how tight should a rf tether be?

kellidarling · Mar 13, 2008

Do you pull it as tight as you possibly can or can/should it have some 'give' to it? I installed our new RA tonight (center w/ LATCH) and have it tethered under the front passenger seat. I had it pulled super tight, but I was worried about the seat being too reclined. Plus, since the tether is off center from the seat when I had it extra tight it looked like one side of the RA was being pulled down farther than the other...it just made the whole thing look wonky.
The manual says to "remove all slack" and "verify there is tension", but I'm not sure how much tension is enough tension...and it's making me tense

.
Help please!

An Aurora · Mar 13, 2008

I do it just enough to remove the slack with the MA, a little tighter in the RA to adjust the recline. I can't have it very tight in my mom's Taurus, because tightening the tether too much makes the whole seat slip and loosen (leather seats, PITA for car seats).

joolsplus3 · Mar 13, 2008

Definitely don't tighten it so much that it reclines your seat too much. It really doesn't have to be very tight at all, nothing at all like the LATCH or seatbelts, which should be as tight as a twangy guitar string

kellidarling · Mar 13, 2008

thanks

crunchierthanthou · Mar 13, 2008

What vehicle do you drive? Did you confirm in the owner's manual that you can use LATCH in the center? Not all vehicle allow it.

Like the others said, it needs to be taut so all the slack is out, but not so tight that it affects the recline or pulls it to the side. Overtightening the tether is actually linked to broken recline mechanisms.

kellidarling · Mar 13, 2008

crunchierthanthou said:
What vehicle do you drive? Did you confirm in the owner's manual that you can use LATCH in the center? Not all vehicle allow it.

It's a 2003 Dodge Neon and the owners manual states that you can use either the center or both sides, just not all 3 at once.
I had her infant seat installed there also so I was comfortable with using the anchors, but I've never had to adjust a rear tether before.
Thanks!

crunchierthanthou · Mar 13, 2008

kellidarling said:
It's a 2003 Dodge Neon and the owners manual states that you can use either the center or both sides, just not all 3 at once.

perfect.

you also have to check your carseat owner's manual if the spacing between the center ones is not exactly 11". Britax allows non-standard spacing (between 11 and 20"), so you're all set.

how tight should a rf tether be?

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