calling all michigan techs

exhausted tired and frustrated mother of 3 needs someone to take a look at the latest seat i installed. tried radian 80 today and myride, something by evenflo lol, and ended up with another ma. the angle stinks. i know it. i have a conversion van and its a pain. im too pooped to party with it any longer. had a couple friends come to take a look, but im not so sure. wouldhave loved the myride much to my own surprise, loved loved loved the baby in it i just couldnt get it angled good. seemed solid after much adjusting but u could lift it up. ode to be a ble to tether it rfing. why in the ldfkjla can we?
store told me to call graco cuz they never got a deffinate answer. thanks let me know if anyone can pop in or i can meet or whatever.

p.s. where would i get a belt shortening clip?

It might be helpful if you posted your general location. Also, I'd suggest contacting your local Safe Kids to find a tech if no one replies here.

where would i get a belt shortening clip?

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Belt shortening clips can be obtained through some Ford dealers. However, BSCs are NOT for the inexperienced - I wouldn't trust most techs to install one, and I'm not even sure I'd feel comfortable doing one myself (haven't had to use one since my CPST course). Unless someone responds here and says they are are experienced with using a BSC, I'd contact Safe Kids and explain your need to them - they should be able to connect you with someone who can do it.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/Add-On04/nissan.htm

sorry Livonia mi. i did check safe kids nothing here for quite some time. i can call around but alot of the places that do it have had their funding cut significantly if not entirely in which case they only do every other month events as the case is with the fire department and a few others.

i can go out to ann arbor at mott childrens hosp i can make an appointment its just a bit of a hike and they seem to have quite a waiting list. which is good and bad lol

went to the dmc in novi last spring cuz i didnt like my install and he was asking me more questions, didnt seem to know that it could be tethered rfing maybe i would get someone different this time and of course i dont remember his name. he was probably a baby tech right?

usually when ive gone to events theyve always worked in at least teams of 2 if not more. it wasjust him. needless to say i havent gone back.

i guess i can just call. kids have summer tutoring and doc apps so it will be fun to navigate but what else is new right?

momof3monkeys said:

i can go out to ann arbor at mott childrens hosp i can make an appointment its just a bit of a hike and they seem to have quite a waiting list. which is good and bad lol

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They are great at U-M/Mott, though. :thumbsup: I know you have a tricky set up, so I'd definitely recommend going somewhere where you know they're experienced. Also, as I said, let them know all the "quirks" of your situation (so they can make sure you get a tech who's experienced with a BSC, for instance, if needed).

If you need a BSC I'd advise looking up a CPST-Instructor near you. Instructors have to teach how to use them so they're likely to be a little more experienced (or may refer you to someone they know is experienced.)

ketchupqueen said:

If you need a BSC I'd advise looking up a CPST-Instructor near you. Instructors have to teach how to use them so they're likely to be a little more experienced (or may refer you to someone they know is experienced.)

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There are at least two CPST-instructors at U-M/Mott. :thumbsup:

thanks guys i shall do that. the ra never gave me so much trouble. i almost bought another today but realized it would be a waste of money. plus i got my ma for 186.00 so......the ra's were 199.00

Yes, UM Mott would be a great place to go! You could also contact Carrie at Safe Kids Livingston County, she's an instructor as well. Also, Lew at Safe Kids Greater Flint would know exactly what to do. There is an event Saturday, July 18 in Flint. Let me know if you'd like the details for it. I am not too far away from you, but the only time I did a BSC was in my CPST class.

If you go to michigansafekids.org you can find contact info for the various Safe Kids locations.

momof3monkeys said:

wouldhave loved the myride much to my own surprise, loved loved loved the baby in it i just couldnt get it angled good. seemed solid after much adjusting but u could lift it up. ode to be a ble to tether it rfing. why in the ldfkjla can we?
store told me to call graco cuz they never got a deffinate answer. thanks let me know if anyone can pop in or i can meet or whatever.

p.s. where would i get a belt shortening clip?

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What did the store tell you to call Graco about? Definitely you can't tether the MyRide RFing. Being able to lift the back of the carseat a bit off the vehicle seat is probably okay (your CPST training materials should address this).

thanks for the info. i called julie brown from oakwood hospital, shes great ive been dealing with her on and off for years now. it had been a while shes usually on site doing checks and her and her staffs contact info were removed from nhtsa accidentally so i had thought they closed. but all is resolved and found them this morning.
mott i left a message for, and the dmc in novi does them but it took them 45 minutes and 3 wrong numbers later for me to getg someone that knew what i was talking about. lol
"we get calls all the time for that and i dont know why"

julie brown told me that its not me its my van and that its going to be troublesom. i reinstalled it today took it back a bit from the seat bite, (the base) but the seat is touching the veichle seat and i am all the way on the seat with extra room to spare.

we discussed bsc too. also, taking off the cover on my 12 in belt stalks and twisting them 2 or 3 times to see if that doesnt help. however she said it will be a two person job.

chickabiddy said:

What did the store tell you to call Graco about? Definitely you can't tether the MyRide RFing. Being able to lift the back of the carseat a bit off the vehicle seat is probably okay (your CPST training materials should address this).

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store wanted me to call graco to maybe get some clarification on "why" they cant use a tether during a rfing install.

i told them really there was only 2 manufacturers that do say you can.
perhaps there is more but out of all the seats we tried just 2.

graco does not want to ride down the force of a crash using a tether which is fine their seat will accomplish this perfectly without it. im sure of it. i just couldnt get a good angle is all no matter how far we tried to move it from the stalk. or seat bite (yes was still on seat) and to be perfectly honest im not an idiot, just given some bad info which i took care of today and i have a difficult veichle. the other veichles we have arent difficult at all. escort and dodge ram truck. or mil ford focus or their caravan the bronco my dads sport trac i could go on. so yes i get it.

p.s. i am very used to using tethers rfing. only time i havent is durring a 4 day class 3 years ago. so whatever. im not qualified to make that distingtion on if it was acceptable movement or not. all i know as it wasnt hard to move it and it rotated all the way up and touched my veichles seat. with minimal effort. i know its supposed to move but how much? i was out of my element. ours dont move like that after install.

i did like the baby in it though. radian was great too if the belt and buckle werent on the corner half in half out of seat.