Question Inexpensive RF convertible for a Jeep Liberty?

Hi! I searched the threads first but couldn't find an answer to my question. I am looking for recommendations for a convertible car seat to be used in my husband's car which is a 2005 Jeep Liberty. It has a very small backseat. I wanted to buy 2 (one for each child) that are also lightweight to be used for plane travel.

On another thread someone recommended Britax or True Fit, which are out of the question because these seats will only be used rarely and I don't want to spend that much. I considered the Scenera NEXT but I know it is outgrown quickly and I want to buy only one seat for each child that can be used RF and FF until we need to transition to a booster. I have two Graco MySizes in my car and love them. MyRide is another seat that was recommended in the thread I saw about Libertys, but I know it is also outgrown fairly quickly because it doesn't have the headrest adjuster that goes higher like the MySize does. The Sureride and Guide 65 are seats that have been recommended to me as lightweight, inexpensive, and compact, but nobody has been able to tell me if they actually fit well RF in this particular car. So, I want to know what seats have actually been installed comfortably RF in a Liberty (with no need to push the front seats very far forward) that are in the $100 range and are between 10-12 pounds for airline travel. Does such a magical seat exist?

Child 1: 2 years, 8 months, 37 inches, 30 pounds
Child 2: 9 months, 27 inches, 20 pounds

Thank you!

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I think the issue here is that you want something cheap, compact, and lightweight AND to have to it last until booster age. Those things are kind of mutually exclusive. There are seats that will last most until booster age, but they're pretty big, heavier than I'd want to use for travel, and over your budget.
So honestly? I would drop the expectation that they last until booster age. Buy two scenera NEXTs. They will last RF for several years, and they are AMAZING travel seats. Then when they are outgrown, buy two lightweight combination seats - either a maestro or a defender or something. That will put you at basically the same budget through the purchase of two seats instead of one. Something I actually find preferable since seats get pretty gross after years of use.

I would buy a sureride/titan65 or maestro for your oldest (note the maestro doesn't rear face) and a scenera next or titan65/sureride for your youngest.

I would avoid the Sureride if you are hoping to rear-face on a plane. I am not familiar with your particular vehicle, but if you mean that the back seat is small in terms of front-to-back space, I would avoid a Sureride for the baby and if you hope to RF the toddler. If you live near a babies r us, they usually let you try out seats in your car, so if possible, that would be a good thing to do. The guide 65 is smaller, but I don't know enough about it to know how well it travels.

I don't have experience with the Liberty but do have two of those three seats and a car with a very small back seat (Mazda 3).

The following is assuming you want to keep the older one RFing for 3 more inches (all of these seats have a RF max of 40"). I would suggest seeing if the Evenflo SureRide will fit RFing in the middle seat of your vehicle. You should be able to test-install in your car at Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby and some Targets. The SureRide is a very tall seat and only has one recline line, so it takes up a lot of space front to back RFing. BUT in some tiny cars like mine, when installed in the middle, it fits perfectly in between the backs of the front seats, even with the front seats all the way back. Then FFing, the SureRide has very tall top slots and will last a long time.

If the SureRide works, then I'd recommend either a Scenera NEXT or Guide 65 for your other seat. The Scenera NEXT, as you've heard, is functionally a RF-only seat because it's outgrown FFing before it's outgrown RFing. However, it has the significant advantages of being extremely compact front to back once the child can sit up unassisted, and easy to install. The Guide 65 is compact RFing once the child reaches 22 lbs, but takes up a lot of space before that. It can be rather finicky to install RFing and I find it easier to use a pool noodle to reduce its tendency to want to pivot more-reclined or less-reclined. So you could put your older child in a Guide at the >22 lb recline and the younger in the SureRide in the middle, or the older in the SureRide and the younger in a Scenera NEXT.

Here's why it's OK for you if the Scenera NEXT is RF-only: when the little one is too big to RF, the older one should most likely be ready for a booster and you can pass down the older one's seat. I would not, however, suggest two NEXTs; it won't last the older one long enough to be worth it.

If you want to RF the older one past 40", I would suggest getting a Graco Contender. It installs compactly and RFs to a full 40 lbs. It's heavier than the other seats under consideration, of course (but lighter than the MySize/Size4Me/etc). And not terribly much more expensive; recently been seen for $105 or so.

