Thought I had posted this before, but apparently I was dreaming...
First up, 2004 Impala. This is my DH's car, he's 6'5" and all leg, so the drivers seat MUST be ALL the way back, plus slightly to medium reclined so that he's not eating the steering wheel. The drivers seat is in the exact same position in both pictures.
Before the adjuster...
The Radian was forcefully braced...and I mean forcefully. Its JUST barely not lifting the bottom of the Radian off of the vehicle seat. Also, the headrest must be in that position on the drivers seat, because if you brace the Radian against the headrest, there's not enough room and it does lift the bottom of the Radian off the vehicle seat.
After the adjuster...
Not only is the Radian no longer forcefully braced, there is a good inch+ of room between it and the drivers seat. According to guesstimates from others here, its installed at approximately 30*. I will also note that the adjuster made the install MUCH easier in this position....before it was always tricky to get either the LATCH or seatbelt tight enough because of the low belt path. Not an issue any longer. In fact, I had been doing seatbelt only installs in this vehicle because of the superlatch issues...haven't noticed any issues the few times I've had the seat installed with the adjuster. However, since this is the secondary vehicle that the kids ride in and I currently only have one adjuster, it has been only a few short trips, so I'll know more definitively if it resolved our superlatch problems once the other adjuster arrives.
...and space between the seats now:
Next up, 2008 Sienna. This is my van, and the primary vehicle the kids ride in. The passenger seat is pretty far back (not for sure if it was all the way back in these pics or not)...the seat the Radian is installed on is also as far back as it goes.
Before the adjuster...
The Radian is lightly touching...once a child was in it, it leans even more heavily on the passenger seat, making it an unacceptable install per Toyota's no-touch rule. I could move the passenger seat up some to make an acceptable install, but then the passenger was closer to the airbag than I am comfortable with, or didn't fit (in the case of DH).
After the adjuster...
Its now an acceptable install with tons of room between the Radian and the passenger seat! Now I can have my Radian in the center row...before I had to either have it installed 3rd row or just deal with moving seats every time DH rode w/ us in the van.
And now for the review, after having used it for 2-3 weeks on a daily basis...
Radian is VERY upright (approximately 30*), which my 3.5 year old LOVES. He loves that he can see out the windows so much better. He hasn't complained about the decrease in leg room, even though he is currently installed next to his sister's MyRide, so he can't hang his feet over the sides. Another great benefit is that he's now upright enough that he can buckle himself...he would try before, but couldn't even really ever get close, and now in a matter of 2 weeks he's completely buckling himself. I love that there is so much room between the Radian and the front seat that my 6 year old can more easily climb behind/under the seat to get where he needs to go in the van. I was concerned initially that with a 3.5 year old riding in it daily (and climbing all over it!) it would eventually start to recline more...but its still hanging out right around 30*. I'm also happy to report that the 3.5 year old has fallen asleep numerous times in it, and I was worried that we might have some head slump, but there has been none!
My only lingering concern is about the longevity of the adjuster...mine has some pretty impressive 'dents' in it (like car seat would usually make in the vehicle seat) after only 2-3 days of installation. I haven't had it uninstalled long enough to see if it 'un-dents' like vehicle seats do, so I wonder if it doesnt go back to original shape if it could eventually become too compressed and need replacing.
First up, 2004 Impala. This is my DH's car, he's 6'5" and all leg, so the drivers seat MUST be ALL the way back, plus slightly to medium reclined so that he's not eating the steering wheel. The drivers seat is in the exact same position in both pictures.
Before the adjuster...
The Radian was forcefully braced...and I mean forcefully. Its JUST barely not lifting the bottom of the Radian off of the vehicle seat. Also, the headrest must be in that position on the drivers seat, because if you brace the Radian against the headrest, there's not enough room and it does lift the bottom of the Radian off the vehicle seat.
After the adjuster...
Not only is the Radian no longer forcefully braced, there is a good inch+ of room between it and the drivers seat. According to guesstimates from others here, its installed at approximately 30*. I will also note that the adjuster made the install MUCH easier in this position....before it was always tricky to get either the LATCH or seatbelt tight enough because of the low belt path. Not an issue any longer. In fact, I had been doing seatbelt only installs in this vehicle because of the superlatch issues...haven't noticed any issues the few times I've had the seat installed with the adjuster. However, since this is the secondary vehicle that the kids ride in and I currently only have one adjuster, it has been only a few short trips, so I'll know more definitively if it resolved our superlatch problems once the other adjuster arrives.
...and space between the seats now:
Next up, 2008 Sienna. This is my van, and the primary vehicle the kids ride in. The passenger seat is pretty far back (not for sure if it was all the way back in these pics or not)...the seat the Radian is installed on is also as far back as it goes.
Before the adjuster...
The Radian is lightly touching...once a child was in it, it leans even more heavily on the passenger seat, making it an unacceptable install per Toyota's no-touch rule. I could move the passenger seat up some to make an acceptable install, but then the passenger was closer to the airbag than I am comfortable with, or didn't fit (in the case of DH).
After the adjuster...
Its now an acceptable install with tons of room between the Radian and the passenger seat! Now I can have my Radian in the center row...before I had to either have it installed 3rd row or just deal with moving seats every time DH rode w/ us in the van.
And now for the review, after having used it for 2-3 weeks on a daily basis...
Radian is VERY upright (approximately 30*), which my 3.5 year old LOVES. He loves that he can see out the windows so much better. He hasn't complained about the decrease in leg room, even though he is currently installed next to his sister's MyRide, so he can't hang his feet over the sides. Another great benefit is that he's now upright enough that he can buckle himself...he would try before, but couldn't even really ever get close, and now in a matter of 2 weeks he's completely buckling himself. I love that there is so much room between the Radian and the front seat that my 6 year old can more easily climb behind/under the seat to get where he needs to go in the van. I was concerned initially that with a 3.5 year old riding in it daily (and climbing all over it!) it would eventually start to recline more...but its still hanging out right around 30*. I'm also happy to report that the 3.5 year old has fallen asleep numerous times in it, and I was worried that we might have some head slump, but there has been none!
My only lingering concern is about the longevity of the adjuster...mine has some pretty impressive 'dents' in it (like car seat would usually make in the vehicle seat) after only 2-3 days of installation. I haven't had it uninstalled long enough to see if it 'un-dents' like vehicle seats do, so I wonder if it doesnt go back to original shape if it could eventually become too compressed and need replacing.
