3-across??

hi there! im a visitor with a question. im sure it's been talked about before, but i searched and searched and did not find anything...

i have a ford explorer.
i need to fit 3 carseats across the backseat for kids the ages of:
5
2 1/2
and a newborn

right now i have an evenflo truimph and a highback booster. but the infant graco we have won't fit in there with them. what could i change or switch to make this work?? buying new carseats is a lot cheaper than buying a new car! but i don't want to have to buy ever kid a new seat, but i don't mind buying one or 2 new seats.

thank you so much in advance for your suggestions and help!

[joolsplus3]

I knew a mom with a similar quandry... same age kids, probably the same seats, and a baby coming...but she had a smaller car . What worked is putting the 5 yo in a Sunshine Kids Radian, which is a VERY narrow seat, and it fit like a glove next to her Triumph, and then she got a Graco Safeseat 1 for the baby (and that's the widest infant seat, something narrower would also be fine). It may seem like a stretch to re-harness your 5 yo, but it's really going to fit a lot better, and be much easier for you to buckle (having a booster in a three across situation can be too hard for the kid to buckle themself, and you end up leaning over them and scraping your knuckles to get it to work). OR a Britax Parkway is a 'narrower than it looks' booster, and easier to buckle than other choices, and may fit just fine.

[carseatguy]

Same basic advice as Julie, but offer the Graco Snugride 3 (w/ EPS foam) as option. Infant rear center, older children either outboard seating position. No mention of year of manufacture of Ford Explorer. As space is tight, it is presumed it is first body style, not second.
-Bill, Car Seat Guy

[singingpond]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i have a ford explorer.
i need to fit 3 carseats across the backseat for kids the ages of:
5
2 1/2
and a newborn

right now i have an evenflo truimph and a highback booster. but the infant graco we have won't fit in there with them.

I have almost the exact same ages in my children, and we have 3-across in the back of a Toyota Corolla, which has to be smaller than the Explorer. What works at the moment is Graco Snugride behind driver, Radian RF middle for the 2 1/2 y.o., and a highback booster (Parkway) behind the passenger seat. I'm now working on replacing the Snugride, since DD will grow out of it soon, so that's another puzzle. The Parkway is tight (sort of a pain to buckle) next to the Radian, but it is manageable.

HTH, Katrin

[Kashi]

My kids are similarly aged as well, and we've got 3-across in the back of our Cavalier.

My almost-5-yr old is in an Evenflo Generations seat, harnessed, behind the driver
My almost-3-yr old is in a (sadly FF) Safety 1st Intera, without the base
My baby is in a Graco Safe Seat 1, behind the passenger seat

[papooses]

What is each child's (age) weight & height?
What is the name of your highback booster?
Do you have the Graco Snugride or SafeSeat Step1?
What is your budget?

I'm assuming that combinations like these below will work in the Explorer since they worked in a 2005 Escape....

• Driver-side | center | passenger-side
  • RF Britax Marathon/Boulevard | FF Britax Marathon/Boulevard | Graco Snugride
  • Graco Snugride | Britax Parkway | FF or RF Britax Marathon/Bouelvard

The Triumph is kind of wide + it usually gets outgrown sooner than many other options. Sunshine Kids Radian is narrower than Britax seats, but is trickier to install correctly. Another choice is the Safety 1st Uptown. Maybe also the Graco CarGo, depending on your kids' weight & height? (I'd prefer to use the CarGo in the center if it's used as a booster, but then only if there is a shoulder belt: it lacks side impact protection compared to other boosters) Safest placement = the least protected child towards the center of the vehicle such that both vehicle + carseat manuals are followed (harnesses are safer than boosters, RF is safer than FF)

[easterbun]

My oldest is a bit older and my middle kid a bit younger, but I've got 3 across in my caliber at the moment - a FF radian, a RF radian, and a Flex Loc (which is a fairly narrow infant seat).

[joolsplus3]

From a best practice perspective, the rearfacing child should be in an outboard/window seat, and a forward facing harnessed child should be in the center. "the most protected child in the least protected spot" is the mantra to go by, and has the bonus of making it WAY easier to heft an infant seat in and out of the car

[CDNTech]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi there! im a visitor with a question. im sure it's been talked about before, but i searched and searched and did not find anything...

i have a ford explorer.
i need to fit 3 carseats across the backseat for kids the ages of:
5
2 1/2
and a newborn

right now i have an evenflo truimph and a highback booster. but the infant graco we have won't fit in there with them. what could i change or switch to make this work?? buying new carseats is a lot cheaper than buying a new car! but i don't want to have to buy ever kid a new seat, but i don't mind buying one or 2 new seats.

thank you so much in advance for your suggestions and help!

Weight, height and seated height (torso - sit the child on the floor and measure up to top of the shoulder) would really help.

Also is the baby here already or how long do we have to figure this out? Wondering if any new seats are coming out that might work better if you're not due for a few months - so that question's important

The easiest solution would be to have all three harnessed so you don't have to worry about squishing/scraping your hand/knuckles in between seats to buckle a booster.

I'm thinking Safeseat 1 for the baby so you don't have to worry about updating seats for a loooong time. The SS1 usually lasts anywhere from 18 months - 2 years old. Maybe a Radian for the oldest to harness him so you don't have to worry about scraping those knuckles buckling a booster. Unless your 5 year old has a super long torso, my long torsoed just turned 5 year old still has at least 1 - 2 years of harnessing left in his Radian. He's got about 1.5 - 2" before he hits the top slots.

If you got a Radian for the 5 year old and a SS1 for the newborn, by the time they both outgrew their seats you could just pass all seats down. Baby (~18 mo) gets Triumph, 2.5 yr old (~4yrs) gets Radian and 5 yr old (~6.5 yrs) goes into booster.

Hope that helps a little. Post back with the suggested info and we can help out a lot more.

[Jewels]

Originally Posted by joolsplus3

I knew a mom with a similar quandry... same age kids, probably the same seats, and a baby coming...but she had a smaller car . What worked is putting the 5 yo in a Sunshine Kids Radian, which is a VERY narrow seat, and it fit like a glove next to her Triumph, and then she got a Graco Safeseat 1 for the baby (and that's the widest infant seat, something narrower would also be fine). It may seem like a stretch to re-harness your 5 yo, but it's really going to fit a lot better, and be much easier for you to buckle (having a booster in a three across situation can be too hard for the kid to buckle themself, and you end up leaning over them and scraping your knuckles to get it to work). OR a Britax Parkway is a 'narrower than it looks' booster, and easier to buckle than other choices, and may fit just fine.

I agree with this. Putting the oldest in a Radian, then the triumph and then a SS1 outboard. If you could swing it I would get two Radians and a SS1.

Originally Posted by carseatguy

Same basic advice as Julie, but offer the Graco Snugride 3 (w/ EPS foam) as option. Infant rear center, older children either outboard seating position. No mention of year of manufacture of Ford Explorer. As space is tight, it is presumed it is first body style, not second.
-Bill, Car Seat Guy

I would do a SS1 over a snugride and put the baby outboard as a FF baby/child is less protected and it will keep the baby RF til 30lbs and by then maybe you could pass down seats and put the oldest in a booster.