If you're OK with FFing the older one now, just get a Maestro for the older and a SureRide or Guide for the younger.



When someone on another thread asked if I liked my SureRide or Guide better, here's what I said:

They each have their pluses and minuses and I like them both for different reasons!

I love how little space front to back the Guide 65 can take up for kids >22 lbs . . . but its installation is annoying as I talked about above.

I love how, on an airplane, a FFing kid with the Guide can have the tray table come all the way down flat! I love how easy the SureRide is to install RFing (and FFing, both of them are easy to install FFing). The SureRide is big but it's really light, a couple three pounds lighter than the Guide. That's nice for toting it through airports. On our last airplane trip, we swapped seats. The SureRide worked easily RFing on the plane for the little guy and my older got the benefit of being able to use his tray table. We rented a van at our destination and so the SureRide fit fine RFing. My older boy (4 1/2, very tall with long legs) complained a little about the Guide FFing in the car. He didn't seem to find it as comfortable as he does the SureRide. I think the Guide's seat pan isn't quite as deep.

I don't have any seat suggestions for you but I do have a Liberty. Currently we have an '08 (newer body style) but did have an '04 (same body style as the '05).

If it helps others make suggestions, I believe the older body style has slightly less front to back room than the newer body. I have an RXT RFing behind the passenger with the angle adjuster. The front seat needs to be pretty far forward but I can sit in it (very upright). An average height person could drive with the RXT RFing in the center but the angle adjuster is still needed.

I know the RXT doesn't meet the OPs criteria, but hopefully it will help someone make an "educated guess" suggestion!


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I've got a new to me '05' Jeep Liberty. It used to belong to my parents. I have had installed rfing in it a Diono Olympia (no angle adjuster) and a Britax Marathon and Boulevard. Both only fit in the middle if you want a normal sized adult to fit in the passenger seat. Accodring to the manual you can install in the middle in this car, but you'd have to do seatbelt in the middle because there are no middle latch clip and while the manual says you can use them it renders the two outboard seats useless.

I own a Costco Apt 40 this does not fit rfing well in the car. I'd venture a guess that a Sureride definitely won't fit rfing if you want someone in the passenger seat.

It's a tough car because of how low the glove box is it limits leg positions for front passenger. Another big issue is the back seats are quite sloped so you will likely need pool noodles for most seats that don't have a recline base so you often can't use the more upright angle if the seat gives you that option.

I drive mine daily and transport my daughter to and from daycare so I ended up with a Pria which I got on Amazon for $199. This is more than I originally wanted to spend but it goes to 70 pounds so we will be in it for a while.

Other seats that were recommended to me when I was trying to fit the Jeep and our sitter's Mazada 3 were the NEXT (but i too wanted something to last longer) the Graco Contender and Size4me and the Guide 65. The Guide 65 will last much longer than the NEXT but I was warned that it can be a bit difficult to install and will need a noddle or 2.

Here a link that may be helpful:

http://carseatblog.com/22818/the-ul...ertible-space-comparison-review-size-matters/

Hope you are able to find something that fits your needs and your budget.

In hindsight the info. I gave you may not have been helpful. As I was only able to tell you what others recommended and the seats I know fit are all more than you want to spend.

If you have a BRU near you it looks like they carry the Graco Contender, Guide 65, and Sureride. You can see which fits in your car and then order somewhere else.

They have Contenders on Amazon for $104. It will get you rf to 40 and ff to 65. with a top harness height if 17.5. It's FAA approved and although not as light as a guide 65 or a Sureride it's not as heavy as a lot of other seats.

Surerides are and Guides 65's look to be in the $90-$100 range on amazon as well and I think someone already gave to the specs. on those seats.

I'd say your best bet will be a Guide 65 judging by how compact it seems your car is. But it probably will be a PITA to install and you will need pool noodles because of your sloped seats.

The 9 month old's seat might give you some more problems with the install unless you can get them to 22 pounds with a hearty breakfast and shoes on.

I would buy them off Amazon, try installing it and see if it fits, and it does great, if not you might need to settle for the Scenera Next for now and buy a FF seat later (not what you want I know, but sometimes you gotta make do)