Question RA55 measurements and pics - Does this install look right? Does she really have that much growing room?

Athena

Well-known member
We need more front seat space in our tiny car so, even though I was not optimistic after reading the other threads here, I installed the RA55 in my car at BRU, put my 2 yo in the seat, and measured. As it was installed, she appeared to have at least 3" of growth and it allowed the front passenger seat to move back a whole 4"!

However, I suspect the install would be better with a rolled towel/noodle so that might diminish this a little. The reasons I think so are: (1) looks too upright, (2) very little leg room, (3) not enough room to get her in and out. Any thoughts? Anyone else needed to use this with the new seat when their old seat installed great?

I have many more thoughts on this, but after many views and no responses, I decided my post may have been way too long. :)

Update: At home it looks like she has more like 2" of RF growth and we gain 2-3" of front seat space (still great for us!). Maybe it was too upright at the store? Anyway, I just thought I should update this.
 
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tracee877

Active member
What are your DD's stats? I keep going back and forth on whether I "need" one or not for my newly 2yo. I want to hate it but I keep coming back to it.:eek: I would also love to hear your other thoughts on it!:)
 

Jocey'sMommy

New member
it looks like the base could be closer to the seat bite with out noodles if you shift it, it will recline it a bit more and it will give more leg room but take up a little more space, you might just want to go back and play with it at different angles and see if it works for you :)
 

sunnymw

New member
IDK about the 3" of growing room... but the leg-room looks on par with any Britax I've put my kids in... esp. the 2yo.
 

Athena

Well-known member
What are your DD's stats? I keep going back and forth on whether I "need" one or not for my newly 2yo. I want to hate it but I keep coming back to it.:eek: I would also love to hear your other thoughts on it!:)

Thank you! My post was originally really long and after about 100 views and no responses, I thought it was too much. :eek:

My DD is about 26 months and I think she is about 37" and 28 pounds, maybe a little more. I don't think she has a long torso, but don't have a measurement now and she's napping.

I feel the same way. I've gone back and forth about these new seats and had ruled them out. But my tall DH is really tired of driving all the time and this would help him be able to fit in the passenger seat so I figured I should try it and see. For our special circumstance, it just might be worth it.

Some pros and cons I noticed:
- Like many people, I am not impressed with the recline adjuster, but didn't find it too hard to use.
- I prefer the smaller footprint of the old base and its increased versatility and compatibility. But I'd like to play more with this one before condemning the larger base. Personally, I think a seat is better and less likely to be misused if it does not require extras like rolled towels and noodles and I'm hoping that pulling it closer to the seat bite will fix the angle without that. If I get the chance to try it, I'll let you know!
- I have concerns about how twisty the straps will get without hugs (I've always had HUGS) and I found the harness adjuster stiff with DD in the seat, but others all seem to like it. :confused: Maybe it was stuck on something?
- I found it more awkward to get her in and out, but that may have been my lack of experience with it, people watching me, or the angle being too upright and lack of access space.
- To my surprise, I find the new splitter plate (on which the strap popsitions are not split) easy to use and had no trouble rethreading the harness to change slots on this RA55.
- I love the non handed latch buckles and the new way to stow them. That is much nicer!
- Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to try a seatbelt install or the lockoffs.

That's all that comes to mind right now. I hope that is helpful. I wish I had something more conclusive. Feel free to ask questions. I wish I had one at home to play with! It is so hard to know without having some time to play with it without people waiting and watching and not knowing how long your 2 yo will cooperate anyway. ;) I was surprised by the amount of growing room she appeared to have.


it looks like the base could be closer to the seat bite with out noodles if you shift it, it will recline it a bit more and it will give more leg room but take up a little more space, you might just want to go back and play with it at different angles and see if it works for you :)

Thanks for the help! I'll try that. I did not intentionally pull it back from the bite, but it may have naturally gone into that spot because my old MA that was just in there was pulled back from it and had probably left a compression in the seat. Hopefully my seatbelt buckles aren't in the way of it. They like to do that.
 

