CRV 3 across with Frontier and Boulevard

[reissgirl]

I have yet another question about 3 across in my 2011 CRV. I'm hoping to get 3 across for occasional carpooling.

DS1: 4y, 30pds, FF
DS2: 16mos, 20pds, RF
3rd: 4y, 30+pds, FF

Frontier and Radian worked great in middle and passenger side. Left tons of room for Boulevard on driver's side.

I went back to the store to try the Frontier in middle and the Boulevard on passenger side (leaving room on driver's side for an inexpensive FF seat). I think it might work! I'm trying to figure out if the install was safe. Both seats were tight (I checked them individually and together). See pics.


The RF Boulevard on the passenger side was hanging off the seat just a bit. Is it too much? I remember reading about an 80/20 rule and it was definitely at least 80% on the seat. The Frontier sat a bit on the "crack" in between the middle seat and the driver side seat. I probably wouldn't be able to flip down the driver side seat with the Frontier sitting there but that's not a big deal to me.

I want to put DS1 FF in the middle. Since DS2 is RF, I feel more comfortable with him in an outboard seat. I'm not convinced that I'll be able to keep the peace if they're within reaching distance of each other, but I'd like to try.

I'm trying to avoid buying a Radian because they're $$ and people here seem to have a love/hate relationship with them. I know that the Britax seats are not well loved for ERF. Is there another seat, aside from the Radian, that I should consider for DS2 for ERF that could possibly fit next to the Frontier?

To save money, I'd prefer to stick with the seat I have (Boulevard) and get a Frontier and a less expensive convertible for third position. Thanks!

 

[EmmaCPST]

I don't love that Frontier, it seems like with how the buckle is sitting it wouldn't be tight to me.

Did you try it with long belt path? LBP will usually snug up the crack.

The Blvd looks fine to me.

I can fit a RF Complete Air next to my Frontier in my older CRV, but it doesn't leave room for anything other than a Coccoro. With the Frontier center you might be able to make it work though. I would also try a True Fit if he's not a heavy kid (it has a 35# RF weight limit).

 

[Phineasmama]

I tried the frontier in the middle of my cr-v and got a kind of maybe could be acceptable install with the long belt path But I wouldn't use it in the middle.

 

[Phineasmama]

Just an FYI, if you put the frontier behind the driver you can fit 2 RFing radians or a Radian and a Coccoro. I have never had a problem with the radian in my cr-v, you need the angle adjuster though. Install the middle one with latch and the passenger one with seat belt. Twist the passenger belt stalk around 2x and then buckle the seat in. I just have my doubts that the combo you are trying is going to be actually safe...since I have a lot of experience with 3 across in this vehicle.

If you really don't want a radian you'll probably have to wait and shell out the big bucks for a Foonf or two. But I would give the radian a try, you might be surprised.

 

[reissgirl]

I guess I'm less excited about the Radian because it seems like a duplicate, albeit much narrower, of the seat I already have (Boulevard). So the Frontier seems like a wiser investment to me. If I get another regular convertible then I'll ultimately need to buy the next seat for DS1 and then the next seat for DS2. If I can get away with the Frontier now, then I'll only end up needing to buy one more seat. The Foonf is outrageously expensive, but outrageously beautiful.

Is the Radian a good seat for ERF, since the Boulevard I have already is a bit short?

If I got a Complete Air and Coccoro, where would they sit? One needs to be FF and one RF.

 

[Phineasmama]

Okay I think I might have missed the fact that this is a car pool situation so sorry about that For some reason I got it in my head that you had 2 rear facers but I think that was someone else I was talking to.

In that case here is what I would do-

Frontier for your DS behind the driver.

Get an Evenflo Maestro- very inexpensive but good for 3 across. Harnesses up to 50 lbs and your potential 3rd kid is nowhere near that.You can leave the cup holders off, or just one cupholder off to make it fit. Put that in the middle, installed with LATCH.

Then get a Radian for your younger DS and install it behind the passenger with the seat belt with the angle adjuster of course.

The Radian is an EXCELLENT seat for extended rear facing. Sure you will always hear problems about any seat you buy. But I'm telling you it will be great in your vehicle (with angle adjuster) and it is much, much taller than your Boulevard and has an additional 5 lbs of rear facing weight limit (45 lbs instead of 50). The radian could easily get you an extra year or two of rear facing over the boulevard. I would sell that or put it in your extra vehicle if you have one, grandma's car, whatever.

This is what I have in my CR-V right now:

Of course I have the Turbobooster behind the driver instead of the Frontier, but I am planning on getting another FR85 as soon as I can afford it to install in that position. So you would have this exact setup!

The Coccoro is great for newborns but usually outgrown rear facing by age 2.

The Complete Air 65 is nice but I found it extremely hard to install in the CRV. I could not get a good install in the middle AT. ALL. Not with latch, not with the seat belt. So I would not recommend that, I would get a Maestro instead. It's only about $70 too.

 

[reissgirl]

Thanks for the pic!

Is the middle position much safer for DS1 FF? If so, what about:
Passenger: RF Radian
Middle: FF Boulevard
Driver: FF Maestro

That way I would only have to buy two seats right now. I'm still not thrilled that the Blvd and Radian seem to serve the same purpose. We have one car and no family nearby so have absolutely no use for an extra seat. It just doesn't seem like the best investment.

If you think the Blvd won't fit in the center next to the Radian, then maybe I should consider selling it. Does the Blvd have good resale value?

Or, if the Blvd doesn't fit in the center, would it fit like this:
Passenger: RF Radian
Middle: FF Maestro
Driver: FF Boulevard

 

[reissgirl]

Silly me! I just realized that the Radian RXT goes to 120 pounds as a booster, so it's not redundant to have that and the Boulevard.

Is the RXT considered safer than the R120? It looks like the difference is the head wings.

 

[Phineasmama]

The radian does not make a good booster so I would not ever use it as a booster. But it's well worth the value to have as a rear facing and forward facing seat.

If you do want to use the blvd you could put it behind the driver RFing and use a radian and maestro FFing in the middle and passenger. Or FFing blvd driver, maestro center, rf radian passenger. Your son will be plenty safe on the outside, those are both excellent seats with good side impact protection. The reason I suggested using the maestro in the middle is because it fits really well there with latch, and since you're not going to be transporting the carpool kid as much as your own kids, it will be so much more convenient for you to have your two kids on the outboard sides.

When I only had 2 kids I always put them on the outboard sides

 

[reissgirl]

I should have listened to all of you first and gone straight for the Radian instead of trying every other imaginable configuration!!!

This combo works without any problems:
RF Radian behind passenger, Maestro center, FF Boulevard behind driver

Now I just have two questions.
1) Should I consider a different inexpensive carpool seat for the center position, just to have a higher weight limit? Is there a different one that would fit? So far I really like the Maestro because it's really lightweight and seems like that will be great for travel.

2) I'd rather save $100 and get the R100 instead of the RXT. Is there any feeling on this board that the headwings make the RXT safer? I bought the Boulevard instead of the Marathon because of the headwings, but I didn't necessarily read that it was safer. Obviously, safety is my primary concern and would be worth every extra penny of the $100. I should also add that the higher weight limit of the RXT doesn't matter to me since my kiddos are barely on the growth chart.