pls help! re: uhaul and infant carseat

U

Unregistered

Guest
My husband and I are going to be moving across the country from California to Michigan when our baby is a couple of months old. We are researching how we are going to get ourselves, baby and all our things from one place to another, and realized that in a UHaul truck (our most cost effective option) there is no back seat for a baby to be strapped into. Does this mean that we can't use a UHaul truck at all if we have the baby with us? Forgive my ignorance, I'm only 5 mos and this is our first kid (and carseat!) so we're clueless. Also, my mom has a one row early 90's ranger, does this mean that the baby can't ride with her? Ever? It's so old I don't even know if it has airbags, does that matter? Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

~celia
 
ADS
Victorious4

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
1st ~ CONGRATS :D

2nd ~ You might want to ask Uhaul for a vehicle manual or someone within the company who knows if this is possible ... 9 years ago they wouldn't let my sister put a carseat in the truck when we moved from FL to CA -- my sister & I drove with the baby in a rental car while my BIL drove the truck :( Our trip involved me making a lot of signs to hold up when we needed to stop for gas, food or bathroom, LOL!

3rd ~ Rear Facing 5-point harness carseats are very safe. Although the ideal situation would be for baby to be in the back, if there is no back seat & grandma needs to babysit then baby will actually be safer up front than grandma will be :eek: Just make sure of the following:
  • carseat must be securely installed
  • recline angle must be 45 degrees for infants
    • infant bucket carrier type seats have indicators
    • convertible seats might need a noodle
  • harness must be used properly
    • slot must be even with or below the shoulders
    • straps must be tight so that only 1 finger fits between strap & collar bone
    • must not be able to pinch the harness strap up
    • chest clip must be even with the armpits
    • NO BULKY CLOATS
      • layer clothing, use hat & mittens, layer blankets on top of baby after buckling, use a thin yet warm fleece baby snow suit
        • these are found for about $20-30 at Old Navy, Lands' End, LL Bean, etc.
  • keep baby Rear Facing until s/he reaches the maximum limits of the carseat
Lastly ~ since about 4 out of 5 parents/caretakers use carseats improperly it would be a great idea to have a local Child Passenger Safety Technician check the install in your vehicle & in grandma's too -- you can cut down the risk of unsafe installation if grandma has her own seat so you don't have to uninstall it from your vehicle, install in hers, uninstill it from hers, then reinstall it in yours again....

P.S. I almost named my daughter Celia
 
Last edited:
Lea_Ontario

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
Congratulations first off.

Here (Ontario, Canada) rental truck agencies say in thier contracts that no child under 12 is allowed in the truck at all, and definately no car seats. We've moved 3 times since Boo was born, thankfully all locally, and I drive our car with the kid(s) and my husband drives the moving truck.
 
SafeDad

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Front seats are definitely a last resort for any kids 12 or under. If no rear seat option is available, putting a rear-facing carseat in the front seat of a vehicle with NO active airbags is an alternative.
 
D

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
Do you own a car? If so how are you planning on getting it to your new location?

If you currently have a car one of you could drive it and one could drive the truck or if not i would rent a vehicle from an national chain company (so you can return it in you new city) and drive the baby in that. Thats the safest option.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
thank you!

Thank you all for your prompt replies. We actually own 2 cars and were planning on having one shipped and the other towed behind the UHaul. With the baby only a few months old, I am not comfortable driving cross country solo in a car, as we would have to stop every couple hours if I was alone in the car with the baby to feed him. With someone else driving, I can feed the *as yet unnamed* child while we're still moving- helpful on a 2200 mile move. We will probably end up renting either a moving container or space on a truck since the UHaul is out. Thanks again!

~celia
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
oh, and... I'm not really worried about my mom, although we will find a place to have the installation checked for both of us, she is a pro at buckling things into her car... My mom is the one you see at the stop light with her dog safely and carefully buckled into the car seat with a dog harness adapter. I'm more worried about me ;)

~celia
 
Victorious4

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
You're lucky about Grandma :) Some of us here have wicked troubles with the extended family & carseat misuse :rolleyes: Anyway, best of luck with the move & visit again....
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Instead of shipping the car -can you ship the furniture and drive the car?
I moved from CA to WI when my daughter was 9 mos. and we did it that way. At that time, it was only slightly more expensive to hire movers and do it that way.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Unless you will be bottle feeding you will HAVE to stop anyway to feed the baby. You don't want to be in a moving car and the baby NOT safely strapped in. It's also good for you to get out and stretch!!
C.
 
S

SusanMae

Senior Community Member
Even if you bottle feed---you will need to stop before getting the baby out to burp. Make sure you get off the highway for that too.

Also it's good for everyone to get out so you don't get a DVT--deep vein thrombosis. When a clot forms in your legs from being still too long and then when you get out and the clot dislodges--and gets to your heart. Not a good thing.

Susan
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I moved cross country when my youngest child was 5 months old(DH in a Uhaul, myself and the 2 kids in the car). And yes, you will still want/need to pull over every few hours for feeding/diapering, breaks, etc. And I'd recommend buying a set of handheld walkie talkies, they have a 2 mile range(some have up to an 8 mile range) That way, if baby starts fussing, you'll be able to let him know it's time to pull over.

Don't rush it, really. It took us 3 1/2 days to drive 1500 miles. We weren't over-stressed by the long drive, and arrived safely(which is the important part)
 
D

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
SusanMae said:
Even if you bottle feed---you will need to stop before getting the baby out to burp. Make sure you get off the highway for that too.

Also it's good for everyone to get out so you don't get a DVT--deep vein thrombosis. When a clot forms in your legs from being still too long and then when you get out and the clot dislodges--and gets to your heart. Not a good thing.

Susan
Click to expand...

Too true! i traveled across country last summer in the passenger seat of a miata and had a small blood clot form in my leg. It hurt SO bad, and i had to go to the hospital and be treated (imagine finding a hospital in the middle of no where) it was awful and scary b/c i knew it could go to my heart.

Its not easy to feed the baby in a moving car. bottle or breast fed. My SIL tried this once. Yeah, just the one time. She was pumping and the milk ended up all over the baby and the seat not in him. She also tried leaning over his seat and breastfeeding but thats dangerous to her and if the car stopped suddenly she would be pitched onto the baby, so that quickly became a no-go. Stopping is the easiest thing to do. We travel alot with them and DN always needs to eat or have a diaper change right around when everyone else is starting to get ancy or needs to pee. The only time we ever had an issue was once, when we drove in 2 cars along DF's aunt who is just plain an unsafe driver. Before DN was born we'd try to keep up with her on our yearly trips even if she was doing over 90 mph but the little one doesnt do over 70 (speed limit) and she hates it. :) We hate her so it balances out.
 

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