Looking for tether anchor retrofit suggestions for our situation. We were advised we need part# 10197672 for our 1996 Chevy Caprice. However, this part has been discontinued and we cannot locate one. We can keep my 4 year old rear facing for a bit longer, but looking for the best suggestion for my 6 year old (75 pounds, in a belt positioning booster in our other car). Can we make an anchor at home?
Hi!
You can't make an anchor. If your child does well in a booster, that's an appropriate choice. If a child can't rear face and isn't booster ready (Thinking when the 4 year old turns) there are 3 choices:
1. Use a conventional seat without the tether.
A few seats do not allow this at any weight and some require a tether over a certain weight. There's a danger in this of lessened performance in a crash; the standard for untethered harness seats and boosters requires the same head excursion but in crash testing studies, most boosters seem to do better than most harnessed untethered seats on head excursion as well as other metrics. There are a few systems that have alternate load limiting and excursion limiting effects even without a tether, like Britax SafeCell or Clek REACT/EACT, but they still do even better with a tether. (Your older child has outgrown harnessed seats with a harness currently available anyway, other than large medical seats that are very expensive to the consumer. I'm directing these options more at your younger child.)
2. Install an aftermarket tether anchor and use it to install a conventional seat.
I think Britax had a part available to order for use with their seats; EZ-On makes a Heavy Duty Tether Anchor for use with their vests that they have approved using with other seats on a case by case basis as long as a total system weight (seat p plus child) of 168 lbs is not exceeded. While this is usually not an officially approved option (sometimes the vehicle manufacturer says to use a tether kit supplied by the car seat manufacturer if the factory retrofit is unavailable, in which case if you used, say, a Britax anchor with a Britax seat, you'd be following all instructions), this is usually widely considered the best of not-ideal options by many. This is probably what I'd choose, in your shoes.
3. Install an aftermarket anchor for use with a vest instead of a conventional seat.
The EZ-On HDTA mentioned above can be used with the 86-Y add on harness from 66-168 lbs. From 40-66 (or if fit needs improvement above that) it can be used with a booster. Unfortunately the booster they used to approve is no longer sold as far as I know, and no one officially approves using it with their booster; this is a parental decision I'd make if necessary though. (However, using it with a lap/shoulder belt can be a pain. With or without the booster.) They also have other car vests, some of which are useable with a seatbelt (again can be a pain) and some only with the Floor Mount system. There are a lot of trade offs to this so it's usually reserved for special situations, but it is an option.
Www.ezonpro.com is their website.
Good luck with your choice, let us know if we can help more!
