Changing seats for more FF leg room?

pastrygirl

New member
Have you changed seats just to give your child more leg room when FF? My son is in a MA in the center, but I'll have to move him outboard when the baby arrives. His feet won't be able to dangle at all once I move him, because of the front passenger seats. He'll have to cross them, or maybe hang them off the sides of the seat. I'm thinking of getting him a new seat that doesn't have a base.

Have you switched seats for this reason, even though there is still growing room? I'm hoping to keep the baby in an infant seat at least through the winter, so he/she won't "need" the MA until next spring.

Translation: I really, REALLY want an excuse to buy one of the new seats that have come out in the past couple of years (GN, FR, TF, the new Radian). Help me out! :whistle:
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The True Fit offers a lot of forward facing leg support, and not sitting up on a base means that there may be a ton more room for his legs. Same with the Nautilus.

Definitely get a new seat. The Marathon won't sit too long waiting for a new occupant. ;-)

Wendy
 

AtTheSouthDam

New member
I have considered it. DD1 has very little leg room in the 3rd row if DD2 is not in the middle of the second with the bench pulled up.

I would consider it a great reason to get a new seat. Anything to discourage the pushing on the back of the driver/passenger seat, which he will do anyway but with a lower seat he have less leverage ;) He'll need a new one at some point anyway...
 

pastrygirl

New member
Plus, I'd feel more comfortable replacing my Scenera with the MA in my husband's truck. Now that spring is coming, my son will be going on trips to the dump and Lowe's/Home Depot again. :)
 

pastrygirl

New member
The True Fit offers a lot of forward facing leg support, and not sitting up on a base means that there may be a ton more room for his legs.
My MA only RF to 33 pounds, so I eventually hope to get a newer seat with a 35-pound limit for the baby. MA expires in 2012. If I get a TF for Toby later this year, would I come close to getting another 2 years or so in it FF? He's all torso, and is about 90% for height. I haven't measured him, though. Is it likely that he might be able to move to a HBB after it? Because if he'll end up needing a Frontier or Nautilus, I'd rather just get one of those now and get a new convertible when the MA expires.

I have too many plans running through my head, LOL!
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The TF has higher top slots than the Marathon. So look at where he is in the Marathon, then eyeball another half inch to three quarters inch above that for the TF's top slot. That'll give you an idea of how much torso growth he has. Then if he's consistent with his growth you can look out his curve to figure out how much overall growth that would equal (so if his torso is consistently 40% of his body height, then at what height overall would 40%=17.5"?). That'll give you an idea of length of time.

But of course you will want a 35 pound convertible. :) AND some time down the road a combination seat. The Nautilus is good for six years with the harness and high back and nine for the no back, so you'll get a lot of use out of it. The TF has a seven year lifespan. So when you look at $180 and $190 for those two seats over the course of their lives, that's not a lot of money. The Frontier is good for nine years and $280 over nine years isn't a lot either.

Wendy
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
I sold my Frontier and put Mikkel into the Radian full time in our '09 Escape for this reason... legs kicking the back of my seat does not amuse me. :D
 

pastrygirl

New member
The Frontier takes up more room than a RN (front/back)? I tried the RN in my car yesterday (thanks, pixels99!) and it ONLY worked FF outboard. No RF, and no FF center. I don't think it's worth it for me to get that particular seat, as much as I liked the trim size. :(
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
Here's the Frontier in our Escape...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5897112&l=08c7a86fa8&id=819055452

His foot is actually resting on the front seat and his leg isn't even stretched out. The Radian sits further back in the vehicle seat and, because it's not as deep, the legs can dangle down instead of straight out like you see in the Frontier.

The Frontier hung over the edge of the seat by about an inch and the Radian has about an inch of vehicle seat left over in front of it... quite a difference for me sitting in the driver's seat. ;)

I tried it rfing in my vehicle just to see how it would fit the other day and it went in super easy in the center at a very upright 30 degree angle... quite surprising for the seat that seems to go in a lot of vehicles at only a 45 degree angle. :D
 

pastrygirl

New member
I didn't even install the RN RF outboard, because it looked like it was going to need a very reclined angle. In the center, my buckle stalks were just too enormously long, and it couldn't fit with the front seats where they were. I absolutely loved the way it fit FF.
 

SGTex

New member
If you are only planning on using the seat FF outboard and the RN works, that may be your best bet! I know in my car, the Frontier overlaps the seat by a little less than 1" and the Nautilus is right on the edge of the car seat. I have a little girl in a Nautilus in my 3rd row outboard - behind a seat in my middle row (the middle seat is about positioned in the middle position - I have a RF RA in that seat so that's as far forward as I can go with it.) and she has very little room for her legs in the back. With the RN it's SO much better, but I have to have my RN installed in the center to fit with the 3rd seat I have next to it. I haven't tried having a kid ride in the Frontier in that position, but I'm guessing they wouldn't have much more leg room than the Nautilus if any.
 

pastrygirl

New member
I'm thinking about this more. I didn't try the RN RF in my husband's car because he was at work, but his car is much roomier than mine. If it did work there, then I wouldn't feel like it was a "wasted" convertible. We can continue to use the MA FF in his car outboard and get a RN for mine. Toby has plenty of foot/leg room in his car, outboard. Later we can pass the RN to the baby in his car and the MA in my car.

Has anyone tried a RN in an Audi Allroad, which is very similar to the A6 wagon?
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
*To me*, it's totally worth it to purchase a seat for just that stage knowing that I won't use it RFing. I love the way the Radian fits in our vehicle FFing (rfing too, since it can go at a 30 degree angle, but that's beside the point).

I just barely purchased the Frontier this past summer and ended up selling it for $80 less than what I bought it for... not the greatest deal (for 7 months use), but it did work fantastic in the van and we loved it in there.

The Radian works better in the truck and had I not had one, I would have gone out and bought a new one... mostly because I know this is the seat that's going to work best for us for the next 2 - 3 years and I don't want to deal with legs/feet in my back for the next 2 - 3 years.

In your situation, I would purchase a Radian and use it for your oldest. The baby would get the Marathon for RFing once outgrowing the bucket (I love that seat RFing :D). *Most* kids don't need that extra 2lbs of RFing capability and your MA won't expire until #2 is 3 - 4 years old, which is perfectly fine for going FFing age wise.

Use the MA until you get to the point that baby #2 reaches 33lbs and then decide if that baby needs to still be RFing or can go FFing. *IF* baby still needs to go RFing, then get a new seat... if not, then switch baby up to the Radian and DS1 into a booster or combination seat (whichever works better at that point).

Just my :twocents:, you decide what works best for *you*. :)
 

pastrygirl

New member
Hmm, more carseat playdate?
I'd love to, if you're up for it! It would have to be a weekend so I have my husband's car here. :)

CDNTech said:
In your situation, I would purchase a Radian and use it for your oldest. The baby would get the Marathon for RFing once outgrowing the bucket (I love that seat RFing ). *Most* kids don't need that extra 2lbs of RFing capability and your MA won't expire until #2 is 3 - 4 years old, which is perfectly fine for going FFing age wise.

Use the MA until you get to the point that baby #2 reaches 33lbs and then decide if that baby needs to still be RFing or can go FFing. *IF* baby still needs to go RFing, then get a new seat... if not, then switch baby up to the Radian and DS1 into a booster or combination seat (whichever works better at that point).
I am really liking this idea. The only thing I don't like is that I'll need to wait until the summer to get a new seat. ;) Oh, and I'll have to decide between the 65 and the XT (won't need the 80).
 

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