Help with three accross in Sienna

Laurette · Oct 23, 2010

A friend of mine has a 7 seater Sienna (not sure what year) and she has triplets and almost 7 year old and 2.5/3 year old.

She needs to have a new three accross for her back row with the 7 year old in the middle in a high back booster and a baby on each side. The baby's have Coccoros ATM. She also has a Regent (will be the 3 year olds new seat) and a Boulevard.

What narrow booster will allow the 7 year old to sit in the middle back row between two coccoros or one coccoro and a BLVD? I think the Vivo is out, maybe the Parkway SG? What else??

Chameleon · Oct 23, 2010

What year Sienna? Boosters don't fit well in the middle in the back because of the fixed buckles. The pro booster fits well because of it's narrow footprint, but it won't work well in a three across situation because of it's size. I think that's the first booster that I've found that fits in between the buckle stalks. I just don't see it happening with the booster in the middle.

NannyMom · Oct 23, 2010

I had a old style Parkway in that center position for a booster 3 across. So, maybe the Parkway SG

The Boulevard would have to go passenger's side, it's bigger. The CCO might fit driver's side, not sure.

christineka · Oct 23, 2010

It would be a lot easier to put the kid in booster on the passenger's side and coccoros middle and driver's side. The passenger's side seat is wider than the other two. Also, the buckle stalk is stiff, so much, much easier to buckle. (Uses one hand rather than two.)

I currently have a bodyguard in the middle seat. An old style parkway might work too.

karlatta · Oct 23, 2010

Yeah, that's a crummy place for a booster. I am assuming the 2.5yo is RF still. Here's what I would do (I have a 7 passenger 06 Sienna). Keep in mind I'm fairly tall, so I may have a longer reach than she does.

I'd put two babies RF in CCOs in the 3rd row, center and driver side. 7yo in a HBB passenger side. Two other RFers in the 2nd row in the CCO and BLVD, seats pushed together. Put the babies in either through the back, or stand in the empty space next to the captain's chair and lean over to buckle everyone in. (I can do this pretty easily if I make sure I have the headrests removed from the captain's chairs.) She may also be able to have the 7yo help with the buckling of the babies.

This is how I've done things when I've had 1 FF kid and 4 RF kids in my car, and it's worked decently. It's not super easy, but I'm guessing nothing really is when you're dealing with triplets, right?

Chameleon · Oct 23, 2010

The PWSG does not fit there, and the old PW fits OK. The ProBooster fits great. I'll second the idea of putting a booster passenger side and the RF's in the middle and driver's side.

PW Old style

PWSG The problem is it buckles behind the booster and the booster is against the buckle. You can't slide it over anymore because it butts up against the connection point of the shoulder belt.

ProBooster allows for the most room on the seat

christineka · Oct 23, 2010

I was told a week ago in my thread in the technical questions area, that it was fine to put the shoulder belt anchor thingy (I called it a "nubby thing" in my thread) down and the booster on top.

Here's my pictures. (defrost and someone else told me this was fine)

Chameleon · Oct 23, 2010

*I* wouldn't do it. Boosters are different than installing seats where there can be tricks to seat belt positions and buckle positions. I wouldn't sit on the buckle and expect it to perform the same in a crash the same way as if I wasn't sitting on it.

Edited to add, by pushing the "thing" down you create more slack in the lap portion of the belt and the belt doesn't fit the same anymore, so no I wouldn't advise doing this at all.

christineka · Oct 23, 2010

Is it different because the booster I have there is the bodyguard? It locks the lap portion over the child.

Here's my thread from last week for any who wish to further advise me. I currently have the bodyguard in this spot as pictured.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=144928&highlight=nubby

To get away from this, I'd either have to move oldest to the literider (backless booster) or put another little kid in the back in a radian.

Chameleon · Oct 23, 2010

I went and looked at your thread, and I still wouldn't advise it. In the vehicle manual, the position with the "nubby" down is the storage position for that portion of the seat belt. I'm guessing it wasn't designed to be used in the storage position. I honestly would never use the restraint system like that even for myself.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Oct 23, 2010

Does the 7 year old fit in a high back turbo? If so, then she could put the turbo driver side, the boulevard middle (the turbo puzzles under, and leaves room to buckle) and anything in the passenger side (except maybe the regent). I know a nautilus will work this way.

DahliaRW · Oct 23, 2010

I agree that it's next to impossible to get a booster in the middle. It should work to have the booster outboard and the CCOs side by side (though I haven't tried it myself). Or I might consider a travel vest for the middle if the 7yo has to be there.

NannyMom · Oct 23, 2010

Chameleon said:
The PWSG does not fit there, and the old PW fits OK. The ProBooster fits great. I'll second the idea of putting a booster passenger side and the RF's in the middle and driver's side.

hmmmm. What year is your Sienna? I don't remember the old style parkway fitting like that in my van

But, I didn't have it there long. I'll have to find a picture.

Chameleon · Oct 23, 2010

NannyMom said:
hmmmm. What year is your Sienna? I don't remember the old style parkway fitting like that in my van But, I didn't have it there long. I'll have to find a picture.

2005

I can put up the picture of the other side also if you want. You may have pushed the shoulder belt notch down and put the seat over it, which would fit great like that, but not that I would recommend at all.

emandbri · Oct 24, 2010

The harmony booster should work, it has cut outs so it would be easier to buckle than other boosters. I've done a booster 3 in a row in the back a few times and everytime I do I vow to never do it again because it is such a pain to buckle the booster.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Oct 24, 2010

I am going to play probably today, so we all (but the oldest) can get in the van. right now I have the 2 rf in the middle row, but want to change that, as I want to use the regent instead of the older parkway for the 5 year old.

I have to play with:

regent
old style parkway
monterey
boulevard
radian

I have put away a decathlon and a turbo, but don't really want to pull them out right now.

I think I want to try 3 across the back row.

Chameleon · Oct 24, 2010

It's not a problem at all to get a 3 across the back row, especially with an old PW. The problem is having the booster in the middle. If you have it on the side, it's not a problem.

Laurette · Oct 24, 2010

They currently have the 7 year old passenger side third row in the regent but she will be outgrowing soon. The two coccoros are middle and driver side on third row. Mom wants 7 year old in middle so she can reach to soothe the babies on either side.

Three year old will be moving to the regent and one triplet will be moving to the BLVD IF he will fit.

Chameleon · Oct 24, 2010

The only other seat that I know fits in the middle is the Literider which is a lowback, which is OK for a 7 year old, not ideal, but OK. If she really wants her in the middle, then I would suggest the ProBooster which will work while the babies are RF because it won't have to compete for shoulder room with the seats and it fits well in the middle.

Literider pics in the middle.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Oct 24, 2010

I am pretty sure the booster won't fit in the middle, even next to a cocorro, unless you do what Christine did, which I am also a bit uncomfy with because it will probably add a bit of slack to the belt if in a crash, and lift up.

7 year old should be able to reach over 1 baby to soothe the other. I would try that first.

As for me.... I have a problem. If I put the radian in the middle rf, and a booster on one side, and a seatbelt kid on the other, where do I put the regent? The recline bar interferes with the fold of the middle seat (8 passenger, plus then I can't tether the radian rf. But then, if I put the radian driver outboard, I can't tether it if I have the regent in front of it. Ugh. I just found out that in a month, my 7.5 year old has outgrown the back of the monterey, so she is backless. Maybe I should booster the 5 year old.

Help with three accross in Sienna

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