Top tethering a FF'ing Marathon in a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab...

K's Mama

New member
Yikes - I thought a FF'ing instalation in DH's truck was going to be simple. However, according to the trucks manual the top tether anchor is threaded through a loop of fabric behind the seat and then attached to the next nearest tether point (so for an outboard passenget seat it would be the centre tether anchor). However, the Marathon tether strap comes out from either side of the back of the seat so it is off centre when you loop it through and then attach. We can not get it tight enough, nor would it work to just attach it to the anchor right behind the seat. Any tips on getting it tighter or is this seat just not going to work FF'ing in DH's truck?
 
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unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
It *is* tough, isn't it? :( We had our Marathon in a rental Dakota, and I managed to make it work, so I wouldn't say it's incompatible. What I remember about it (it was a while ago) was that you need to slide the hook along the tether so that the slack is on the side the adjuster's on. I don't think it's possible to get it as tight as you're probably used to either, but it should still be acceptable.

I don't think that's very helpful, but it's the best advice I can offer. :eek:
 

K's Mama

New member
Thanks. DH tried installing it passenger side - but that doesn't work at all - just can't pull the tether strap tight enough. We'll try it on the drivers side, but not sure if that'll work any better (it'll put the adjuster mechanism farther from the tether point so maybe that'll help get all of the slack out.

So frustrating! I thought a FF'ing install would be EASIER!
 

canadiangie

New member
Hi,

I used to live in Northern Alberta, so I'm used to fighting car seats into all sorts of trucks. :rolleyes:

Try this...

It'll take both of you to do this.

Shorten the tether strap to where you think it needs to be. It might take you a few tries to get it just right, so don't aim for perfection the first time.

When you think you have it about right, have your Dh hold the MA up in the air while you feed the tether strap through the fabric loop and over the middle anchor. Once it's clipped on, have Dh lower the MA onto the vehicle seat. Fiddle with the tether strap webbing until it's sorted out -- it might be sort of messy/tangled a bit at this point.

Once Dh has lowered the MA onto the vehicle seat, check to see how taught (as in, tight) the tether strap is. You want it to be fairly taught before you continue installation, but not so tight that the MA is hanging in the air.

Once you've determined that the tether strap is the correct taughtness/tightness, carry on with installation via seatbelt or LATCH.


(Old school techs will be reminded of this technique as it dates back to when tether straps were a beast to adjust [H-clips], and it really was trial and error to get it just right)


Anyway, try this method and see if it helps. I know the V-shaped tether is a lot to deal with in trucks. Lots of webbing, big adjuster mechanism, small space, so close to the glass, and just sort of an odd undertaking to begin with.


HTH's
 
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