MyRide 65 - installation question - small car!

I read through the other threads and have a question - apologies if it's sort of dumb. I've read that certain seats (Radians eg) need to be installed at a 45 degree angle RF, but that other seats including the MR 65 can be installed more upright. That begs the question, is there a number of angles at which the MR 65 can sit RF? From the picture in TechnoGranola's thread it appears that the level indicator doesn't allow for multiple angles.

My concern is that I want to get this seat if it's still available this weekend, but I don't know if it will fit RF in our Civic. Because of our large dog who rides with us, we need to put the seat behind the passenger seat in the back. I'm not tall so I'm not too worried about having to move that seat up a bit, but I've only seen pictures of the MR installed in large cars or in the middle of small cars.

It's more a question of 'can it physically be done' than 'is it allowed'. The Radian is awfully persnickety and how it installs is how it installs. Most vehicles don't allow wiggle room.

Other seats are really flexible and you can install them any number of angles, including the My Ride. MOST child restraints can be installed at 45 degrees for a newborn and as upright as 35-30 degrees for an older baby/toddler/preschooler.

You should easily be able to get the My Ride (MR) up to 30 degrees with an older child, and you should have no trouble at all fitting it in a Civic. It's a small-car-friendly restraint :thumbsup:

Exactly what Maedze said. And just to expand on your question about the indicator on the side, there is actually a variation in how the seat sits depending on where the ball is within the green area. :thumbsup:

I've had it in a Vibe and it had enough room for a passenger who is tall to be comfortable. I don't foresee any problems in a Civic.. I've also had it in a couple other vehicles - one being a larger one, the other being what I'd consider mid-size sedan in terms of interior space. It doesn't appear to be a space hog when rf'ing... I'd put it in the same category as the MA in terms of the room it would take up for an older child. :thumbsup:

Just to let you know - since you mentioned the large dog, there are dog harnesses available that essentially go around the dog and then the seatbelt attaches to the harness. Would make it so that in the event you're ever in a collision the dog would be prevented from being a big projectile. I don't know much about them, though had a parent tell me recently that GM has one available on their website. I'm sure that's something you could get more info about on the main board if you wanted to. :thumbsup:

I drive a Civic & I've had all kinds of big RFing seats in my car, always outboard & DH & I are both tall. I haven't tried a My Ride yet, but I can fit a Radian behind the driver's side easily (not at 45 degrees, though). I find the Civic very easy to install seats in.

The MR installed very upright in my van. I would've needed a pool noodle under it if we had kept it b/c it would've been too upright for me I think since we have the room.

You can install the MR at different angles. From what I can tell, when the ball is at the leftmost of the green, the seat is at 30°. When it's at the right most of the green, it would be 45°. The more you lift up the front of the MR, the more the ball is to the right, and the closer it is to 45°. I haven't checked the angle on my Sonata, but when I installed my Spiral, it was at 30° and the angle indicator was similar.

And even though the angle indicator doesn't look there is a large angle difference, there is. You have to get the front of the seat up quite a bit to get it to move to the right in my vehicle. I'd need a pool noodle for sure if I wanted a 45° and to have the ball at the very right.

I doubt you'll have any trouble getting it into a Civic. Our Spiral MR is installed behind the passenger seat in a Yaris, also small, and it works just dandy (also installed at 30°). If you need it at a 45° angle, that may or may not be doable. TRU/BRU has a 45 day return policy in Canada (are you in Canada?), so you pick one up, keep all the tags/labels on it and see if you can get installed like you want it. Your TRU/BRU may also have a tech on staff that will bring it out to your vehicle and aid you in installing it BEFORE you actually buy it.

Thanks everyone for the help. We bought the MR today but haven't had a chance to install it yet. I'm really glad I found this board and I very much appreciate the helpful replies. Our TRU sucks, unfortunately, but we couldn't have driven that car to the store anyway because it isn't going to be insured until the new year. I just didn't want to miss out on the sale. By the time my son uses it, he'll be about 8-9 months old so hopefully he won't need the full 45 degree recline.

Thanks also for the info about the dog harness! I should check that out. She used to ride in a crate but then she got too big for our crate, and our cars were too small for a larger crate.

Enjoy your new MR - it looks like a really nice seat!

I just wanted to add a comment regarding the installation of a RFing seat behind the passenger seat in a Civic. I don't recall you mentioning what year the Civic is, but our 2007 doesn't allow anything to touch the back of the passenger seat since it may interfere with the passenger airbags and sensors. Just something to keep in mind, and you may want to check your vehicle manual in this regard. HTH, and have fun with your new seat!

(I might have to make a trip to WalMart this weekend to see if they have it here )

kodes said:

he'll be about 8-9 months old so hopefully he won't need the full 45 degree recline.

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A developmentally normal child won't need a 45° recline at that age.

kodes said:

Thanks also for the info about the dog harness! I should check that out. She used to ride in a crate but then she got too big for our crate, and our cars were too small for a larger crate.

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Sorry, this is totally not the right forum for this but since it was asked... I have a small dog and I have a seatbelt for him. They make them for big dogs, too and I would HIGHLY recommend them!!!

The one I have wasn't sold as a package, I bought the harness separately from the 'leash' part, but you can get some packages from PetSmart or similar stores that would probably work. I just liked that this harness had a chest-protector component.
This is the harness I have:
http://houndsaroundtown.com/travel/dog-seatbelt.html -it can be used for more than just the car, but I leave it in the car, actually attached to the seatbelt clip! (I got this from Pet Planet, not sure if you have one near you; they don't carry this at PetSmart. Manufacturers website which you can find a retailer through: http://www.rcpets.com/rcpets/index.php)
And then because I didn't want to have to buckle up the seatbelt everytime or use the seat-belt latch (I didn't like the fact that with the seat-belt latch the attachment point is BESIDE the dog, he'd still be a projectile in a crash), I got this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2755288 -my car doesn't have latch so I've rigged it so it is attached under the seat and comes up between the back & seat. Depending on the size of your dog, using it through the actual seat belt (as in the picture of the vest) might be a better option - my dog weighs only 12 lbs so I'm comfortable with our set up (oh, I should mention that my dog rides in the passenger front seat - he has separation anxiety and doesn't cope well with the back seat, but as with kids, the back seat is the safest place for dogs).

Whatever you do, be sure that you NEVER EVER EVER restrain a dog in a vehicle by a collar or a harness/leash not meant for this use. You could seriously injure or kill your dog or experience failure in the equipment which means the dog isn't restrained at all.
With the right equipment, and depending on your vehicle, you may be able to safely restrain your dog in the 'cargo' area of a vehicle such as an SUV or minivan, even if a kennel won't fit, which allows for more options with human passengers/car seats. But my personal preference is to put all passengers (human and otherwise) into a designated seat, with proper restraint.

Good luck!
Melissa

PS: What's interesting about the 3-in-1 Safety Harness is that it HAS been crash-tested (each size) at road speeds of 30mph (50km/h), which exceeds (in most cases) the testing on human car seats. The things that make you go hmmmmm.