Pics of 3 across in windstar / Using Titan overlap.

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
I played around with getting 3 across the back of a windstar for someone, and I was proceeding on a hunch that using a titan in the middle would buy a LOT of room, because even though the shell flares out to about 18 inches, the base and shell portion on the sidees is a mere 10.25 inches wide. IF you trry to puzzle it with seats that overlap in such a way as to make use of that very narrow part of the shell underneath, you can do some really tight 3-acrosses.

Anyway, I had limited seats to play with, but was able to get a booster/RF titan/booster combo in there nicely, with TONS of room to buckle in between. I *think* you probably could have substituted a narrow FFing harness seat like the radian in place of one of the boosters... maybe even a scenera, tribute or cargo...almost definitely a cocorro..any seat with a 17ish inch or less width, basically.

I only had a turbo and highrise to play with, but I think you could substitute a PWSG, evenflo big kid, or any other narrow booster in there for the boosters.


Here is the pic of the 3 across.
3acrosswindstar001.jpg


And here you can see the amount of space in between the boosters and the titan - lots of room..about the width of a pop can, which is the only measuring device i had with me, LOL. I am HORRIBLE at buckling boosters in tight 3-acrosses, but I could easily fit my hands in the spaces available.

3acrosswindstar003.jpg


3acrosswindstar002.jpg


Now this pic..I want to be very clear..the middle position has ONLY a lap belt...BUT...I was using the turbo in place of a radian, since they have essentially the same width. There is a molded out part on the side of the windstar back row with a built in cupholder (you can see it in my first pic, it has a coffee cup in it) ..well, the titan flare-out fits over that, so again, you are taking advantage of overlap although only on that one side - BUT, it is enough to buy you enough room to still get a 3 across. So, this picture shows that you could get a RF titan, FF radian, booster. Or alternatively, you could almost certainly put a CCO in place of either the radian and/or booster.

3acrosswindstar006.jpg


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NannyMom

Well-known member
The RF Titan is what worked best for the 3 across in Dboss' accord too :thumbsup: The kids could buckle their outboard boosters with the Titan better than with the Radian.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Okay, so some of my pics were getting chopped off - here are the rest:


And here, I've tried to doctor the pics showing how much room you gain by the overlap.

3acrosswindstar003-1.jpg


3acrosswindstar002-1.jpg



Also, for the record, I have used the Titan underlap with a Frontier, and you can underlap it the full 4 inches or so, if using it in harness mode, because you don't have to worry about room for buckling. It makes you able to put the frontier into a position you never would have imagined such a big wide seat could fit. :thumbsup:
 

April

Well-known member
You're my hero Jess. :love: Thank you so so much for doing this. Looks like a trip to BRU is in my very near future. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::D
 

jeminijad

New member
I have a Titan that I kind of like, even though it is short... too bad I have no reason in the world to do 3 across... :(

It also fit well in the airplane seat.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Ok, I SWEAR I replied to this thread but either it disappeared or I hit back...

Anyways, great pictures! That's very similar to how I get my MR to work in a 3-across, except that the MR is 11" instead of 10.5. I'll have to remember that the Titan works in the same manner, with a slightly narrower base... which might come in handy for my dc family who will need a narrow 3-across next year and has tiny peanut children!

Thanks! :)
 

amy&girls

New member
I love the Titan for the narrow reason. I stopped using it when I replaced it with our Graco Nautilus, but dug it back out to see if it would fit between two boosters in the 3rd row of my sedona, which it does. So when my next little one comes I will have the turbobooster/titan/big kid booster (or maybe a backless booster, I haven't decided yet) and then the nautilus in the passenger side captain seat and the safeseat1 in the drivers side captain seat (and once little one outgrows the safeseat1, I will move him/her to the evenflo triumph advance that is there now, though i was considering just leaving it there, my 16 month old is still rear-facing in it, so it wouldn't make much of a difference) I can also fit the safeseat1 in between the two boosters, but i'm not sure if I want to do that. Anyone put an infant seat in the back of a van? Is it hard to get in/out?
 

