Help me find 3 carseats for back seat

This forum was highly recommended to me from another source, so I'm really hoping I can get some help.

My hubby and I are foster parents adopting 3 kids ages 3 and under. Other than carseatdata.org, are there any other sites that have car seat measurements? Now that our youngest is 1 we're trying to find convertible car seats that we can squeeze (properly installed of course) into the back of hubby's Honda Civic. We'll buy 3 new seats if that's what's necessary to make them fit.

I'm really hoping that this isn't what pushes us into a new car. I really want to stick with just 1 payment for another year or so!

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

Kelly

3 Across

Hi,

Congratulations on your adoption! I work in child development and have seen many foster children adopted into great homes.

I do personally support a family where the 3 children are in foster care. I have been able to find and fit 3 seats across the back of my Echo. It looks like this:

-FF Cosco Regal Ride/Tourvia with LATCH behind driver
-Parkway Booster in middle
-RF Cosco Regal Ride/Tourvia with seatbelt passenger side

I would prefer to use LATCH for the RF seat for a tighter fit but I need that extra bit of space for the Parkway.

With the ages of your children, you will likely need 3 car seats or at least one carseat/booster combo. The Cosco seats are the most narrow and will likely fit-the Tourvia has just gone out of manufacture and replaced with the Scenera. You may be able to find one that is a few months old or check the Scenera out/try in you car. I hear the Radian by Sunshine Kids is also a great narrow seat, but more costly than Cosco, but will last you longer especially if you are in the US where it harnesses until 65lbs (I'm from Canada).

HTH

What ages and sizes are the children? That will make a difference in what we recommend.

Thanks for the information so far.

Our kids are 1, 2 and 3 -- all just had birthdays within the last month. So yes, we will have 3 in carseats for awhile yet. We've had 2 in carseats and 1 booster seat (other kids) in the back so I know there must be some configuration with 3 carseats that will work.

One of the carseats we have is the Cosco Regal Rider so I will check out the Scerena/Touriva to see if those fit as well. Also the other one that was mentioned since we are willing to invest in good seats because we'll need them for awhile.

I'd love other sggestions too! Thanks!

Kelly

Hi Kelly! It would really help to know the sizes of the kids, rather than just their ages, since kids come in all sizes! That will help all the really knowledgable people here give you some great recommendations.

My 3 year old is about 33 pounds and on the taller side but I'm not sure exactly how tall. My 2 year old is about 25 pounds, and my 1 year old is about 22 pounds.

Thanks!

Congrats

The Cosco Intera is also pretty narrow once the booster base is removed: another CPST recently mentioned, though, the manual requires high vehicle seatback headrests for FF & booster ... it's otherwise the only RF/FF/booster convertible/combination 3-in-1 seat I suggest & I have successfully installed it outboard in a Civic & Echo The Sunshine Kids Radian is quite narrow & I remember hearing it installs fine in the Civic, too, but I think only outboard?

• What do the kids weigh?
• Also, can you measure their torso height?
  • Sitting on the floor against the wall, measure from floor to top of shoulders
• If you have a strict maximum $ spending budget, how much is too much?

It's usually easier to puzzle seats in RF|FF|RF or FF|RF|FF & it is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics + National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to keep toddlers/preschoolers RF until the maximum limits of the convertible seat, but if all 3 kids are over 35# then they'd all need to be FF & in that case, it will be tricky puzzling together (each carseat being independently securely less than 1" movement at the belt path) in a small vehicle Off the top of my head I'd try out various combinations of the Intera + Radian + Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe or Britax Marathon

• Intera = 35# RF weight limit + 40# FF harness weight limit & is the lightest weight, lacking EPS foam
• FPSVD = based on Marathon, but with 55# FF weight limit
• Marathon = high harness slots + 33# RF weight limit + 65# FFweight limit
  • Marathon fits in the center of my Civic so the FPSVD should, too
• Radian = even higher top harness slots with lower bottom harness slots + 65# or 80# FF weight limit & folds for travel
  • All of these carseats are FAA approved for use on airplanes

We cross-posted

In this case, as per the research showing how vital extended RF is for safety (scroll down the Home page of this site, visit www.cpsafety.org & Google The Carseat Lady for details), I would keep the 2 youngest RF outboard in any of the seats I mention in my other post & put a Marathon in the center FF for biggest kiddo....

3 year old could still be RF, but is very close to the maximum RF limits & fitting 1 FF seat between 2 RF seats is easier!

