Question FF Harness seat and Forward of bite seatbelt

[jillianrose]

Hi everyone. You guys are so helpful. I have a question....

I tried installing my daughter's Radian 80 (using seatbelt...she's over the anchor weight limit) in the middle of our 08 Ford Explorer and it's a "no go" due to a variety of reasons. So I tried installing it in the third row and it seems to be a "no go" again but for different reasons. The belt stalk is fixed and only moves forward, not even a mm backwards, and it is located forward of the seat bite so far that it's impossible to buckle the seatbelt without leaving tons of slack which then cannot be brought back because the belt gets scrunched and bent. It truly seems impossible.

So, I'm wondering if any of you have forward of bite seatbelts and have found a seat that harnesses to 60 lbs that can be installed correctly with these kinds of belts.

In case you're wondering, I have two anchored seats in the middle row outboard. Thanks!

 

[finn]

The only seats I have found that work with forward of the bight buckles are those that install using the long belt path, all the rest you can't get tight enough or they twist towards the buckle.

 

[Pixels]

Two things: Have you tried all the tips in the Install Tips for a Radian with forward of the bight seatbelts thread? And can you post pics?

 

[jillianrose]

What does "long belt path" mean? Which seats have a long belt path?

I can try to post pictures tomorrow.

 

[jillianrose]

Oh, and yes...I've studied that thread, and just can't seem to do it in this car. The rear seat does not recline so you can't use that trick. And pushing down instead of back does not work because the belt stalk still stays too far foward to get a good tight fit.

 

[Pixels]

Long belt path means the seatbelt goes over the side of the carseat, through a slot to the back, up through the same slot on the other side, and over to the buckle. I know the Regent and Frontier (both Britax) have the LBP, at least in certain configurations (certain weight requirements).

 

[jillianrose]

Long belt path means the seatbelt goes over the side of the carseat, through a slot to the back, up through the same slot on the other side, and over to the buckle. I know the Regent and Frontier (both Britax) have the LBP, at least in certain configurations (certain weight requirements).

Thank you for responding. I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I just don't understand how that's different than the Radian. Don't all FF seats have the same kind of belt path??? They all require that the seatbelt goes in one side, through the back of the seat and out the other side to the buckle, right? Is the difference that the radian belt path is so narrow? Thank you. I hope you can help me understand this.

 

[Defrost]

Have you tried unbuckling, tightening the seat belt (and smoothing out the scrunched-up part) and then re-buckling (bounce, bounce, swear, click? ) That's the only method I know of for that particular problem (fixed buckle stalk with no reclining vehicle seat.)

The long belt path is only used on two seats currently, IIRC - the Britax Regent and the Britax Frontier. It's actually opposite the usual belt path used on most carseats - the one we call the short belt path. The carseat is held in place by the seat belt (or LATCH straps) going OVER the sides of the carseat (instead of behind them) and then BEHIND the center portion (instead of in front of it.)

I can't seem to find a pic of it anywhere... I have one, but it's without the cover on the carseat and if you're not familiar with the Regent it's pretty meaningless.

Oh, I know - if you go to the Britax website and look up their Regent manual, they've got diagrams of the long belt path.

 

[mommycat]

From another thread:

Step by step long belt path instructions with pictures can be found by clicking here (if you want to see what that looks like).

 

[monstah]

I have an 06 Ford Freestyle with foward of the bight awful belt stalks. Maybe the seatbelts are similar? Here's what I do to install the Radian if I can't get it in any other way.
But keep in mind I am not a tech, someone may come along and say my "method" is all wrong.


-Don't use the recline option on the RN.
-Sit the Radian about 1-2 inches away from the seat bight.
-Thread the seatbelt through the path and buckle.
-Stand on the seat.
-Yup, I said take off your shoes and stand on the car seat.
-When tightening the seatbelt, you want to pull straight out -parallel to the ground, not up towards the ceiling or back over the car seat- this should help prevent the seatbelt from scrunching up un you until it is tight enough. (Two people might be helpful.)
-Then lock the seatbelt at the retractor and remove the excess.
-But, before all of the excess is fed in, I actually put my back on the ceiling and give the seat a push straight down and pull the seatbelt as tight as possible. (This is when the seatbelt will likely scrunch up on you.)

I hope I was able to explain it clearly and I hope it helps.

Have you tried unbuckling, tightening the seat belt (and smoothing out the scrunched-up part) and then re-buckling (bounce, bounce, swear, click? ) That's the only method I know of for that particular problem (fixed buckle stalk with no reclining vehicle seat.)

ETA: Or this. This seems like an easier way to do it than "my way" LOL. I'll have to try this next time.

 

[Jeanum]

Here's a picture of our Regent installed with the long belt path method to show you an example - note the vehicle seatbelt is gray and the Regent harness (tucked off to either side of the Regent as viewed from the front) is tan in the picture.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j34/carcpsfanatic/carseatregentbluebouquet.jpg As others noted, only the Regent and Frontier allow this long belt path installation method, and the Radian doesn't allow this installation type.

 

[mommycat]

Have you tried unbuckling, tightening the seat belt (and smoothing out the scrunched-up part) and then re-buckling (bounce, bounce, swear, click? )

-Thread the seatbelt through the path and buckle.
-Stand on the seat.
-Yup, I said take off your shoes and stand on the car seat.
-When tightening the seatbelt, you want to pull straight out -parallel to the ground, not up towards the ceiling or back over the car seat- this should help prevent the seatbelt from scrunching up un you until it is tight enough. (Two people might be helpful.)
-Then lock the seatbelt at the retractor and remove the excess.
-But, before all of the excess is fed in, I actually put my back on the ceiling and give the seat a push straight down and pull the seatbelt as tight as possible. (This is when the seatbelt will likely scrunch up on you.)

:ROTFLMAO: I have both these methods. Sometimes I kneel instead of stand. Different seats/vehicles require different persuasion methods...

 

[jillianrose]

Oh, thanks so much! Now I understand the long belt path. I had read it here a few times but never knew what it meant.

 

[jillianrose]

Have you tried unbuckling, tightening the seat belt (and smoothing out the scrunched-up part) and then re-buckling (bounce, bounce, swear, click? ) That's the only method I know of for that particular problem (fixed buckle stalk with no reclining vehicle seat.)

Yup, tried that. What happens is when I unbuckle to tighten the belt it won't reach the stupid forward of bit buckle. It's so maddening! I tried this several times. If I leave it loose enough to reach the buckle, I can't pull it tight enough to tighten it afterwards.

 

[jillianrose]

-Don't use the recline option on the RN.
-Sit the Radian about 1-2 inches away from the seat bight.
-Thread the seatbelt through the path and buckle.
-Stand on the seat.
-Yup, I said take off your shoes and stand on the car seat.
-When tightening the seatbelt, you want to pull straight out -parallel to the ground, not up towards the ceiling or back over the car seat- this should help prevent the seatbelt from scrunching up un you until it is tight enough. (Two people might be helpful.)
-Then lock the seatbelt at the retractor and remove the excess.
-But, before all of the excess is fed in, I actually put my back on the ceiling and give the seat a push straight down and pull the seatbelt as tight as possible. (This is when the seatbelt will likely scrunch up on you

ETA: Or this. This seems like an easier way to do it than "my way" LOL. I'll have to try this next time.

Hmmm....this sounds like it could work. I never thought of pulling the seatbelt straight out instead of up. I'll give that a try. I have thought about standing in the seat but I'm a large woman and don't know if I could pull that off. Sounds like I need to try this with dh. I've been trying to do it myself. Thanks for the tips. I'll try to get dh to help me. (He groans in agony at the mere mention of installing a carseat!).

 

[joolsplus3]

One way to pull that seatbelt sideways, is to get to it through the velcro flaps in the back of the seat cover... you can reach through there, grab the shoulderbelt on the buckle side, and get some extra strength right there next to the buckle, to get that lapbelt really cranked down. You have switchable retractors, right? Do not pull the shoulderbelt all the way out to lock it till you are done getting the lapbelt tight.

 

[mommyx4]

I have an 07 Expedition EL with the same seatbelts. I have a Regent installed using the seatbelt short belt path and it is rock solid. Doesn't move at all!

 

[MOM25BOYS]

I have a '04 Expedition and even though it can be a BIG pain installing an Radian can be done. I admit the 3rd row buckles can be very hard, but I did DeFrost's trick and it worked like a charm in the middle seating position. You may need 2 people to get it done, but you will have to buckle the belt, pull the belt as tight as you can get it, unbuckle it and let it click back a few notches and rebuckle it again. Now once you have let it click back it will not reach the buckle so you will need to jump on that seat or put all you weight in it to get it to meet. This is where someone helping can be handy as they can try to buckle it while you put all the weight in the seat or jump on it. I have come very close to breaking my thumb to get it in, but it got done.:thumbsup:

As far as in the 2nd row seating, I have never done one there without using LATCH since my boys are still under the weight limit.

Good Luck.

 

[jillianrose]

Thanks everyone! Problem solved!! I took the Wizard out of my husband's car and installed it in the third row of my Explorer using the seat belt. It was tricky, but much easier than the Radian. I used lots of your tricks (I've been using latch a long time so I had little experience with seatbelt install), including 2mykids' trick of standing in the seat (I had to kneel, though) with my back on the roof and pushed that darn seat down while my husband buckled. Wow! What a great trick!!! Thanks everyone!!

Another trick that worked really well was to unbukle, let some of the slack go back and then re-buckle, but this was only possible with my back on the ceiling and dh buckling.

Now I'll install the Radian in my husband's car using latch for my three year old/30 pounder!