True Fit vs. Frontier?

[linguistmama]

Bear with me since I think we are an unusual case. DD1 is 4 yo and weighs 29 lbs. The top of her head is even with the top of her Blvd so she is too tall to rf. Her torso is really long, she only has about an inch before her shoulders are even with the top harness position. I had decided to get a Frontier next, but then I was reading this thread about the True Fit:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=77402&highlight=True+fit+slot

She *might* still be able to rf in the TF for long enough to make it worthwhile. I'd have to order it online from a place I could return it to if it didn't work. After that I’m not sure if her torso would be so tall she would have to go into a booster. I looked at the Regent, but read that we would have to use the recline bar and would loose harness height so I‘m not sure about it. DD1 wants to rf again and we could also pass the TF down to her younger sister later(who has the same body type) and then maybe to another sibling.

Any thoughts or advice? Am I crazy?

 

[mommycat]

You're not crazy. However, I am not sure what I would do. Both options are acceptable providing she fits well in the TF. That's a tough call.

 

[Mommy0608]

You're not crazy!

Not sure what I'd do in your situation, but I would probably at least TRY the True Fit. It does have pretty tall harness slots (I measured 18", some others have measured slightly less) so she might last a while in it both RF and FF.

I'll be faced with a similar decision once my son outgrows his current seat, which might be the end of the summer or in the fall. My DD will be over 3 years old and is 27lbs right now... my options are either another TF or a Nautilus/Frontier, but I am leaning toward another True Fit to keep her RF. Of course, there's a big difference between age 3 and age 4, so at her age, it's really up to you and I doubt anyone here would find it unreasonable to have a 4 year old riding FF.

 

[heyruthie]

DD1 wants to rf again and we could also pass the TF down to her younger sister later(who has the same body type) and then maybe to another sibling.

Do you already have a seat for your DD2 to move up to, or are you going to have to buy her one anyway? (--as in, is she in an infant bucket?) If she's still in a bucket, you're going to have to buy your DD2 a new seat anyway, and the TF would be an awesome choice. So you have nothing to lose by buying the TF now, and using it for DD1 for a little while and keeping her RFing that much longer.

But if you already bought your DD2 a great convertible, then you really don't *need* another convertible. If that's the case, I'd just go with the Frontier for your DD1. People seem to really like it, and her time RFing is just so limited, based on her age and weight, the TF would seem like a bit of a waste.....she'll probably be able to use the Frontier as her last seat, and you won't need to "duplicate" purchases.

 

[carseatcoach]

If she wants to rear-face and you have a younger child to pass the TF to, I think that's a good plan. If she didn't want to rear-face or you didn't have younger children, I would also think it would be fine to forward-face a 4yo.

 

[linguistmama]

DD2 is 1 yo and in another Blvd. The infant seat we had for her is expired now and we do plan to have 1 more child. So another baby could probably get full use out of the TF. But since both girls have had really long torsos we could probably just borrow a bucket seat from a friend for a month or 2 until she/he fit in the Britax. Sigh! DH is leaning toward the Frontier so we'll see.

 

[WhatAboutPuppy]

I really like my FR's. Since her time RF is so limited and your DD2 is already in a BLVD and fits fine RF I would hold off on her seat (personally), I mean there's talk of a 40lb RF seat from Graco and who knows what else by the time DD2 is in need a seat.

Edit: I would get DD1 the FR and hold off on something for DD2 to use until she actually needs to use.

 

[Kat_Momof3]

the truefit is a good bit taller for seated height and I bet anything she'd still fit rf in it.

there used to be a thread around here with pics of the efta, radian, and truefit, comparing them for height... all had more room than the MA... the truefit had the most.