What seat would YOU get in this situation?

K's Mama · Jun 22, 2012

DD is 6 1/2 and weighs 39lbs fully clothed. She sits really well in her seat and rarely falls asleep. She is currently riding in our truck in a July 2006 Marathon - so it is expiring right away (not sure if that is end of July or beginning of July though?). We are going camping next week and will be taking the truck so she needs something new ASAP. What would you buy???

DH thinks that either the Marathon is safe enough to use through August or she can go into a booster - I don't agree with him but need an inexpensive option that will work for now. Oh - and something that will fit forward facing in a Dodge Dakota. Tether strap needs to have a small enough adjuster/buckle that it fits through a teeny tiny webbing stap.

Life would be so much easier if she would just gain a couple of pounds in the next week

and we could put her in a booster.

amyd · Jun 22, 2012

Britax is 6 years to DOM so it's good until the exact day it was made. I'm assuming she's fairly short (or at least has a short torso) if she's still in a Matathon, so I'd probably get a Graco Nautilus. She should have lots of time left in it, both harnessed of you or she prefers and as a booster.

Nimommyof2 · Jun 22, 2012

Honestly I'd be fine with a Parkway/Graco Turbo booster. Maybe your scales wrong and she weighs 41lbs? Those are the only two boosters I really know anything about so maybe someone else has some different recomendations

bubbaray · Jun 22, 2012

I would weigh her in winter clothes/boots and I'd bet she's over 40lbs. I would be very comfortable either using the MA (assuming it still fits her) OR buying a booster. If she has a short torso, I'd recommend the HBTB. The PW is also nice and will last her longer but the HBTB fits smaller kids better.

K's Mama · Jun 22, 2012

Ugh - just checked the seat and it actually expired June 8 (she hasn't used it in a couple of months)... So not really an option for this trip. I'm inclined to just get a booster but not 100% comfortable with that.

tiggercat · Jun 22, 2012

If you weigh her over the course of a few days, what would the average be?
I would not be comfortable moving to a booster under 40lbs, we have the lower limit for a reason and 39lbs isn't "close enough".
I would get her a Graco nautilus or a Britax frontier.
Edit: could you just move the frontier over from the other vehicle? FTR, if your frontier is Canadian, it is a FRXT not FR85

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K's Mama · Jun 22, 2012

She's pretty solidly a 39 lbs (and has been for a few months) - weight was taken at the Dr's office on Tuesday using a weighted scale.

The Frontier is just a real PITA to install in the truck b/c of the V shaped top tether - it takes forever to get it in because you aren't doing a straight back tethering - you are tethering at a 90 degree angle - switching it back and forth just isn't going to happen. That being said we'll probably just move it to the truck and make that our primary vehicle for the summer. I hate driving the truck around the city but I just can't justify spending a lot of $$ on a new seat for her that we really only need for July and August.

guest1 · Jun 22, 2012

I would go with a Graco Nautilus.

Nimommyof2 · Jun 22, 2012

Well if she's short enough to fit in the marathon what about the generations? Or what about the new Harmony V7 since you could install it with the latch and I think that way is supposed to be good if you have to install it with the seatbelt it might not work.

tiggercat · Jun 22, 2012

Nimommyof2 said:
Well if she's short enough to fit in the marathon what about the generations? Or what about the new Harmony V7 since you could install it with the latch and I think that way is supposed to be good if you have to install it with the seatbelt it might not work.

Good ideas, just make sure the OP keeps in mind the latch limit of her vehicle and seats in question. And the Maestro only harnesses to 47lb and doesn't last long as a booster, so it doesn't seem worth it.

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tiggercat · Jun 22, 2012

K's Mama said:
She's pretty solidly a 39 lbs (and has been for a few months) - weight was taken at the Dr's office on Tuesday using a weighted scale.

The Frontier is just a real PITA to install in the truck b/c of the V shaped top tether - it takes forever to get it in because you aren't doing a straight back tethering - you are tethering at a 90 degree angle - switching it back and forth just isn't going to happen. That being said we'll probably just move it to the truck and make that our primary vehicle for the summer. I hate driving the truck around the city but I just can't justify spending a lot of $$ on a new seat for her that we really only need for July and August.

Something like the Nautilus would work both now and in booster mode, though, and it isn't that much more expensive than a "good" booster. Remember, you did ask what I would do

Ok, does she for FF in your true fit and do you have a spare for your little one? Could you swap that one around more easily?

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K's Mama · Jun 22, 2012

We did buy a Maestro at one point and there was no way that we could get the top tether to work - the adjuster mechanism was huge and wouldn't fit through the webbing loop that the tether is routed through.

tiggercat said:
Something like the Nautilus would work both now and in booster mode, though, and it isn't that much more expensive than a "good" booster. Remember, you did ask what I would do
Ok, does she for FF in your true fit and do you have a spare for your little one? Could you swap that one around more easily?

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What's classified as a "good" booster then? A Nautilus is $200+ and a Turbo Booster is only around $60 - huge price difference for a sometimes seat. Since she has the Frontier as her main seat I thought a TB would be a good seat - maybe not?

No spare seats. Just the Frontier and TF now that the Marathon is expired. DS is still RF'ing so it is an easy switch to move his seat back and forth.

Just finished talking to DH and he absolutely refuses to buy her another car seat. He'll only agree to a booster so I guess we'll just move her Frontier for the summer and I'll have to drive the truck - seems to be the only safe compromise. Thanks for the ideas though!

bubbaray · Jun 22, 2012

So get her a booster. Either a HBTB or PW

K's Mama · Jun 22, 2012

bubbaray said:
So get her a booster. Either a HBTB or PW

We're going to go ahead and buy a booster and hopefully by August she will be 40+lbs. I'm just too nervous to put her in it before hand - especially on the highway. We may start with a few city drives before hand. She's not a big kid so we;ll probably just go with a TB.

By the way - where did you find a purple with pink hearts HBTB? DD has always had gender neutral seats, but she will not be outgrowing her booster before her brother needs one so I want to go girly and she LOVES purple!

canadiangie · Jun 22, 2012

Walmart has pink/purple hearts.

K's Mama said:
We're going to go ahead and buy a booster and hopefully by August she will be 40+lbs. I'm just too nervous to put her in it before hand - especially on the highway. We may start with a few city drives before hand. She's not a big kid so we;ll probably just go with a TB.

By the way - where did you find a purple with pink hearts HBTB? DD has always had gender neutral seats, but she will not be outgrowing her booster before her brother needs one so I want to go girly and she LOVES purple!

bubbaray · Jun 22, 2012

I got out HBTB at Walmart Canada. Not sure if they have it in the USA

[ame="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00846FG60"]Graco TurboBooster Booster Car Seat in Wild Hearts:Amazon:Baby[/ame]

What seat would YOU get in this situation?

K's Mama

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amyd

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Nimommyof2

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bubbaray

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K's Mama

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tiggercat

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K's Mama

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guest1

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tiggercat

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K's Mama

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K's Mama

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