installed nautilus with latch and it's perfect, but what do I do after 48lbs?

Ds2 is about 40lbs so I have a while before it's a real worry, but what would you do? I've tried the seatbelt install with the nautilus reclined and upright, and if I pull the adjuster strap up hard enough to tighten it the seat turns sideways, though it doesn't happen if I pull the strap down. I'm going to assume that I still should be able to turn the seat around like that at all. I didn't have a lot of time and I will try it again later, but are there any tricks to the nautilus that might work?

Are you pulling from the top shoulder part, or down at the latch plate?

Judi, I thought she was referring to the harness adjuster; that when she pulls on it when the seat is installed with the seat belt, the seat comes loose. ?

OP, what vehicle, and what kind of seat belt (lap/shoulder or lap-only, how does it lock)? The GN is usually pretty easy even with the seat belt, but you might have a vehicle that's going to be tricky even with an easy carseat.

2005 Ford Expedition, leather seat captians chairs, retractable locking lap shoulder belt. When dh tightens this seat he feels it gets tighter if he pulls the adjuster strap up instead of down. The side of the nautilus that is by the buckle will pull around toward the front of the truck, leaving the nautilus sitting pretty much sideways. When it's installed and you move it by the belt path it really doesn't move, which is why I was puzzled. I've managed to get a good install in the same seat with a marathon ff'ing (for a friends 4 year old, wouldn't want anyone thinking dd's marathon was ever ff'ing!), a marathon rf'ing, and a regent, all with the seatbelt. I don't know if it's the way the buckle comes out of the seat or what. Any thoughts would be appreciated, and I can take pics later if needed!

Have you tried twisting the buckle stalk 1-3 times to see if that shortens it enough to keep it from pulling the seat over?

There isn't any way to twist the buckles. They funny thing is it seemed tight when I installed it, I checked at the belt path. I was tightening it by pulling the adjuster strap down, and we never would haven't known there was a problem if dh hadn't tightened it. Here's a pic of the buckle, please ignore the crumbs, I didn't get time to vacuum today.

well, I would tell your dh not to pull it that way.

I have a nautilus and I do not ever NEED to pull it up, but also, if you feel the way the inside of that little hole is shaped, along with the lever, I don't think it's intended for you to pull up. I pull straight out, or down... that's it.

So since it only happens when he's pulling up (and he must be using a TON of force), and it's passing all the checks for installation (you can also try checking it like they do in england... grab the harness straps and yank on the seat out... Mine passes that one, too), I think it's your dh.

Amaris said:

There isn't any way to twist the buckles. They funny thing is it seemed tight when I installed it, I checked at the belt path. I was tightening it by pulling the adjuster strap down, and we never would haven't known there was a problem if dh hadn't tightened it. Here's a pic of the buckle, please ignore the crumbs, I didn't get time to vacuum today.

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It sounds like you've got two things going on here. First - your dh could be "messing up" your install by pulling up. The carseat is held in place partly by the fact that it's compressing the vehicle seat. If he's pulling up on the adjuster, he could be lifting the seat enough so that your install loses that compression. That's not a sign of a bad install, it's just a sign that the seat is being "shoved around" in a way it's not meant to be. Keep in mind - you're not bolting it to your car when you install it (much as we all wish that were possible!)

Second, your buckles appear to be "forward of the bight." (Meaning, they are in front of the seat-crack.) If you shove the carseat back while you're installing (into the back of the vehicle seat), your buckle will end up ahead of the belt path, so when you pull on the adjuster, it pulls the carseat, too - because of that gap.

So, what you do to fix that: When you install with the seat belt, set the carseat in the vehicle seat so that the beltpath and the buckle are lined up evenly. Then, while you're installing the carseat, push it straight down (not back). You'll wind up with a small gap between the carseat and the back of the vehicle seat, but only at the bottom - most of the back of the carseat will still be against the vehicle seat. Looks like this; see the little gap at the base of the seat between the carseat and the vehicle seat?

Thanks for that picture. I will try it like that the next time I move it! I thought maybe he was putting too much force on it, but he insists he gets the harness tighter by pulling up! Oh well, he's just going to have to learn.

Amaris said:

Thanks for that picture. I will try it like that the next time I move it! I thought maybe he was putting too much force on it, but he insists he gets the harness tighter by pulling up! Oh well, he's just going to have to learn.

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But tighter isn't necessarily better. There's no evidence that having the harness tighter than "tight enough" is of any benefit. Ask him this - does he lock his own seat belt and tighten it as much as possible?

You can also show him this thread I started about how to tell the difference between too loose, tight enough, and too tight.

Hmmm, I think we are tightening too much! I don't pull it up, but it always seems to be tighter than the just right picture. I'll definately show this to dh tonight so he can see that he doesn't have to pull it up as hard as he can to get it as tight as it will go. Thanks!

Amaris said:

Hmmm, I think we are tightening too much! I don't pull it up, but it always seems to be tighter than the just right picture. I'll definately show this to dh tonight so he can see that he doesn't have to pull it up as hard as he can to get it as tight as it will go. Thanks!

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Happens all the time! People if think that if tight is good, then tighter must be better. Glad to help!

also, the nautilus has such a smooth and easy adjuster, that it's one where it's easy to tighten it too much. My bil yanks it so quick and hard (he loves being able to do it in a single pull) that if he doesn't watch himself, he easily overtightens it. I have had to teach him that, when he's doing me a favor by helping me get the kids to the car when they are just excited to see him, to make sure to check that he can fit two fingers between the chest clip and her body... (his fingers are thin), because he's tightened it to the point that I couldn't loosen it because I couldn't get my fingers under. I had to completely unbuckle the crotch strap, and then still had to loosen it just so I could undo the chest clip.