Would you get another seat and which one? - long sorry

melniemi

New member
I am thinking I should get another spare seat. We recently sold our truck and now only have our van. My dh has a work truck w/backseat (08 Chevy) that he can drive, but I can't drive it. We have seats in the van for all the kids and used to have 3 seats in the truck.

If I was going somewhere w/o the kids, I'd take the truck so dh would have the van and seats in case of emergency. Now I can only drive our van, so I'm thinking I should have spares for everyone just in case there is an emergency and dh needs to put seats in his work truck. This may never happen, but I'd hate for him to have to put someone in no seat.

I currently have 1 parkway, 1 turbo booster w/back, 1 cargo (expires 12/09) for spares.

Kids are 8, 48", 52#
7, 47", 48#
4, 41", 37-38#
20 mon, 31", 21#

Would you want baby to rf more than 4 yo harnessed? I could put 4 yo in parkway, 7 yo in turbo, baby in cargo and get a backless turbo for 8 yo. This is my cheapest option.

Or I could get an avenue or true fit for baby to rf. I don't want a scenera.

Or I could use the Cargo and turbo for the 7 & 8, parkway for 4 yo, and get something for baby.

I don't want to spend a ton of money for something that may never happen, but I want there to be an option in case of emergency.

Sorry this got so long.

4 yo has never ridden in a booster, but if the seatbelt was locked, I think she would do fine in a short trip. She is very safety conscious.
 
Last edited:
ADS

Wineaux

New member
You're asking a board full of car seat obsessed parents whether it's OK to go out and buy another seat as a spare?

Congratulations! Your desire to go car seat shopping has now been officially validated!
:duck:
 
Personally, I think that keeping the baby RF'ing is more important than keeping the 4 year old harnessed. Your four year old is over 40 lbs, and the Parkway is a booster that fits small riders well, so as long as you think she'd sit well, I think she'd be just fine in the PW for emergencies.

How is your DH at installing seats? Mine always leaves that to me. Ease of install might be another important factor to consider.
 

Jewels

Senior Community Member
In the case that this may never happen or only in a emergency I think I would rather the 4yr old harnessed then keeping the baby RF. Every step forward you loose a bit of "safety". So if RF is the safest then going from RF to FF you lose a bit as well from 5pt to booster and from booster to seatbelt. So even though your 4yr old could be in a booster so could your almost 2yr old. I would do this and chose the cheapest option because in all reality these seats may never be used.
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
It depends.

Who are you going to put in the front seat?
Do the seatbelts lock at the retractor or the latchplate?
Does the middle of the rear seat have a l/s belt and headrest?

I'd probably get an avenue because it opens up more options than just a backless Turbo.
 

cookie123

New member
I think that for a situation that is likely to rarely or never happen, I'd go with boosters for the 3 older kids and just use the cargo for the baby. But since the cargo is getting close to expired, maybe use that for the second youngest until then and get a new one for the baby.

The baby could ff in an emergency, and you could get an inexpensive harnessed booster like the cargo, the bolero or the chase for such an occasion. These would last longer than any of the 40# convertible seats.

If you want an option to rear face, the avenue would last the longest of the 40# convertible seats. Do you have to do 3 across for this? Is one of the kids riding in the front?

EtA: Never mind about keeping the 4 yo in the cargo harnessed, I see the weight limit has been met. That's why you want to use it for one of the older kids probably.
 

melniemi

New member
My 4 yo is 37-38#s so she can still be harnessed in the Cargo. The truck is an 08 so there are l/s in all 3 locations. I'm thinking he'd probably put the oldest in the booster in the front w/air bag turned off.

Dh can install seats well, but usually leaves it up to me. But he can do it right.

There will be 3 across, but since it is a full size pick-up, I'm not worried about them fitting, but I will try them of course!

I'm trying to get a TF from swap and I think it's working:p I'll find out later today. That would give me the option to rf baby until dd1 hits 40#s and then baby can ff in Cargo and dd1 can use the TF. Hopefully baby will be 2 before that happens.

If the TF fits dd1 really well and I like it ffing better than her ma, I will use the TF in my van and the ma as a back up.

When the Cargo expires, dd1 can use a booster (parkway unless it is used full time in my van by then) since she'll be 5 1/2, baby can use the TF, and the boys can be in boosters of some sort, the hb turbo if they still fit otherwise backless. I can get a backless for my oldest since he'll be 9 1/2 then.

These are my thoughts. It helps to read your opinions. Thanks:p
 
With the 4 y.o. being under 40 lbs, I would tend to agree that it's best to keep her harnessed. The TF does seem like it's an ideal answer for you. I hope the swap works out. :D
 

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