Question Seats for 2011 Chrysler Town and Country

Khernandez · Aug 8, 2018

We just received a 2011 Chrysler Town and Country with a wheelchair conversion. The captains chairs are missing because that it where the wheelchair is tied down. I am trying to figure out what car seats I can use in the back for my two younger kids. I have a 4 year old that is 38-39” and 36lbs. My 2 year old is 24 lbs and 33”. I’m having a hard time figuring out what seats to put them in and how to configure them. Any help is greatly appreciated.

aporthole · Aug 10, 2018

What seats do you already own?

Does the wheelchair sit in the middle or off towards one side in the 2nd row area?

lgenne · Aug 10, 2018

Your kids are young enough that they should both still be harnessed. Getting 2 back there can be challenging, but there’s one way to make it easy in general, and I think in your case there’s one other option.

For the 4 year old, any car seat you already have that’s light enough to be installed with lower anchors (+ tether) should use the one set of lower anchors (and the one tether). Note that the vast majority of harnessed car seats will work in this position.

Then on the passenger side, your 2 year old should rear face. 2 options that should probably work for you:

1) A Cosco Scenera NEXT. Generally it has to be very upright to fit behind a captains chair in this position, but you can probably install it with any recline.

2) An Evenflo Sureride. This generally doesn’t fit behind a captains chair at all, but with no captains chair, it should work.

Khernandez · Aug 17, 2018

We have a Britax Frontier 90 that nobody is using right now because it used to be for my oldest but she outgrew it after spinal surgery. We have Britax Marathons that our 4 year old uses. Our 2 year old uses a Cosco Scenara Next or a Graco Clicktight 40 - which she’s right on the edge of outgrowing. The wheelchair can sit at any position in the middle area because the tie downs are adjustable.
We called the police department to talk to a CPST and she said to get our 4 year old a High Back Booster and our 2 year old could use any convertible seat. I was shocked that she didn’t ask about the weight or height of my kids and just made a suggestion based on age alone. She didn’t even really consider the car we have. So now I’ll be looking for someone else to inspect the seats after I get them installed. I’m just trying to figure out what to put back there.

aporthole · Aug 17, 2018

So all 3 kids will need to fit in the 3rd row or is one of the captain’s chairs still installed in the 2nd row?

How old/big is the oldest and are they using a booster?

Khernandez · Aug 18, 2018

Two kids will need to fit in the third row - my 2 and 4 year old. My third child is in her wheelchair. There are no captains chairs and I can place the wheelchair on either side in the middle row.

jjordan · Aug 18, 2018

I agree with aporthole's recommendation of a very lightweight FF seat for the 4 year old using lower anchors and the tether anchor, and then a RF convertible seat for the 2 year old on the passenger side. What Marathon model do you have and what is the LATCH weight limit? You might be able to use one of those for your 4 year old if the LATCH weight limit is high enough. (The down side of using a seat belt installation here is that using lower anchors will give you more space for the 2 year old's seat.) Depending on how the seats fit, you might be able to use one of the Marathons RF for the 2 year old.

I disagree with the recommendation you had for a booster for the 4 year old because, besides being a bit young to sit still in a booster, the third row of the van you have is notorious for not playing nicely with boosters.

Dillipop · Aug 18, 2018

I’d probably move your 4 year old to the frontier you already own and install it in the middle with the available tether and seatbelt. Then I would try the marathon and next rearfacing for your 2 year old and see if they will fit on either side.

If those don’t fit, I would consider a Cosco Finale for the older child- it’s lightweight and you can use it with latch for quite awhile, which will move the seat towards the driver side. Use the top tether. Once that seat is offset, you should be able to fit the marathon or next on the passenger side rearfacing pretty easily.

lgenne · Aug 19, 2018

Dillipop said:
I’d probably move your 4 year old to the frontier you already own and install it in the middle with the available tether and seatbelt. Then I would try the marathon and next rearfacing for your 2 year old and see if they will fit on either side.

If those don’t fit, I would consider a Cosco Finale for the older child- it’s lightweight and you can use it with latch for quite awhile, which will move the seat towards the driver side. Use the top tether. Once that seat is offset, you should be able to fit the marathon or next on the passenger side rearfacing pretty easily.

I’m 99% certain that the Marathon doesn’t work RF outboard regardless of what is next to it, and 90% certain that the Scenera NEXT won’t fit next to a Frontier in the center.

The Finale is a good choice for the 4 year old; if you’re looking for something a little more plush, the Graco Tranzitions is only one pound heavier.

aporthole · Aug 20, 2018

The Graco Wayz/Tranzitions may have install compatibility issues in the center of the 3rd row though. The Evenflo SureRide/Titan 65 is a great option for the 4yo in the center if the Frontier doesn’t fit since it can be installed with the off-set lower anchors until kiddo weighs 55 lb which leaves more room on the passenger side for the rear facing seat.

I’d at least give the rear-facing Marathon a try on the passenger side. I’m not sure why there would be a compatibility issue with it there. I don’t recall ever hearing of one.

lgenne · Aug 21, 2018

I was suggesting the Tranzitions for install with the offset lower anchors, although it looks like I misread the comparison chart. It’s 12.5 pounds, not 11, and somehow has a 45 lb limit for an install with lower anchors (which makes no sense to me; shouldn’t it be 50 lbs?)

Anyway, my choice for that spot given this information would probably be the Evenflo Sureride. You don’t really need narrow, it’s got super tall top harness slots, and if you end up needing something that rear faces longer than the Scenera NEXT by height, you can have your choice about getting a second one or getting something else for your 4 year old (who may be booster ready by that point.)

The Marathon will almost certainly hang off the side if you try it outboard. Britax does not allow side overhang. The 10.5” and 11” wide bases of the Scenera NEXT and the Sureride don’t leave a lot of extra space to the side. The Marathon’s base isn’t narrow.

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