Booster in middle seat of the 3rd row in a Sienna?

katieinqc

New member
(Sorry this ended up being so long!)

I have 3 kids in a Toyota Sienna. Until a couple days ago, I had Regent/Nautilus as booster/RF TFP in the middle row (back row folded down). My oldest was having trouble buckling the booster, which was mostly an issue in the pick-up lane at school, where they want you to drive off as soon as they're in.

I don't need the back row down any more so decided to put her in the back row. This has the added benefits of allowing me to move the Regent to the center of the middle row, which I prefer, and move the TFP to the driver side to provide easier access for my oldest, who has to get in and out through the passenger side for drop-off and pick-up.

I wanted to put her in the middle of the back for safety. The LATCH situation back there (center LATCH is offset towards driver's side) meant I couldn't LATCH the Nautilus and use it as a booster there, and I didn't want to use such a heavy booster without LATCH, so I switched it with the Parkway SG in dh's car.

First, even though it's a fairly narrow booster, it was wider than the separation between the buckles, so the belt went out then back in to go across her, if that makes sense. Is that okay?

Next, every time I glanced back it seemed like she wasn't straight. She normally sits very well, and when I asked her to correct it she was sitting as straight as she could, so I assume it was something with the geometry of that seat in that spot. It wasn't horrible (she was still vertical and within the head and side wings) but it just bugged me, and I wasn't sure if it could get worse over time or with a sudden turn. Anyone else experience this?

Finally, today she couldn't buckle it all. When I got out to help, the female end of the buckle had slipped under the booster and was inaccessible, so I scooted the seat over to the passenger side, which did do away with the 3 issues but I would prefer to have her in the middle for safety.

I may move her to the 2nd row middle and put the Regent in the 3rd row back but that's not very convenient since my son can't unbuckle at all or fully buckle and tighten himself. So, after my long story, I just wondered if anyone had any tips or anything for successful hbb use in the middle of the 3rd row. Thanks in advance!
 
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christineka

New member
I have a hbb in the middle now and will divulge the secret, which is not cpst approved. I stretched out the female buckle and taped it to the side of the seat. The recaro vivo and harmony literider (backless) work great in that spot because they have contoured bottoms. The bodyguard works okay with the taped buckle because the bottom is only 13 inches wide.
 

katieinqc

New member
Thanks for sharing your secret; since I don't actually need to keep her there I probably won't use it, but I will keep it in mind if I ever do need to have it there, especially in a 3-across. It seems like something that should be fine, but since I don't exactly need it, I feel like I shouldn't do it "just because".

I saw from your other post that you were able to get a Radian installed there too, something I wasn't able to do at all when I tried a couple months ago. Again, I didn't need it there specifically, so just put the Nautilus (in harness mode) there instead and the Radian on the passenger side. Anyway, just wanted to say I'm impressed. :)

So, how high does the Vivo go? My daughter is tall - she just turned 5 (and started full-time booster use) a couple months ago, and when I moved the Nautilus to dh's car and sat her in it, I moved it up to the highest settting! When she outgrows it, I was planning to get a second Parkway or a Monterey because I think those are the tallest (besides Frontier), right? But if the Vivo is comparable, it would be nice to have something that works there.
 

katieinqc

New member
Here are some pics:
1. In the Nautilus at highest setting a couple months ago (inside)
2. In the Parkway at highest setting same day
3. In the Nautilus, one click down, Monday of last week (after first day of school!), 2nd row center of the Sienna
 
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christineka

New member
Thew vivo adjusts to 21 inches. I believe it is a tad lower than the parkway.

I have no problem getting the radian in the center seat. I recline the seat back, twist the female buckle three times, buckle, pull tight, pull the shoulder belt out, feed back in, then put the seat back back in place.
 

katieinqc

New member
Awesome; thanks! And I will add the Vivo to the list of boosters to consider when she outgrows the Nautilus. Thanks again!
 

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