Talk to me about *your* comfort level with top tethering...

djma

New member
Title should say *not* top tethering...sorry.

So getting a top tether kit retro-fitted on our van is proving to be impossible. With that said, here is our delimma...

DS2 is 6.5, around 50lbs, and 48". He has about 1/2"-1" left in his nautilus. I was not wanting to move him out of the harness until he outgrew it. He is an ok booster rider, still needs reminders.

So would you leave him in the nautilus, un-tethered, until he outgrows it

or stop using the harness asap and booster him?
 
ADS

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
Boosters must meet the same criteria as untethered harnessed seats, so I don't see any advantage to boostering, and if he's not a good booster rider, he should remain harnessed.
 

cryswilkins

New member
The GN gets very good head excursion numbers without the top tether, so I feel better than say a Myride. I assume that he has to be in the position he is in and there are no other options?
 

djma

New member
There are no top tethers in the van (97 dodge caravan), but he is driver's side of the third row.

He could be anywhere technically, but is in the best spot for our family (read: to keep the fighting to a minimum :p).
 

jnamommy

New member
If I were in yuor situation, I would leave him in the harness, and feel fine knowing that he is in a correctly installed seat. yes, top tethers are preferable. But they are not required, and the seats do have to pass testing without them. So in a situation where a top tether is not possible, I would be fine with it.
 

arly1983

New member
New van????? I missed this!!!

I don't know...DD is an awesome booster rider so I do choose to booster her and she is the same age. If she wasn't then I would harness her with no top tether in the GN and not feel the least bit of worry about it.

(Actually, I would worry more about her being in the GN as a booster unlatched rather than harnessed in it untethered even though there is no data to back up my hunch. Clear as mud, right? )
 

Kac

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I have the same problem. I use a GN and RXT untethered in my 1998 Grand Cherokee. Both seats have done well in testing without the tether so I am comfortable using them correctly installed with the seatbelts.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Boosters must meet the same criteria as untethered harnessed seats, so I don't see any advantage to boostering, and if he's not a good booster rider, he should remain harnessed.

:yeahthatlove:

I am entirely comfortable using a FF harnessed seat without a top tether when no top tether is available. I (usually) use top tethers when available, and I am a big proponent of having them retrofitted even if that means breaking out the drill and installing an EZ-ON. But even that isn't always a viable choice. Obviously if RF is an option, then that's what I'd pick, but that's not the case here. I do not believe that boostering offers any safety advantages over an untethered harnessed seat, and I've never seen any evidence that boostering is better in this kind of situation. Of course boostering is an OK choice also, I just don't believe it's a better choice.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
I (a long time ago) had a 96 Grand Voyager and a Britax Traveler that required a top tether (two for some weights). One of the approved tether anchor solutions from Britax at the time (and also some other special needs companies) was to hook the tether directly to the ring on the anchor point for the seat belt (the place where the webbing loops through and is sewn together). It would take a bit of investigation to get an official OK to still do this, but knowing that the seat belt anchor is strong enough to hold a fully grown adult male, I would have no worry that the anchor would break and cause worse performance than not using one at all.
 

luckyclov

New member
1). Your booster option is a Monterey, which is heavy and would be un-LATCHed.

2). He's not a fully responsible booster rider yet.

3). What carseatcoach said.

So, yes, I'd go Nauti untethered. :)

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org
 

henrietta

Well-known member
There are no top tethers in the van (97 dodge caravan), but he is driver's side of the third row.

He could be anywhere technically, but is in the best spot for our family (read: to keep the fighting to a minimum :p).

I got 5 top tethers installed, for free, from our Chrysler dealer in our 1997 Chrysler Town and Country. How come you can't get them in your Caravan? It's essentially the same vehicle...
 

djma

New member
I got 5 top tethers installed, for free, from our Chrysler dealer in our 1997 Chrysler Town and Country. How come you can't get them in your Caravan? It's essentially the same vehicle...

I have called at least 5 dealerships around me and they have either flat out refused, told me that program was too long ago, or that Dodge no longer produces those products and that *if* they can find one, it would be a 2nd row anchor (which we can adjust to) and we would be charged.

Tiggercat is possibly trying to find one near her and we may install it ourselves.

I am still waiting on the last dealership to call with a price for the 2nd row anchor if he can find one.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
If he's not booster ready, he's not safe in a booster. That's something that's very individual to each child. I would do whatever I could to use a top tether- including ordering HDTAs from EZ-On and finding the retrofit point and putting it in, or temporary tethering to the third row seatbelt (with him in the second row) if you have enough seats. But if all seats are in use, IF he is unready for a booster then it's patently unsafe to put him in one, so the safer choice is an untethered harnessed seat until you can put TAs in.
 

tiggercat

New member
ketchupqueen said:
If he's not booster ready, he's not safe in a booster. That's something that's very individual to each child. I would do whatever I could to use a top tether- including ordering HDTAs from EZ-On and finding the retrofit point and putting it in, or temporary tethering to the third row seatbelt (with him in the second row) if you have enough seats. But if all seats are in use, IF he is unready for a booster then it's patently unsafe to put him in one, so the safer choice is an untethered harnessed seat until you can put TAs in.

I believe she said he is an ok booster rider in the first post.

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Baylor

New member
What does he booster in? I found with my 4.5 yr old that if I put him in the GN where he was used to being harnessed as a booster, he did fantastic. Thats how we started. He does great now. He's a tank. 46 in and 55 lbs at dr yesterday so big boy. But that was key for us. Nt changing the seat.

I am fine with using GN with no tether if not available after reading up here on tech opinions and how it does untethered.
But if you can get a tether anchor that would be awesome.

auto correct hates me
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I believe she said he is an ok booster rider in the first post.

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org

She said "he still needs reminders." To me, that's not something I'm comfortable with. A child who needs reminders to sit properly in a booster is a) a distraction to the driver and b) out of position some of the time. That "some of the time" might not be the critical moment of a crash, but it might be.
 

tiggercat

New member
ketchupqueen said:
She said "he still needs reminders." To me, that's not something I'm comfortable with. A child who needs reminders to sit properly in a booster is a) a distraction to the driver and b) out of position some of the time. That "some of the time" might not be the critical moment of a crash, but it might be.

I hear you, but some kids just never get to the point where they don't need reminders. I have a kid who is 7, 53lb and too tall for the frontier, so she is boostered, and I have to remind her frequently to sit correctly. I guess I am used to it, and since I really don't have any other options, I just keep reminding.
Hopefully I will be able to find her that TA kit!! I sent a few emails today.

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ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
If the child has outgrown the Frontier, that's a totally different scenario. Most kids are ready by that age but there are outliers who are not. In this case, the child is still in need of reminders, and has NOT outgrown the available harness. So why risk out of position when there's a harness available to use for a while more? Yeah, neck loads may be a bit higher, but when compared to the risk of an out-of-position booster rider, I'll take the harness.

Once the child is a booster rider that doesn't need reminders (or even very, very infrequently) that changes the equation to me, as does having outgrown all available harnesses.
 

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