12 new Radians!

mimieliza · Jun 1, 2012

I'm on the board of directors for my kids' daycare. They occasionally transport kids in a 15 passenger van - very limited trips, like less than a mile, to swimming lessons in the summer or to a plant nursery that has a pumpkin patch in the fall.

Anyway, the van has no headrests and many lap belts (some shoulder belts). They were using 12 Britax Laptop boosters, which seemed to be the best solution for the vehicle. However, the boosters are now quite expired. I pointed this out, and the director had no idea seats expire. She called Britax, who confirmed that, yes, they are expired.

No other boosters would really work, due to the lap belts, and the fact that smaller kids are sometimes transported (the youngest that ever ride in the van are 3 1/2, oldest about 5 1/2). So I suggested Radians, but was unsure if that would work due to the cost.

Well, the director just bought 12 Radians and has a CPST coming to help her install them, and show the teachers how to properly secure the kids. YAY!

From 12 expired boosters to 12 Radian R100s - I'm VERY pleased.

Jan06twinmom · Jun 1, 2012

It's great that you said something and they were able to follow up.

Are you going to be able to get a picture of the van with all of the Radians installed?

Stelvis · Jun 1, 2012

Do they know how to install and uninstall them so they can change the harness heights? Also, wouldn't a lot of 5.5 year olds have outgrown the Radian? It's great to hear a story of a school that cares though!

tiggercat · Jun 1, 2012

Stelvis said:
Do they know how to install and uninstall them so they can change the harness heights? Also, wouldn't a lot of 5.5 year olds have outgrown the Radian? It's great to hear a story of a school that cares though!

Also, safestop on for kids less than 40lb, off for kids greater?

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Ladyl · Jun 1, 2012

Stelvis said:
Do they know how to install and uninstall them so they can change the harness heights? Also, wouldn't a lot of 5.5 year olds have outgrown the Radian? It's great to hear a story of a school that cares though!

My 5.5 yr old is in 97thish percentile for height and still fits in the radian. He's leggy of course, but still. I think in this situation it would probably be ok to leave the harnesses at the top slots. I'm more comfortable with that than the seats be uninstalled in a hurry for every trip.

Ladyl · Jun 1, 2012

tiggercat said:
Also, safestop on for kids less than 40lb, off for kids greater?

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Oh, yeah! That actually seems like a greater concern to me than harness height.

Stelvis · Jun 1, 2012

Ladyl said:
My 5.5 yr old is in 97thish percentile for height and still fits in the radian. He's leggy of course, but still. I think in this situation it would probably be ok to leave the harnesses at the top slots. I'm more comfortable with that than the seats be uninstalled in a hurry for every trip.

With the top harness position above his shoulders? My 3 year old has an almost 17" torso, and there's no way his shoulders would be below the top slots of the Radian when he's 5.5.

Louisa · Jun 1, 2012

they probably won't have tethers in that van so doesn't that make the SS not required?
also the outboard seats useualy have shoulder belts so they would have some positions that can use boosters for bigger kids. there should be 5 lap belts and 8 LS they may be better off returning a few radians and a couple boosters that do not need head rests and save a few bucks, well unless they regularly transport all younger kids

Either way AWESOME that they addressed it!

Ladyl · Jun 1, 2012

Stelvis said:
With the top harness position above his shoulders? My 3 year old has an almost 17" torso, and there's no way his shoulders would be below the top slots of the Radian when he's 5.5.

Yup. He has between .25 and .5 inches of growth left before his shoulders go over.

Stelvis · Jun 1, 2012

Ladyl said:
Yup. He has between .25 and .5 inches of growth left before his shoulders go over.

So if he's on the leggy side, it's not inconceivable that a similarly tall but less leggy 5 year old would have outgrown it, right?

mamom · Jun 1, 2012

Stelvis said:
So if he's on the leggy side, it's not inconceivable that a similarly tall but less leggy 5 year old would have outgrown it, right?

Since diono allows for taller shoulders
than straps, shouldn't it work for nearly all 5 yr olds?

Ladyl · Jun 1, 2012

Stelvis said:
So if he's on the leggy side, it's not inconceivable that a similarly tall but less leggy 5 year old would have outgrown it, right?

