Graco CarGo as bpb?

beki33b · Oct 29, 2006

I was curious about some reviews I've read online about the Graco CarGo not being rated well when being used as a belt positioning booster.

(My ds is only 27 mos, and is well below the weight limit for being harnessed, and will be until he is either 48lbs or above the height limit- we're in Canada. )

But I might want to take it back if it is indeed less safe than other booster combos that I could get for him. (I couldn't find any other booster combos that harnessed up to 48lbs with wide wide sides).

I did try it out in my car, and found that the belt positioner held the seat belt VERY snugly. I couldn't pull it out even a tiny bit as I was trying to adjust it. Is that how it is supposed to be?
Most buying guides say to buy a bpb that allows the seat belt to move freely.

One other thing- ds is on the tall side for his weight. When I put him in the CarGo, he's definitely above the middle harness slot, and not really that far from the top one- I'd say less than an inch for sure. So maybe the 48 lb limit isn't really that important if he might outgrow it by height first.
Is there a booster/combo that has a higher top slot (preferably that is available in Canada?

) even if it doesn't have a higher weight limit?

Thanks for any advice anyone can give me!
Becky

smurf · Oct 29, 2006

I think your bets for harnessed seats with a 48 lbs limit that convert to boosters in Canada are the Graco CarGo, Evenflo Chase and Generations (with slightly lower top slots than the CarGo (16.8" and 16.5" respectively, vs the CarGo at 17").

I don't know how they fare as BPB though. I have basically given up on the 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 idea, as most seats seem to fall short of "doing it all".

Your other options are the Britax Marathon and the Sunshine Kids Radian, both of which harness to 48 lbs with tall top slots (17" and 18"). But they don't turn into BPB (and are better seats, IMO).

jenny03 · Oct 29, 2006

It's not a good booster. When I used mine (before we got rid of it) my son was in it for about 10 minutes before the seatbelt came completely out of the guide. If you're lucky enough that it does stay in, yes, if the child leans forward and pulls it loose, it won't retract again making it very unsafe.

I think I heard here that the Generations makes a decent booster??

skaterbabs · Oct 29, 2006

The generati9ons makes a pretty good booster, although I have heard complaints about it in harnessed mode. Don't recall what the complaints were specifically though.

kelly · Oct 29, 2006

skaterbabscpst said:
The generati9ons makes a pretty good booster, although I have heard complaints about it in harnessed mode. Don't recall what the complaints were specifically though.

I think its just that it uses Evenflo's knob adjuster system. Some love it, some hate it. I've not used it, so I can't say!

But, it does make a better booster in the end. I don't know how the slots compare though....

beki33b · Oct 30, 2006

Alright, I'm going to look up those other seats. But if I'm remembering right, they are much more expensive than the CarGo. sigh.

So, the seat belt is supposed to be held tightly, right? I really doubt that ds would be able to pull any slack in it, as I tried to adjust it and couldn't pull even a fraction of an inch through the belt positioners.

I was looking at the Generations, but I really don't think I can go any shorter on the harness height. It looks like he's about 2 inches away. He's 27 mos. That would give us another couple years, right? Sigh. The options here are sooo limited compared to the states (I just moved here from Ohio 2 months ago, and my Evenflo Triumph isn't legal to use here. Aargh!)

Simplysomething · Oct 30, 2006

beki33b said:
Alright, I'm going to look up those other seats. But if I'm remembering right, they are much more expensive than the CarGo. sigh.

So, the seat belt is supposed to be held tightly, right? I really doubt that ds would be able to pull any slack in it, as I tried to adjust it and couldn't pull even a fraction of an inch through the belt positioners.

I was looking at the Generations, but I really don't think I can go any shorter on the harness height. It looks like he's about 2 inches away. He's 27 mos. That would give us another couple years, right? Sigh. The options here are sooo limited compared to the states (I just moved here from Ohio 2 months ago, and my Evenflo Triumph isn't legal to use here. Aargh!)

Do you own the cargo now? Did you purchase it before you moved to Canada? I recall there is some debate as to whether or not they are indeed the same seats in the US and Cananda.

