Question can anyone help recommend a carseat for me? Clueless and don't know where to start :)

I'm looking for a convertible seat for our 2004 explorer and a backup seat for our 2001 camry that doesn't have LATCH.

For the explorer: I want something as narrow as possible so 2 adults can sit in the back seat with the child. She has some time left in her graco safeseat, but I'm looking to go ahead and buy a convertible soon. My husband is tall so he wants something that he'll still be able to have the front seat back pretty far. I'm considering the radian65 because it's narrow, but will it take up too much room front to back when RF?? What other options might work for the explorer? Has anyone installed a Radian in an explorer? Was it easy/hard? Are the straps easy to adjust and tighten? I've also looked at the marathon, but would it be too bulky for me?

For the Camry: I'm considering a Scenera for our backup seat. It would go in the 2001 Camry with no LATCH. How hard is a seatbelt install on this seat? Is it difficult to move if I needed to swap it to another vehicle? Any thoughts?

Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I'm new to this forum so if there's any info already posted that would help, please point me there. Thanks in advance

What is the age of the child and how much do they weigh and about how tall are they? Also do you have a budget in mind?

The Scenera is a good back up seat for sure. It usualy needs a pyramid of pool noodles to get the recline right, but pretty straight forward to install.

I don't know how well a radian will fit in the main car. I do know that the Britax convertibles will fit as will the Evenflow Triumph Advance and the Graco My Ride.

Right now she's almost 7 months and about 15-16lbs. She's about 26 inches long. So we definitely have some time left in our safeseat, but I'm ready to go ahead and transition to a RF convertible.

I actually like the MyRide, but how much more room would it take up than the radian? Would it leave enough room on either side for other passengers?

In your Explorer I'm thinking you can put a Radian rf in the center so that an adult can sit on either side (if needed). But to help us know if the Radian will work or not can you tell us if you have long belt stalk in the middle seat? I don't *think* you have latch in the center position, right?

I have an Explorer, but it is a little older than yours. Does yours have that narrow seat in the middle? If so, I have a friend that installed a Radian beautifully there, and it fit right between the 2 front seats. I'm getting 2 in a week or so, and one will be in the middle. I can let you know how it goes.

The Scenera is a great back up seat. My 3 y/o DD has one. It is a SUPER easy install.

I wouldn't get a Britax convertible because of a) it's not the best bang for your buck. b) there are higher RFing limits, and RFing legroom is virtually non-existent. c) recent crash test videos that showed the harness ripping through the shell while FFing.

If it fits, I would probably rec. the Radian, just because how narrow that seat is. The buckles on each side sit closer together than most middle seats.

firemomof3 said:

In your Explorer I'm thinking you can put a Radian rf in the center so that an adult can sit on either side (if needed). But to help us know if the Radian will work or not can you tell us if you have long belt stalk in the middle seat? I don't *think* you have latch in the center position, right?

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No, we only have latch on the sides. The seatbelt stalk is very short, it's kind of down between the seats if that makes sense. I'm a total newbie, this is all so confusing Would taking a picture of the seat help at all?

SugarNSpiceX3 said:

I have an Explorer, but it is a little older than yours. Does yours have that narrow seat in the middle? If so, I have a friend that installed a Radian beautifully there, and it fit right between the 2 front seats. I'm getting 2 in a week or so, and one will be in the middle. I can let you know how it goes.

The Scenera is a great back up seat. My 3 y/o DD has one. It is a SUPER easy install.

I wouldn't get a Britax convertible because of a) it's not the best bang for your buck. b) there are higher RFing limits, and RFing legroom is virtually non-existent. c) recent crash test videos that showed the harness ripping through the shell while FFing.

If it fits, I would probably rec. the Radian, just because how narrow that seat is. The buckles on each side sit closer together than most middle seats.

Click to expand...

Is your scenera installed with the seatbelt?

Yes, I do think our middle seat is fairly narrow. Right now, our safeseat kind of goes between the 2 front seats if they are pushed back. So if it works, the radian should too right? Please let me know how it goes when you get yours and if you are able to get a good install. I need someone to give me a firsthand review

My mom has an 04 Explorer. It has three individual seats, which IMO, are not super car seat friendly. That said, we have a Britax Roundabout 50 installed there and my two uncles, who are both 6'3" 300lbs can fit on either side. I think something with a small base will fit nicely. Honestly, I don't know how a MyRide would do there. The buckles stalks are really rigid and the middle seat is small. I even have to fight with the Marathon there. Outboard it's better, but the LATCH anchors are really buried. I would go someplace to try them out. FWIW, we also had a Safeseat in there for the kids originally and it worked so nicely. The convertibles, not so much. The Scenera was a nightmare on leather seats. I had to use a locking clip in the middle position, rather than the locking seatbelts, because the seat would practically tip over completely.