3 car seats in Ford Explorer

Unregistered · Jun 8, 2015

Hello! We have a 2012 Ford Explorer with the bench seats. My 5 year old (45 lbs) is in a FF Graco MyRide65 behind the passenger seat and my 2 1/2 year old (29 lbs) is in a FF Graco Size4Me 65 behind the driver's seat. We're having a baby in August & I wondered if we could safely put a RF Chico KeyFit seat in between the 2 seats? Or will I need to move my 5 yo to the 3rd row? I appreciate your help!

rin2809 · Jun 8, 2015

Both of those convertibles seem to ride a little high, so fitting both of them next to an infant seat might be a little tough. Since both the bigger kiddos are FF, it might make sense to look into a combo seat that is lower profile (like the Maestro or the Harmony Defender) that would puzzle better.

Both aren't too expensive, but if you really want to keep all 3 kids in the middle row, it would be an option.

jess71903 · Jun 8, 2015

Hi and welcome to car-seat.org!

Are you set on an infant seat? How long does the MyRide have before expiration? I am fairly confident the Size4Me does, too, but I really like the fit of a newborn in a MyRide, and because it is narrow at the base and flares up higher, it tends to work fairly well for booster or combo seats next to it.

How is your 5 year old maturity-wise? What are you goals for harnessing? I know with my own 5.5 year old, we do occasional booster rides, and I'm thinking towards full-time booster use, although I'm not there yet. If you think he'd do well in a booster, I'd look at some of the more narrow ones, like the Graco Turbobooster, and see how that works with either the KeyFit or the MyRide. IF he's not booster ready, I'd look at the Defender or Maestro, or maybe consider putting one or 2 of them in the 3rd row (you'd have to do side-by-side in the 2nd row if you wanted access to the 3rd, so putting both back there may be a better plan.