The Intera is the least expensive, but the "best" fits the child, fits the vehicle & will be used correctly every time -- I suggest testing the seats out at BabiesRus & after you've narrowed some acceptable choices for safety & affordability, I often like letting the kids make the final decision since comfort & cooperation can be a big factor in sanity

I agree with Papooses - those are some great recommendations. Specifically I would try either the Interas (without the base) or the Radians rear facing outboard on both sides for your younger two, and a Marathon/Decathlon/Boulevard in the middle for your oldest. The Intera doesn't have any EPS, but it does have nice deep side wings and headrest, so I still think it would have better side impact protection than the Radians that aren't very deep on the sides at all (but the Radians do have EPS). And the Intera's rear face longer than the Radian (35 lbs vs 33 lbs). If the Radian would install well in the middle, it also harnesses to 65 lbs, so would be a good choice for your oldest. The Radian is the narrowest of all convertible seats, I believe, its width at the base is 13-14". The Intera's width is 16.5 w/out base and 19 w/ base. It is always a difficult decision trying to decide which car seats to buy. HTH!

The Interas could also be used as boosters eventually.... But, if you travel, I imagine fitting 2 folded Radians in a backpack would be easier than lugging the Interas

Is the Civic a 2 door or four door? I am assuming that it's a 4 door

Also, where do you have LATCH?

I have found that a RFing Britax seat doesn't mesh will with a FFing Radian. Both seats are great, but I thought that might help you. They work great together with 2 FFing or 2 RFing.

I would also say that your best bet for the RFing kiddos is not the Radian. I love my Radian, but it is going to take up a lot of room RFing since it is reclied to 45' and doesn't adjust more upright like most other RFing convertable seats.

I would probably recommend the Radian or a Graco Cargo (not the treasured version) for the 3 yr old. They are both quite narrow and will last a while. The Graco doesn't make a good booster, and only harnesses to 40 lb (Radian to 65), but you will be able to get a lot of use out of it since it can be passed down to the younger kids. The Radian worked fine in my bother's 2 door civic outboard with the seatbelt or with LATCH. (If you aren't going to RF the 2 yr old these would be my recommendations, but with her weight I would definately RF her.)

I would say the Britax seats would be great for the younger kids, but they may or may not fit well. Maybe one Britax 65 lb seat for the oldest one and a Scenera for the younger, both RFing would fit better? Then, in the future if the 3 yr old needs a higher weight harnessed seat when the 2 yr old is older the 3 yr old and 2 yr old can switch. This would be when the 2 yr old is older and not RFing anymore. (I hope that makes sense- it's hard to word it right.) It seems the 2 yr old is on the small side by the weight and the other two are more "average"- so this would make sense to me.

I hope that helps and is clear to you.

skipspin said:

I have found that a RFing Britax seat doesn't mesh will with a FFing Radian.

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Good to know! Thanks Joy So, the CarGo fits well next to RF and/or FF Radian? I agree that it's a very good choice for these kids as they're on the thin side -- it meshed well next to my RF Britax ... I don't have it anymore to try it out in the center of our Civic, though. But, the Platinum/Ultra CarGo is very comfortble & it can certainly be handed down as needed

To save $ I think I'd probably try for a Ultra/Platinum CarGo center for oldest with 1 RF Scenera or Intera & a FPSVD or Marathon RF outboard on each side -- the Scenera or Intera offering the highest RF weight limit & the FPSVD or Marathon offering higher FF weight limits ... but, the CarGo might be enough to last until mature enough for a dedicated booster if the kids are tall & thin.

Now I forget what year you said your Civic is, but if you have center shoulder belt then I'd feel fine using the CarGo in the center (NEVER use any booster with lap-only belt, though!) & eventually I would buy a more dedicated booster for use outboard.

Sorry, I seem to be running ahead of ourselves here! Hope I haven't confused you In summary: I would try out combinations of the Scenera, Intera, CarGo, Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe, Marathon & maybe Radian if they're nearby -- ideally keeping the youngest & middle child both Rear Facing with oldest harnessed in the center.

