Frontier 85 help

lahuffman

New member
My almost 6 year old's car seat is a frontier 85. She has a torso of 17", when the seat is installed in my obnoxious car to pass the less than 1" of movement at the belt path test she needs the harness in the top position. I am losing 2" of harness height due to the sloped, scooped rear seats. We have a Sure Ride as a spare, hasn't been used by her in my car, would that play better with the sloped seats? Is there a harnessed seat that would sit in the slope and not lose so much height? I am so frustrated and don't think she is ready for a booster for drives longer than 20-30 mins. She has ridden in a Graco tb in DH's car a few times (3-4x) and has done pretty good. I would prefer to keep her harnessed another year. Thank you!!
 
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Keeyamah

Active member
My almost 5 yr old has a similar problem. Although I only lose 1", but he is even with the 8th click already. He does actually gain some room in the Sureride, I think. I haven't played with the FR85 and Sureride side by side. I won't have a chance today, but I could tomorrow, my Explorer seats slope pretty bad, I don't use an angle adjuster with my Radian because of how upright it is by default :).

ETA: FR85 is in my mom's van most of the time, but she is on a road trip with my SIL, nieces and nephews, so I pulled my boys' seats out. Easier to play with a car that's here :p
 

lahuffman

New member
Thanks. I avoid removing the FR85, its a pita to get back in tight enough! Maybe I should pull DD2's seat and try DD1 in the Sure ride and see where she is with the harness. Should I let her booster train? I wanted to harness til 7/8 yrs old. I put her TB in my car to check fit and when she is in it buckled the belt sits correctly and so does the seat but when it is empty it does not sit flat on the vehicle seat. They are scooped and sloped in a U shape which screws with seat installs.
 

Keeyamah

Active member
Whether or not she is ready to booster train is a decision only you can make. I'm booster training my oldest because my inlaws tend to forget what the crotch strap buckles too. Right now at almost 5, he can't handle a trip over 30 minutes and if he's really tired things go down hill with lots of reminders to sit right. But, otherwise he's good, of course for a little boy, he is strangely calm in the car :p. Every kid is ready at a different age.
 

lahuffman

New member
She has a 1/2" til her shoulder is level with the top slot. We think we want to try full booster training and see how she does, it would help with Kindy pick up and drop off lane this year. If it doesn't work out well we are going to get her a FR90 to get that extra harness height. My car is a lease and I am stuck with it til Dec 2015. I really like the new Recaro booster and the Britax SGL, but am leaning toward the SGL for the SG clip. Any idea if either of those would fit better in my crazy seats? DD2's MA70G3 fits like a glove into the scooped area, if that gives an idea of the size.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Other than the seats you have, I think only the Frontier 90 you mentioned is going to offer more room for growth since it's the only model with higher top slots. Perhaps the revised shell and Clicktight installation system will help in your car as well? Worth a try and can always return it!

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Frontier-Booster-Seat-Onyx/dp/B00BEVF1W6/"]Amazon.com : Britax Frontier 90 Booster Car Seat, Onyx : Child Safety Booster Car Seats : Baby[/ame]

If the high backs you mentioned don't work, perhaps a backless booster would fit your vehicle better, since she is 6 and 40+ lbs?
 

lahuffman

New member
Thanks. We ordered her a Parkway SGL, we will see how it goes. She will be 6 in September, but she is over 40lbs. I wouldn't feel comfortable with a backless but I bet the cheap Harmony from Walmart would fit perfectly in there. The seats in the CC are obnoxious, they are why DD1 went FF so young. Plenty of front to back space but her Radian was completely incompatible with the scooped seat.

When I put her Parkway in do I fully tighten the LATCH like on a harnessed seat or is it just to get the slack out like on a top tether?
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Definitely not necessary to be rock solid. It's usually pretty easy with a modest pull of the straps to get it such that it won't move around or tip during loading/unloading.
 

lahuffman

New member
Perfect, thanks! That is exactly why I wanted the LATCH feature, that and I doubt she would remember to buckle it in when she gets out of it!
 

Keeyamah

Active member
So I know you've ordered a Parkway, but I did get a chance to play with my seats just a bit ago. I measured my FR85 at 20" when it's out of the car (my explorer) and 19" when it's in. The Sureride I measured at 19.5" out and 19" in the car. Personally, with the difference in how kids sit in the Sureride vs the FR85, I'd give the Sureride a shot if she appears to have outgrown the FR85 and needs to be harnessed for some reason, ie. long road trip or isn't booster ready for some reason after she's been riding in a booster for a little while.
 

lahuffman

New member
Thanks. I didn't get a chance today, but I am going to try her in the Sure ride tomorrow. I am curious how the harness will fit. She has ridden in it in DH's car but he has fairly flat seats, in there she is under the 2nd to the top slot. Would be a good option to have and I am sure DH would love to not need to buy a FR90 if boostering won't work for long rides!
 

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