You don't want it to hold the belt snuggly (ETA, you want the belt to be able to retract, which those guides don't allow it to do. Unless you plan on locking the belt everytime you use it--where it might not be an issue.), I think. We used the Cargo as a booster for almost two years (finally got a turbobooster), and the slack issue was a such a problem that we didn't use the belt guides most of the time. OR we pulled the belt out so that it'd auto-retract (whatever the word is), so that DS couldn't cause any slack in the guides.

If you own the cargo now, I'd just wait and then get a dedicated booster seat later on. It makes a decent harnessed seat. Crappy booster.

Jewels · Oct 30, 2006

I had this same problem with my son. I had a graco comfort sport but he out grew it and I needed to get something different. When I did the research I came up with the same thing with the graco cargo, I have a evenflo chase combo but I hate it as a harnessed seat (only use it as a spare in my inlaws truck) and I have never tried it as a booster.
In the long run, I sold my convertable to help pay for a new seat and ended up with a marathon with a 17" top harness slot and figured I would get a good booster that was meant to be a booster with side impact protection and a higher back.
Also my other worry was if ds was so tall in the torso once he couldn't be harnessed anymore, would he grow out the seat as a booster quickly too? Then I would just have to buy a "booster" booster seat

Jewels · Oct 30, 2006

Oh yeah I was going to tell you that in Canada we have the Radian at Canadian Tire for 199.99 if you wanted to go with just a harness now and a booster later. The harness height on this seat I believe is 17.5". FYI!

kelly · Oct 30, 2006

Looks like the Generations is 1/2" shorter.

If he's only an inch below the Cargo, the Generations would be really close.
http://www.carseatdata.org/csnumbers.html

The belt guides on the Graco are optional. IF the belt fits well without them, you aren't required to use them. Something to consider. Hopefully his leg growth kicks in that that inch takes a LOOOOONG time. Also, when it gets close, you can try installing it super upright as it buys you a bit more time before his shoulders go over the slots. He must be really long-torso'd!

beki33b · Oct 30, 2006

Simplysomething said:
Do you own the cargo now? Did you purchase it before you moved to Canada? I recall there is some debate as to whether or not they are indeed the same seats in the US and Cananda.

I just bought the CarGo about 2 days ago in Canada, so I can still return it. I had an Evenflo Triumph in the states, and I from what I can gather, they ARE the same seats, they just have different labeling. (That was from Evenflo and the BCAA). So it's not legal to use the Triumph here, even though the same seats are sold here. lol

kelly said:
Looks like the Generations is 1/2" shorter. If he's only an inch below the Cargo, the Generations would be really close.

He's about 2 inches below the slot. (I see that I wrote an inch in my op. I was eyeballing it, and obviously I am horrible at judging distance. lol But the 2" was with a tape measure. lol) But I think I was also measuring from the lowest point of the slot, so maybe that part wouldn't ever be an issue.

I hadn't thought of this before, but our van has seat belt height adjusters, so the seat belts can go pretty low. There is actually a really good chance that he might not need to use the belt positioners.

But, I think I've decided to try out the Radian. I have read that it might be hard to install. But I like the fact that in the US its made to fit up to 65 lbs! There's no way ds could outgrow that seat before he's 48lbs! (though if it really is only .5 inch different than the CarGo, perhaps there's no way he'd outgrow that either.) Well, no harm in shopping some more, right

Victorious4 · Oct 30, 2006

17" is the tallest harness measurement I know of in Canada -- "Elite" Cosco Apex measures about 19" (non "Elite" = 17") ... I don't think it's in Canada.

I would use the Ultra/Platinum CarGo for harnessing because it's recline "sleep bar" option can buy some kids a bit of extra time in height & I would just save towards a more dedicated booster like the highback Turbo -- it has deep head wings filled with EPS foam for added side impact safety & can be used backless for travel....

Jewels · Oct 30, 2006

papooses said:
17" is the tallest harness measurement I know of in Canada -- "Elite" Cosco Apex measures about 19" (non "Elite" = 17") ... I don't think it's in Canada.

I would use the Ultra/Platinum CarGo for harnessing because it's recline "sleep bar" option can buy some kids a bit of extra time in height & I would just save towards a more dedicated booster like the highback Turbo -- it has deep head wings filled with EPS foam for added side impact safety & can be used backless for travel....

The Radian is 18" not 17.5" which I said earlier. I believe the harness height is the same in the US and Canada it is just the weight that is different.

Graco CarGo as bpb?

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