rearfacing triumph problem

musicmaj

New member
Hi,
I am having a problem with the fit of the triumph for my little guy. The bottom slots are too low. I am finding it difficult to keep the straps on his shoulders. I am very careful about keeping the harness tight enough - so that is not the problem. I don't feel like this is safe for him. The next slots up are a little bit too high - about 1/2 inch above his shoulders - but the straps stay put nicely. I know the rules about keeping the straps at or below the shoulders for rearfacing but I seem to remember someone saying that evenflo will let you go up to the next slots if there is no more than 1/2 inch above shoulders. My owners manual just says it must be at or below the shoulders.

Thanks,
Angie Mama to three blessings - DD 6, DS almost 5, and DS 15months
 
ADS

Splash

New member
So you want to move up to the second set of slots? Everything else is equal and you're keeping them nice and tight? Go ahead and move them up. It's better to be a little above than so low they're falling off. No need to sell it though, it's fine! And you're bub will grow that half inch in no time.
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Wow, I think selling the seat at this point is a little drastic :rolleyes: unless, of course, you are unhappy with the seat overall.

Are the harness straps slipping despite being tight? That is a problem several people have run into with several different seats. You are certainly not alone. The Triumph also is not unique in having that problem. You could run into that same problem with another seat as well. Some seats are worse than others. I would go ahead and move the straps up. If there is only a 0.5" space, you should probably be okay moving them up.

Is your son still fitting RF in the Triumph? The reason I ask is that I haven't seen many 15-month-olds who still fit RF in the Triumph due to its short shell. That is GREAT that you are keeping him RF, though!! Good for you!!!!
 

Lara

New member
Go ahead and move them up.
Someone on the babycenter board called evenflo because she had the same problem and they ok'd it:)
 

musicmaj

New member
That sounds great. I am going to move them up - but I am going to call evenflo just to double check.

I don't want to sell the seat as long as it is safe for me to put the straps up a notch. I would like to keep it until he outgrows it and it is no longer safe.

Yes, the harness straps are slipping despite being tight on the lowest strap slots. They just won't stay on his shoulders correctly. I have the chest clip in the right place too. On the next higher slots they stay perfectly in place. My baby is such a peanut. He is 19lbs fully dressed and is pretty short. He is probably just 30 inches. I should measure him and see how tall he is now. He still has about 2.5-3 inches of growth before outgrowing the triumph shell rearfacing. I should take a picture of him sitting in the seat when I get the chance. Then you can see how well he fits in it. I sure am glad he is not tall baby like my other ds was/is. He would have outgrown it by now.
 

abacus2

Well-known member
My older dd who has always been in the 75-95% for height and has an average/maybe long torso (needs a size up in shirts vs. pants, 15.5" torso at age 3) fit with the middle slots still above her shoulders RF at 15 months. I know because that's when I turned her FF before I knew how much safer RF is. I hated having to use the top harness slots that were so high when the middle ones fit for FF. I agree that the Triumph would be better with a taller shell/higher weight limit for RF, but I really think the degree of criticism on this board about kids outgrowing it quickly RF is unwarranted. Please don't misunderstand me, there are better choices than the Triumph, but it isn't nearly as bad as it's being made out to be.
 

musicmaj

New member
Back when I bought the triumph, everyone was saying what a great seat it was. I read that if you can't afford a britax, get a triumph. So that is what I did. I haven't had any trouble with it at all until now - and it is just because ds is at a weird growth stage. It installs very well in my vehicle.
 

SPJ&E

New member
The Triumph is a good seat, especially for smaller babies, and I personally, love the way the harness adjusts. I really liked the seat for my son when he still fit.

He outgrew it rear-facing by height around 15 months (he's average sized, 50th percentile) and since then, it's been sitting in the closet, while he uses his Marathon mainly and his $40 (1/3 of the price of a Triumph) Scenera's as his spare seats with plenty of growing room. There are MUCH better options for the same price or lower...it really is a terrible seat for extended rear-facing and for bigger kids.

That being said, just give Evenflo a call if that will ease your mind about it!
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I agree that the Triumph would be better with a taller shell/higher weight limit for RF, but I really think the degree of criticism on this board about kids outgrowing it quickly RF is unwarranted. Please don't misunderstand me, there are better choices than the Triumph, but it isn't nearly as bad as it's being made out to be.

Who is making it out to be a bad seat?

All I said was that I was surprised that a 15-month-old still fit RF. That is not saying it is a bad seat. It is merely a comment.

You comment about the degree of criticism on the board about the Triumph's RF capacity. Are you talking about a different thread than this one? I don't see an awful lot of criticism about the seat on this particular thread. Perhaps you have seen that on other threads?
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Back when I bought the triumph, everyone was saying what a great seat it was. I read that if you can't afford a britax, get a triumph. So that is what I did. I haven't had any trouble with it at all until now - and it is just because ds is at a weird growth stage. It installs very well in my vehicle.


Good! I'm glad to hear it is working well for you! :)
 

Splash

New member
Yes, bad for extended RF but not bad overall. Personally if i were using a convertible from birth (um, which I likely wouldn't do, but whatever) it would be that one and no other. Also sometimes in very small backseat (front to back) situations, it's the best option fit wise. It's also very easy to install and use once you get the hang of the weird harness. I would never use a Scenera, so this would be my best non Britax pick for my child.
That said, Charlie did outgrow it RF before he was a year old, by height. But I babysit for a kid who just barely fits in a Marathon and he still fits FF in a Triumph with room to spare. The seat WILL last quite a while FF, it's just RF that most kids outgrow it so early.
 

