Britax Marathon RF in RX330 -- Middle OK? Tether?

Hi all. I searched through the forums and read a lot of useful responses on these two items, but i though that I'd just post a quick question to see what others' experiences were.

We just bought a Marathon for our 11 month old and have installed it in an RX330 with LATCH system.

1. With the infant seat it was installed in the middle since that position was the safest for side impacts (equi-distant from either side). Based on the forums and what I've read, it is acceptable to install the Marathon in the middle rear position using LATCH provided the connectors are no greater than 20 inches apart. Is that correct? Is it advised to install on the rear passenger side instead?

The LATCH connectors are positioned for the seat to be behind the driver or passenger, but the distance is <20 inches, so we are thinking about putting it in the middle position.

2. I read a lot about tethering the RF seats...thanks so much to everyone for the useful info...but where would you tether to in an RX330 if the Marathon is in the middle position and RF? How about if it's behind the passenger seat?

The designated anchor points (in the manual) behind the back seat would only be useful for a front facing seat.

Thanks again for everyone's help with this.

Victor

You'd have to check the vehicle manual, and I'm almost 100% certain it's NOT ok, per Lexus, to use the center LATCH anchors for seat installation. It has to be ok with Britax AND Lexus for it to be considered safe. It IS possible to install with the seatbelt in the center, however, and is very safe to do so

This page explains how to accomplish the optimal Swedish tethering method that the Marathon manual describes in only fairly sketchy detail http://www.angelfire.com/wa3/isakswings/ratetherrf.html

If you only have one I'd do a center seatbelt installation. There's no reason you need to use the LATCH if you would prefer the seat in the middle.

You can use the D ring that came with the Marathon to tether the seat RFing. Britaxes and the Radian are the only seats that can tether RFing, so most cars don't accommodate that. I doubt there are RFing anchors. Just use the D ring to anchor to any nonmoving part of the car. Usually the inside leg of the passenger or driver's side seats.

Wendy