I love my regent, but hate that it has to be tethered

[Kristydrosgers]

Some might remember that I had to put my tether strap though the crease in the seat to tether it, well everyone said that was wrong so I almost broke my hand shoving it through the almost non existent space behind my seat but now I can't tighten it enough since I can't get my hand back there to pull the strap so it isn't that tight, isn't it supposed to be? This is such a pain

 

[mominabigtruck]

Re: I love my regent, but heate that it has to be tethered

I don't know anything about your installation issues but I wouldn't put a large child in a ffing seat without a tether regardless of what the instructions said. To me that just doesn't seem safe, just based on physics.

 

[MomToEliEm]

Re: I love my regent, but heate that it has to be tethered

I know in my husband's truck, the tether anchor is really hard to get to. I can do the two side seat anchors okay because the I can thread them down to the anchor which is located by the opening the doors on the floor. In the center though, they expect you to get the tether in through a very small opening and then connect it to the anchor behind the fold down armrest and then somehow tighten the tether which is nearly impossible because I can't reach the adjuster thing. I have decided not to install seats in the center position in his truck. They just make it too complicated.

 

[heathernick06]

Re: I love my regent, but heate that it has to be tethered

I looked back and saw that that you are installing the Regent in a truck, correct? I'm not sure how the tethers work in your truck, but I know your frustration with having to squeeze the tether through that tiny gap between the seat and the back of the truck. My tether anchor is on the floor behind the seat, so what I do is stick the tether behind the seat and push/let it slide down to the floor. Once it is down there I go under the seat and hook it to the tether anchor and I look for the tether strap. I grab the strap (I'm still under the seat at this point) and I pull it until I can reach it by sitting in the truck seat. I then sit in the car seat and pull it until it is tight. It definitely takes A LOT of work, but it is possible to get it tight. Of course, now that I have the Radian in there it is almost impossible to get the tether undone because the buckle is behind that tiny gap behind the truck seat. Good luck

I wanted to add something so you can hopefully get a better mental picture of how I tighten the strap. When I am under the seat pulling the strap, I am pulling it towards the front of the truck. When I am sitting in the car seat, I pull the tether strap up towards the ceiling of the truck and then towards myself (the strap is between my legs coming from under the truck seat). I hope that wasn't too confusing

 

[Kristydrosgers]

Re: I love my regent, but heate that it has to be tethered

But I have to lift my seat up with the regent in the floor to even get to my tether anchor, hook it then put the carseat on the seat to install so after the seats down I can't get back under my seat.

 

[Defrost]

Re: I love my regent, but heate that it has to be tethered

But I have to lift my seat up with the regent in the floor to even get to my tether anchor, hook it then put the carseat on the seat to install so after the seats down I can't get back under my seat.

You may have to break the "don't tighten the top tether until the carseat is correctly installed" rule. You'll probably need two people, and the tether won't be super-tight, just taut.

Have your (hopefully strong) helper hold the Regent up. You want the top of the Regent held at about the same level it will be once it's installed, but have your helper tilt it so that you can get underneath to fasten the tether and tighten it. Again, don't try to get it as tight as possible, just snug. It may help to tighten before you even start so that you've got just enough slack to hook the tether and no more - that'll leave you with just an inch or two to tighten once it's hooked.

Then fold your seat back down and set the Regent on it. You may have to play around with this a bit (and never ever remove the dang carseat again!) to get it right.

 

[wildeyes]

Re: I love my regent, but heate that it has to be tethered

is there a loop of belt on the end of the tether where you would pull to adjust?? maybe you can tie a rope or something through there so it's long enough for you to grab, and then pull the rope, which would pull the tether. just to make it long enough so you dont have to reach way under a seat you can't get to to begin with. think extension cord.. same idea. and when you are done you could just take the rope off or leave it, either way. add you own tether extender...

 

[jen_nah]

My step fathers Dodge is the same way as your desribing. What I do is hook the top tether 1st. Then I have dh lift the Regent up above my head and I tighten the top tether as much as I possibly can. Then I install the Regent using the seatbelt. I also pull the tether strap under the vehicle seat so I can pull anymore slack out if I can.

 

[Kristydrosgers]

thanks I'll have dh hep me try that