think it will work?

[momtoesther]

I need some help sorting out our carseat situation. I am expecting our third in 6 weeks and the less trial and error I have to do the better

We have 2 vehicles, a 2004 Dodge caravan (top tethers in middle short bench and one in the centre of the back bench) and a 2006 Toyota Maytrix (two tethers in outboard positions).

I have an almost 6 year old who currently uses a harnessed Britax Frontier (manufactured 2010) and, on very rare occasions (just twice so far), a Cosco high back booster (bought last month). She sits extremely well in the booster, and it is a great fit, but sadly she is 38 lbs and did so illegally (no flames please, we couldn't afford another frontier and there is no other seat she is short enough for).

My almost 4 year old sits FF in a britax marathon (2010) and has 1 harness position left. Her other seat is a Maestro (2011) and she has lots of room in that too. She is 29lbs.

Our baby seat is a Snugride 22, that expires Dec. 2013. I also have a Cosco Scenera that expires Feb. 2014. Our day care seat (that I'll get back in a few weeks) is a First years true fit (can't remember the exact date, but has a few years left and my second DD also fits well in this seat.

I would love to come up with a solution that allows for all three kids to ride in either vehicle safely since we will be doing a lot of vehicle switching with my husband, especially for school runs. Any possible combinations? I have a bit of $ to spend if need be. My preggo brain can't handle this many variables

 

[Keeks64]

I can guarantee you will not fit those 3 seats in your matrix

I'm not good with 3 across but I would imagine you need a Radian with the angle adjuster to even attempt getting 3 across ....maybe Radian center RF & the Britax convertible outboard....for your 6 year old...does she fluctuate at all in weight or has she been sitting at 38 lbs for a while? Have you weighed her with clothes & shoes? - if she hits 40 lbs clothed & with shoes you could find a narrow fitting booster provided she sits properly which it sounds like she does!

I don't know that any combination will work with a Frontier in the mix & if she doesn't fit any other harness seats & isnt 40lbs you don't really have another option :/

Sorry hopefully someone who's more familiar with 3 across with those seats will come along

 

[tam_shops]

Congratulations on the baby to be!

I have the 2005 Matrix. It has 3 top tether anchors (all on the floor of the hatch back w/ covers) and 2 seats of lower latch (both outboard). Ignore the lower latch anchors, you'll never get 3 across when using latch, you'll need to use the seat belts.

Weigh your 6yo w/ clothes and shoes on, she very well may actually be the legal 40# needed for a booster seat, but I really wouldn't want to use a booster seat on a daily basis in a Matrix.

With the combination of seats you have, especially with that Frontier, you're not going to get a 3 across.

My *guess*, for your best bet, if there is any chance of a Frontier fitting is: REAR facing Radian w/ angle adjuster outboard--driver side
Frontier center
SR 22 with OUT the base outboard--passenger side

You're more likely to fit:
2 rear faced Radians, but then the passenger seat will need to be fairly far forward and clicked a notch or two more upright. Again, I'd keep the Frontier in the middle and the RF seats outboard. With the baby in the passenger side, so his/her seat can be more reclined.

TRY before you buy.

But, PP may have tried multiple combinations w/ the Matrix and a Frontier. I have not. I know when I had my Graco Nautilus (GN) and RF Radian in, I could squeeze a Monterey booster in. The Monterey had to be pre-buckled and the child had to crawl in under the seat belt, but it was doable. The GN is a bit more narrow than a Frontier, so that's why any chance you have that this will work w/ the Frontier (wider than GN), is if you use a 2nd RF Radian.

I've also tried the Frontier, Graco TurboBooster and Britax Parkway (and/or Clek Oobr) and could *not* get those three FF seats to fit. The trick is to have one or more RF seats. And, to recognize that the car is not split evenly, 1 seat is wider than the others, so put a wide seat there, or beside that to compensate for the extra width.

Where are you located? There may be a tech near you w/ a Radian or two that can come and help you try some combos with what you have and what she has so you *know* what will fit before you buy anything!

Do *not* buy a Radian or two hoping it will fit if it can not be returned, you don't want to be stuck w/ another seat or two that doesn't fit!

tam

 

[snowbird25ca]

Are you still in my general vicinity? If you are, send me an email and we'll see if we can meet up. I think I have a wide enough variety of seats that we should be able to test a lot of combos.

Your van is your main vehicle, right? So it's really just the Matrix you need to figure out?

Are the 5 of you going to regularly travel in the Matrix or is it a "just in case" scenario? I know when my kids were babies my husband didn't go out with them without me, and if you're going out all 5 of you then the van may be the best option?

 

[momtoesther]

thanks all for the responses! I actually spent 2 hours this morning, and this is what I came up with:

Matrix: FF marathon, snugride, Cosco booster (making sure it was on the right side of the snugride so DD can't accidentally unbuckle the snugride). I had to do seatbelt installs for all the them but they are all independently in there like a rock

Caravan: Frontier in back bench, Maestro in short bench. While baby is still small, I'll do a seatbelt install of the snugride in the short bench until s/he is big enough to fit in the true fit (which I hope will be soon).

side question: I thought my caravan had locking seatbelts in the short bench, but apparently not. Is this right? I looked up some videos on using a clip and think I have it right. Since the seat isn't going to last that long, I'm not going to bother buying another base (and don't know if they would even be available).

I put everything back the way it was, so my oldest doesn't have to use the booster regularly until baby comes in June. We use both vehicles pretty regularly, but the Caravan is older and not as reliable, so we prefer using the matrix, especially since we drive a ton and it is better on gas.
If DD1 is really not working out in a booster (although she's already shown she is very responsible) then we will have to figure something else out, and I may take you up on your offer Trudy

I realize that once the snugride expires in decemeber, I'll have to figure it all out again, but at least I have 6 months