Kelly,

When I was in class to become a CPST (Child Passenger Safety
Technician) we were told that if we were asked to recommend a CSS
(Child Safety Seat) that we should answer with, "buy one that fits the
child, fits the vehicle & will be used correctly every time." We were
told no to make a recommendation at work for liability purposes.
However, on a forum like this we have a little more liberty to express
our personal views. I personally do not like the Intera and I feel
like it is overpriced for what it is. The Touria/Regal Ride is a
little narrower than the Intera and cost only 1/2 to 1/3 the price of
the Intera (depending on where you buy them). The Touriva/Regal Ride
has 35# RF & 40# FF weight limits and is a breeze to install. This
CSS does not have EPS foam, but neither does the the Intera. Dorel
Juvenile Products makes both CSS one is just a better value than the
other. The Touriva/Regal Ride is getting harder to find, but there
are still some out there. I found one on-line for only $54.95. I
will include the link below.

http://dreamtimebaby.com/tococarsebyc.html

This site also currently offers free shipping (special offer) for
orders over $99. If you decided to buy 2 more Touriva CSS to go with
the one you have you may only have to spend about $110 to get what you
need.

Another inexpensive CSS option is the Scenera. However, this CSS is
almost a full 2" wider that the Touriva, and you may not be able to
fit 2 of these and you existing Touriva across the back seat. This
would be a great option for you if they will fit. These Scenera CSS
are almost always in stock at Wal*Mart and usually sell for about $50
each. They have been on sale this past month for only about $40.
They went on sale about the same time as TRU started their big sale
which ends the 30th. I don't know how long Wal*Mart will continue to
have them reduced $10.

Check out the link below for car seat measurements.

(Carseat Data website closed - link broken)

The Radian is another great option if you need a narrow seat. Plus they can FF til 65# and the new Radian 80 ($100 more than Radian 65) can go up to 80#. The Radian is probably the best value for your money if you want to buy a convertible CSS with a 5pt harness rated for 65#. Also it is much narrower that all of the other 65# CSS on the market. This makes a difference if you have a smaller vehicle. However, the Radian is not listed in the car seat measurement link that I provided above. The manufacturer's website list the overall dimentions as 28.5"H x 17"W x 16"D, but the seat base is even narrower than the 17" overall width. Below is a link, go there for more dimentions. Scroll down to near the bottom of the page to find the dimentions and click on the red text which reads "Click to view Radian Dimensions" to view a picture with more dimentions listed. Check out the Radian for yourself on the manufacturer's website:

http://skjp.com/products/index.php?v=cat&cid=5&name=Car Seats

The Radian is only $179.00 here with free shipping.

http://carseats.babycatalog.com/infant-to-toddler-convertible-car-seats/radian-car-seat/radian.html

HTH

Isn't the Touriva difficult to find? It's no where upstate NY so far as I've found.... The Scenera is definitely a better buy if spare booster isn't necessary, but the Intera is more comfortably padded & has the spare booster option for just in case -- like when starting school & someone else might drive him. But, otherwise, yes I don't especially like Dorel that much compared to Fisher Price or Britax & I think the Radian 80 is an ideal choice if it installs well, which it apparently does outboard The CarGo is more comfortable than the Intera still, but this is a situation when combinations of seats must be tested out & they must be able to install securely independent of each other & they must fit the child & be easily enough used correctly

Thanks!

Thanks everybody! I got the Scerena last night at WalMart and it fits great. In fact, I'm going to pick up another one tonight to replace the seat for our middle child. I think that configuration (Scerena/seat I can't remember/Scerena) will work even better.

I really appreciate everyone's help!

Glad to hear it's going well Make sure you have a local CPST check your install, too because getting each seat independently secure can be quite deceiving

papooses said:

Isn't the Touriva difficult to find?

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Papooses, If you look you will see that I mentioned this already in my previous post.

markf1971 said:

The Touriva/Regal Ride is getting harder to find, but there are still some out there.

Click to expand...

fwiw, finding a Touriva is more than just difficult. I'd say nearly impossible.
Last spring when I was looking for one I actually had to buy one from a Safe Kids coalition in another state because they were NO WHERE to be found and the Radian wasn't available yet.

Seek and ye shall find.....

FWIW, I called Dreamtimebaby today and they have 70 Tourivas in stock. They also have a promo for free shipping on orders over $99.

Tourivas are not impossible to find, and they are worth the effort to locate if it helps one use their current vehicle vs having to get another vehicle. HTH

I previously posted:

The Touriva/Regal Ride is getting harder to find, but there are still some out there. I found one on-line for only $54.95. I will include the link below.

http://dreamtimebaby.com/tococarsebyc.html

markf1971 said:

Seek and ye shall find.....

FWIW, I called Dreamtimebaby today and they have 70 Tourivas in stock.

Click to expand...

Did you happen to ask what the DOM was on these?