Canadian Tire Roundabout? or Contender??

canadianmom2three

Active member
Picked up one of the Roundabouts that were on sale at CT this weekend. I've been out of the carseat loop for a bit so forgive me if these are dumb questions,
-the manual says to use RF with the RF anti-rebound bar - but there is no anti-rebound bar that I can see anywhere in the box etc.
-Is it safe to use without the anti-rebound bar (like is it optional?)
-Can I RF tether instead-which there is no mention of in the manual?
-Is this a 'cheaper' version of the regular Roundabout (I've never owned the roundabout, but this seat had a couple of annoying features I didn't expect, which made me wonder)?

The other option was the Graco Contender - which I nearly purchased instead. It was actually only the anti-rebound bar that swayed me to the Roundabout (and the slightly higher weight limit), because it is going in the rear seat of a very small pick-up and I worry about rebound into the back window. The contender didn't seem to have anything for anti-rebound, but looked like a really nice seat otherwise, and has some good reviews too.

Aside from the question about the anti-rebound bar, any thoughts on the pros and cons of those two seats? It is to RF a 9mo old baby in a small extenda cab truck. It doesn't need to last long as a FF seat, as we all know that I won't be able to resist buying something else when the baby turns FF!!

It just needs to be a GREAT RF seat. The driver of this vehicle is a fairly new driver, and he is a teenager (not that I have anything against teen drivers, but teenage boys are statistically more likely to crash!) He drives 30 minutes both ways on a highway full of trucks whenever he goes to pick up the baby (3 times a week minimum). It is horrible for snow in the winter. I have been driving him a lot, but would like to stop now that the weather is better. He drives an old truck, with new (winter and summer) tires and all possible maintenance and upkeep but it is still an older truck. The extra 5 lbs is not even really the top priority, as much as overall safety and ease of use. If there is a more expensive option that is significantly safer that would be what we would choose. Should we just get one of the better Britax seats?? There is waaay too many options and too much info out there - what is the best seat for us??? . TIA!!
 
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SnoGurl

New member
If the ARB isn't there, you should call Britax. Vehicle manufacturers have been pretty adamant against rearfacing tethering.

I really like the Contender, and provided it fits in the truck, it would probably be my choice. All seats in Canada have to have some kind of rebound control, so it probably wouldn't concern me not to have an ARB, although I'm not sure what truck you are putting it in, so hard to say for sure.
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canadianmom2three

Active member
Thanks, I'll give them a call tomorrow....
It is a Toyota Tundra, 2001, with the tiny rear doors that open forward and a miniature bench seat. We had the True Fit Premier to use in his truck, but went to install it and found out the manual says it can't be used in a compact extended cab truck....
 

canadianmom2three

Active member
Also, since I see you're a tech, is there anything at all to compel the baby's mom to keep him RF? She turned him about as soon as he hit 22lbs, despite us buying and giving her an infant seat that goes to 35lbs. She was letting us use it for a while (i.e. putting the baby in it when DS came to pick him up, but using the FF seat in her own car), but says the baby is too big for it now (he's not). We had tried talking to her, tried talking to her parents, giving her written info and mentioning it to CAS (who came to investigate both her and DS separately about something unrelated...so we mentioned it at the visit). She won't budge, and CAS didn't seem to care apparently.
 

Mary_Ann

New member
I love my G4 Britaxes and even though the Roundabout has a little less features, it's a great little seat. The only downside is the lack of legroom, but it shouldn't be a big issue until baby is 3 yo.

The Contender seems nice, but the 35lb weight limit RF is a huge turn off for us.
 

SnoGurl

New member
I actually have an '04 Tundra extended cab, which is the same gen. I wouldn't have a problem using either the roundabout or the Contender in it, whichever one I liked best.

As for baby's mom, there's probably not a ton to say, unfortunately. Best thing to do is keep trying, but not overwhelm her. Hopefully you have planted a seed and she'll do some research of her own. But, as long as what she's doing isn't illegal (all minimums met), probably not a lot you can do. Some people have had limited success getting some version of beat practice written into custody agreements.
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canadianmom2three

Active member
So I called Britax and they said they are out of stock on the ARB but she could ship out a d ring so it could be RF tethered. She was adamant that this is ok even though the manual only mentions the ARB. The DOM is 07/29/2015. Does this seem right? The truck manual doesn't say anything about RF tether at all, it is a 2001 Toyota tundra so no concern about active airbags or whatever...
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TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
So I called Britax and they said they are out of stock on the ARB but she could ship out a d ring so it could be RF tethered. She was adamant that this is ok even though the manual only mentions the ARB. The DOM is 07/29/2015. Does this seem right? The truck manual doesn't say anything about RF tether at all, it is a 2001 Toyota tundra so no concern about active airbags or whatever...
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I would take it back to Canadian tire and tell them it is missing a piece and exchange it for another. Maybe the reason it's missing is because it was returned already?

As for mom, do I understand that you gave her a 35# infant seat that she used FF? So she is using a RF-only seat FF?
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
So I called Britax and they said they are out of stock on the ARB but she could ship out a d ring so it could be RF tethered. She was adamant that this is ok even though the manual only mentions the ARB. The DOM is 07/29/2015. Does this seem right? The truck manual doesn't say anything about RF tether at all, it is a 2001 Toyota tundra so no concern about active airbags or whatever...

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Doesn't sound right to me. Was she in the US by any chance?

Can you bring the seat back to the store and exchange for another one that has the bar in the box?

ETA- I don't think any car manual has ever outright said yes, rearface tether is allowed or nope, we don't allow it. Newer cars have wording of- do not add weight to the back of the seat. But a lot of vehicle manufacturers have come out and said it's not approved, it's just not in manuals.
 

canadianmom2three

Active member
Doesn't sound right to me. Was she in the US by any chance?

Can you bring the seat back to the store and exchange for another one that has the bar in the box?

ETA- I don't think any car manual has ever outright said yes, rearface tether is allowed or nope, we don't allow it. Newer cars have wording of- do not add weight to the back of the seat. But a lot of vehicle manufacturers have come out and said it's not approved, it's just not in manuals.

I think it was Canada -I called the number on the Canadian manual and it was Britax/Bob products. The store only had the one in stock that I bought but the lady from Britax did suggest maybe they would give me the ARB from the display model, so maybe I'll try for that until Britax gets some back in stock, because she did place an order for both the d ring and ARB for me, just said the d ring would come quickly and the ARB not for several weeks at least.
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