car seat rec for 5 year old

mully4235

Member
I need a new seat for my daughter. It's for my mother in laws van. Not sure which van she has actually. Or I can give her my seat which I believe fits in there and get a new one for my van. Probably that. I have a 2010 town and country which I have a love /hate relationship with. She's currently ff in a britax marathon and quite comfy in it. But I can't afford that much this time. She's a real tiny thing. 41.25 inches tall, somewhere between 35-40 pounds. When she was weighed a couple months ago she was 36 pounds. Torso height is 14.5 inches. I'd like to keep her harnessed for a while still, at the very least another year. She'll be 6 in August. Are any that turn into boosters any good? Would prefer to keep it under $100 this time. But it needs to be comfy and the straps not cut into her neck. It's replacing the My Ride which I've always hated and is expired now. I was looking on Amazon (where did diapers.com go?!?!!) and noticed the Graco Tranzitions, Evenflo Maestro, or Evenflo Transitions. Would any of them work? My 7 year old is in a Britax Parkway SGL which has the SecureGuard Belt-Positioning Clip which I love. Are there any harnessed and then booster seats combos that have that?
 
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ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Any of those 3 seats would work. If you get the Maestro don't count on using it as a booster but it is an easy to install, great harnessed seat. You can call and order strap covers for it if desired.

The only combination seats that allow that type of clip (SecureGuard) are the Britax line (Pioneer, Frontier, Pinnacle) and only if you purchase it as an accessory. Not Only are they expensive in comparison, those sound Like overkill for your daughter.

In your place I'd choose a cheaper, easy to install seat that will meet her needs (likely the Maestro or even the SureRide) as a harnessed seat and save your money for a dedicated booster later. Not only is it more cost efficient, dedicated boosters are mostly easier for kids to buckle and almost always fit smaller built booster riders better than combination seats in booster mode do. :)
 

mully4235

Member
So the pioneer wouldn't fit her well? That little secureguard just makes me feel better. When do you think she'd be ready for a booster? My 7 year old is 50 pounds and I'm barely comfortable with that :) He was boostered at 6 and barely 40 pounds because my MIL and husband kept letting him ride between houses with only a seat belt and no seat (we live very close to each other). I had no other option but to put him in a booster. I fear them doing the same with her, she's even smaller than he was at the same age. Maybe I should go with the maestro. I was hoping she would be bigger by now. Do you happen to know the expiration on the Graco MyRide 65? I've searched and and keep getting mixed answers of 5 years or 6 years. I think it would be expired soon anyway if it was 6. I bought it in feb of 2012. DOM is Dec. 2, 2011. Definitely expired right?
 

zeo2ski

Well-known member
The pioneer would fit her, but she wouldn't need a seat that large, so you could save money by going with a different option since there are less expensive seats that will fit that small of a child.

I agree putting your DS in a booster was the right thing to do. Just be sure you get one rated for less than 40 lbs assuming she hasn't hit that by the time you do switch. One thing I'd work on is really teaching the children the importance of a booster/car seat and to advocate for themselves. Now that there are two of them old enough to speak up, it might go farther with grandma. And I'm guessing you already had talks with her yourself, and do not have the option of saying the child can't ride with her if she won't follow safety rules.

Diapers.com and soap.com et. al. got bought by and shut down by Amazon. WAH!

According to carseatblog the MY Ride 65 had a 6 year expiration: https://carseatblog.com/2312/maybe-the-graco-my-ride-65-could-be-my-ride-a-review/ "6 Year Expiration: The My Ride 65 has a 6 year expiration and the “Do Not Use Past” date is stamped on the bottom/back of the seat. "
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I'm comfortable with a child who meets the booster minimums, has good fit and is at least 6-7 years old and demonstrating the maturity to ride in a booster moving to one full time regardless of size (assuming they are meeting the minimums as mentioned.)

The Pioneer would fit fine in the harness. The issue is that it doesn't tend to fit well in booster mode until kids have outgrown the harness- which is so tall that might be 9 or 10 for her. It is neither necessary nor practical to keep a child in a harness that long. So I'd get a cheaper seat that isn't such overkill as a harness now, and then get a dedicated booster later, for efficiency and best use of funds.

My daughter rides in a parkway and hated the SG strap, we took it off. I'm not at all concerned about performance without it and it makes buckling faster and easier.
 

mully4235

Member
How is the Graco Nautilus 65? I just need something comfortable to last another year or two until shes a little bigger. They have that one at Walmart so I could get it today. On trips she still falls asleep.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
The Nautilus will fit, but be aware it does cause head slump for a lot of kids (which sometimes disturbs sleep.)
 

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