3 across 05 Town & Country help

[Fashionably Green Baby]

I need to figure out a 3 across solution for the back of my 05' town and country.

It's stow and go with a 40/60 split. Middle belt is lap belt only.

The seats I have already are radians (I have 5) and a nautilus. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a new seat either booster or convertible but maybe not.

The 5 kids who are possibilities for the back seat are:

6 yo boy, ~44" and 42 lbs (we are booster training. He has some special needs so he needs a HBB)

Almost 4 yo girl, 39" and 35 lbs

4 yo girl, 41" and 39 1/2 lbs

2 1/2 yo girl, 39" and 30 1/2 lbs

And 10 month old 18 1/2 lbs and he's short. He is in a radian right now

What can I do to fit all of these kids in my van?
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[Belle's Mamma]

Are the 2yo, 3yo & 4yo RF or FF?
Are you ok w/ keeping the 6yo harneseed in your car if it means either buying one less seat &/or makes the seating arrangements easier?
Are the top tether anchors are in the 2 center row Captains chairs and center seating position in third rod (I'm assuming that you have just 3 TAs)?

 

[Fashionably Green Baby]

Are the 2yo, 3yo & 4yo RF or FF?
Are you ok w/ keeping the 6yo harneseed in your car if it means either buying one less seat &/or makes the seating arrangements easier?
Are the top tether anchors are in the 2 center row Captains chairs and center seating position in third rod (I'm assuming that you have just 3 TAs)?

The 3 year old is my child and she is still rear facing. She will be 4 next month so she *could* turn if she needs to.

The 2 and 4 year olds are my babysitting kids and they are FF in their car but I am open to either RF or FF in my car. I would prefer to have the 2 year old RF but if not that's ok.

My 6 year old literally just started booster training so I could put him in a harness but if we can find a booster option he would be pretty excited.

TT anchors are in the captains chairs and middle back. There is only one off center latch point in the 3rd row so all 3 seats have to be seatbelt installs
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[tiggercat]

Have you tried 3 radians across the 3rd row, RF/FF/RF? That might work in an 05.

 

[lgenne]

3 across 05 Town & Country help

It's not ideal, but if you can't make anything else work RF/FF/RF in the 3rd row, a tethered RSTV2 in the center for either the 6 year old or 4 year old should work. Then have Radians outboard.

(ETA: RSTV2 = Ride Safer Travel Vest 2)

 

[aept]

Have you tried 3 radians across the 3rd row, RF/FF/RF? That might work in an 05.

I think this will work although I admittedly have not tried it. I also have three radians and a clone of your van (DGC 2010) but I have only ever put the three radians three-across in our Prius; I never tried it in the van.
I would want RF radians outboard on both sides of the third row (because of the tether anchor placements) with whomever is easiest and most cooperative/convenient to put back there. Maybe the "almost 4" and two year old?
I would then prefer a ff radian in the center because it has the tether anchor for that spot and wouldn't want a booster there because it would be hard to buckle. Probably the 4 year old babysitting child FF there in a radian.

Your 6 year old could do a booster in one of the captains chairs and the baby RF in the other captains chair? Then you have one side of the van where everyone can load in easily, including you, to buckle them up. The RF kids in the third row can also be buckled from the hatch. I did that for a while with my RF kid in the third row outboard. It's a bit of a pain but sometimes easier than climbing through the inside of the van.

 

[aept]

Another idea: if your 6 year old still fits in a ff radian and can buckle himself, have him be the center third row rider and put both babysitting kids back there RF outboard.

Then you can have all your own kids in more convenient spots for the weekend or other times when the babysitting kids aren't with you.

Your 6 year old would need to crawl under a RF seat no matter which way he enters the car (if you keep your almost 4 year old RF) but if you don't have a school drop off situation when he needs to enter and exit the car quickly, it might not matter.

 

[Fashionably Green Baby]

Ok thanks so far!

A little more info.

