Will this work? (3 across)

Village

New member
Hi,

We're having a baby in June. We drive a 2009 Corolla and have DS1 (4 years old) FF in a Graco Nautlius, and DS2 (2 years old) FF in a TruFit. We will have a Snugride 35 bucket for the baby. Will these three seats work together in a Corolla, or are we looking at buying slimmer convertible seats for the older kids to make everything fit?

We're thinking baby will be outboard driver's side, 4 year-old in the middle, and 2 year-old outboard passenger side, if that matters at all.

We're fine with buying new convertible carseats, but not sure where we'd need to start. I'd like to keep the kids harnessed as long as logistically possible.

Thanks so much!
 
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henrietta

Well-known member
Hi,

We're having a baby in June. We drive a 2009 Corolla and have DS1 (4 years old) FF in a Graco Nautlius, and DS2 (2 years old) FF in a TruFit. We will have a Snugride 35 bucket for the baby. Will these three seats work together in a Corolla, or are we looking at buying slimmer convertible seats for the older kids to make everything fit?

We're thinking baby will be outboard driver's side, 4 year-old in the middle, and 2 year-old outboard passenger side, if that matters at all.

We're fine with buying new convertible carseats, but not sure where we'd need to start. I'd like to keep the kids harnessed as long as logistically possible.

Thanks so much!

Hmm...I think the Corolla has a pretty wide back seat, but the True Fit and the Nautilus are fairly wide, too. If the Diono seats install well in the Corolla, they would buy you a lot of room. Even one of them could make it much easier. I might try one of them and see what works best. There's not much point in buying "convertible seats" (rear to forward facing) for kids who forward face, but sometimes there are more options that way. ;) Another option that's slim is the Harmony Defender 360--it's a forward facing combination seat like the Nautilus. And it costs less than the Diono seats.

How tall are your kiddos? What do they weigh? If they are really, really tall...you may want to consider seats like the Britax Frontier (combination seat) or the new Britax Boulevard ClickTight (the Boulevard & Advocate CT's top harness slots are a tiny bit taller than the Nautilus). The base of those two isn't as wide as I thought it would be, so it might not be too bad to buckle in another seat next to. :) And it would be a great seat to hand down when the youngest outgrows the infant seat.

Congrats and good luck! I'm sure some other folks will come through and be able to give you better advice.
 

Village

New member
Thank you for your advice!

@Keenah - agreed. Now that I am pretty sure I'll need to buy new carseats, I think I am just at the "What combinations will work best?" stage.

@Henrietta - DS1 (4, Nautilus) is average height to tall, and DS2 (2, TruFit) is tall, like 38" or so.

I like the suggestions you've given. You're right that I don't need to buy two convertibles; I really only need one, so maybe the Harmony for DS1 and then a Diono for DS2 (because I'll eventually need a convertible for the baby, who I'll want to RF until at least 2)? Are Dionos a good fit for tall kids? I forget which one is a better choice for taller kids. Am I thinking of a Britax? Do you think these combinations would work with a SR 35? I realize these are very specific questions, and ones that only someone in the EXACT same situation would be able to really answer, but I appreciate any and all input.

I know it will be a matter of trying things out in the car, but I don't find I've had great experiences with store staff trying to install and uninstall carseats from my car.

Thanks again! Anyone else is welcome to chime in! :)
 

aept

New member
I used to have an '03 Corolla.
The Dionos at at least decent for tallish kids and I could install them RF or FF in any seating position (now always easy but doable.)
They fit best alternating: like FF, RF, FF or RF, FF, RF.
So maybe the narrow harmony combination seat for your oldest, a Diono for your two year old (could put them back RF if you want, using the angle adjuster)
For the newborn you probably don't want a Diono right away. Maybe a combi coccoro (CCO) or an infant seat known to be quite narrow!
The Diono will take up a lot of front to back space to be RF at the appropriate angle for a newborn.
I agree the seats you have now are unlikely to fit. *Maybe* the nautilus would be ok next to a RF radian and CCO. But you would for sure have to test that out!
 

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