Question Best for RF in '04 Pathfinder

A

aravdo

Guest
My little guy will soon be out growing his infant car seat and I cannot make up my mind on getting either the marathon or the radian
I know both seats are great however I am leaning more towards the radian due to its size

Anyone have any suggestions or opinoins on this matter? FYI I am driving an '04 pathfinder and have read reviews that RFing especially with the radian is really tight or impossible, is this true? How will the install be with either seat?
thanks!
 
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natysr

New member
I have an 05?? Pathfinder. I always forget the years, but ours has the 3rd row of seats that pops up. Does yours have a 3rd row?

Prior to that, we had an 03?? Pathfinder which did not have a 3rd row.

I had a Marathon RFing in our 05ish Pathfinder since we bought the car new. I've had the marathon in the center and outboard.

I find that the backseat of the pathfinder actually has LESS room front-to-back than our Civic does. Hard to believe huh?

Anyway, the Marathon does fit great in there. Ours was never at a 45 degree angle though, because it isn't necessary for older babies/toddlers.

The radian naturally installs at a 45 degree angle and has a higher seatback than the marathon. I don't believe it would fit well outboard rearfacing, but it would probably work in the center, since the top of the carseat would go between the front two seats.

I hope this helps somewhat.

Here is a pic of the marathon rearfacing in the center. I can't seem to find a picture of it outboard.

283200950_r5Pq7-M.jpg
 

aravdo

New member
thanks for the pic preview, it helps greatly and I couldn't agree with you more about the small space in the back!

Our pathfinder has only two row seating so space is very limited for us
we are looking to expand our family and was wondering if it is even possible to squeeze three marathons in the back?
thats where the radian sounds like a fantastic idea! however RFing may pose a problem :(

Does anyone have a radian RFing in a pathfinder or similar (xterra, xtrail)? with pic?
thanks!
 

natysr

New member
Do you have another child already? What does he/she ride in?

If this is your first child, I wouldn't worry about doing a 3 across at this time.

FWIW, I tried to get 1 MA FF center and 1 MA RF outboard, and I could not them to fit side by side..though, I am not a tech.

You could still do a Marathon now (or a True Fit, or an Evenflo Triumph Advanced etc...) Then later, as your family does expand, you could move up to a Radian forwardfacing and leave your marathon rearfacing. Those two seats may puzzle okay in that car.

If you are really concerned about doing 3 across, search the board for the 3 across thread. There may be some helpful information in there.

I do know that the Marathon will fit rearfacing in your car either center or outboard.
 

aaminnky

Senior Community Member
I have an older Pathfinder (actually Infinity QX4, but same thing) and have a RF Marathon installed in the center position. It fits great there and I think it would be fine outboard too. I agree with the pp that the Radian would probably only fit RF in the center. I have only installed a Radian FF so I don't really know. The Marathon is a super easy intall RF :thumbsup:.
 

mykidsmom

New member
I have an '02 pathfinder. No latch. Not sure how the seating compares.

As far as front to back room, I had no problems with either a Marathon/Blvd or a radian. This was behind the driver's seat. I never tried the center because I have 2 kids and both are outboard. There is no way in hell to fit them side by side. Even with 2 outboard, there is only a hand span between our two seats (currently a Blvd rfing and a Signo ffing). I don't think there is anyway to do 3 across given the install problems with the radian (see below)

The Britax seats with the tall bases install wonderfully outboard rearfacing in the car. I haven't tried outboard ffing with the Britax. Our old roundabout worked just great with center lap belt both ffing and rfing. It is was dd1 used when she was smaller. I haven't yet tried a Britax ffing outboard, but I'm sure it is fine. I have the Britax rfing behind the driver's seat and the seat has room to go all the way back. I just had to adjust the recline a bit on the driver's seat so it wasn't interfering. i don't have it tethered currently because with the driver's seat all the way back, there is not a straight line to the dring around the seat track. Not sure if yours is the same, but my seat moves all the way back every time I take the key out.

The radian however is a totally different story. The radian does not sit on a tall base, so the belt path is lower and closer to the seat of the car. The female belt stalks are way to long in this car. I don't know if it is the same in an '04 or not. Or maybe you have latch and it wouldn't matter anyways? I also did not try rfing in the center with the lap belt, only outboard with the lap/shoulder belt. We also tried both outboard positions. It is totally incompatible rfing with my vehicle due to the final location of the buckle on the edge of the belt path. I even had a tech from this board come and try it out. It was rock solid, and the driver seat could still be back all the way, just not reclined. But the buckle placement was unacceptable. It did not matter if there were no twists or 3 twists or anything in between.

We also tried it ffing for my older dd. The tech said it was ok, but not great, (with 3 twists), but it still was teetering on the edge of the belt path, and I'm not thrilled with that. Again, we did not try the center, only outboard.

Before purchasing the Blvd, I also tried a True Fit, and because it also sits lower without a tall base, I had the same problems (at least rfing outboard), and had to try something else.
 

aravdo

New member
I have literally been boggling my mind forever with this question!

I hate to say but I am definantely leaning towards the radian, I really like the low profile look, slimness and it will also save me a few bucks in the end.
However the marathon is the marathon! with that being said it seems very bulky to me! it's already hard enough to squeeze two people back there with the the maxi cosi, I can't even picture another human being sitting in the back there when baby #2 comes next year.

I have latch in my vehicle and DH and I are smaller people, I'm 5'1 and he's 5'6
I am comfortable with my seat pushed forward and this is also our only vehicle so we will not be moving the seat after install

I'm wondering how is install of the radian with latch RF?
and just to make sure, RFing with the radian was possible in your vehicle?

please post your pics if any, apparently my vehicle is similar to armadas and infiniti suvs also

thanks!
 

mykidsmom

New member
I have literally been boggling my mind forever with this question!

I hate to say but I am definantely leaning towards the radian, I really like the low profile look, slimness and it will also save me a few bucks in the end.
However the marathon is the marathon! with that being said it seems very bulky to me! it's already hard enough to squeeze two people back there with the the maxi cosi, I can't even picture another human being sitting in the back there when baby #2 comes next year.

I have latch in my vehicle and DH and I are smaller people, I'm 5'1 and he's 5'6
I am comfortable with my seat pushed forward and this is also our only vehicle so we will not be moving the seat after install

I'm wondering how is install of the radian with latch RF?
and just to make sure, RFing with the radian was possible in your vehicle?

please post your pics if any, apparently my vehicle is similar to armadas and infiniti suvs also

thanks!


If you were asking me, I need to reiterate that I don't have latch, and I didn't do any center installs with the radian.

rfing space wise, the radian fit behind the driver's seat with the driver seat all the way back, but with the driver's seat pretty upright. If your seat does not automatically move back like mine, and you have it moved forward a bit, you could probably recline it.

I have no idea if you could get an acceptable fit with latch (as opposed to using seatbelts and having the buckle location issue like mine), but I would assume so. You may also be able to get a install center (with the lap belt or latch if there is center latch as well).

Funny, we had a Maxi Cosi too that dd was outgrowing and the reason we tried the radian rfing, and eventually settled on the Britax. I love the slim line look of the radian, especially when ffing, it almost looks like part of the car.

With our two seats outboard, there is no room for anyone in between. We have a blanket and a couple toys and they take up the whole space in between the seats.

I'd recommend trying it before you buy it, or buy it somewhere you could easily return it if it doesn't work for you.
 

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