Question for friend

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

Here is the situation.

Her son will be 5 in May.
Stats:

52lbs
44'' tall
15.5-16'' torso

Currently in Radian. Mom does not like the Radian. She can not get it installed in any cars he goes in. She and the father of the kids are not together. So they travel in alot of different cars. He has sat in a booster and she said he does not move alot and knows he must sit still in it.

Her lil girl will be 4 in June.
Stats:

39lbs
38'' tall
13'' torso

Currently in Britax Roundabout... sorry not a marathon.

What seats would be best for her to move into?
She does need to be able to have seats that install easy in different cars.
She does not have alot of money.

AdventureMom · Jan 27, 2007

Sounds like the daughter has alot of room left in the Marathon. For the DS, how about one of the Apex 65's with 19" slots?

mominabigtruck · Jan 27, 2007

I would get them both apex's if they have headrests. They're pretty straightforward to install and fit both kids and the oldest could use the bpb when he grows out of it and the youngest still has plenty of growing room.

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

Some more info..

Her ex's car has ONLY lap belts in the back seat.
She drives a 1993 Euro Van.
They are thinking about getting a Tahoe 1995-2000?

She is getting a tax return so she said she does not midn spending a little more money on the seats. She would like to keep them both in harnessed seats.
But, she wants a seat she CAN install easily in these diffrent cars..

scatterbunny · Jan 27, 2007

Okay, she absolutely MUST keep them harnessed because the ex's car only has lapbelts. That's never going to be safe.

I doubt the Apex will work for ex's car because vehicles old enough to only have lapbelts will not have rear headrests.

The only thing that would work for the oldest is the Safeguard child seat ($430), the Britax Regent ($270) or a Kid Y/Ride Ryte harness/booster combo.

Those would also work for the girl, but so would the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe (Marathon clone, $150ish) and Marathon. Those should both be easy to install, too. The Marathon will have the built-in lockoffs, nice in vehicles with lap/shoulderbelts that only lock in a sudden stop or crash, because you don't have to deal with locking clips. The vehicle with lapbelts will work well with either seat; lapbelts don't need locking clips or lockoffs.

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

Ok, well she REALLY likes Britax.
So, would 2 Britax Regents be the best way to go?
Are they pretty straight forward to install in different cars etc?

scatterbunny · Jan 27, 2007

I personally think they're easy to install...but lots of folks are put off by how heavy and bulky they are. They are hard to manuever in and out of a vehicle. But the actual installation, I think it's wonderful.

Especially with the long belt path, which they won't be able to do in the car with only lapbelts. They must install it with the short belt path and recline bar. The oldest will also need a top tether for his seat because he's over 50 pounds (required for the Regent over 50 pounds). The Kid Y/Ride Ryte requires a tether, too.

Find out the year, make and model of the ex's car if you can. That will make a big difference (need to know if it's too old to get tether anchors put in).

mamato2 · Jan 27, 2007

The Husky/Regent are a bit different to install , but once you do it a few times it really is NOT difficult. The main hassle is that they are large and heavy and a bit awkward to maneuver around. Installing in a car is easier than the back seat of a van though!!
C.

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

She said its an old honda civic hatchback like maybe 1990-1994?

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

Also, is there maybe a trick that she is not using with the Radian that maybe she could try before saying a big no to it?

I will have mine tomorrow.. but I know nothing about it.

Patriot201 · Jan 27, 2007

doriansmummy said:
She said its an old honda civic hatchback like maybe 1990-1994?

I used to drive an older Civic (but a 4-door, not a hatchback) and was able to get the Super Elite (the precursor to the Husky, which is the precursor to the Regent) in the back of my car, but it was NOT easy. It took a lot of effort to get it installed, but it would work. Granted, it blocked my view completely, so I would have had to have learned to use my mirrors if I had kept the seat installed.

I had L/S belts in both outboard positions and a lapbelt only in the center.

scatterbunny · Jan 27, 2007

doriansmummy said:
She said its an old honda civic hatchback like maybe 1990-1994?

Hmm, it should have shoulderbelts outboard if it's 1989 or newer. I had a 1991 Honda and it only had a lapbelt in the center spot.

I've got no tricks for the Radian, oh, except someone said Sunshine Kids okay'ed the use of a locking clip even with belts that lock, somehow that was supposed to fix a belt that loosens over time with the Radian (like if it seems tight at first and then can be wiggled loose).

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

Oh, no... Hmmm.. I feel so bad for her.
She is having such a struggle with the Radian, and she wants something she can install properly as she says she is not getting good installs with the Radian at all.

scatterbunny · Jan 27, 2007

Erin, if she gets a Regent, I would consider making the drive up there and helping her play around with it, if she wants.

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

scatterbunny said:
Hmm, it should have shoulderbelts outboard if it's 1989 or newer. I had a 1991 Honda and it only had a lapbelt in the center spot.

I've got no tricks for the Radian, oh, except someone said Sunshine Kids okay'ed the use of a locking clip even with belts that lock, somehow that was supposed to fix a belt that loosens over time with the Radian (like if it seems tight at first and then can be wiggled loose).

Must be older than she thinks then.
She said ONLY lap belts and that there were shoulder/lap in front, she was thinking to put him up there with a booster and I said "NOOOO!"

Does that mean she wont be able to get it installed with anchors?
If not, what seat is going to work for these kiddos?

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

scatterbunny said:
Erin, if she gets a Regent, I would consider making the drive up there and helping her play around with it, if she wants.

Thats super sweet. Yes, I told her to go to Segals when and if she gets the Regent to see if she can "handle" it. Its so hard though because the ex does not care about the car seats, and she has to do this all on her own. He would not let her borrow his car to fiddle around etc.

scatterbunny · Jan 27, 2007

Ugh. So will the ex be installing himself, or will she install for him?

If he's very CPS-resistant to installing the Regent in his car/getting tether anchors installed it might actually be best to put the older child up front in a booster.

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

scatterbunny said:
Ugh. So will the ex be installing himself, or will she install for him?

If he's very CPS-resistant to installing the Regent in his car/getting tether anchors installed it might actually be best to put the older child up front in a booster.

No, she installs them. He wants them both in boosters. He thinks she is crazy.
If the car can get anchors he will do it, she will have to pay if there is a fee though of course.

scatterbunny · Jan 27, 2007

That's good news!

Knowing the year of his car is what we need to find out tether anchor info. The dealership will charge, so I'd just order the kit from a parts store and install it themselves. I ordered two kits for my '91 Honda for about $20 and installed them in less than 10 minutes.

doriansmummy · Jan 27, 2007

scatterbunny said:
That's good news!

Knowing the year of his car is what we need to find out tether anchor info. The dealership will charge, so I'd just order the kit from a parts store and install it themselves. I ordered two kits for my '91 Honda for about $20 and installed them in less than 10 minutes.

Are they pretty easy to install?

Question for friend

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

Car-Seat.org Ambassador

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics