Question Able to fit two seats plus adult passenger in second row?

First off, thanks to all the CPS techs who answer questions on this forum. You all are lifesavers in my book.

First Question: My 6-month old (19.5 lbs, 28 in.) is on the verge of outgrowing his Graco SnugRide, so we need to get him into a convertible seat. We are considering putting him in his big brother's Britax Marathon. Big brother is 3-yo, 37 in. tall, and 27 lbs. (not big). We are considering the Nautilus, Frontier 85, and the ProSport. My question is this: is there any way that we can put the Marathon RF on the side, the new booster FF in the middle, and still fit an adult passenger on the other side? Our vehicles are a 2008 Honda Pilot and a 2010 Honda Ridgeline.

Second Question: I just discovered, through reading this board, that my Pilot does not have LATCH in the middle position of the second row. Our SnugRide is currently in that middle position using LATCH, so we must be borrowing one anchor point from each side seat. I know that this is a no-no. What I don't know is WHY this is a no-no, and the vehicle's owner's manual does not address the issue. And I need to know why so that I can explain it to my husband, who is a mechanical engineer, who installed the seat, and who thinks it is perfectly safe. Help!
 
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safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
First off, thanks to all the CPS techs who answer questions on this forum. You all are lifesavers in my book.

First Question: My 6-month old (19.5 lbs, 28 in.) is on the verge of outgrowing his Graco SnugRide, so we need to get him into a convertible seat. We are considering putting him in his big brother's Britax Marathon. Big brother is 3-yo, 37 in. tall, and 27 lbs. (not big). We are considering the Nautilus, Frontier 85, and the ProSport. My question is this: is there any way that we can put the Marathon RF on the side, the new booster FF in the middle, and still fit an adult passenger on the other side? Our vehicles are a 2008 Honda Pilot and a 2010 Honda Ridgeline.

Second Question: I just discovered, through reading this board, that my Pilot does not have LATCH in the middle position of the second row. Our SnugRide is currently in that middle position using LATCH, so we must be borrowing one anchor point from each side seat. I know that this is a no-no. What I don't know is WHY this is a no-no, and the vehicle's owner's manual does not address the issue. And I need to know why so that I can explain it to my husband, who is a mechanical engineer, who installed the seat, and who thinks it is perfectly safe. Help!

It isn't safe to borrow anchors because the anchor bolts are attached to the vehicle in a way that anticipates the torque coming from a certain direction. If the anchor is twisted the other way, it can detach from the frame.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Here is a LATCH system (upside down).

231062_1930365333397_1070139791_2259307_4014163_n.jpg


So a car has O_____O________O_____O.

This came out of a 2005 Toyota Corolla, but LATCH is pretty standard. You can see that there are the two lower anchors held together by a bar. That bar is supposed to be welded to the frame of the car. Obviously, in this car it wasn't (this was at a carseat check, that's c-s.org's own Qarin holding it). If you borrow the inner one from either side you've got two issues going on. First, they're not connected to each other. Second, they're too wide. Imagine hanging from a building 20 stories up. Which would you rather have, your arms straight up, or your arms two feet apart?

*Some* cars do have LATCH connected in the center, so that it looks like this:

O_____O________O_____O

In order for that to be ok, both the car have to allow it, and the carseat has to allow the non standard spacing (Graco does).

Some have this:

O_____O_____O_____O

In which case you can use the inner ones as if they're they're own dedicated set.

Some have this:

O_____O_____O O_____O

In which case you have to be careful about which anchors you use, but you can use LATCH in the center. Some Hondas have this.

And then there are three sets of LATCH:

O_____OO_____OO_____O

or

A____B_A____B C_____C

In which case you need to read the manual to figure out which two you use, because it may not be the obvious two.

So, in your case, with the first kind of LATCH, since the two inner anchors are not connected, AND Honda doesn't allow it, AND the spacing between them may be more than Graco is comfortable with (I think they say more than 11" is ok, but I'm not sure), AND the seatbelt is not less safe than LATCH, I'd switch. If your husband won't do it, then you do it. Simple simple. :)

Ok, as for your first question, I have no idea. LOL I do know those are both very wide vehicles, and they do tend to do three acrosses fairly easily, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting seats to fit.

Have you considered leaving your three year old rear facing, though? It's much safer, and it sounds like he should still fit in his Marathon. If not, the seats you chose would be fine.

Wendy
 

wavegal

New member
I have the same generation pilot and if you can get the seats behind driver and in center you have rear passenger seat open which is the widest individual seat. I would try the rfing seat behind driver and see what you can fit next to it, I haven't tried putting a blvd and frontier side by side but it might work.

However an adult will still fit behind the passenger if you can't get the two to work otherwise, it will just be more cramped for them

Wendy answered the latch question
 

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