Athena

Well-known member
IDK about the 3" of growing room... but the leg-room looks on par with any Britax I've put my kids in... esp. the 2yo.

i know what you mean. I don't think it was way off or that it shows well enough in the pic, but being there, it felt like there was something not quite right.
 

tracee877

Active member
My DS is similar to your DD, he's about 35" and 26 lbs, about a 13" torso I believe. I ended up ordering one from Diapers.com so if I hate it I can return it free.:eek:
 

Athena

Well-known member
My DS is similar to your DD, he's about 35" and 26 lbs, about a 13" torso I believe. I ended up ordering one from Diapers.com so if I hate it I can return it free.:eek:

Does diapers.com really have them in stock now? I had the same idea, but when I checked, they were not shipping until late Sept so I was looking around for another option. I hope they really have them!

Which one did you order?
 
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Athena

Well-known member
I just checked and I was told that diapers.com does have some models in stock at some distribution centers. If anyone has their eye on one and wants more info, you can call them and find out if it is in stock at your distribution center and how many they have left.

They do not have the smokey pearl RA55 I had my eye on :(. They do have the Allison MA 70 that I've admired in other threads and she just had to point out that it could be at my door Tuesday. :whistle:

Are the only additions the moving no re-thread harness piece, slightly higher top harness height that only matters for FF, and the HUGS? I wish I knew if when the moving headpiece sticks up above the seat's shell, it would interfere with the front seat. The car's headrest angles forward so they may not collide.
 
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abigaylebelle

Active member
It looks like she has lots of growing room to me. IMO it is completely worth it to find a rf seat that allows the front seat to move back as much as possible for the safety of your front passenger. No one wants to be crammed up against the dash if the airbag deploys.
As far as twisty straps without hugs, we've only had non-hug ra40s and never had problems with twisty straps.
 

Athena

Well-known member
It looks like she has lots of growing room to me. IMO it is completely worth it to find a rf seat that allows the front seat to move back as much as possible for the safety of your front passenger. No one wants to be crammed up against the dash if the airbag deploys.
As far as twisty straps without hugs, we've only had non-hug ra40s and never had problems with twisty straps.

Thank you for the feedback on her fit and for helping me to feel less silly for considering this seat. I hope it works out because being able to move that front seat back would mean a lot to me and improve my peace of mind greatly. I'm relieved to hear that the straps twisting is not normal. The display seat's straps may been pre-twisted by customers playing with it before I tried it.
 

tracee877

Active member
Does diapers.com really have them in stock now? I had the same idea, but when I checked, they were not shipping until late Sept so I was looking around for another option. I hope they really have them!

Which one did you order?

I got the Cowmoo MA70. It said it would be here Wednesday!

I just checked and I was told that diapers.com does have some models in stock at some distribution centers. If anyone has their eye on one and wants more info, you can call them and find out if it is in stock at your distribution center and how many they have left.

They do not have the smokey pearl RA55 I had my eye on :(. They do have the Allison MA 70 that I've admired in other threads and she just had to point out that it could be at my door Tuesday. :whistle:

Are the only additions the moving no re-thread harness piece, slightly higher top harness height that only matters for FF, and the HUGS? I wish I knew if when the moving headpiece sticks up above the seat's shell, it would interfere with the front seat. The car's headrest angles forward so they may not collide.

I'm wondering about this too, it's my main concern. When I tried him in it at BRU he was on the slots that put the head rest just outside the shell and I don't think it would be much longer before he moves to the next slots.
 

Athena

Well-known member
I wish I knew if when the moving headpiece sticks up above the seat's shell, it would interfere with the front seat. The car's headrest angles forward so they may not collide.

Since I was not the only person wondering about this, I thought I should share my findings. I found that installed at a 30 degree angle for my toddler, the headpiece on the MA70 did not interfere at all with our front seat's headrest and it did not take any more front to back space than the RA55. We have a newer vehicle so it has those head rests that angle forwards (very stupid design IMO, but may help with the car seat fit I guess :shrug-shoulders:) I hope this helps someone.
 

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