Successful Three Across thread

KaiLing

New member
2005 Mazda 3 (4 door)
RF CCO outboard passenger
FF Radian center
RF Radian outboard driver / adult seat belt behind driver

The FF radian really needs the recline down
The RF Radian needs the AA or is braced on my seat (I'm 5'8")
All seat belt installations, but I can use the LATCH on the CCO, too.
I'm rather uncomfortable with my shoulders next to the FF radian, but it's do-able.
I'm a tech.
 
ADS

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
2005 Honda Odyssey, third row
Britax Frontier 85 (seatbelt-long belt path-and tether-borrowed center TA, on passenger side, as allowed by Honda per LATCH Manual), BubbleBum (seatbelt, obviously), Cybex Aton (with base, seatbelt install.) It was tight getting the BubbleBum buckled, wouldn't want to do it every day, but it worked and I was comfortable with the belt fit and belt anchor positions. :) I'm a tech.
 

love-pink

Well-known member
2013 Dodge Journey with the third row. Nothing tech checked but the RN is rock solid in all three second row spots.

Radian XT (with angle adjuster), LiteRider, vehicle booster is what pictured. The RN installs easily with or without the AA. When the RN is in the center spot you cannot slide and move the 40 portion seat. I have swapped out vehicle booster seat for an Olli, Evenflo Amp HBB and another LiteRider which all fit fine with a good amount of room to buckle. I havent tried my other RN outboard where the vehicle booster seat is but I dont see a problem as there is a good amount of room left there. ;)

Vehicle booster up:
FAF933D2-136C-4C1B-9A76-6BD1EDE49E25-1444-0000018AF57855F7.jpg


Vehicle booster down showing the extra room to place another seat:
FBC7AB66-642B-410C-91E3-13728F496337-1444-0000018AEA25909C.jpg
 

thepote

New member
2005 Odyssey 3rd row

Literider - RF Radian- Vivo (passenger- center- driver)

Vivo was very hard to buckle (I had to do it); 9yo could buckle the Literider but with some difficulty.

Radian installed with seatbelt and angle adjuster.

I'm not a tech.
 
N

nicci21

Guest
Sucessful 3 across in a 2003 Chevy cavalier (was not easy to accomplish)

Safety 1st guide 65, FF, behind driver, seatbelt install w top tether.
Diono radian rxt, RF in the middle, seatbelt install, also use angle adjuster.
Evenflo tribute sport, FF, behind driver, seatbelt install with top tether.

It was installed by a tech, and all seats are independently tight & do not interlock, overlap or interfere with the other!
 
M

Mama me

Guest
Successful Three Across 4 door 2006 civic

2006 4 door civic

drivers side= FF Diono RXT
Middle seat= RF Diono R100 ( I prefer this seat to the rxt by the way. I don't like the head rest on the rxt)
Passenger seat= Graco High Back Turbo Booster

this order and type of seats seems to be the best fit i can find. Both car seats are using the seat belt not the latch system

RXT holds my 25 lb 3 year old ( i think it would fit rear facing too)
R100 Holds my 25 lb 10 month old
Booster holds my 45 lb 5 year old

all kids have enough room to stretch and sleep comfortably and the arm rests for the booster are usable. i think one cup holder is also usable in the booster
 

Misty-Bug

New member
2005 honda CRV

passenger - sk radian XTSL FF seatbelt
middle - chicco keyfit 30 seatbelt
driver - parkway SGL

radian and chicco are tight, but they fit on the 60 portion of the bench, both rock solid and independently tight. that leaves lots of options for the drivers side 40 portion. I did not move the center buckle stalk. I did twist both buckle stalks of the center seat belt 3 times.

I'm not a tech.

can you explain what you mean by twisting both buckle stalks of the center seat belt three times? are you meaning the outboard and the center stalks? is there a reason why you are rotating the outboard one? unless it is for the radian I understand. but if it is for the 40 split belt it really isn't needed. Sorry, it is late and I am not getting what you are saying. lol
 

romanoma

New member
can you explain what you mean by twisting both buckle stalks of the center seat belt three times? are you meaning the outboard and the center stalks? is there a reason why you are rotating the outboard one? unless it is for the radian I understand. but if it is for the 40 split belt it really isn't needed. Sorry, it is late and I am not getting what you are saying. lol

The center seatbelt originates from the ceiling and can be completely disconnected on both sides so it retracts into the ceiling and is out of the way when not in use. This leaves a buckle stalk on both sides of the center seating position, and they are long stalks and very close together. I twisted the passenger side stalk before buckling in the seatbelt from the ceiling, then twisted the driver side stalk before buckling the belt for the install. Hope that makes more sense!
 

Misty-Bug

New member
The center seatbelt originates from the ceiling and can be completely disconnected on both sides so it retracts into the ceiling and is out of the way when not in use. This leaves a buckle stalk on both sides of the center seating position, and they are long stalks and very close together. I twisted the passenger side stalk before buckling in the seatbelt from the ceiling, then twisted the driver side stalk before buckling the belt for the install. Hope that makes more sense!

it does but can that be done?
 

Brianna

New member
it does but can that be done?

No, the maximum is 3 twists for the entire seat belt, not 3 per side.

Twisting belts also reduces webbing strength. Laboratory tests conducted by IMMI Child Restraints in 1998-99 showed that the average strength of vehicle belt webbing, pulled until failure, gradually reduced depending on the number of full twists: 1=6%, 2=11%, 3=20%, 6=40%. When the webbing was soaked in apple juice or cola, the strength degraded slightly more than untreated webbing. When other samples were twisted and later untwisted, the webbing returned to normal strength. Vehicle belt webbing is strong enough to withstand pull tests of over 6000 lb of force. This is 3 to 4 times the strength needed to restrain a 60-lb child in a severe crash. Based on these data, CR experts advise that up to three full twists in belt webbing will not reduce its strength enough to risk failure when restraining a child in a CR.

http://carseat.org/Technical/tech_update.htm#twistedvehbelt
 

jourdysmom

CPST Instructor
I was always under the understanding that you can only have 3 twists TOTAL....whether on the female buckle stalk or the female end of the from ceiling attachment. 3 total. You have 6 twists. That is not acceptable in my CPST opinion.

Using Car-Seat.Org app, please excuse the crazy auto corrects :)
 

romanoma

New member
I posted that question on this board about a year ago and was told it is acceptable, as long as each piece of webbing wasn't twisted more than 3 times. It is about webbing strength I thought. I'll try to search for my old thread...


ETA: Ok, so it was 3 yrs ago. and I guess it wasn't answered as decidedly as I had recalled. I see that you were part of the discussion and were of the same opinion back then Misty, but there were other tech's who thought it was OK and some who admitted they did not know how to answer the question. It appears to not be answered in that manual, b/c that is about how many times you can twist a single piece of webbing and how that webbing responds to being twisted. here's the old thread, I think I will start a new thread since I can't reply to the old one and I do need an answer to this question now.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=103392

I'll remove my post here since this is not a decidedly "ok" technique
 
Last edited:

meesh933

New member
2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer (no third row seat)

Driver side/center/passenger side I have done:

RF Radian XTSl/FF Radian XTSL/RF Radian XTSL (CPST checked, all three tethered appropriately)

RF Radian/FF Radian/RF EFTA (not tech checked)
 

babymango

New member
Hyundai Sonata 2012
Canadian car seats
Graco Snugride 30 behind driver's seat, with latch
Diono 100 in middle, FF, with 3 point seatbelt
Air protect RF behind passenger, with latch (we also tried RF, it worked)
 

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