Ok couple of questions

[Kristy29]

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So I am a foster parent, and I got my first call. It is for a 1 month old girl and a 4 year old boy. Unfortunately I don't know how big they are.

So we installed the graco snugride in the middle of my Hyundai elantra. We used Latch, it was easy.

Than we installed the Radian 65 behind the passenger seat. It was really easy. Since we had the infant seat in the middle, we had to do a seat belt install because there was only 1 Latch left on that side. We also did the top tether. Are there restrictions for the top tether as far as weight? We can take it off once we know how big he is.

So I know everyone says how much of a pain it is to install the Radian, did we do something wrong? It seemed almost too easy. I can take pictures if you need.

[natysr]

Congratulations on the placement of the children with you. That is awesome!

I will say to please double check the manual of your car. I'm almost certain that you are not allowed to use the lower anchors in the center position of that car. Unless the vehicle manual specifically says that you can, then you can't.

The first priority of course are solid and proper installs of the seats. If that can be achieved with the forwardfacing child in the center and the rearfacing child outboard, that is ideal since a forward facing child has less protection than a rearfacing child. If not, the positions you have them in are fine, but the seat in the center should have a seatbelt install.

[Patriot201]

Does Hyundai allow use of LATCH in the center? Many vehicles do not allow you to "borrow" anchors from each side. What does Hyundai say in their manual?

The Radian is only hard to install in certain vehicles. It is possible that it is a good fit in your vehicle, which is great! I can't remember if Hyundai has a 40-pound, 48-pound, or other weight limit for the tether and anchors. If it is low (40 or 48), I would *personally* make the *personal* decision to use the top tether past that limit. I am not, however, suggesting you do that unless you are comfortable with it. I would NOT use the lower anchors (which you aren't using anyway) past the limit.

Congrats!

[wendytthomas]

I have the LATCH manual in front of me. You cannot use LATCH in the center of the Elantra. Also, as someone else mentioned, if you can get the Radian in the middle that would be ideal, to give the less protected child the protection of the center. It would also be easier to get the infant in and out of the car behind either the driver or passenger. You can use LATCH behind the driver or passenger for the infant seat, or the seatbelt, but you cannot use LATCH in the center. Your manual should show that you have LATCH only for the outboard positions. Thank goodness there isn't a child in that seat yet. You will have a tether anchor for the middle seat, so do use that with the Radian. If you can't get a good installation in the middle with the Radian and the seatbelt put it on the outside since you know you can get a good installation there, and then you can do a seatbelt install in the middle for the Snugride, or keep it outboard with LATCH on the other side from the Radian.

The LATCH manual does not list a maximum weight for the lower anchors. The Radian requires the seatbelt after 48 pounds, so I would use that as the cutoff.

It is wonderful you're fostering these children. It takes a special person to be able to do it. They are very lucky.

Wendy

[pippi2077]

I just looked up your car in my LATCH manual. You can't use LATCH in the middle position. The Hyundai is not listed on the Maximum weights for LATCH and tether page. It says on that page that the manufacturer defers to child restraint instructions or gives no guidance.

Also, if it would work, I would put the ff child in the middle and the infant seat outboard. Because rf offers more protection.

Stefanie

[ThreeBeans]

As every one else said, you cannot install with Latch in the center position.

Secure the Radian with the seatbelt in the center position, and use LATCH or the seatbelt (you'll probably need to do the seatbelt due to space issues) for the outboard position of the Snugride.

[Victorious4]

Congratulations

Ditto everyone else -- switch the seats so that the lesser protected child (FF) is in the center & use the outboard LATCH only in the outboard seats....

Age is not the deciding factor as to who gets the center. Since the RF seat provides the most safety in all crash types, then to more equally distribute safety, the FF seat should ideally be in the center, further from impact. The most decisive factor is proper installation/use. If the Radian can be installed correctly (as per both vehicle + carseat manuals) in the center & the Snugride fits properly outboard, then that would be ideal, but if the Radian only fits properly outboard then that's what must be done.

