Question Are low shoulder belts an issue with boosters?

orangemnms · Jan 14, 2009

Let me try to ask this so that someone can actually answer me, LOL. We have a Dodge Ram, in which the backseat looks like this. We are getting ready to move DS to a booster full time in this car (which is really a very occasional use car for us.) He HAS to sit in the middle for a number of reasons, first, he would be the least protected, and second, we have 2 Nautis outboard which would overhang that middle seat.

Onto my question. If not now, very soon, while in a booster, that shoulder belt is going to be coming from below where his shoulder is. Do we worry about spinal compression in the same way we would if he was in a harness?

Anything else I am missing?
Currently we have DD1 (Nauti)/DD2 (Wiz)/DS (Nauti) but the Wiz is nearing expiration, and DS is almost 8.

So he should do fine in a booster.

bobandjess99 · Jan 14, 2009

Yes, it would concern me, what booster are you putting him in? Is it a highback with shoulder guide? Because my concern is that by threading the belt up and over his shoulders, what will happen is taht essentially, you will be leaving a lot of slack in the belt, because in a collision, if the belt guide breaks, all that belt that goes up and then nack down will be extra, lose belt...am I making sense describing that? and if it is backless his head will have no protection because there is no headrest.
Could you get the frontier or marathon in that middle seat??? then I woudl have 1 nauti outboard, the frontier or ma in the niddle, and the boostered child on the other side. Could that work?

orangemnms · Jan 14, 2009

I know the regent is a no go in all positions back there. The frontier was incompatible as a harnessed seat, which I guess leaves me in the same situation if I am going to use it as a booster. I could get the MA back there in the middle, and leave him in the nauti outboard for a few more months...

Shoot, hopefully by the time DD2 is booster age we have a different set up.

Or.... some awesome new seats hit the market...

Defrost · Jan 15, 2009

I know this has been posted as a question before, because I remember taking pics to show as an example, but I don't remember what the consensus was.

I seem to recall that the answer was "no," because the booster manual specifically doesn't allow it. I don't remember if it was just THAT booster (whichever one the original person was asking about) or all boosters in general.

NSmom · Jan 15, 2009

orangemnms said:
The frontier was incompatible as a harnessed seat, which I guess leaves me in the same situation if I am going to use it as a booster.

Just wondering why the frontier was incompatible, I have one in our '04 Ram Quad Cab, outboard with latch.

sirrahn · Jan 15, 2009

Have you tried your DS in that spot without a booster? Not that I'm necessarily advocating this, but my dad has a Ram Quad cab and I found that my oldest DS passed the 5 step test in that middle spot a long time before he did anywhere else. The seat bottom is shorter there and the hump in the middle of the floor gave him a place to put his feet and stay in position.The lack of headrest is an issue of course, but without a booster he was still ok for a while. Putting him in a backless made him too tall, but with a highback, you have the problem you've noticed with the shoulderbelt...it's just not an ideal set up at all.

I let him ride like that once for a short trip though...not sure it would be ideal full time if he even fits correctly. Since then, I've always made sure to put a harnessed seat in that middle spot and booster riders outboard. I know it kind of goes against the usual rule, but I really never felt like a booster worked well there.

HTH!

orangemnms · Jan 15, 2009

NSmom said:
Just wondering why the frontier was incompatible, I have one in our '04 Ram Quad Cab, outboard with latch.

I've never actually tried it, but one of the techs here did and found it didn't work. LATCH limits in the Dodge are 48 lbs, and DS is at 51.5 these days.

Defrost said:
I know this has been posted as a question before, because I remember taking pics to show as an example, but I don't remember what the consensus was.

I seem to recall that the answer was "no," because the booster manual specifically doesn't allow it. I don't remember if it was just THAT booster (whichever one the original person was asking about) or all boosters in general.

Thanks for noting that it's been asked, I couldn't search for it. I will wade back through old posts even further. :thumbsup:

sirrahn said:
Have you tried your DS in that spot without a booster? Not that I'm necessarily advocating this, but my dad has a Ram Quad cab and I found that my oldest DS passed the 5 step test in that middle spot a long time before he did anywhere else. The seat bottom is shorter there and the hump in the middle of the floor gave him a place to put his feet and stay in position.The lack of headrest is an issue of course, but without a booster he was still ok for a while. Putting him in a backless made him too tall, but with a highback, you have the problem you've noticed with the shoulderbelt...it's just not an ideal set up at all.

I let him ride like that once for a short trip though...not sure it would be ideal full time if he even fits correctly. Since then, I've always made sure to put a harnessed seat in that middle spot and booster riders outboard. I know it kind of goes against the usual rule, but I really never felt like a booster worked well there.

HTH!

I will try, but I'm SUPER not comfortable with that, because this truck is really only used for long distance trips where we pull our travel trailer. Although, I guess if he passes, he passes, but gosh, he is still harnessed everywhere else, LOL! The thought of nothing freaks me out!

Has anyone gotten an acceptable install with a RN in that middle spot? If so, I can put DD2 in that and leave DS outboard in a booster. I could use the MA there, but that is her main seat in the Ody and she loves it too much to use as an occasional only seat.

Defrost · Jan 15, 2009

LOL, I tried to find the original thread for you, and here's a lovely example of how poorly my brain works:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=36634

So, I guess at the time I wrote THAT post, I still remembered the original, even if I've forgotten it now!

Question Are low shoulder belts an issue with boosters?

orangemnms

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bobandjess99

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Defrost

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NSmom

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