Right setup for a GMC Envoy with 3 carseats?

B

blaue_augen

Guest
We have a 2005 GMC Envoy XL (it has the third row of seats.) The Envoy is the same as the Chevy trailblazer, I believe. There are three rows of seats (two in the front, a bench for three in the middle, and smaller bench with two seatbelts in the third row.) Finally, we have two children with a third due in October.

Right now the two children are in the middle row, but after the baby comes, this is what we are planning to do. Put my 5 year old daughter (who is in a booster) in the third row with my 2 1/2 year old son (who is in a Britax RoundAbout). The new baby will go in the middle row behind the driver's side (in an infant carrier for the first few months and then probably a new Britax Roundabout after that). We can easily fold back the empty side of the middle row to get the kids in the third row buckled in.

The third row of seats does NOT have the latch brackets or a place for the top tether. I talked with people from the car dealership and they showed me a bar bolted to the seat bottom where I could attach the tether. I have to cut a small hole in the carpeting to get to it, but I don't mind that.

Does this setup sound safe? Is there another way to do it that would be better? I can't think of any other way to get all three carseats into the car in a way that would be convenient for getting in and out. If I put the two younger children in the middle row, I wouldn't be able to reach back and help my 5 year old buckle in. Is there something inherently unsafe in this setup?

I do plan on taking all the seats in for a check when it's closer to the baby's due date to ensure that all the seats are installed properly.

Thanks for your help!
Juliana
 
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U

Unregistered

Guest
I would check my owner's manual to make sure that i could drive the car with the seat folded down carrrying passengers (not cargo). Then I would probably do what you are already doing...it is a hard call. It would be rough to uninstall a seat to get to the third row child..
 

j4m4d8

New member
If the dealer said it was ok, I'd be comfortable using it rather than nothing, but I would want the seat to be tightly installed without it.
By the way, I currently am using an 03 Trailblazer EXT for a loaner while they are repairing the hail damage on my van. I don't know how similar they are to the 05 Envoy, but I didn't see anything under the third seats that you could actually attach an anchor to. There is a nice bar bolted down securely to the rear of the seat, but I'm not sure how you would attach anything to it. Would they install an anchor for you? The bar in the front looks secure and you probably could attach a tether, but it is not in the right spot. Maybe yours is different or there is something further down under the 2nd carpeting? Please let us know.
I have to wonder about GM sometimes: the Trailblazer clearly specifies that the 2nd row middle seat can't be used for child car seats, then puts a rear anchor in that location, but not in the two 3rd row seats that you can use a child car seat with. So frustrating!
By the way if you're planning on trading in this vehicle in the next couple of years, you will want to be discreet when cutting the carpeting.
Congratulations on your new little one!
Julie
 

j4m4d8

New member
Oh, how big is your 2 1/2 year old? If he's under 33 pounds and his head isn't above the top of the shell, I would put him rear-facing in his Roundabout. It's safer and you wouldn't have to worry about the tether anchor, you could just tether it to the 2nd row seat. At least it would put off your dilemma for a bit.
Julie
 

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Actually, that doesn't sound safe :(. Tethering to a spot that isn't a tether anchor means that we don't know what's going to happen to it in a crash. Frontal crashes, which are the most common types of crashes, exert extreme forces that are just hard to imagine. Here's the mathematical formula we use: force = weight x speed

So, the force exerted on a tether anchor in a 30 mph crash with a child (and car seat) who weighs 43 lbs. (35 lbs. for child, 8 lbs. for car seat) is 1290 lbs. (43 x 30 = 1290). That's a lot of force for a metal bar to handle. Plus, dealers do NOT have child passenger safety expertise--oh, the things I've heard that they have told parents!

If you absolutely must use the configuration you mentioned, I would contact a body shop that customizes vans for the disabled. They will be able to find structurally sound parts of your vehicle to which appropriate tether anchors can be attached.

A better solution would be to have all 3 kids in the 2nd row (assuming that your vehicle manual allows child restraints in the center seating position). Finding a nice, narrow booster, like the Britax Parkway or the Evenflo Big Kid, will allow you to buckle your 5 yr old in and keep the other kids in the 2nd row. The Britax Roundabout is a nice narrow seat that sits up high, so you can buckle underneath it easily. A narrow infant seat is the Graco SnugRide. The Baby Trend Latch-Loc is also narrow, but difficult to find right now.

Try out these seats in different configurations in the 2nd row and you may find that you can get all 3 kids in there. I know several people who can do 3 across in Honda Civics, so I bet you can too.

Good luck!
 

j4m4d8

New member
Contacting a body shop that does anchors for the disabled sounds like a good idea.

Another thought is to put the rear-facing infant carrier base in the third row. I think passenger side would be easiest. If the second row seat is completely forward you could briefly set the carrier on the floor or in the center of the second row while your 5 year old gets in (driver's side) and you help her buckle. Then you could snap the infant carrier in place and put the second row seat back in its regular position. Your daughter could report on how the baby is doing.

Your Roundabout should still give good protection without the tether if you decide to forward-face your son in the third row and can't get an anchor installed. I would personally deal with the inconvenience of having a rear-facing seat in the third row instead, but I am a bit paranoid.

Also, I would consider teaching your daughter how to buckle herself in. Most 5 year olds love to climb over the seat, and if she could buckle herself in you could just do a visual check. If you like to pull the seat belt all the way out to switch it to automatic locking, you could still reach around the 2nd row to do that. (Well, probably not until after the baby is born!)

Double check your owner's manual to be sure, but I don't think you can install a seat in the middle of the second row. The width from where the seat belt comes out to the buckle is 10 inches, max, in the TrailBlazer. It's just not wide enough to get a stable installation.

Hope something works out that you can be happy with. And just think how much safer our kids are than we were!
Julie
 
K

Kiki

Guest
Similar dilemma

I have a similar dilemma, with a twist. I have a 16 year-old, who can sit anywhere, of course. But the combination of my "just now" 2 year-old, the baby due in a couple of months, and my 90 year-old father-in-law is what is stumping me. Our 2005 GMC Envoy has the 3rd seat with the 2nd seat fold-down entry. The only solution I can find is to install our Britax Marathon for our 2 year-old in the 3rd row and the baby carrier behind the driver. When the whole gang is together, this will not be much of a chore, but when I think of just me and the wee ones, I get concerned. Anyone else with this experience or suggestions?
 

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