Question How to arrange car seat installation in 06 Dodge GC?

[pfarfigknittin]

I have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. I also have 2.9 children (baby is due in a little less than a month!). I have 3 LATCH positions: 2 middle row captain chairs, and 1 in the middle of the back row of the van.

Current car seats:
for 4.5yo = Britax Frontier 85 in harness mode. He can buckle and unbuckle chest clip, but cannot manage the crotch buckles on his own.

for 2.5yo = Evenflo Triumph Advance as forward facing since she outgrew the rear-facing weight. This seat will be replaced come September due to upcoming expiration, but we haven't decided with what seat yet, likely another Britax Frontier. She can buckle the chest clip and crotch buckles, but cannot unbuckle either of them.

for NewBaby = Graco Snugride 35, rear facing, of course.

So, my original thought was to put both the 4.5yo and the 2.5yo in the outboard positions in the rear row, and then the baby in one of the captain chairs. I would then stow-and-go the other captain chair which would make it quite easy for me to reach the rear row for buckling the older two kids. Except I have no idea how to install the seats in those positions. I'm not even sure that I can since the Frontier requires a top tether for 65+ pounds (which neither child is there yet; they're both relatively the same at 40 pounds). Also, I don't quite understand the seat belts back there. They appear to be emergency-locking only (I can pull out the whole belt and it remains slack), which would require a locking clip, but my unprofessional online research says that they are self-locking lap belts while the shoulder belt remains slack and no locking clip is needed? The manual doesn't really say anything about adding child restraints in these positions.

Ideas? I have a car seat safety check scheduled for next week Monday (one week), but they want all the seats installed and will only make minor adjustments as necessary. So I've got to figure out exactly where and how these car seats will get installed before showing up!

Thanks for the help!!

 

[wendytthomas]

Since you don't have two top tethers in the third row I wouldn't put the two oldest back there. The seatbelts are easy. They lock at the buckle. So you'll install and that's it. That part is not a problem. But the lack of tethers, especially for a forward facing 2.5 year old, are.

I'd put one of the kids in the back "middle" and use that top tether, then put the baby on the passenger side third row. Tumble down the seat in front of the baby, and then put the other child on the still standing captain's chair. That way you get top tethers for everyone who needs them and you still have that open space.

How heavy are your kids?

Wendy

 

[pfarfigknittin]

The 4yo is 41lbs, and the 2.5yo is 39lbs when we last checked in May at the Dr.'s office! Amazing to me since they both started out within a few ounces of each other at birth weight. But, DS takes after me (super skinny and tall) and DD takes after DH (built like a brick but not chunky).

I don't know if I can get a good seat belt only install, or even fit 2 car seats right next to each other in the 3rd row. I tried with the Frontier last night, thought I had it pretty secure in just the shoulder belt before dinner, then checked it after dinner before we went grocery shopping and could move it 3-4" side to side, but not at all back to front. So I just reinstalled it in the LATCH captain chair because I didn't want to mess around with it anymore.

Can you explain to me what you mean by the seat belt locking at the clip? It's a free-motion sliding clip, so as it is without a locking clip, if I pull on the shoulder strap, it does loosen the lap belt. But, otherwise the lap belt portion seemed to hold on it's own. Yet a few hours had it very loose again.

 

[wendytthomas]

Sure! Have you flown on a plane before? You know how the big buckles there lock if you keep it buckled and parallel on your lap, but if you pull up it loosens? Same thing. You have lightweight locking latchplates back there. Compare them to the driver's buckle. They're different right? They slide on their own, but they're bulkier than the driver's. But not quite as bulky as the lap belt in the middle of the third row (a heavy duty locking latchplate. You've got them all in there). So they didn't hold tight because the angle was wrong. Did you try the long or short belt path for the Frontier? I bet the long would work really well. On that note, your car has a 65 pound combined seat plus child LATCH weight limit. So for the Frontier 85 that means 45 pounds for the child's weight, and for the Evenflo that means 46 pounds child's weight. Your older child is a bit close (not super, but something to keep in mind) and it sounds like your younger may catch up soon. Something to look for. You will need to switch to the seatbelt probably within a year for them both.

We can help with seatbelt installs when the time comes. If you put one using LATCH in the middle of the back row for now that is offset toward the driver's side, so that would give you room for someone on the passenger (did I say that wrong before?). That'll help for now, then reevaluate when the switch to the seatbelt is made.

Wendy

 

[pfarfigknittin]

Okay, I see what you mean now. I did the short belt path for the Frontier. I originally tried the long path, since that's the video that Britax had, but the belt isn't long enough to complete it.

The Frontier can remain top-tethered, even if I can't use the bottom LATCH, right? I'm gathering that from this site.

So now I'm thinking, I'll put the Evenflo Triumph Advance in driver's side middle row captain's chair with LATCH, the Britax Frontier 85 in the center rear with LATCH, and try the Graco Snugride 35 in the passenger rear with a seatbelt install, and stow-and-go the other middle captain's chair so I can plug baby in and help DS with his buckles. Then, as the two older kids outgrow the LATCH weight, they can remain top tethered in those positions with a seatbelt install. The center belt in the rear row is a lap belt, so that should be easier than the shoulder belts.

For installing the Graco with a seatbelt, if I can't get a tight install with the belt because of the angle of the shoulder strap, can I use a locking plate to keep the shoulder strap down?

 

[wendytthomas]

Your idea sounds perfect.

The Snugride 35 has a built in lockoff on the base. You won't need a separate locking clip.

Wendy

 

[pfarfigknittin]

Excellent! DH is going to be so happy that I did the seat installs this time.