Question Best seat for Chevy Colorado Ext Cab

[lyndseyh]

My husband purchased a 2005 Chevy Colorado ext cab last November, much to my chagrin. The next month, we found out we were pregnant! Our son will be 12 weeks when he needs to start riding in the truck. We got a Combi Coccoro for the truck but we could not get a secure install. The roundness of the bottom of the seat seems to be the problem - it just moves around way too much on the seat, no matter how much we tighten it. We were looking at Maxi Cosi Pria and the Britax Marathon (the new release.) Does anybody know of any successfully installed car seats in this vehicle? We are getting desperate as he is responsible for picking up our son from day care.

 

[Phineasmama]

Either might work, but I'd probably just go with the Britax. I don't think you'd have any issues getting a tight install with it.

Do you have a BabiesRus/ToysRus near you? They will usually let you take seats out to your car to try them out. Otherwise you can always order from Amazon because they have free returns.

 

[ebp913]

I'm no tech but we just ordered this seat and should receive it tomorrow so I am chiming in.

Did you try using a rolled towel or pool noodle with the Coccorro? I have read that you often need to use one or more to get a tight install. Quite a few seats have this option.

If you just don't like the Combi, try a Britax seat. We just tried the Marathon in his car at lunch and it fit great and he is very tall so it's hard for us to find seats that fit properly. I also like the Radian but it's too tall for his car so we are using it in my car.

 

[monica-m]

Welcome to car-seat.org. Sorry to hear that you're not loving the Coccoro, it's one of my favorite seats. Forgive me if you've tried all these but I am going to offer some Coccoro installation tips that could help the seat work better for you.

When installing the Coccoro rear facing, it's much easier to get a good install when you move the front seat up as far as they will go to give you room to work with. Then, get in the vehicle and place the Coccoro in the seating position you want to use. Get behind the seat facing the bed of the truck and use your hips to push the Coccoro in to the back and bottom of the vehicle seat while tightening the seat belt or LATCH strap. I have found that I get the best Coccoro installations with the seat belt rather than LATCH. After you get the seat belt tight, route the shoulder portion of the belt through the belt guides for the European routing if desired. Now lock the seat belt by pulling the shoulder portion all the way out of the retractor and feeding the slack back in listening for the clicks that tell you it's locked. Then check your work by testing for tightness at the belt path only. You should use the force of a firm handshake. Combi will send you a recline block to aid in getting the proper angle but the block or a pool noodle should not be used to tighten an improper install.

 

[Jessimamma]

My dh drives an 04 Colorado ext cab...we also use a CCO in it! Does the 05 also have the flip down back seats (2) with cup holder console in the middle & storage under the seat? Have you tried both Latch & seat belt? I can get a good install in either, but no matter what the passenger is in the dash =[

 

[ebp913]

Welcome to car-seat.org. Sorry to hear that you're not loving the Coccoro, it's one of my favorite seats. Forgive me if you've tried all these but I am going to offer some Coccoro installation tips that could help the seat work better for you.

When installing the Coccoro rear facing, it's much easier to get a good install when you move the front seat up as far as they will go to give you room to work with. Then, get in the vehicle and place the Coccoro in the seating position you want to use. Get behind the seat facing the bed of the truck and use your hips to push the Coccoro in to the back and bottom of the vehicle seat while tightening the seat belt or LATCH strap. I have found that I get the best Coccoro installations with the seat belt rather than LATCH. After you get the seat belt tight, route the shoulder portion of the belt through the belt guides for the European routing if desired. Now lock the seat belt by pulling the shoulder portion all the way out of the retractor and feeding the slack back in listening for the clicks that tell you it's locked. Then check your work by testing for tightness at the belt path only. You should use the force of a firm handshake. Combi will send you a recline block to aid in getting the proper angle but the block or a pool noodle should not be used to tighten an improper install.

I'm glad to know that I shouldn't need to pool noodle for a tight install. I thought I did and I think I need to go retry the Coccoro install in my husband's truck. I couldn't get the LATCH quite tight enough so I'll try the seatbelt.