Need recommendation for almost 4 yr old

I've been reading a lot here, but still can't seem to make a decision about what seat to buy for my dd and could really use some advice.

She will be 4 years old in 2 months and is tall and thin (long legs). I'm not sure exactly, but I'd say about 42" and 35 lbs. She is currently in an Evenflo Triumph and she probably has at least an inch before her shoulders are even with the top slot. My ds is 2 months old and in a Graco Snugride.

Our main car is a 2001 Toyota Sienna. There are 2 captain's chairs in the 2nd row, but it only has latch on the driver side. I've investigated, and Toyota does not provide or recommend a retrofit tether anchor for the passenger side. Our second car is a '99 Passat, which also does not have LATCH. However I have not investigated retrofitting the tether anchors in this car.

We need to get a second seat for DD so that she can have a seat in both cars. I'd like something that would allow her to stay harnessed for awhile. Also, thinking ahead, we'll need another seat for when she outgrows the Triumph. Which seats would you recommend? Thanks so much!

Megan said:

I've been reading a lot here, but still can't seem to make a decision about what seat to buy for my dd and could really use some advice.

She will be 4 years old in 2 months and is tall and thin (long legs). I'm not sure exactly, but I'd say about 42" and 35 lbs. She is currently in an Evenflo Triumph and she probably has at least an inch before her shoulders are even with the top slot. My ds is 2 months old and in a Graco Snugride.

Our main car is a 2001 Toyota Sienna. There are 2 captain's chairs in the 2nd row, but it only has latch on the driver side. I've investigated, and Toyota does not provide or recommend a retrofit tether anchor for the passenger side. Our second car is a '99 Passat, which also does not have LATCH. However I have not investigated retrofitting the tether anchors in this car.

We need to get a second seat for DD so that she can have a seat in both cars. I'd like something that would allow her to stay harnessed for awhile. Also, thinking ahead, we'll need another seat for when she outgrows the Triumph. Which seats would you recommend? Thanks so much!

Click to expand...

Your 2001 Sienna should have tether anchors. I don't think LATCH can be retrofitted, but tether anchors usually can. I'm surprised they only have one, have you checked your manual? LATCH and tether anchors are two different things. Kind of. You can have tether anchors without LATCH, but you can't have LATCH without tether anchors (LATCH=Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren). I'm not certain if the VW can have anchors retrofitted.

Check your manual for anchor locations. I'd be surprised if a 2001 only had one anchor. If it does, though, someone here with a LATCH book can give you the part numbers and you can take that to Toyota and have them put more in. They'll usually do at least one free. Same thing with the Passat, hopefully someone can look up if they can and the part numbers.

However, for a long time you should only need one. Your son will be RFing for a year or two more, so you don't need to worry about a tether anchor until he hits at least 30 pounds. Most RFing seats do not tether, other than Britax and Sunshine Kids, but if you have one of those you use a D ring, not a tether anchor anyway (unless your car has RFing tether anchors, which is not common).

As for seat recommendations, do you have a budget? If not I would recommend two Regents for your daughter. They harness to 80 pounds and have 22" top slots and are FFing only. So she'll last in it for a LONG time, especially as her length is in her legs. They're usually about $270 each.

If that's a bit on the pricey side then I would look at the Sunshine Kids Radian. It's a convertible seat that RFs to 33 pounds (with a tether) and FFs to 65 pounds with an 18" top slot. It has the added bonus that it folds, if you do a lot of air travel. There can be installation issues sometimes, though I think people here have tried them in your vehicles. They're $180 each.

And if that's still a bit pricey my next recommendation would be the Cosco Apex 65. It harnesses to 65 pounds and then is a booster to 100. It requires a high headrest behind it, but both your cars have them. It's a FFing only combination seat. They're usually about $100 each.

Will your son be getting the Triumphs? If so then you don't need to worry about RFing tethers at all, and you won't need to worry about another FFing tether until he reaches 30 pounds, the Triumph's RFing limit.

HTH

Wendy

The '01 has at least one more anchor in the 3rd row passenger side (LATCH in that position). I can't remember if there may be a top tether for either of the other 3rd row positions. Problem is, it CAN"T be retrofitted with more. Very frustrating because previous years COULD be! I ended up trading mine in for an '06. It probably wasn't necessary because I have heard here recently that you can tether a carseat in the 2nd row to a seatbelt in the 3rd row.

From what I have read here, the Radian is not likely to work out in your Sienna. It didn't install well in any of the 3rd row seats. I'm not sure about 2nd row with LATCH. It's too bad, because it really would be a good choice. Maybe it would work in the Passat, though! If it would, I would get the Radian for the Passat and a Regent for the Sienna. The Regent installs really well in the Sienna.

