How to best install Bvld. and TF in Prius and Durango?

Hi everyone!

My daughter (8.5 months, and probably 24 pounds) is outgrowing her infant seat, so we have a Britax Boulevard for one car (our 2008 Prius) and a True Fit for the my mom's car (a 2007 Durango). I'd say she'd be in both about the same amount. I'm assuming that the Blvd will need to go in our Prius due to space, but it doesn't really matter to me.

My questions are:

1. I'd like to keep her in the middle seat in both cars. Is this possible using the LATCH system, or should I use the seatbelt to install? I thought I heard once that the LATCH in the Prius was only for outboard seats.

2. Do either/both/neither of the seats need to be tethered? I'm pretty sure the Prius doesn't have a floor anchor, but I'm not sure about the Durango. Assuming neither car has floor anchors, what's the best way to do this?

Thank you so much! You all have been such a huge help to me already!

Hi there and welcome.

You're on the right track regarding the installation method in the center rear seating position in the Prius. You'll need to use the vehicle seatbelt to install in the center rear spot in the Prius because Toyota only allows use of dedicated sets of LATCH with standard 11" spacing between the lower LATCH anchors for lower LATCH anchor installations. The Prius has dedicated sets of LATCH on the rear passenger side and rear driver's side only and not in the center, and Toyota does not allow "borrowing" of the innermost lower LATCH anchors from each side to do a center lower LATCH anchor installation. The 2007 Durango with second row bench seating, on the other hand, does allow use of the innermost lower LATCH anchors from each side to do a lower LATCH anchor install in the center if the carseat manufacturer also allows it and so long as you don't have another carseat installed with LATCH on either side of the back seat. Britax allows this "borrowing" in vehicles that allow it, but the True Fit's manufacturer, Learning Curve/Lamaze/First Years, etc. (the True Fit's manufacturer has changed its name over time and we almost need a scorecard to keep track of the names ) doesn't allow borrowing to do center LATCH installations. LATCH isn't considered safer than a seatbelt installation or vice versa. In theory LATCH was meant to be easier/simpler but that's not always the case in practice, especially when it's not always possible to do a center LATCH installation even though the center rear spot is considered technically safer than either side in terms of being farther away from potential side impacts. What really counts most is achieving a proper installation with less than 1 inch of movement at the carseat's belt path using an allowable installation method for the vehicle seating position.

Your Britax Blvd. convertible allows top tethering rear facing, and it's optional to do so, not required. The True Fit doesn't allow top tethering rear facing at all though, only forward facing. Most vehicles do not have top tether anchors for rear facing carseats that allow rear facing top tethering, but all Britax convertible models come with a rear facing D-ring connector strap that is used to create a rear facing tether point toward the front of the vehicle - it's a short piece of harness-like webbing with a loop on one end and a metal D-shaped ring on the other end. You loop the D-ring connector strap around a fixed point toward the front of the vehicle, such as a front seat leg/rail, to create the rear facing tether anchor point. Then you clip the rear facing Britax convertible's top tether hook to the metal D-ring after you've installed the convertible rear facing. Here are two helpful online videos showing how to top tether a rear facing Britax convertible to illustrate:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CarSeatSite#p/u/13/2upADev-UrM

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CarSeatSite#p/u/12/SuZQp_xij_w

Since you said that she'll be in both cars approximately equally, I'd test-fit both seats in each vehicle and use whichever arrangement gives you the best installation.

You are correct, a seat in the center of the Prius must be installed with the seat belt.

Tethering is allowed but optional for the Boulevard rear-facing, and not allowed for the TrueFit while it is rear-facing. And neither car will have dedicated tether anchors on the floor ahead of the rear seat.

Your Boulevard should have come with a short strap with a loop on one end and a metal plate with a hole on the other. This strap (commonly known as a D-ring) is threaded around a structural part of a front seat (be careful not to interfere with any passenger seat airbag sensors) and then the tether is attached to the metal plate of the D-ring. Hopefully someone will be along soon with a link to a video demonstration since my bookmarks are woefully out-of-date.

Good luck! Post back if you need any more help.

Thank you both so much! I'll play around with the seats tomorrow to see how everything fits.
Thanks again!!!

Well, I got the seats installed. The TF was really easy to install, but I could not get one of the lock offs to close. It's like my seatbelt is too thick. Do I have to use both? I managed to get one closed. And even without it, the seat doesn't move much at all (less then the allowed one inch for sure). I'm not using latch because it's in the middle seat. Overall, I'm very pleased with the seat, and dd seems to love it which is great because she's never liked the car.
I was not able to install the blvd in the center seat of my Prius. I have to use the seatbelt and no matter what I did it still moved way more than it should have. I had all of my body weight on the seat, made sure the belt was locked, and nothing worked. Right now it's latch installed outboard. Any tips?
The other problem is that dd hates this seat. I'm considering selling it to get another TF, assuming the TF fits in our Prius.

The True Fit will fit in your Prius.

You do need to use both lockoffs. It may help to not lock the belt.

For the Boulevard, were you using the lockoffs, or just locking the belt? I've never had a problem not getting it tight enough using the seatbelt and lockoffs.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7koBM82iYlw"]BRITAX Convertible Car Seats: Rear Facing Installation using Lap/Shoulder Belt and One Lock-off - YouTube[/ame]

Wendy

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't using the lockoffs, so I'll mess around with it later.

Thanks!

Well I was able to sell the blvd a lot quicker than I thought I'd be able to! So I think I'm just going to get another true fit. Anyone know of any good deals? Any other seats I should look at that are similar?
Thanks again everyone!

I just found a radian sl 80 for $189. Is this a good price? Maybe I'll get that instead.

It is. They're on sale now because Sunshine Kids became Diono, so their "older" stock is on sale.

Wendy

Awesome. I've always wanted a radian, and if it doesn't fit in the Prius, it should fit in the Durango.
Thanks!!!!

izziebabe said:

Awesome. I've always wanted a radian, and if it doesn't fit in the Prius, it should fit in the Durango.
Thanks!!!!

Click to expand...

The radian will fit in the Prius, but I recommend using a locking clip rfing in order to keep it upright enough to allow the fronts seats to be all the way back.

Ok thanks for the tip! Is that something I have to buy separately?

The Radian comes with one.

Wendy