Also, we don't have record of top tethers failing at all & we do recommended using the top tether until the child outgrows the harness > http://www.saferidenews.com/html/LATCH_P49.htm

[Kristy29]

Ok, so we moved the snugride to the outboard, and than when we tried to install the radian in the center, the hump got in the way. Because the snugride is big, it pushed the radian over so it was hanging off the hump. So we did both on the outboard positions with latch, and we also used the top tether for the radian. The snugride is a little more wobbly than it was in the middle, but I think it's ok. We needed to put a towel underneath it because the seat is slanted. We are going to see our caseworker on Wednesday, and I am going to ask her to check the seats then. The children aren't coming until Thursday or Friday.

Thanks for the help!!

[daycaremom2002]

I would try to find a local tech to check your installs. Some caseworkers might be CPS savvy, but I would venture to guess that not many are. We had a worker try to install a combination seat rear facing. That is the seat that he had brought for a 6mo child, and when he was told that he wasn't big enough to ff, he just turned it around. Unfortunately, they don't always know what to do or what to look for.

Congrats on getting your first placement of kids. It is a very rewarding and challenging thing to do. Bless you and your family for taking this step toward helping unfortunate children.

[crunchierthanthou]

Originally Posted by Kristy29

Ok, so we moved the snugride to the outboard, and than when we tried to install the radian in the center, the hump got in the way. Because the snugride is big, it pushed the radian over so it was hanging off the hump. So we did both on the outboard positions with latch, and we also used the top tether for the radian. The snugride is a little more wobbly than it was in the middle, but I think it's ok. We needed to put a towel underneath it because the seat is slanted. We are going to see our caseworker on Wednesday, and I am going to ask her to check the seats then. The children aren't coming until Thursday or Friday.

Thanks for the help!!

Did you adjust the foot of the snugride all the way out before you added the towel?

[Kristy29]

Yes we did, when it was on the highest spot, the level was orange (it needs to be all blue). When we put it on the lowest spot, the orange part would creep in a little bit, and also there was a huge space under the base on both the front and back of the seat, but with the towel both sides sit on the seat and there is absolutely no orange in the level.

Do you want a picture?

[crunchierthanthou]

Originally Posted by Kristy29

Yes we did, when it was on the highest spot, the level was orange (it needs to be all blue). When we put it on the lowest spot, the orange part would creep in a little bit, and also there was a huge space under the base on both the front and back of the seat, but with the towel both sides sit on the seat and there is absolutely no orange in the level.

Do you want a picture?

only if you want to. I was just making sure you had tried adjusting it that way before you added the towel. It sounds like you've got a good install, as long as it's not moving more than 1" in any direction at the belt path.

[Victorious4]

Sounds pretty good The seats should not move 1 inch or more at the belt path for a proper/safe install. The Sungride will move around quite a bit at the head area because in a crash it will cocoon back over/around the baby.... This is AOK We prefer to use 1-3 pool noodles to help achieve proper recline as they don't unravel or compress as much as towels.

Also, please ask the caseworker to show proof of SafeKids certification if this person is going to be "checking" your carseat installation: so far as I'm aware of, it's pretty rare that they pay to have actual technicians on staff. You can call 1-866-SEATCHECK to find a local tech (or the more accurate link is at the top of my site's main page)

[southpawboston]

what year elantra do you have? leather or cloth seats?

we had an 02 with leather seats. the snugride fit well outboard with LATCH and we got a very tight fit (the front of the base lifted a little off the front edge of the seat, but that is normal). we did need a rolled towel underneath the base at the belt path to get the level indicator in the blue (acceptable) range.

[skaterbabs]

Hyundai does not have a weight limit for their LATCH anchors, they defer to the child restraint manufacturer.

[Kristy29]

Yes, I read that in the manual. The Radian's limit is 48 pounds. Again, since i don't know his size, I had to guess. I figure there is more chance he is less than 48 lbs than more, so we installed it with the latch. But if need be, we can switch it, especially since we had originally installed it with the seat belt I think we could do it quickly.

[keri1292]

Yes, it's also likely that you'll need to adjust the harness straps anyway. At or above FFing and at or below RFing.