B
bergenbuyer
Guest
I have some tips on car seat configs for the Acadia. I also have a question. I'm trying to fit 3 people in the 3rd row for a road trip (Grandma and other daughter in the 2nd row Capt chairs). My wife, infant carrier and then Britax Marathon. It's just not working as is, not enough room for my wife. I'm thinking about trying a Sunshine Kids Radian as that seems to be the thinnest (shoulder width) seat out there. If you know the marathon the side for the legs protrude up which directly interferes with the snap-in infant carrier. The Radian appears to have a lower height at the leg level, which would allow the infant carrier to snap in. Does this sound doable? Anyone ever try to put 2 car seats (middle and side) in the 3rd row of the Acadia so you have 1 seat available?
Here's my post from another forum:
I know figuring out the safest way to have car seats without buying a minivan was something that I struggled with in buying a car. Once I was able to figure out a way to do it with the Acadia, I bought the car.
I wanted to let everyone know that I was able to take off the headrests of the 2nd row captain's chairs by depressing the leather/cloth down until I was able to remove the little C clip that keeps the headrest from being removed (there are other posts that describe this method, it works). This allowed the car seats to fit better (flush against the seat) without having to recline the seat. By doing that, I can have more leg room in third row. I have a Britax Marathon and a Peg Perego snap-in infant carrier in the captains chairs. There's no need to remove the headrest for the infant carrier, it fits fine as is.
For the third row, it's a little easier to remove the headrest without having to pull down your seat material. Pull the handle on the back of the third row as if you were going to lay the seat down flat, the headrest folds down as you do this, but keep the seat upright, it will be easier to work. You'll see plastic rings around the metal posts and a tiny hole in the plastic ring. Get a wire hanger or something like an awl or a small screwdriver. I used two awls. At the same time press the awls into each hole, this will depress a metal piece that is pressured by a spring. As you press in, pull out on the headrest, and it should come off. You can do this by yourself, but two people would obviously make this easier. Now push those metal posts back into the upright position. This isn't great if you're going to sit back here as you now have two metal posts sticking up, but the car seat is tall enough to cover those posts and actually fit nicely around the plastic of the Marathon seat. This allowed me to put two Britax Marathons in the third row. There is still some room in the middle, but not much. Maybe you could do 3 boosters in the future. I wouldn't put a kid in between as they could get crushed by the two car seats in an accident.
Unfortunately, the geniuses at GM decided to only put 1 tether on the 3rd row and no LATCH hooks. They say you're not supposed to put two seats on 1 tether as the weight could be too much to handle in the event of an accident. I used the seatbelts instead of LATCH which is acceptable, although not as good as LATCH. For the tether, I bought two D-ring connectors from Britax. They actually come with the seats when you buy them, but mine disappeared over the years as they weren't being used. Here they are if you need to buy them as well
http://www.britaxusa.com/buy-parts-accessories.
I pulled back on the carpeted piece that moves up and down as you fold the 3rd row seat and was able to put the straps around a metal tube (drivers side) and a metal frame piece (passenger side) that is under the seat. This seems like a sufficient area as the tube and frame are welded and bolted to the body just as the seat belts are. If someone disagrees, let me know.
With all this, I now have 3 Marathons and 1 infant snap-in safely secured in the car.
I hope this helps anyone else that was facing a similar issue as I.
Here's my post from another forum:
I know figuring out the safest way to have car seats without buying a minivan was something that I struggled with in buying a car. Once I was able to figure out a way to do it with the Acadia, I bought the car.
I wanted to let everyone know that I was able to take off the headrests of the 2nd row captain's chairs by depressing the leather/cloth down until I was able to remove the little C clip that keeps the headrest from being removed (there are other posts that describe this method, it works). This allowed the car seats to fit better (flush against the seat) without having to recline the seat. By doing that, I can have more leg room in third row. I have a Britax Marathon and a Peg Perego snap-in infant carrier in the captains chairs. There's no need to remove the headrest for the infant carrier, it fits fine as is.
For the third row, it's a little easier to remove the headrest without having to pull down your seat material. Pull the handle on the back of the third row as if you were going to lay the seat down flat, the headrest folds down as you do this, but keep the seat upright, it will be easier to work. You'll see plastic rings around the metal posts and a tiny hole in the plastic ring. Get a wire hanger or something like an awl or a small screwdriver. I used two awls. At the same time press the awls into each hole, this will depress a metal piece that is pressured by a spring. As you press in, pull out on the headrest, and it should come off. You can do this by yourself, but two people would obviously make this easier. Now push those metal posts back into the upright position. This isn't great if you're going to sit back here as you now have two metal posts sticking up, but the car seat is tall enough to cover those posts and actually fit nicely around the plastic of the Marathon seat. This allowed me to put two Britax Marathons in the third row. There is still some room in the middle, but not much. Maybe you could do 3 boosters in the future. I wouldn't put a kid in between as they could get crushed by the two car seats in an accident.
Unfortunately, the geniuses at GM decided to only put 1 tether on the 3rd row and no LATCH hooks. They say you're not supposed to put two seats on 1 tether as the weight could be too much to handle in the event of an accident. I used the seatbelts instead of LATCH which is acceptable, although not as good as LATCH. For the tether, I bought two D-ring connectors from Britax. They actually come with the seats when you buy them, but mine disappeared over the years as they weren't being used. Here they are if you need to buy them as well
http://www.britaxusa.com/buy-parts-accessories.
I pulled back on the carpeted piece that moves up and down as you fold the 3rd row seat and was able to put the straps around a metal tube (drivers side) and a metal frame piece (passenger side) that is under the seat. This seems like a sufficient area as the tube and frame are welded and bolted to the body just as the seat belts are. If someone disagrees, let me know.
With all this, I now have 3 Marathons and 1 infant snap-in safely secured in the car.
I hope this helps anyone else that was facing a similar issue as I.