Brigala
CPST Instructor
Bear with me while I ramble a bit, and then I'll give you a chance to vote in a poll. We all love polls, right? This is long. I'm just trying to organize my thoughts. Feel free to just skip.
I jumped on a good NBD deal last week. My brand new CCO in a badly beat up box arrived on my doorstep today. Licorice. Surprisingly, I really like the color. I figured it was worth taking a chance on; it was cheap enough I think I could get most of my money back out of it, minus shipping maybe, if I decided not to keep it.
I was hoping after finding out how hard the Britax lock-off is to close that maybe this seat would work well in the pickup. Having a super lightweight seat for the pickup would be a huge bonus since it's not going to stay installed in there. It's just for occasional use.
Well, it wasn't easy to install in the pickup. I really couldn't get it tight. I haven't finished reading the whole manual in there so maybe there's something I'm missing. The seat belts in the pickup do not lock (it's a '93). The lockoff on the back of the CCO doesn't hold the belt tight enough, or at the right angle, or something. Maybe it will work with a locking clip. Looks like there's a plastic locking thingie included with the seat. I haven't tried that yet.
It installs beautifully in the Civic, though. Goes right in next to the Radian. It's easier to get in there (RF Radian center, RF CCO outboard) than the RA55, although the RA55 fits also. I suspect the RA55 might not fit anymore once I use the angle adjuster (oh, the suspense!!) but I think the CCO will still fit. It doesn't have to overlap or puzzle in quite the specific way that the RA55 does.
But... as of now... I only have one small child. Hoping for another one next year, but I won't know for sure until somewhere between February and April-ish whether it's going to happen. And I already have way way too many car seats. At the moment my list of convertibles include: Two Radians, A RA55, now a CCO, and a CA65 which is on its way back to Dorel at the moment for replacement. One small child, three cars, you do the math.
On the other hand, the Radian really doesn't install well in my Suburban or in the pickup truck. The angle adjuster might solve the problem in the Suburban but not in the pickup. I don't know whether I'm going to keep the CA65... depends on how well I like the replacement, I guess. In theory, I could use the CCO for a while in my Suburban, and I think with some more practice DH could use the RA55 in the pickup. Then I could get rid of the CA65 and the extra Radian, and see what else comes down the line for ERF later (Foonf?).
It sure would be nice to have around for air travel. But I don't know that we'll necessarily be flying anywhere before she outgrows it RF.
I measured the space above DD's head in the CCO tonight. She has 3" to the top of the shell (I stuck the 1" book on her head and measured the difference). So 2" of growing room. She's 16 months old. How long is the CCO likely to last her?
What should I do? Pass the CCO along? Keep it? Use it? Keep it for now but don't use it, in case I have another baby? Use it for now but get rid of it if I don't get pregnant again?
I jumped on a good NBD deal last week. My brand new CCO in a badly beat up box arrived on my doorstep today. Licorice. Surprisingly, I really like the color. I figured it was worth taking a chance on; it was cheap enough I think I could get most of my money back out of it, minus shipping maybe, if I decided not to keep it.
I was hoping after finding out how hard the Britax lock-off is to close that maybe this seat would work well in the pickup. Having a super lightweight seat for the pickup would be a huge bonus since it's not going to stay installed in there. It's just for occasional use.
Well, it wasn't easy to install in the pickup. I really couldn't get it tight. I haven't finished reading the whole manual in there so maybe there's something I'm missing. The seat belts in the pickup do not lock (it's a '93). The lockoff on the back of the CCO doesn't hold the belt tight enough, or at the right angle, or something. Maybe it will work with a locking clip. Looks like there's a plastic locking thingie included with the seat. I haven't tried that yet.
It installs beautifully in the Civic, though. Goes right in next to the Radian. It's easier to get in there (RF Radian center, RF CCO outboard) than the RA55, although the RA55 fits also. I suspect the RA55 might not fit anymore once I use the angle adjuster (oh, the suspense!!) but I think the CCO will still fit. It doesn't have to overlap or puzzle in quite the specific way that the RA55 does.
But... as of now... I only have one small child. Hoping for another one next year, but I won't know for sure until somewhere between February and April-ish whether it's going to happen. And I already have way way too many car seats. At the moment my list of convertibles include: Two Radians, A RA55, now a CCO, and a CA65 which is on its way back to Dorel at the moment for replacement. One small child, three cars, you do the math.
On the other hand, the Radian really doesn't install well in my Suburban or in the pickup truck. The angle adjuster might solve the problem in the Suburban but not in the pickup. I don't know whether I'm going to keep the CA65... depends on how well I like the replacement, I guess. In theory, I could use the CCO for a while in my Suburban, and I think with some more practice DH could use the RA55 in the pickup. Then I could get rid of the CA65 and the extra Radian, and see what else comes down the line for ERF later (Foonf?).
It sure would be nice to have around for air travel. But I don't know that we'll necessarily be flying anywhere before she outgrows it RF.
I measured the space above DD's head in the CCO tonight. She has 3" to the top of the shell (I stuck the 1" book on her head and measured the difference). So 2" of growing room. She's 16 months old. How long is the CCO likely to last her?
What should I do? Pass the CCO along? Keep it? Use it? Keep it for now but don't use it, in case I have another baby? Use it for now but get rid of it if I don't get pregnant again?