Attempting 3 across in Civic

[Mom2Bunnies]

So I posted my first thread last week. We are expecting our third child soon and I asked for advice on convertible car seats that fit newborns well.

My DH had been hoping to keep our '06 Civic, but I had convinced him for our sanity we would need to upgrade to a SUV or minivan. I didn't love the idea of driving something so much bigger than I was used to, and was stuck a little on the 'minivan stigma', but they look OH so convenient!

Then I found the 3 across thread...

Now we're back to at least attempt to puzzle something together in the Civic to see if its manageable. We bought a Radian RXT to get us started.
My other two (5.5yrs, and 3.5yrs) are both currently in a Nautilus, but obviously those will not both fit. In the store parking lot, it looked like we may have a prayer to fit my oldests back-up seat (Turbobooster) on one side, with the radian RF center, and Nautilus on other side. But of course, that doesn't mean they will install well, I know.

I am a little concerned about taking my oldest out of the 5 point harness before she needs to be. And also have this booster located on the side. (But the radian doesn't fit well RF unless in the center).

If the Nautilus turns out to be too wide, I think I could convince my DH to buy a radian R120 to use RF in the center, and place my 3.5 yr old in the FF RXT. So I was also considering pushing my luck and seeing if I could get 'two' R120's.... But I sat my oldest in the RXT in the store, and it looked like her shoulders were just below the top harness slot. I will double check this once I get to play with ours, but if that's the case, I don't think it would be worth the cost.
Are there any other narrow and tall 5-point harness seats that may work? Or should she just be fine going to HBB every day?

Of course, I may play around with seats and test drive it for a week and decide I'm crazy and we need a bigger car. I really need to try and test drive an Odyssey, and I'm also reading great things about the Mazda 5 on here.
But it would also be great not to have to cut back due to new car payments. :/

Any tricks, hints, suggestions, as I begin to puzzle things out in the next few days? Thanks again for your help so far!

 

[canadiangie]

If your back seat is the same as a '02 Civic (I attempted to google, but pages aren't loading) I know you can get a rear facing Radian behind passenger, forward facing Radian middle, and forward facing MyRide behind the driver.

It's a tough install, with no extra space to be had, but it works.

I'm blanking on whether the rf Radian was reclined enough for a newborn.. it wasn't long before they added an Angle Adjuster (by Diono) to have more front seat space. I suggest you try the Radian rf and see what happens.

Where you lose a ton of space is those stiff side bolsters in your back seat. They eat up useable space like crazy. A rf Radian sits inwards of the side bolster, and a ff MyRide puzzles in front, which is why those two seats work outboard.

 

[nannykates]

Maybe try ff sureride behind driver, ff radian center, rf radian.
You might be better off getting something shorter for the baby until you can use the angle adjuster. So then maybe nauti, myride, radian?

 

[Brigala]

There were some major changes made to the back seat between the 05 and 06 model years.

I have an 05, so my experience won't be a perfect match, but generally speaking the 06 is an easier car to do 3-across in.

I think I'd try a Harmony Defender for the oldest. It's very narrow and I think the harness slots are higher than the Radian.

If you can avoid a booster, I would. Buckling a booster in a tight 3-across situation is a pain in the butt, especially on a daily basis.

Is your 3.5 year old small enough to rear-face in a Radian? If so, I think I'd try maybe a rear-facing Radian on one side, a Harmony Defender in the middle, and a compact infant seat (maybe a Keyfit??) on the other side. Rear-facing the 3.5 year old will give you the most room, because the Radian is quite a bit narrower at the bottom compared to the shoulder area. But I think in the 06 you might have a chance with a forward-facing Radian next to a Harmony Defender as well. I'm pretty sure it would not work in my 05, but I could be wrong since I haven't actually tried the Defender in my car yet. I just know in my 05 I can't fit two Radians facing the same direction.

Some things that have worked for me:

3 Radians: FF/RF/FF
FF Radian, RF Radian, RF Britax Roundabout 55
FF Radian, RF Radian, RF Combi Coccoro
FF Radian, RF Radian, Ride Safer Travel Vest

I hope this helps. Good luck. New seats are almost always less expensive than trading in for a different vehicle.

 

[Mom2Bunnies]

Thank you so much! I learned something in each of your replies!
I'm so glad I found this forum. You all definitely know your cars and car seats!

I like how you are thinking about this puzzle. I will definitely consider having my 3.5 yr old use the radian until the baby is old enough to use the angle adjuster. I will check to see if she is still small enough to RF too.
And I am not familiar with the defender, but very excited to check it out, it looks like a great option!

So if my current seats dont work out, I will try:
(behind passenger seat/center/behind driver)
-(?? Narrow infant or convertible) RF for newborn/radian RF or FF/ defender
-(?? Narrow infant or convertible) RF for newborn/defender/radian FF

and consider looking into:
-radian RXT FF (or RF with angle adjuster)/radian R120 RF/defender

The Evenflo Sureride was mentioned, would that be a good place to start filling in the ?? above?
Edited to add: you already answered these ?? for me, never mind!
I see the Keyfit mentioned, as well as a RF MyRide or Roundabout 55.

 

[nannykates]

The graco click connect seats look quite narrow and the 35 is the lightest infant seat if you wanted another infant seat suggestion. Britax convertibles also puzzle well with the radian when facing the same direction.

Eta someone already said britax

 

[Patriot201]

I have an '06 Civic, too, and have had several successful three-across situations. In fact, I currently have a Britax Parkway SG, a RF Radian, and a FF Radian across the back of my Civic.

It is VERY difficult, but you can get Nautilus, RF Radian, another seat across the back (you MUST use seatbelts, though. NO LATCH!). Let me see if I can find a photo...

Well, here is one of a Nautlus and RF Radian.




Nautilus, RF Radian, Recaro Vivo...



First Years Via (handle not in correct position) and FF Radian, with adequate room on the other side for another seat.


I thought I had one with another combo seat next to the Radian. Hold on...

 

[Mom2Bunnies]

Yay! Thanks for sharing pics! I'm excited this may actually work.
I will update if I am successful and share my own pictures.