Grrrrr ... not feeling the Boulevard love. HELP!

Adib

New member
It's not necessarily the Boulevard, it's the rear facing lock offs. I am following the manual, using the farthest lockoff from buckle. It WILL NOT clasp. It does but as soon as you lightly touch it, it flips open. I remember this problem with our Marathons and even the Companion. I have never gotten very far with that lockoff. Fortunately we had LATCH in the other vehicles and it didn't matter but now we no longer have a LATCH equipped vehicle.

UGH! I was trying to do it earlier when we picked up our new van, and the van's owner was saying the plastic pieces (the lockoffs!) were junk, we should just break them off. Um, no ... but I do want to get this seat in tight, like we had our other seats. I have never had a problem with the FF lockoffs, they make the "click" sound and are very secure.

Also, these seats are leather - should I put something down on the seat so it's not slippery? It doesn't seem like it'll be a problem but I wanted to ask.

Thanks!! I can take pics if necessary - if you want to see how I have it installed so far.

Sarah
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
What she said.

And no, don't put anything under the seat. If that sucker is in tight enough you're not going to have to worry about sliding. :) Just remind yourself that the dents WILL go away once the seats are out for a few days. They're just dents. :)

Wendy
 

Adib

New member
I looked at the site - I can't find a belt that mine looks like, I'm off to get the manual while Dh goes online ...

Also, why is it better to NOT use a lockoff with a locking seatbelt?
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
You want to use a few "fixes" as possible - the lockoffs are pre-crash positioners, so if your seatbelts lock you don't need them. And every vehicle since 1998 or so has had locking seatbelts. They either lock by pulling the webbing out all the way and letting it retract (called "switchable retractors"), or at the buckle by holding the belt webbing at a particular angle (called "locking latchplates".)
 

Adib

New member
Ok, we'll try to get a tight fit tomorrow. It seems like they would be looser and more movable w/o the lockoffs ... we always got a super tight fit with the lock offs using it forward facing (our old Marathons).

Also, I found out our van has tether anchors for 5 seats in our van! I was thinking we'd have to get them installed, but the manual says they are there. :)
 

kelly

New member
Adib said:
Ok, we'll try to get a tight fit tomorrow. It seems like they would be looser and more movable w/o the lockoffs ... we always got a super tight fit with the lock offs using it forward facing (our old Marathons).

The FF lockoffs are just a whole different animal. They work. ;) I love them, hate the RF ones.

I'd really just try to lock the seat belt and skip them. I get the belt locked as tight as I can, then open the buckle - let it click in 2-3 more times and rebuckle. Its hard, but I feel a lot better about it than using the lockoffs that pop open randomly.

If you do decide to use them, it does help to spread the belts out so that they aren't directly over one another. (ie, push the shoulder portion to the back of the lockoff and the lap portion to the front or vice versa).
 

Adib

New member
Ok, I have another Blvd question now. It says to remove the infant pillow once child can sit comfortably without it. However, the pic they show in the manual is of a kid bigger than my daughter but the pillow is still in. Is it just preference?

Also, if you had to choose, would you put the baby behind the driver seat or behind the passenger seat? I am leaning towards passenger, because then taller drivers won't have to bump into her seat and possibly push her back. That and I like to sit as far back from the airbag as I can, being that I am under 5 feet and I'm afraid of airbags!

Hmmm, I think those are all the questions I have for now ... I'm sure I'll have more tomorrow when the Regents arrive. Stay tuned. ;)
 

LEAW

New member
Yep, personal preference on the pillow. My friend actually left it in so long that the harness was difficult to fasten with her very chunky 8 mo old, and I had to tell her to take it out. Our Wizard came w/o the pillow, and I felt very comfortable with my dd in there at 3.5 months w/o it.

You can push your seat back into the Blvd as far as you want, it's allowed by Britax and is called bracing. We put the seat behind the passenger side and then move the passenger front seat as far back as we can for the leg room. The Wiz pushes down on the back of the front seat and the front seat pushes back on the carseat, making the install even more secure. That seat does NOT move.
 

Adib

New member
Ok, that's good to know. I think I still will put her in the passenger side, in case a really tall person has to put the seat back and drive. I'm less than 5', my Dh is 6' but we also have taller relatives than he is ...
 

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