit farther forward and more upright than they're used to, or they're going to have to find another way to make it work. It may suck for a couple of months until the littlest one gets old enough to handle sitting more upright, but seeing as that child doesn't ride with them all the time, it's not as big of an irritation as it could be.

The smallest child who is in the INFANT SEAT (which is the one in the center) IS with us ALL THE TIME the older one is NOT ! And DH CAN NOT scoot the seat up any or he can not get in the car period. His knees are already touching the dash as it is now with the seat all the way back.

And like I said earlier our manual says NO LESS THAN 12in between the person and the airbag, if I scoot my seat up much further than it already is then that puts me too close to the airbag especially when driving.

It wont do me any good to get a bigger carseat when DH leaves, use it for 4 months and then have to buy yet another one just so DH can get in the danged car.

I WISH that a bigger seat would fit, but it doesnt.
Even with the infant seat on the passenger side it doesnt fit. And in the picture of our car the seats are not leaned back very far.... what you dont see is the front of the seat, they are THICK and we are sitting pretty upright in them.

I cant sit behind DH and put the seat in the passenger side because I cant get my legs in there unless I sit sideways in the seat with my legs up in the middle seat.

I will get a picture of the infant seat in the car and show you just how much room that little thing takes up and maybe then you will understand why a bigger seat will not fit !

[UlrikeDG]

At this point, I really think your best bet is to get help from a tech in person. I can guess all day long about what might work or what "should" work, but unless I can actually get into the vehicles with a seat and see how people fit, it's really not all that helpful to you.

[HnKsMama]

AH HA !! I emailed Nissan and they sent me a list of the seats that they have actually tested and recommend for the 2001-2005 Sentras and there is only 1 Britax on there for rear facing and that is the Roundabout.

Most of the seats on that list are smaller seats (compared to others).
The Roundabout(#4 choice), AOE (#3 choice), Comfort sport(their #2 choice), Evenflo Titan Evenflo Triumph (their #1 choices), Cosco Touriva, and the Safety First Comfort ride. And that is it !
OH and the EvenFlo Vanguard 5.