amjbmommy

New member
hmmm.. do you think I could get this to work in an 02 Windstar with an Evenflo maestro and Turbo booster? Should I try the Titan in the middle or on the side with the flare out cupholder? My middle buckle is a lap belt as well.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
hmmm.. do you think I could get this to work in an 02 Windstar with an Evenflo maestro and Turbo booster? Should I try the Titan in the middle or on the side with the flare out cupholder? My middle buckle is a lap belt as well.

How wide is the maestro? I want to asy almost certainly yes. You should put the titan in the middle to get the most extra room. This was an 02 windstar. What will haoppen is the armrests of the turbo and maestro will fit underneath the titan. If the maestrros'a armrests fit, and the seat is no wider than about 18 inches, you should be fine.
 

amjbmommy

New member
I'm not sure of the width of the maestro off hand.... it's in the car so i'll check later but I think I might be taking a trip to Sears later to pick up a titan to give it a try ;) I'll let you know how/if it works out :)
 

amjbmommy

New member
just a couple of quick ?'s before I head out to pick up the seat and play musical carseats, lol.... I'm pretty sure I can borrow latch in the center of my back seat (02 Ford windstar sport), if so I think I'ld rather latch the RF'ing Titan and use the seatbelt for the Maestro install, so for my seatbelt install I need to pull out the belt all the way then pull it in tight for it to lock, correct? I don't need a locking clip do I? also if I am to use the middle belt for install of the RF'ing Titan being that it's a lap belt I just pull it tight and that's it for that... no locking clip needed there either? The way the lap belt slider works scares me that it would come loose, that's why I'ld rather use the latch for the RF'ing seat then the side shoulder/lap belt for the Maestro. TIA :)
 

Pixels

New member
just a couple of quick ?'s before I head out to pick up the seat and play musical carseats, lol.... I'm pretty sure I can borrow latch in the center of my back seat (02 Ford windstar sport), if so I think I'ld rather latch the RF'ing Titan and use the seatbelt for the Maestro install, so for my seatbelt install I need to pull out the belt all the way then pull it in tight for it to lock, correct? I don't need a locking clip do I? also if I am to use the middle belt for install of the RF'ing Titan being that it's a lap belt I just pull it tight and that's it for that... no locking clip needed there either? The way the lap belt slider works scares me that it would come loose, that's why I'ld rather use the latch for the RF'ing seat then the side shoulder/lap belt for the Maestro. TIA :)

Ford allows borrowing for center LATCH in that vehicle. The resulting spacing is 9.5 inches (standard is 11"). Evenflo allows borrowing only if the center position is a designated LATCH position in the vehicle owner's manual. I'm not sure where that leaves you; usually manufacturers will say only if it's standard spacing. It's worth calling Evenflo to confirm that it's okay to use with 9.5" spacing. Actually, it's not a designated LATCH position in the vehicle owner's manual, so it's probably not okay. I'd be conservative and install with seatbelt instead.

You shouldn't need a locking clip in this vehicle at all. The lap-shoulder belt has lightweight locking latchplates. They lock automatically at the buckle. Install the carseat, pull the belt tight, and that's it. The shoulder portion of the belt will stay slack, but the lap portion will stay tight. If it slips, you can give the male portion of the buckle a half twist before buckling.

