Question Installing 3 seats across just for the day?

ald2012

New member
Going on an outing with my friend, two 3 YO's and a newborn. I don't want us to both have to drive, so I put both of our convertible seats, forward-facing (usually my 3YO is RF), into our car with the infant seat between them. The seats are all touching and are super snug, and the handle on the infant seat is up against the convertibles. I had to install one convertible with the seatbelt because I couldn't get to the LATCH anchors once the infant seat base was installed in the middle; apparently the middle seat seatbelt overlaps the outboard LATCH anchors, if that makes sense. I can't even take out the infant seat from the base because the sides of the convertibles come over it just enough to prevent removal of the infant seat. Neither of us have a big car, but she does have a slightly smaller seat (an older Britax) we may try out before we go to see if it will free the infant seat. Is there any issue with this installation though? The seats are all in super tight and cannot be moved even half an inch along the belt path. It's two Chicco Nextfits and one Keyfit. I tried the Keyfit without the base/seatbelt install to see if it would create more room, but it's too loose for my taste. The middle of the back seat bench doesn't have a lot of cushioning, so it was hard to push down enough to get it in tight, but I could get it tight with the base. I probably won't have time to get someone to check the install before we go. The car is a Hyundai Santa Fe, 2007 model.
 
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Keeanh

Well-known member
If they're all independently tight, meaning the seats aren't relying on each other to appear tight, you're fine. If you took the outboard seats out, would the Keyfit still be tight? If you took the Keyfit out, would the convertibles still be tight? If so, then it sounds like you're good to go. If you installed all three with seatbelts, you would probably get a little more room. Also, a baseless install doesn't have to be rock solid. It needs to be at the correct recline and you need less than 1" movement at the belt path :)

Since you're switching your 3yo forward, make sure the seat has been adjusted for forward-facing. The harness needs to be at or above the shoulders, and depending on the seat there might be other rules such as recline setting.
 

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