Booster in extended cab truck?

Hi, my 7 year old daughter is 50 inches tall and weighs 54 pounds. She will be turning 8 in a few months. She is very responsible and I think she could be trusted to not unbuckle a booster. She normally rides in my 09 RAV4 in a Britax Frontier and is still harnessed. My husband drives an 01 Dodge Dakota that has a tiny (like 11 or 12 inches deep) back seat. We never could find an infant bucket that fit his truck when she was little. We rear faced her in my car until she was 3.5 or 4, and then went to forward facing with the Britax. The only car seat I have ever found that was an acceptable amount hanging over the seat in his truck was a sunshine kids radian65 because it has a fairly small base. We only have one child so there are no other car seats to puzzle. I have tried to keep her harnessed as long as possible, but she looks like she is outgrowing the radian height wise. Her shoulders are way above the top strap. I was told the radian is one of the few you are allowed to go over, but we're talking multiple inches over. I am considering buying her a booster. Do you think that is appropriate? Can boosters hang off the seat at all? What boosters have the smallest depth? Thanks.

Hi there.

Does the Dodge have headrests in the back? That will impact which boosters we can suggest.

Wendy

No, it doesn't. Last night I bought a bubble bum because of its small size. I will try putting her on it to check how much of her sticks up, but I am not optimistic. Maybe the bubble bum would be better in my mom's vehicles or in my car as backup if she ever has a friend need a ride? The bubble bum looks terribly flimsy compared to her Britax frontier or the radian 65. The idea that it is inflatable bothers me...anyway, it did fit on the narrow bench completely with a couple inches to spare, which has never happened with any seat in that truck. I will put her in tonight to see where her ears/head hit but I am guessing she will be too tall since there is no headrest, nor any likely method of adding one. I ordered a Britax parkway to try. Wal mart is 30 miles away...we live in the middle of no where so most seats have to be ordered and returning is a pain if they don't work. That wal mart only had a few booster options, most backless, but I'm thinking if the bubble bum doesn't work the other two wouldn't either. They had a graco backless booster (no turnobooster), and another brand that was $13 and also backless. Mostly it just needs the shortest depth possible, and I'm hoping for one with a back. Thanks again.

Does the dodge have latch?


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It has a top anchor point but that is all. Nothing at the bottom to anchor to because it's an 01.

Unregistered said:

It has a top anchor point but that is all. Nothing at the bottom to anchor to because it's an 01.

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That's too bad. The only booster I found to work in my dad's truck with short seats and no head rests was the clek oobr. It allows overhang because it is rigidly attached to the vehicle with the lower anchors.

Does the passenger seat in front have a switch to turn off the airbag? If so, that might be the only real solution in this vehicle now that she has outgrown the harness in the back. Pretty much any highback booster should work in the front seat with the seat pushed all the way back.


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Does anyone know if the Britax parkway has to have the base completely on the seat? And does it need a headrest behind it when used as the booster with the back on? Thanks.

Britax usually allows 3" of overhang, though I don't see that in the Parkway manual. The Parkway does not require a headrest.

Wendy

Hi again!
So here is the current situation. The Britax Parkway arrived, and it hangs 3 inches off the seat in the Dodge Dakota. I called Britax and they said this is allowed. I asked about the truck not having a head rest and she said Britax has no guidance on that, and I should check the vehicle manual, which didn't say anything about it, so Britax said it is fine. So I kept the Parkway. My daughter loves it and is very happy to be in a booster. In my 09 RAV4 she is still harnessed in a Britax frontier. I forget the year we bought it, but it was the very first batch with the new click tight feature (maybe 3 or 4 years ago?). We have loved the click tight and she still has room to be harnessed in it but she is almost 8 and wants to be boostered. The problem is I thought the frontier manual said it could not be reclined in booster mode, and it has been permanently stuck in recline position ever since we bought it and first reclined it. I wish we could just turn it into a booster, but is that safe if it's not supposed to be reclined? I have had multiple strong adults wrangle it, and it just isn't coming out of the recline position. Last year when she started kindergarten I bought another Frontier (so a couple years newer) so she could be picked up from school by my parents since my husband and I work. She is also harnessed it that. So I am wondering what you would suggest out of these options:
1. Trade seats with my parents; we're both teachers about to have summer off so she'll be riding in my car more soon. Change the newer frontier to a booster, and she can either be harnessed in the frontier with my parents or I could buy another booster for their vehicles. If I buy one for them, would you suggest a diono Monterrey, Britax parkway, turbo booster, etc? They have a variety of vehicles, all pretty new with latch. Whatever it is, I'll be ordering off amazon since there are no options locally. I prefer a high back booster. My daughter is tall and almost 8 so something high.
2. Order the clek oober, put it in the truck, put the Parkway in my car, and convert the grandparent frontier to booster mode. The oober is the most expensive but perhaps wouldn't hang off as much in the truck?
3. Order another Britax parkway (I like she can't submarine in it) for my car, and convert the grandparent frontier to booster.
4. Other ideas?

Is there any reason not to let her booster? We rear faced a long time and harnessed a long time but she really wants to booster.

Thanks!