Best spot for baby in Bronco?

What's the best location for a car seat in a '96 Ford Bronco? There is no passenger side airbag in the front. The back seems like the best spot but if the vehicle were to roll, the back seat would be much more likely to be crushed due to the fiberglass top. It's more stable than a SUV, but less so than a car. Should I go front seat rear facing here? Thanks!

The center is generally the safest place, but read your vehicle manual to know that position is allowable for carseat installation ... also the Carseat Database might be of help & remember to get your install checked for FREE by a certified child passenger safety technician

Boy you're fast!

I'm mostly concerned that if I'm in an accident and the truck rolls, the rear passengers will be flattened. I'm not sure that will happen of course. I just think it might. I've been trying to learn what happens to rear passengers in rollover Broncos but there isn't much information. (The 4x4 community has been helpful, but they tend to roll their Broncos at low speeds...)

All seats in the vehicle are OK for car seats according to the manual (except presumably the driver's seat). And the seat will fit anywhere--it's a pretty spacious back seat. In addition to my paranoia about rolling, I noticed that if I put the new car seat (Britax Wizard) in the center, the rear view mirror is pretty useless. If I can't work around that (bigger bubble mirrors on the sides maybe?) I'll have to use an outboard position anyway.

Ah well. Decisions decisions. Just wondering if there were any established guidelines about fiberglass roofs on vehicles that may roll. I'm just not sure.

How many passengers do you usually have? The 5-point seat with EPS foam would be better outboard than a "loose" passenger, meaning adolescents & adults without the extra safety of such a harness & head protection ... but, if you have lap only belts anywhere you might want to get the EZOn 86-Y harness(es) - a dealership or local tech should help install the tether anchor(s) & EZOn customer service were very helpful telling me whether or not the anchor could be installed in my dad's Ford F250 [our 86-Y cost a total of $45 including shipping & tether anchor].

There are shoulder belts for all but the middle rear seat, which just has the lap belt (one more reason that the car seat should go there!). The usual passengers are just the baby and husband. I'm thinking of putting the baby in the back where she belongs and getting a roll bar installed so I don't feel paranoid. It's a very sturdy vehicle aside from the roof.

Thanks so much for the help!

I think that sounds like a great idea ... & I think you sound like a great mom, too

My dh drives an '88 K-5 Blazer and I had the same worries about the fiberglass roof. First, a roll bar is a GREAT idea. It's the only way I will feel totally safe with the kids in the back of his Blazer. Second, at least in the Blazers, and I'm assuming in the Bronco's too, just ahead of where the roof comes off, there is more or less a built in roll bar, so the roof won't completly just crush. It adds extra re-enforcment to make up for the fiberglass roof.
I still worry about the roof being ripped off (saw it happen to my friend's 70's Land Cruiser when he was goofing off and flipped it at about 60MPH) and stuff hitting passengers in the back, but as far as anyone getting smushed, they should be ok. Esp for a kid in a 5pt harness. I would worry more about adults in the back, or even the front, being ejected, than I would about a kid in a Wizard. Also, I would assume the middle would still be the safest spot since it would be the farthest away from anything that could hit her.

Thanks...I think this will work. Now I just have to make the baby and car seat transparent!

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't use my rear view mirror for stuff like backing, where you have to actually see everything, I just glance in it every so often while I'm driving, and even though the carseats are in the way, I still get the general idea of what's behind me. I think I use my side mirrors more than anything. But it could be b/c in my old truck (when I first learned to drive) the rear view mirrior kept falling down b/c the ball joint part was worn out, so I just got used to driving with out one.

I hope you feel a little better about having your baby in your Bronco. We didn't have the money for a new car, so we drove 2 cars that were ok, but not ideal for kids ('88 Blazer and '88 Jeep Cherokee). We finally were able to afford a new(er) Durango and haven't had to have the kids in the Blazer since. I refuse to drive a mini van (nuthin against all you that have them. I think they are great for families, I just can't do it LOL), but it is so nice to have a kid friendly car. Trying to get both kids in their carseats in the Blazer was getting misserable b/c there wasn't enough room for me to sit in the backseat while I buckled them in, and I would have to bend Cody over the top of his seat to get him in it since he is RF'ing. Add that to me just not feeling great about the fiberglass roof made me very happy to find a new car. Although I did feel better about drivng a big "truck" if we were to get into an accident. I am so freaked out about hitting a moose in my Durango now...LOL

I'm sure side mirrors will do it--if not, there are a million pickups with shells that are verrrrrrrrry dangerous! I understand about the minivan. I do.