Thanks for the help. Yep, I have checked the manual, researched online, and been to the dealer, and they cannot retrofit the tether anchor for the 2nd row passenger. As far as the 3rd row LATCH, I just can't see having dd sitting that far away - it would be really difficult to get her buckled in, not to mention not being able to reach her to hand her stuff, etc. That is interesting about tethering the 2nd row seat to the 3rd row seatbelt - would love more info on that if you have it? Unfortunately I have to have ds in the only LATCH position right now because I can't get him in and out of the car on the passenger side because our garage is so small you cannot access or open the car doors on the passenger side.

We are leaning towards getting one Regent for now and moving the Triumph to the Passat. So the configuration in the Sienna would be:
DS RF in Snugride on driver-side
DD FF in Regent on passenger-side (seat-belt installation)

When DS outgrows the Snugride (in 4-5 months?), he'll be in the Triumph and we'd buy a second seat for the Passat at that point, maybe the cheaper Apex. When DD hits 50 lbs (I'm guessing in about 2 years), we'd move her to the driver-side position with LATCH, unless we can figure out how to tether using the 3rd row seatbelt in the meantime. What do you think?

You can't use LATCH above 50 pounds. Toyota doesn't have a weight limit listed that I've seen, but Britax says not above 48 pounds, and if the vehicle manufacturer doesn't say then you go with the carseat manufacturer. At 50 pounds you need to use the seatbelt.

Wendy

Megan said:

I've been reading a lot here, but still can't seem to make a decision about what seat to buy for my dd and could really use some advice.

She will be 4 years old in 2 months and is tall and thin (long legs). I'm not sure exactly, but I'd say about 42" and 35 lbs. She is currently in an Evenflo Triumph and she probably has at least an inch before her shoulders are even with the top slot. My ds is 2 months old and in a Graco Snugride.

Our main car is a 2001 Toyota Sienna. There are 2 captain's chairs in the 2nd row, but it only has latch on the driver side. I've investigated, and Toyota does not provide or recommend a retrofit tether anchor for the passenger side. Our second car is a '99 Passat, which also does not have LATCH. However I have not investigated retrofitting the tether anchors in this car.

We need to get a second seat for DD so that she can have a seat in both cars. I'd like something that would allow her to stay harnessed for awhile. Also, thinking ahead, we'll need another seat for when she outgrows the Triumph. Which seats would you recommend? Thanks so much!

Click to expand...

Okay I looked up your Sienna and you are correct. It only has LATCH & tether on the driver outboard. I find this rather odd myself. It does have LATCH on the 3rd row passenger outboard position.

I would look at a Regent for your 4yr old for both vehicles. I would pass the Evenflo Truimph down to your 2mth old when he outgrows his infant carrier.

On your '99 Passat you can have the LATCH retrofitted in this vehicle. The reasoning is the bar is already there from the factory. VW is the only company that has retrofit kits on their '99-'02 Passat's. But, Just so your aware VW LATCH weight limits are only 40lbs so your dd wouldn't have long time using the LATCH.

Wendy:
Of course, you're right about not using LATCH after 48#, but I think maybe that the OP is planning to put the Regent in the LATCH position in order to use the top tether...

msbeltran said:

Wendy:
Of course, you're right about not using LATCH after 48#, but I think maybe that the OP is planning to put the Regent in the LATCH position in order to use the top tether...

Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I meant - thanks for clarifying!

You asked for more info about tethering a second-row seat to a third-row seatbelt. I don't have the LATCH manual myself, but at my tech class last year I read the pages pertaining to tethering to a vehicle seatbelt. It is perfectly acceptable, the only downside is that it makes the third-row seatbelt unuseable for a passenger, but if you have a lapbelt in the third row it's pretty much unuseable anyway (except to install a carseat) so it should be fine.

Here are pictures of my dd's carseat tethered to a third row lapbelt:

(In this method you attach the tether hook directly to the buckle tongue/male end of the lapbelt)


(In this method you buckle the lapbelt and attach the tether hook to the seatbelt webbing; kind of tricky because you have to roll the seatbelt webbing to fit it inside the tether hook, but I like this method best because it positions the tether strap more in-line with the carseat)

Thanks for the tethering info! So does it have to be to a lap belt? Since we have 2 captains chairs in the 2nd row, the seat directly behind would be the passenger outboard side, which has a lap/shoulder belt. Do you know how this would work, if it does? If we used the center lap belt, it seems like it might be too much offcenter?