2 kids, short van ride on tour...

My boys are going with their dad and grandpa this weekend near Grand Coulee Dam. They plan to do the 1 hour tour. Per the info on the web site:

Highlights of the Third Powerplant guided tour include a look at two of the largest turbines in the world and a van ride across the top of the dam. Parents are required to bring their child’s car or booster seat for use in the shuttle van.

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So my ds's are 3 and 5 1/2. It sounds like the van portion is very short, and I would bet that the seats have to be carried around otherwise. I'm wondering in this situation if you'd let them both ride in backless boosters for that short trip (ds is usually harnessed, ds is in a hbb in my car and a backless in dh's because it's the only booster we can get to fit in the bucket seats). The other option is a backless for my oldest and the RSTV for the younger. To me it sounds like the van is not in traffic at all, so I would bet the likelihood of an accident is slim to none. The RSTV is very portable, but it's a bit more cumbersome to use (and it'll be too hot for ds2 to keep wearing it on the tour so it would still have to be carried). Booster wise, I have a literider and a turbobooster (hbb, but we could just have the bottom brought). The other seats on the trip will be a complete air and maestro, but I'd like to avoid dh and my FIL having to uninstall and reinstall those!

First -- is it legal for your 3yo to ride backless in that state? Is he 40lbs?

If there's really no traffic, I'd probably lean towards it being okay, but others may disagree (or have points I haven't thought of.) The rest of the tour is walking?

Do they have pictures of the shuttles? Are they 12- or 15- passenger vans, or are they full-size shuttle vans with 24+ seats? If it's a 12- or 15- passenger, you might get by with boosters, but there will probably not be 3 lap/shoulder belts next to each other, so they would have to sit in different rows. If it's a big shuttle, they will only have lap belts, most likely. I wouldn't be ok with a 3 year old in a booster, ever, and I just wanted to clarify in your OP where you said he is "usually harnessed".

Carrie_R said:

First -- is it legal for your 3yo to ride backless in that state? Is he 40lbs?

If there's really no traffic, I'd probably lean towards it being okay, but others may disagree (or have points I haven't thought of.) The rest of the tour is walking?

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Washington is a proper use state, so as long as he meets the requirements for the backless booster, it is legal. Dorel backless are rated from 30 pounds, as are the Harmony I think.

Having been there and seen where the van drives, I would be OK with using backless boosters for this very short ride where no other vehicles are allowed to be. I have not been in the vans, so I don't know the seatbelt configurations though.

I would use a backless for the 5 year old (one that fits small riders well-- like the Harmony LiteRider) and an RSTV for the 3 year old. I'd bring a backpack to carry both of them.

By usually harnessed I mean he's harnessed all the time, other than possibly in this one case. Sorry! Yeah, I know he's too young for a booster (and definitely not mature enough - but in the case of the shuttle there would be an adult right next to him).

I have no idea how the vans are configured. I can call and ask. I've never done this before, and while dh can do car seat very basics, I'm the car seat expert in this family. So I want to make it as easy as I can for him.