Never use a locking clip with a lap-only belt. Just buckle and tighten, then check for movement. If it doesn't slip, you're all set. If it slips, you can give the male portion a half twist.
 

amjbmommy

New member
well I couldn't get it to fit with the Maestro... couldn't even get them to fit to even try to buckle them in :( the Maestro is just too wide on the sides :( I really want my 3 youngest ( 5 1/2, just turned 3 and 13m old) in the back since it's just easier for the 9 and 11yr olds to be in the captains chairs since they're the ones I'm usually picking up/dropping off places and they're both tall with long legs and are cramped in the back. I do like the Titan seat though and am happy I got it as it does fit well RF'ing in the back middle and with my van being lapbelt only there I need to have a carseat in that spot having 5 kids. I put the Turbo booster on the drivers side outboard and then I remembered I had an Evenflo Tribute in the shed and to my good luck (after some convincing on my part....and a few choice words ;) ) I got that to fit on the passenger side outboard, it probably would've fit better on the drivers side outboard because the passenger side has that flare out cup holder but I didn't want to take the chance of my 5 1/2yr old accidentally unbuckling the Titan since the side I put the TB on only has the one female buckle end and the passenger side both female buckle ends for middle and outboard. I did install both Titan and Tribute using seatbelts and am damn sure they're in tight lol.... phew am I tired ;) I did remember though as I was gathering up the kids to come inside that 3yr old ds was 38lbs (dressed though) at the pedi's the other day and he is on the top slots of the harness of the Tribute but hopefully it'll get me through the summer... I do have the Maestro in the shed now if I do need to use it for him sooner than later but I'ld have to install it in a captains chair and I really want the 3 youngest in the back for now.... or until I get bored and want to play musical carseats again...hahaha! Not sure how I'll like loading the 13m old through the back hatch but I guess it'll work, I know dh won't like doing it that way but I'm usually the one who buckles the baby in anyways... sorry so long :p I'll try to get some picks later when we go to Tball :)
 

amjbmommy

New member
so I have a few more ?'s/observations...... are my lo's as safe as they "could" be in the back like that? I mean if I was to be rear ended the baby is right there RF'ing with nothing really protecting his face (no headrest in the middle) also I don't have side airbags.... what if I was to get hit on the sides? would it crush the kids into each other? I mean I know I have 5 kids so they all gotta be somewhere but honestly would the 13m old be safer RF'ing in a captains chair and then put the Maestro or Tribute in the middle of the back since it's lapbelt only and a seat has to be there, I mean the bigger kids do fit fine in the back but it is getting tight and it's easier for them to be in the captains chairs but I can deal with a little inconvenience for safetys sake kwim? But then again if the big ones are in the back both outboard with adult seat belts only (they both easily pass the 5 step test :thumbsup:) then they have no protection in the case of a side impact whereas having the lo's in carseats/turbobooster at least have the carseats/turbobooster for some protection, right?
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
so I have a few more ?'s/observations...... are my lo's as safe as they "could" be in the back like that? I mean if I was to be rear ended the baby is right there RF'ing with nothing really protecting his face (no headrest in the middle) also I don't have side airbags.... what if I was to get hit on the sides? would it crush the kids into each other? I mean I know I have 5 kids so they all gotta be somewhere but honestly would the 13m old be safer RF'ing in a captains chair and then put the Maestro or Tribute in the middle of the back since it's lapbelt only and a seat has to be there, I mean the bigger kids do fit fine in the back but it is getting tight and it's easier for them to be in the captains chairs but I can deal with a little inconvenience for safetys sake kwim? But then again if the big ones are in the back both outboard with adult seat belts only (they both easily pass the 5 step test :thumbsup:) then they have no protection in the case of a side impact whereas having the lo's in carseats/turbobooster at least have the carseats/turbobooster for some protection, right?

You know, those are all parental choice issues. I think an argument could me made for each scenario. In YOUR case, you certainly have more options than the persona for whom, I originally was doing the research, because all her kids other that the baby are mumch bigger and need boosters, or very big, wide harnessed seats, so putting he infant seat into the 3 across with boosters was really one of her only options, since a booster couldn't go in the middle, and a big, wide harnessed seat wouldn't fit there if she needed a 3-across. If you have kids that will fit into smaller harnessed seats, or bigger kids that can 5 step and need no seat, it opens up a lot more options for your personal situation. ;)
 

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