Need help with 2016 Town & Country & Setup with Multiple Car Seats

U

Unregistered

Guest
I have a question about the car-seat set up in a 2016 Town & Country. I have the following setup:

-9 Year old in a booster seat (child is 53 pounds and 49 inches tall)
-7 Year old in a 5 point harness (child is 43 pounds and 47 inches tall)
-6 year old in a 5 point harness (child is 38 pounds and 43 inches tall)
-Will soon have a newborn that I will rear face in a Radian 120.

Our town and country unfortunately only has one tether for a forward facing car seat in the 3rd row. Both bucket seats in the 2nd row have tethers.

9 year old fights like cats and dogs with 7 year old and even sometimes with the 6 year old (not as much as the 7 year old though). 9 year old will be almost 10 when newborn gets here and is a really fabulous helper, so I was thinking of putting newborn and 9 year old in one row and 6 & 7 year old in the other row.

I know the Radian fits great rear facing in 2nd row bucket seats, but I haven't tried it in the 3rd row rear facing. Do you think I should put newborn and 9 year old in 2nd row and 6 & 7 year old in 3rd row (moving the 7 year old into a booster seat and leaving 6 year old in 5 point harness)?

or

Should I see if the radian fits in the 3rd row rear facing for the newborn and 9 year old in the 3rd row in a booster seat so the 6 & 7 year old can stay in 5 point harnesses in the 2nd row? I'm just not sure it would be very easy to buckle and unbuckle the newborn way in the 3rd seat.

or

Are tether's necessary for forward facing car-seats? Could one child ride without the tether in a 5 point harness forward facing?

What are my best, safest options?
Carolyn
 
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MelodyoftheForest

Active member
I don’t have personal experience, but it seems to me your first scenario would be the most doable. There are specific HBBs that work outboard in the third row that I am sure someone will know off the top of her head. From what I have read, the Radian may not work at a newborn recline anywhere in your vehicle. We are happy to help with alternatives, though!
 

aporthole

Active member
The Radian isn’t compatible for a newborn in the 2nd row of your car. The captain’s chairs are so sloped that a safe newborn recline cannot be achieved with a Radian. If you got a different seat for the newborn for a captain’s chair along with the 9yo in the other captains’s chair, I think that would work well.

Are the 7yo and 6yo potentially booster ready? The easy fix would be to get compatible boosters for them on the sides of the 3rd row and call it good. If either is incapable of properly sitting in a booster, things get a lot trickier.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Can you explain more why the radian won’t work to recline with a newborn rear facing in a town and country? I don’t think I’m understanding. I installed it rear facing without any issue and was able to get it to recline just fine.
 

MelodyoftheForest

Active member
To see what she means, set the Radian on the ground just how you would put it on the vehicle seat. You will notice that the back of the Radian leans back way more on a flat surface than on the vehicle seat. If you have a level (there is a built-in app on my iPhone), measure the difference. A newborn has to be at or close to 45 degrees. That is not achievable in your van, unfortunately.
 

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