I have a 9 year old also and she is in a backless booster in the passenger side captains chair. We do school drop off/pick up for my 9 and 6 year olds so I like having her there. I need to be able to switch out her backless booster and put a seat for one if the babysitting girls because sometimes we need to go out while my older 2 are at school. That is the only seat I want to have to switch in and out because it's a pain to constantly switch seats.

We should have gotten a bus

So, I am going to attempt the 3 radians in the back again. I couldn't make it work last time I tried because I couldn't get it installed FF in the center position BUT I saw a post with tips on how to do it so I will give I another shot. The reason it's hard is because of he foot on the radian and how the seat is designed. You lose several inches of space
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[thepote]

I've also had luck with high-base seats next to radians. The Radians fit several inches "under" the sides of the higher seats. The one I had was the Recaro Como, which is like the Performance Ride. I hear the MyRide is also good for this reason.

 

[Fashionably Green Baby]

I wonder if I could get a FF radian center and a my ride RF in the 60 portion of the seat and then get a narrow HBB in the 40 portion? That would mean buying 2 new seats though. I wish there was a way to get my 6 year old in the 3rd row in a booster so I could put the baby in the drivers side captains chair...

But then I'm not sure how tall a kid can be and RF in the my ride....
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[Fashionably Green Baby]

Well, I got the radians in RF,Ff,RF but I'm not confidant in the install mainly of the drivers side one. The middle is solid for sure and I'm pretty confidant in the passenger side one but the problem is that it's impossible to get to the buckles and that makes it extremely hard.

Here are some pictures. This is how much space I lose on each side because of how the foot on the radian behaves with the plastic molding on the seat

(Pics are sideways)



This is the RF drivers side. It doesn't butt up to the seat correctly.


The passengers side does.


I just don't think this is going to work
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[aept]

What style of RF boot do you have? Are they sunshine kids Radians?

I wonder if a newer Diono boot would help that driver side installation.

 

[Fashionably Green Baby]

What style of RF boot do you have? Are they sunshine kids Radians?

I wonder if a newer Diono boot would help that driver side installation.

Yes sunshine kids boot.
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[aept]

Yes sunshine kids boot. Posted via Mobile Device

I was told, with the old boot (I have both SSK and Diono seats/boots) that it was ok to have it hanging off the seat, basically you will see the boot from the trunk area of the car but that it was ok to be installed like that. It might help you get it a lot closer to the side "wall" of the van if you do that on the drivers side.

Might want others to confirm that but I felt ok with it when I tried it.

 

[Fashionably Green Baby]

I was told, with the old boot (I have both SSK and Diono seats/boots) that it was ok to have it hanging off the seat, basically you will see the boot from the trunk area of the car but that it was ok to be installed like that. It might help you get it a lot closer to the side "wall" of the van if you do that on the drivers side.

Might want others to confirm that but I felt ok with it when I tried it.

Even with it hitting that hard plastic molding?
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[aept]

It was quite a few years ago, but I think that the sticking out part of the boot was on the outside of the hinge?
Perhaps our vans differ slightly in that hinge area, as well. The basic shape of the third row seating looks the same but maybe the plastic part is not.

Diono might be able to send you a new boot. I think they allow the new boot to be used with a SSK Radian. I would call them and ask if you are interested in that possibility.

 

[tiggercat]

My understanding is the Diono doesn't allow the foot of the boot to overhang at all, so you might want to clarify that before using that way. The 05 is a different 3rd row configuration from newer model years.

 

[Fashionably Green Baby]

Yeah I don't think it's going to work even if it's allowed.
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[lgenne]

Would a Scenera NEXT work there? It's narrow, and cheap, and its shape keeps it pretty far away from hinges.

 

[Belle's Mamma]

Could you see if the RFing Radian works in the 3rd row outboard on the drivers's side next to a non-harnesses seat booster in the 3rd row center?
If so, you could try:

3rd row...
4yo in a RSTV/9yo in backless booster - outboard passenger side
6yo in a narrow HBB - center
3yo RFing Radian -outboard driver side

2nd row...10 mo Radian & 2yo in Radians

4yo/9yo next to your 6yo so no one accidentally unbuckles a seat.