Question fitting 2 car seats and an adult in the back seat of an Equinox

[raceystew]

HI- we will be flying to LA to visit a friend in July with our car seats in tow. She has a 2012 Equinox. I am wondering if we will be able to fit both car seats (Key Fit 30 base & bucket and Evenflo Momentum) plus my husband in the back seat of her Equinox? Possible??

Thanks!

 

[EmmaCPST]

I doubt the Keyfit and the Momentum will fix next to one another, so only if your husband wants to squish into the center seat (and there is a headrest in the center seat).

How old are your kids? Do they have seats on the plane? If they don't have seats, we don't recommend checking car seats, ever, the way that baggage handlers "handle" car seats is akin to being in a crash.

 

[raceystew]

Kids will be 4 mo and 2 yrs at the time of the trip. Both are flying in our laps. Can we gate-check the car seats? We do have a Britax Marathon we could use instead of the Momentum, but it seems tight in the shoulder area for my son. If you thought that might fit next to the KF, it would work for the few days.

 

[bcrammond]

I have not installed in this vehicle, but an earlier VUE which is very similar...so I can't say for sure, but IMO I would try the Marathon and the Key fit. If the Marathon is RF it gives the passenger in back a good amount of hip space because it sits higher.

I can't say about gate check for sure. IF you do I would recommend buckling the harness, pull all slack out, and tuck the slack under the cover. Also be sure to have the LATCH connectors and straps attached to the seat correctly and slack pulled out.

Sorry can't be more help.

 

[mdsvc89]

I'm guessing you're not going to want to hear this, but...

Seats that are checked, even gate checked, are as good as crashed. The airline makes no guarantee that they won't (for example) drop them from the jetway where you leave them to the ground for the ground crew to put them on the plane, or otherwise mis-handle them.

I'm also not a fan of lap babies on planes -- if my purse needs to be stowed safely under the seat in front of me to prevent it from being a projectile and hitting someone in the head, a baby (or toddler...) isn't safe on your lap, either. I also believe that the airline "lap child" policy extends only to those UNDER 2, so your 2 year old may be required to have a seat.

If you have decided that you are going to travel this way anyway, I'd look into seeing if your LA friend can get/borrow etc. reliable carseats there, so you're not subjecting your seats to abuse on the airline. Ideally, purchase a seat for each passenger on the plane, install seats on the plane, and use them at your destination.

 

[Ninetales]

When I was looking at flights awhile back (didn't end up flying) every airline I saw specified that lap babies must be younger than two. Even going as far as to say that if the child turns two on the trip, they must gave a seat on the way back. They usually want a birth certificate.

Also, everything in the post above. I would not use a seat that has been gate checked or cargo checked.

 

[raceystew]

Well... Poop. I appriciate the candor. My friends are looking to see if they have car seats avail from thier friends, etc. Are there places to rent car seats? What are the thoughts on that?

 

[Jan06twinmom]

Well... Poop. I appriciate the candor. My friends are looking to see if they have car seats avail from thier friends, etc. Are there places to rent car seats? What are the thoughts on that?

We would definitely recommend NOT renting a car seat. You won't know anything about the safety of the car seat (i.e. was it in a car accident?) or even the condition of the car seat. There is also a chance that they will try to give you a seat that is not appropriate for your child if they run out of seats.

Here's one article about why not to rent car seats... http://www.deliciousbaby.com/journal/2008/jul/27/danger-rent-car-rental-agency-puts-infant-risk/

Is your older child 2 years old already or almost 2yo? If your child is 2yo, you have to buy a seat for the child. In that case, I would suggest bringing the Marathon with you to use on the plane.

If your friend cannot find a seat to borrow, you might want to have your friend buy a Cosco Scenera at least for the baby. This will probably be cheaper than renting a car seat and much safer. Depending on the size of your 2yo, it might work for the older child too. At the end of the trip, you can leave it with your friend, donate it, or have your friend put it in a box and mail it to you.

Melanie

 

[raceystew]

My son will be 2 the week after our trip. Originally we planned it that way to take advantage of not having to buy the kids seats on the plane. But now I am just too scared to have them in our laps. I've discussed some of these discoveries with my husband and we think we'll just drive after all.

Thanks to all who have commented. We appriciate the education