Another RN or Something Else??

NatesMamma

New member
Trying to get car seats figured out for our secondary vehicle. We currently have a TFP and MR65, and either kid (DS or the newbie due in a few wks) should fit either seat. The problem is, we can't fit either seat RF behind DH in a way that allows him to drive comfortably. Therefore, my original plan of RF both seats in the outboard positions won't work. And I'm not comfortable with DS riding FF outboard. I am *probably* OK with him switching FF if he can stay in the center. The vehicle is an '06 Corolla. Of course, fitting the MR and TF side by side doesn't work.

One option I'm entertaining is buying another RN to keep DS RF in the center. The MR would then go to the baby and would be outboard behind the passenger. I know that the RN will fit in the center seat; I've had it there before. Since the MR and RN puzzle so nicely, I'm all but certain that arrangement would work. Another possibility would be to buy him a narrow FF only seat that would fit in the center position and play nicely with either the MR or the TF that the baby would be in. So...

1) Would you consider it a worthwhile purchase to buy a RN to keep a 3.5 y.o. RF? If so, which RN would you go with? We have a RXT in the primary vehicle, but I'm just not sure if the headwings make the extra $$ worthwhile for a seat that the kiddo will ride in *maybe* 2x/week and that would probably always be installed in the center.

Does anyone have any experience with the RN FF in the center of the Corolla? I assume it fits but have never tried? Also, will it still play nicely enough with either the MR or the TF that they can be side by side? (Just looking ahead...)

2) Do you think it's better to buy a FF only seat at this point, and which one would you recommend? As DS still rides RF, I am woefully unaware of my FF only seat options. Are any of them narrow enough to fit in a compact car next to a wide convertible seat?

DS's stats are in siggy.
 
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MomToEliEm

Moderator
Here is a thread discussing radians, myrides and others in a corolla. I am not sure if those are with a FF radian in the middle though.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=209333

If you were considering forward facing your 3 year old, the maestro might be a good seat to check out. From looking through corolla threads, it appears that it fits well in some of the 3-across setups.

Many techs would probably say to keep your child rearfacing if you can get the radian to install well, though others might say that you have done a great job rearfacing for as long as you have so the choice is yours. If it were me, if I was already having to buy a radian to make a 3-across work, I might try to rearface. If the seat didn't install well rearfacing though, I wouldn't feel bad forward facing in the radian or another seat.
 

laurengt

Active member
Will the RN w/an AA fit RF behind DH? Then your DS could be there. Just a thought.

Also, I'm a lover of headwings and after those crash test videos, I would never buy a seat without them if I could avoid it.
 

MyTwoSons

New member
Trying to get car seats figured out for our secondary vehicle. We currently have a TFP and MR65, and either kid (DS or the newbie due in a few wks) should fit either seat. The problem is, we can't fit either seat RF behind DH in a way that allows him to drive comfortably. Therefore, my original plan of RF both seats in the outboard positions won't work. And I'm not comfortable with DS riding FF outboard. I am *probably* OK with him switching FF if he can stay in the center. The vehicle is an '06 Corolla. Of course, fitting the MR and TF side by side doesn't work.

I have no experience with your vehicle, but as another option to the RN you've considered purchasing, would a Graco Size4Me fit behind the driver's seat with it in the position your husband needs it in? It would be a 40lb seat instead of the 45lb RN, but Graco has just thrown out the 40" rule and now state rf to 1" below the bottom of the red actuator. I linked the thread with Darren's post (#28) of the blog stating this revision, and in a later post in that thread he said the allowable internal rf height with this new 1" rule is around 27.5". I 'think' that's more height than the RN.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=224285&page=2

I'm not certain how it plays with either of the two seats you already own to know if it would rf or ff next to them if you put it in the middle instead, but it is a narrow seat (18.5" I think). Here's a link to a S4M puzzling thread with a ton of different combination pics.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=224323&highlight=size4me


We :love: our S4M, even more so now that the 40" rule is gone!


2) Do you think it's better to buy a FF only seat at this point, and which one would you recommend? As DS still rides RF, I am woefully unaware of my FF only seat options. Are any of them narrow enough to fit in a compact car next to a wide convertible seat?

I wouldn't sway you either way, but just for reference, I own a FR85 and did try it right next to a rf MR several months ago, and it fit fine in my vehicle (again, no experience with yours). I looked for my pics but I couldn't find them so maybe someone else will chime in, but I seem to recall the MR sat up high enough to puzzle over the FR85 a bit. So you might have luck puzzling a ff seat in the center with the rf MR outboard since it sits up higher.
 

KatieJ

New member
Have you tried installing the TFP without the head rest behind the driver? If that fit, you could let the newbie use that at first which should get your older child to at least 4 RFing passenger side in the MR without buying any new seats.
 

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