Question RF 3 across

Unregistered · Dec 22, 2011

We are having a lot of trouble!! We just bought two Sunshine kids Radians for our 11 month old Twins. They both weigh around 23lbs and are approximately 29.5 inches. They have just about outgrown their infant carriers which can hold them intil them until they are 30lbs or 30 inches. Here's where the trouble starts....They will not fit in our car RF! We have an Evenflo Maestro behind the driverside FF and then need two RF seats to make three across. The Radian is the slimmest seat and the bases are already touching each other. I don't want to turn the seats around until they are at least 2 years old. We are planning on buying a minivan after our Tax refund is in our hands so sometime in Feb or March. However, in the meantime our girls will outgrow their infant carriers and I don't know of a seat that will fit in our car. Any suggestions?! What would you do?

Our car: 2002 Volvo V70 XC Wagon
Current carseats: Evenflo Maestro FF Harness, 2 Babytrend FlexLoc

What we need: 2 RF carseats that will fit 3 across WHILE RF

wendytthomas · Dec 22, 2011

What if you put the Maestro in the middle? Have you tried that? Or do they not fit front to back?

Also, your kids will outgrow their infant seats by height when they have less than 1" of shell above their head, not at 30" exact. That's the average, since torso height comes into it.

Wendy

Unregistered · Dec 22, 2011

Thanks for your reply. We wouldn't be able to drive the car if the seats were behind the driverseat. These Volvos look big but they are really dinky.

Thank you for the practical info about the infant carrier. I now can gauge when they are truly too big for their seats. I think that's really what I wanted to know is, how long do I really have before they MUST be out of their carriers.

wendytthomas · Dec 22, 2011

Have you looked into the angle adjuster? [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Diono-Radian-Angle-Seat-Accessory/dp/B006I1QTYQ"]Amazon.com: Diono Radian Angle Car Seat Accessory: Baby[/ame] That may make it so the seat fits behind the driver.

Wendy

KaiLing · Dec 22, 2011

Also, in a 2002 vehicle, the Radian can likely be braced (forcefully touching) the back of the seats.

If it were me I'd order two angle adjusters today, try the maestro center, and use 3 seatbelt installations rather than LATCH (does the 2002 Volvo have LATCH? I don't know...) so you can scoot the outboard seats all the way to the edge. The angle adjuster makes such a difference in our cars that the 6'9" member of the family can drive while there's a RF radian center, which was never a possibility before. That's been true in the Accord, the Prius and the Camry. It's been a radical difference in all the cars I've put it in.

Unregistered · Dec 23, 2011

Wow! I never new those existed. However thanks to you I now know my girls have about 2 inches of clearance (so 1 inch to go) before they are out of their carriers. Who knew a short torso could be such a blessing

I think we'll wait until we upsize to a minivan before using the Radians. They are still a great carseat and I got them for a song so, I'd hate to return them. I might invest in the angle adjusters just in case they ride in someone elses car (wishful thinking.) Thank you both, for all of your valuable advice. I really love this website!

ommd · Jan 10, 2012

not sure if you will check back here or not but i have an 08 xc70. just in case u need to still drive the volvo....i can fit a frontier behind the passenger a RF radian center, and i still have plenty of room for another seat behind the driver. seats are installed with the seat belt. we have used the radian RF behind the driver but my kiddos prefer to sit next to each other so we do not use it in that position often. my hubby is tall and likes to have the seat back and it hasn't been an issue. we just got an angle adjuster and went from 38 degrees to 27 degrees. HUGE difference.

Pixelated · Dec 15, 2013

Recent unregistered post to this thread regarding RF in an 05 Volvo V70 has been split off into its own thread, to be found here: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=260061

Question RF 3 across

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