Question extended cab truck and ERF

KB'sMama1031

New member
Hi there! I have an 18 month old DS and a '05 toyota tundra extended cab truck (with suicide doors). DS is 31 inches and 22 lbs. He finally ourgrew his infant seat and it is time for a second convertible. We currently have a evenflo symphony 65 e3 seat rear facing in my car that we use in the truck too, it does fit in the truck, but not in the center with the seatbelt. It installs nicely on the side with LATCH but prevents the front passenger seat from being used. I am literally sick of sitting in the back seat (it makes me feel nauseous!) plus we would like to have a second child, meaning I would need to sit in that front passenger seat! All of this is to say I need a RFing convertible seat for my petite DS that will fit behind the passenger seat in our extended cab truck.
I have been looking at a lot of seats, most of which are as big as the symphony! :giggle: I like the recaro prosport, the graco size4me 65, the combi coccoro, the britax marathon 70, the safety 1st alpha elite 65, and others I cant recall atm. I admit I am not fond of a radian because of the superlatch issues, I dont want to deal with that.
I also worry about him rebounding into the rear window of the truck :hide: is that irrational?
all suggestions/convincing welcome! I would love some help deciding! I want to sit up front! TIA! :thumbsup: the symphony will find its permanent install in my car
 
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mylittlet

Senior Community Member
Toyota doesn't allow middle install with LATCH, so I wouldn't worry about super LATCH since you can't use it in the middle spot.

We have owned many trucks and had rf lots of times. I will say I liked having a rf tether and that was part of my decision about what seat we would get. Our trucks have been our weekend/travel vehicles. That limits you to the radian, britax, and truefit premier.
 

KB'sMama1031

New member
Toyota doesn't allow middle install with LATCH, so I wouldn't worry about super LATCH since you can't use it in the middle spot.

We have owned many trucks and had rf lots of times. I will say I liked having a rf tether and that was part of my decision about what seat we would get. Our trucks have been our weekend/travel vehicles. That limits you to the radian, britax, and truefit premier.

thanks for replying! I do know that about the center install, our current seat does not fit in the center seat, but since we plan to have 2 seats in that car, I do not foresee anything being in the center (or fitting!), we will likely use LATCH in both outboard positions.
as far as I know our 05 toyota tundra does not have floor latch connectors, that is the only way to tether rear facing right? or is there a way I am not aware of?


anyone have any input on what will fit RF in an extended cab?

thanks!
 

KB'sMama1031

New member
oh one more thing! can I adjust the angle of the evenflo snugride e3 65 to a more upright position for my toddler? On the side of the seat it looks like I can only have the most reclined position when RFing, but I have heard with some seats you can
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
It has to be mechanically reclined in that last rear facing position, but if you add weight by the feet area you can get the seat to sit more upright.

Wendy
 

KB'sMama1031

New member
what seats can be installed at the "wrong" angle with a toddler? I think the advocate is one, no?
does toyota allow the seat backs to touch with the install? if so, what brands also allow touching?
:hugegrin: I know this has all been asked before, but when searching I found very little to be relevant to my specific truck, sorry!
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
If your truck doesn't have advanced airbags, nearly everything can gently touch. If it does, nothing can touch either front seat. 2005 was about the first year most cars starting having them, so you need to check your manual. It's hit or miss if you do or not.

Dorel is the only company that states their seats must be at 45 degrees all the time. But they admit they all pass testing as upright as 30. So basically, they can all sit more upright.

Wendy
 

KB'sMama1031

New member
awesome, thank you for that information I did not know that about the air bags, I will definitely check the manual to see what kind of air bags we are working with :thumbsup:
So I guess I can force our seat more upright, but honestly that bench seat in the back doesnt give me any angle to work with, it is totally horizontal from the lip of the seat to the crease! I will have to search more around on here to see what (if any) seats allow the actual car seat angle setting to be changed. Ex. ours can only be used RFing in position 1 which is 45 degrees, but maybe other seats allow you to use their 2 or 3 settings that are intended for FFing? sounds fishy, but I thought I have heard of this
 

KB'sMama1031

New member
okay found out how to tether RFing with britax, combi and radian seats using a D ring :thumbsup:
now just searching around for more info on exactly how upright I can get any of these seats on a perfectly horizontal bench seat? am I right in pursuing these seats for coccoon-ing into the rear glass concerns?
my petite toddler is 18 months, 22 lbs and 31 inches, should I go for the combi? or is the radian a better bet?
Is the radian with the angle adjuster a good thing? back in Jan ('12) I read a thread (on DS.com) of cpst's getting rid of their radians because of what they had heard about latch wight limits or something? I cant remember exactly what I read, but it left a bad taste in my mouth about radians
I am betting we have the advanced air bags, the truck has the "blinky" seat belt light that senses weight :giggle:
 

KB'sMama1031

New member
wanted to update for anyone with the same vehicle and problem, we did get a Diono Radian RTX and it installed nicely with the angle adjuster, it was almost touching (not bracing) the front passenger seat. If I can recall correctly I was able to slide a sheet of paper between it, since touching and bracing are not allowed with toyota...? I think. I also tethered it rear-facing. Its been a while, we ended up selling the truck Fall 2013 and I stole the radian for my car where it is still tethered and rear facing :)
 

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