Unofficial Rambling thoughts about the Frontier.

Morganthe

New member
So the Frontier was patiently waiting for me to arrive home. I ordered it at the end of August... back ordered probably for summer holidays. Arrived about 28 Sept & a neighbor signed for it. DOM is 2 Sept 08.

Pulled it out of the box last Sunday. DD ooed and ahhed over it. Then it sat until my malaise was over and I caught up with duties.

Am I the only one irritated to hell that the instruction book is actually permanently attached to the inside of the back of the seat?? I was doing all sorts of acrobatics trying to read where to detach it and installation instructions. I lost patience and cut it out yesterday.

I'm not thrilled with the pink mesh fabric. But dd doesn't seem to care about it.

Since I bought it for a future vehicle of dh or when the Camry is replaced and the regent won't work, it is a little worrisome to read that a top tether is required after 65lbs for harnessing. Highly likely we'll have a euro specs car where they're not the norm. I started panicking, then DUH! hit me. We'd just use it in booster mode by then. That's 20lbs from now. She gains about 3lbs a year. :rolleyes:

So I decided to to try it out in my car. Believe it or not, a Frontier WILL fit LBP outboard next to a Regent in a 99 Camry! :jaw: No problems with closing the door. It's very dark, so no picts.:eek: But it was fairly easy to install. I'm absolutely amazed. Secret was to completely thread & hook the seatbelt before cinching it down. No twisting the female connection, unlike the Regent. Hook, then sit on it and reduce the slack of the lap belt from outboard. It was a solid shake the car hook up in minutes.

I just don't know How I'd ever reach in there to release it. So it's going to stay for a while. :p I can even maneuver my hand behind the seat to lift the harness level.

The one thing I WILL do tomorrow is adhere those handy dandy soft velcro dots onto the lap part to not have to dig for the buckle shafts that slide into the corners. Those are really difficult to dig out. DD has completely forgotten they're on her Regent. She was amazed they were there tonight when she was trying to figure out what I was going to do.

I don't care what they say though, I"m not hauling that wide seat on an aircraft. Neither dh, nor I could sit next to it. And it's way too expensive to check. Radian it is when we move. :p My little Mule. :love:

Anyway, it will work for us. I paid about $170ish, so a SIP Booster & Seat good until 2017 is worth that money. :D
I still can't believe I have 1 booster, 1 Booster/HWH combo, & 2 HWH seats for ONE child! :eek:

Well, the Radian has been well used since its purchase 2 years ago. And the Regent created absolute love on an extreme distance drive of almost 5,000 miles in less than a month. The Parkway made itself indispensible when I was having kids in the car and car troubles. ... And t he Frontier is for DH's next car when dd's near to outgrowing the Radian. Yeah, that's it. Rationales, not excuses, right? ;)
 
ADS

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
I am with you on the mesh. I hate it! I was hoping they would come out with a good alternative!
 

arly1983

New member
I am with you on the mesh. I hate it! I was hoping they would come out with a good alternative!

:yeahthat:

I keep holding on to this $20 gift card to BabyUniverse hoping to use it on top of the Britax sale in November but so far no good alterative. I might just get it anyway.
 

azgirl71

CPST Instructor
I finally decided to try and install mine in my Dodge Ram. I must say I could not get an acceptable install with the seatbelt even when I twisted the buckle stalk. It probably would have been ok if I did not have to flip that foot forward since I am using the harness. I definately am disappointed. I tried LBP too and could not get it. I can however do a LBP with the Regent using the recline bar :scratcheshead:.

It is currently installed with LATCH. It is rock solid. I will try to play some more, but I am definately not a fan.
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
I finally decided to try and install mine in my Dodge Ram. I must say I could not get an acceptable install with the seatbelt even when I twisted the buckle stalk. It is currently installed with LATCH. It is rock solid. I will try to play some more, but I am definately not a fan.

Wow, weird. I got it in solid. Maybe they changed the seat. Mine is a 98.
 

azgirl71

CPST Instructor
Wow, weird. I got it in solid. Maybe they changed the seat. Mine is a 98.

I know. Mine is a 2006. If I did not have Tucker running all over the truck when i was trying to install it I may have been able to get it. If the beltpath was in the normal spot instead of behind the shell I am sure I would have no problems. It is a PIA I must say.
 

Morganthe

New member
Wow, $170!

Where can I get one for that price?

:sorry!: Not anymore. They're back up to regular price of $269. It's the reason why I bit the bullet and got one at the time. Too good to pass up.

I just checked, it was actually $182. $12 more than I remembered. They were on sale at AAFES.com for 219.00, plus I had a 15% off coupon code for the catalogue.
There was a thread discussing the sale in the shopping section in August which is where I got my info.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I hear you on the tether concern/not concern... our kids are both sort of similar weights and my 9 year old is 6 months too tall for the FR harness, and weighs 63 pounds :D (she's heavier than my boy who's only 68 pounds at 11, and 'almost' fitting in cars with no seat at all, but still has loads of growing room in the FR as a booster if I wanted to put him in it...)

:)
 

Morganthe

New member
I hear you on the tether concern/not concern... our kids are both sort of similar weights and my 9 year old is 6 months too tall for the FR harness, and weighs 63 pounds :D (she's heavier than my boy who's only 68 pounds at 11, and 'almost' fitting in cars with no seat at all, but still has loads of growing room in the FR as a booster if I wanted to put him in it...)

:)

Thanks for that info, it does help to relieve concern about my conclusion.:love:

DD rode in it to school today. Definitely sits higher than the Regent. She was comfortable in it. I don't "Love" it, but it will work nicely for future needs.
I took picts, then pulled it out. It was easier than I thought it would be to reach the buckle. Just stuck my hand under the two seats and it was reachable.
It's removed because it's way too much seat for now. The Parkway booster takes up so much less air space.

Right now, she has about a 1/2" of harness space when it was installed. After I took it out, I pulled it to the highest setting to see how much longer she had..... Only one more click -- about another inch. So, at the most, she has 2 inches of torso left before I HAVE to switch to booster mode. Unless she drastically changes her body type, there's no earthly way she's going to reach 65 lbs BEFORE she outgrows that harness. So it's a non-issue on the top tether requirement for sure. Whew!

Oh on the whole twisty harness situation. I really reccomend putting in those adhesive Velcro dots. That buckle shaft is so wide vs the strap thickness, I ended up having to place one on each side of the harness strap to keep it from sliding over on its own. The Regent only uses one.
As soon as the buckles were kept from sliding around, no twisting. :thumbsup:

I'll post photos when I get some extra time. :)
 

Morganthe

New member
Sorry to take a long while -- It's Photo Time! :D

DH would sit with the passenger seat even more reclined so his head would fit under the roof. DD probably would not be able to wedge her feet comfortably into that outboard position. The Regent sits further back and she has more overall space that's not shaping her to sit a particular way.

ry%3D400
ry%3D400

ry%3D400

Car Door shut easily... no interference, but you can't see any space between the two.
ry%3D400


Without a Recline bar, the Regent has the lesser profile in base height and jutting from the seat.
ry%3D400


My solution to the twisty straps & digging for the buckles.. velcro dot. It took two dots-- one on each side of a single strap for the frontier. The buckle can still slide over the dots if I push it firmly. It's a very thin belt + has a deep slot on the buckle.
ry%3D400

In comparison, it only takes one dot on each strap for the Regent.
ry%3D400
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
hey, for the price you got on it and how long it's good for... I think it's rationale.

She'll need a seat for after the Radian... and who is to say you could get that price again and still get pink??

heck, I say that's the price the thing should retail for, if you ask me.
 

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