Yoshi

New member
Yes, bad for extended RF but not bad overall. Personally if i were using a convertible from birth (um, which I likely wouldn't do, but whatever) it would be that one and no other. Also sometimes in very small backseat (front to back) situations, it's the best option fit wise. It's also very easy to install and use once you get the hang of the weird harness. I would never use a Scenera, so this would be my best non Britax pick for my child.
That said, Charlie did outgrow it RF before he was a year old, by height. But I babysit for a kid who just barely fits in a Marathon and he still fits FF in a Triumph with room to spare. The seat WILL last quite a while FF, it's just RF that most kids outgrow it so early.

Just curious, Splash why you would never use a Scenera? I have seen them and was almost ready to buy one as a spare seat but my 3 yr old was already at the top slots at 35lbs and 38". So I bought a CarGo for a transition spare until we got the Radian. Are there things about it you don't like? I'm asking because a friend of mine whose daughter is 18 months and still RF in a Comfortsport needs a new (cheap) seat to keep her kid RF. I suggested the Scenera- but now my curiosity is wondering what (aside from the flimsy feel) you may not like. Thanks!
 

Splash

New member
I wouldn't not recommend it! I don't like it personally, for several reasons. However the reason I would never use one is not so much a safety concern as a health concern. My son has a bleeding disorder (his blood can form but not hold clots due to no dense granules in his platelets) and bruises extremely easily. He also gets pressure bruises just from crawling around or sitting on his knees. No way a Scenera would be safe for him, he's be covered in bruises and very likely in a lot of pain. So any seat I ever used would have to be very padded. If I were to go to a Cosco seat for the additional 2 pounds of RF (which I likely won't, but might) I would probably have to use an AO because of the padding. If for whatever reason I couldn't buy a Britax, I would sacrifice the RF ability a Scenera to get the padding of a Triumph.
 

SPJ&E

New member
I know the question wasn't addressed to me, but I can tell you the 2 things I don't like about the Scenera. It does "feel" flimsy (especially compared to a Britax) and it takes more for me to get a good install with it than with my Britax's or my Snugride base. Overall though, I recommend it often...I think it's a great seat for the price. It has a much taller back that the ComfortSport, so it will last much longer.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
This is in regards to kids outgrowing the Triumph early. I used it (and loved it) rear facing until my DS was 2. He was actually 25 months when he outgrew by the RF height limit, and then I did switch him to the Wizard so that he could RF even longer. He has always been right at the 50% line for weight and weight for height, so I think he's pretty average. As for FF, my older DS fit well in his Triumph until he was 4 1/2, which was when his ears were almost to the top of the seat back. He was still only about 36-37 lbs, so he outgrew it by height before weight. I think it would be fine to move the straps up to the 2nd slot if that will fix the problem. Angie - if you call Evenflo, let us know what they say about it. Good luck with it!
 

scatterbunny

New member
I'm pretty critical of the Triumph, but ONLY because of the tendency for kids to outgrow it soon RF. Other than that I think it's a great seat. EPS foam, nice padding, tall top slots for FF.

When I hear of 8-9 month olds who are too tall for a seat when RF, that bothers me. Yes, it's rare. But yes, it happens, and parents need to be aware of the shortcomings of any seat they own or any seat they are considering.

It isn't rare for tall and/or long-torsoed kids to outgrow the Triumph by height long before 30 pounds. This is why torso height is more important, generally speaking, than overall height. Your long-legged/short-torsoed babies will fit the Triumph much longer RF than long-torsoed/tall babies.
 

Splash

New member
But Jenny, the top slots on this seat are higher than most 40 pound convertible seats. The shell is low, so not a lot of RF room, but FF it does last a long time. The top slots are 15.5 inches, plus the angle of the seat back gives a kid almost the same room as a Marathon in terms of torso length.
I used to be critical of it as well, until I bought one on sale. Then I realized how nice it really is, and how it does last a LONG time forward facing, even if RF is a drawback. But, to be honest, since very few people are willing to RF past the bare minimum legal requirements anyway, regardless of common sense or a seat's abilities, I would rather them have this seat than most others.
 

scatterbunny

New member
I know, Splash--that's why the first part of my post says this:

but ONLY because of the tendency for kids to outgrow it soon RF. Other than that I think it's a great seat. EPS foam, nice padding, tall top slots for FF.

Rear-facing longer than the bare minimum is a huge thing for me. If a seat has problems keeping kids RF even to the bare minimum it is not going to make my "recommended seats" list, no matter how great it is FF.
 

abacus2

Well-known member
My daughter is NOT long-legged/short torsoed; she has always outgrown one piece outfits several months before pants of the same size and needs longer/bigger sized shirts and short/smaller sized pants. It bothers me to see someone say that they're suprised a 15 month old still fits RFing in a Truimph when the reality seems to be that in fact almost all 15 month olds would fit RF, and an average kid might reasonably RF to age 2. Off-the-charts examples (Triumph outgrown RF by height at 8-9months) and atypical presented as typical (being suprised a 15 month old fits RF in a Triumph) don't give parents an accurate idea of what to expect.
 

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