I moved my seats... installation check & some questions - lots of pic's

I moved my seats... installation check & some questions (updated post 5)

Long story short, I decided to switch the car seats around tonight to move ds behind the passenger side and put dd in the middle. Up until now, both were outboard - ds was driver side and dd was passenger side.

Dd is currently in a ff'ing MA and ds is in a SS1 & both are installed using the seat belts and built in lock-offs.

First off, dd's seat:

We have metal buckle stalks, and in the middle seating position, the space between the belt and the buckle is quite narrow. With the MA, this translates to the buckle being right against the shell. I'm able to tighten it, but I'm not sure if this is ok or not?



The seatbelt where it comes out from the top of the seat is also right against the edge of the shell. It is able to move freely, but again I'm not sure if this is ok?



Overall the installation of the seat is ok. It's not 100% solid the same way as it was outboard, but it's got maybe 1/8" wiggle room front to back and none side to side. The base is out from the seat some, but the back of the seat is flush with the car for the most part:



Now for ds's seat...

We have plastic buttons on our seatbelts and when I installed the base on the driver side I took the button off so that it didn't interfere with the lock-off. I had posted about it on this thread:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=15458

Here's a picture of the seat belt after the fact... it's been in constant use with the base since the button was taken off, and I can't tell where the button was to begin with even looking at it up close...



Before taking the one on the passenger side off too, I'd like to know if this is actually ok. I'd read it was somewhere before, but some said it was & some said it wasn't on the other thread. As it stands right now, I'm able to work around it, but if I need to change the recline, it'll be right smack in the way of the lock-off.

Close up of what the button looks like:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/snowbird25ca/car seats/12maymisc008.jpg - it removes cleanly if you use a smooth flat object to pry it apart. It's a single prong that pokes through a space in the webbing of the seat belt. Once you take it out, the webbing just moves back in to where it was in the first place, so the seat belt webbing itself isn't being damaged in the process...

In order to fix the problem of ds constantly trying to sit himself up, we've increased the recline back to 45 degrees or close to it. If I push down on the top of the carrier, a bit of orange does move into the indicator, so I'm wondering if once ds is actually in it, if his weight will make it over-reclined.. does anyone know if this will be a problem?

This is his seat right now:


(The handle was moved between positions just so that the top of the shell could be clearly seen. It's always locked into place otherwise.)

So, I know this was long and lots of questions, so if you made it through, I appreciate it. I'm trying to decide if I should just put dd back outboard behind the passenger and put ds in the middle. I'd really prefer to have dd center since she's ff'ing now, but if the install isn't perfect, then I know she'd be better off outboard - and I can get a great install with the SS in the middle. So basically, my decision hinges on the answers to these questions.

snowbird25ca said:

Long story short, I decided to switch the car seats around tonight to move ds behind the passenger side and put dd in the middle. Up until now, both were outboard - ds was driver side and dd was passenger side.

Dd is currently in a ff'ing MA and ds is in a SS1 & both are installed using the seat belts and built in lock-offs.

First off, dd's seat:

We have metal buckle stalks, and in the middle seating position, the space between the belt and the buckle is quite narrow. With the MA, this translates to the buckle being right against the shell. I'm able to tighten it, but I'm not sure if this is ok or not?

Click to expand...

I think it looks fine. It's not in the belt path, it's not at an angle putting stress on the latchplate, so I think it's fine.

The seatbelt where it comes out from the top of the seat is also right against the edge of the shell. It is able to move freely, but again I'm not sure if this is ok?

Overall the installation of the seat is ok. It's not 100% solid the same way as it was outboard, but it's got maybe 1/8" wiggle room front to back and none side to side. The base is out from the seat some, but the back of the seat is flush with the car for the most part:

Click to expand...

The seatbelt touching the shell is also just fine . The base being out a bit from the seat bight is also ok. It's a different seating position, so it's common for it to be positioned differently. This also accounts for why some kids fit differently in the same seat in different vehicles. I think 1/8" front to back and no movement side to side is :thumbsup: . It's not in the range of "okay" for an install, but not okay enough for my comfort that I'd move her back outboard. It's definitely okay enough to stay center! .

Now for ds's seat...

We have plastic buttons on our seatbelts and when I installed the base on the driver side I took the button off so that it didn't interfere with the lock-off. I had posted about it on this thread:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=15458

Here's a picture of the seat belt after the fact... it's been in constant use with the base since the button was taken off, and I can't tell where the button was to begin with even looking at it up close...

Before taking the one on the passenger side off too, I'd like to know if this is actually ok. I'd read it was somewhere before, but some said it was & some said it wasn't on the other thread. As it stands right now, I'm able to work around it, but if I need to change the recline, it'll be right smack in the way of the lock-off.

Close up of what the button looks like:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/snowbird25ca/car seats/12maymisc008.jpg - it removes cleanly if you use a smooth flat object to pry it apart. It's a single prong that pokes through a space in the webbing of the seat belt. Once you take it out, the webbing just moves back in to where it was in the first place, so the seat belt webbing itself isn't being damaged in the process...

In order to fix the problem of ds constantly trying to sit himself up, we've increased the recline back to 45 degrees or close to it. If I push down on the top of the carrier, a bit of orange does move into the indicator, so I'm wondering if once ds is actually in it, if his weight will make it over-reclined.. does anyone know if this will be a problem?

This is his seat right now:

(The handle was moved between positions just so that the top of the shell could be clearly seen. It's always locked into place otherwise.)

So, I know this was long and lots of questions, so if you made it through, I appreciate it. I'm trying to decide if I should just put dd back outboard behind the passenger and put ds in the middle. I'd really prefer to have dd center since she's ff'ing now, but if the install isn't perfect, then I know she'd be better off outboard - and I can get a great install with the SS in the middle. So basically, my decision hinges on the answers to these questions.

Click to expand...

Re the little plastic button on the seatbelt - you're correct that it can be removed.
From SafetyBeltSafe USA (scroll down until you come to this heading):
"Button on lap-shoulder belt webbing

A button is often attached to lap-shoulder belt webbing to keep the latchplate from falling down out of reach. If this button prevents the belt from retracting far enough to secure the CR firmly, the button may be clipped off, taking care not to cut the belt."

For the recline, I think you should just try him in the seat to see where the recline ends up. If it's a bit over-reclined, then adjust it. Since I see no reason not to remove the plastic button on the webbing, this shouldn't be too much of a problem, albeit a bit tiresome to reinstall the seat several times .
Good luck!

:yeahthat:

I agree with everything the PP said.

Thanks guys.

I wanted to make sure that my thinking was right, and check about the button before taking it off on the other seat belt.

Dd has just learned to climb into the truck, so with ds being outboard on the passenger side, it means she can climb in before I put him into his seat and I don't have to worry about traffic.

So I'll take the button off tonight and double check if I can get the base any tighter and put ds in the carrier and make sure it's not over-reclined once he's in it. :thumbsup:

Well, I ended up moving dd back outboard after another trip out tonight. Her legs just seemed really uncomfortable and being in the middle she didn't really have anywhere to put them up the way she could when she was outboard.

I tried to get her MA back snugger to the vehicle seatback so that it was more upright, and couldn't get an acceptable install that way, so I decided it was better to have her outboard. We have side curtain airbags and the outboard installation is definitely superior and I'm just more comfortable with it.

I did remove the button from the other seatbelt last night and installed his seat a bit more upright. I think it might be a bit too reclined though if the level indicator is right... Don't know how that happened since it was ok before and the seat is more upright now.

Anyways, just thought I'd share.