Oh, totally. I just think they will be in the minority and the day care could reserve a lap shoulder belt for that kid and give them a regular booster. I guess that hasn't been addressed, but it seems like an easy solution. If they can buy 12 radiains I bet they could buy 1 or 2 HBBs.

bnsnyde · Jun 1, 2012

I have a kid under 40 lbs. and a kid over 40 lbs., so it wasn't an ideal backup seat in Nana's car due to Safe Stop, in my opinion. Luckily she is now 40 lbs. I do have a Maestro next to it so that worked.

My 5-year-old could be in it for ages with shoulders above top slots...he is nearly even now at 48 inches.

Installing 12 Radians would be fun! I'm not kidding! 12 beautiful shiny new seats to install. Enjoy!

The 15-passenger van for the kindergarten daycare here uses NOTHING. Just lap belts or the lap/shoulder, which is awful. But June 1st they are getting a new vehicle with integrated harnesses. This I have to see!

crunchierthanthou · Jun 1, 2012

What an improvement!

I wouldn't expect the van to have tether anchors, based on description. Even if it's from the last 12 years, they weren't required for that vehicle weight. No tether anchors = no safe stop.

It's a rare 5 year old whose ears would be above the top of the shell, which is the Radian's height limit. Based on the info shared by the engineer in a chat here, I'm comfortable following that rule.

tiggercat · Jun 2, 2012

Louisa said:
they probably won't have tethers in that van so doesn't that make the SS not required?
also the outboard seats useualy have shoulder belts so they would have some positions that can use boosters for bigger kids. there should be 5 lap belts and 8 LS they may be better off returning a few radians and a couple boosters that do not need head rests and save a few bucks, well unless they regularly transport all younger kids

Either way AWESOME that they addressed it!

Oh see that's the Canadian in me. Tethers are required so I never considered that they'd be untethered.

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Keeanh · Jun 2, 2012

Louisa said:
also the outboard seats useualy have shoulder belts so they would have some positions that can use boosters for bigger kids. there should be 5 lap belts and 8 LS ...

Either way AWESOME that they addressed it!

Yes! That's great that they did something!!

About the belts, not if it's a Dodge. Then it would be 8 lap belts and 5 LS. For some crazy reason, Dodge has lap belts outboard on the passenger side of the benches.

If there's a chance of having 12 kids under age 5, I think 12 Radians is a good plan. You could probably have used some cheaper seats or a mixture of seats, but that just complicates things. The Radian is good without tethers, it's narrow, goes to 65lbs (as opposed to throwing in some Maestros & worrying about the 50lb limit), and won't need to be replaced for 10 years. If all the seats are the same, and bought at the same time, there's only one set of "rules" everyone needs to learn and those rules will work for the next decade.

Brianna · Jun 2, 2012

Radians are only good for 10 years in booster mode, it's 8 for the harness.

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canadiangie · Jun 2, 2012

I was recently in the same boat having to suggest seats for a 12 pass van. I went with Complete Airs. No re-thread harness, tall top slots, 65lb limit, cheaper, and install well just about anywhere.

But Radians are good too. How exciting!

NannyMom · Jun 2, 2012

Stelvis said:
With the top harness position above his shoulders? My 3 year old has an almost 17" torso, and there's no way his shoulders would be below the top slots of the Radian when he's 5.5.

I think your 3 year old has a crazy long torso. My 5.5yr has an average torso and short legs and she still fits with growing room in the Radian. My former nanny kids had 16 and 18 inch torsos at ages 6 and 8, and I think they were average.

Stelvis · Jun 2, 2012

NannyMom said:
I think your 3 year old has a crazy long torso. My 5.5yr has an average torso and short legs and she still fits with growing room in the Radian. My former nanny kids had 16 and 18 inch torsos at ages 6 and 8, and I think they were average.

Both my kids definitely have long torsos. My 7 month old has a 12" torso. She's almost to the second slot on the RA50! I'm just saying there could be a long torsoed 5 year old who might not fit in a Radian, and maybe there should be a couple spaces for booster options in the van if possible.

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