Rear Seat Tether Anchor

[lclb99]

Mandatory disclaimer: this is not a DOT approved solution. My experience only, read at your own risk.

@camino70 thanks for this post and putting me on the right path! Finding the pre-drilled holes was a big step.

I ended up getting the kits from the Australian site (seat safe). However, their tether bolts were too narrow and did not fit the pre-drilled holes in my 99. Looked great online though so I thought it was worth a shot.

I ended up ordering the factory tether bolts, OEM nuts with an integrated crush washer to prevent them from spinning, and using the 3mm thick washer as a pull through backstop from the bottom.

SeatSafe wrote this to me:

Under the Australian Standards the 771-007 assembly is sufficient to secure a child seat on its own and the large washer acting as the pull through plate. When securing the backing plate under the car people use the CRP1 plate as this can be pop riveted under the panel and then the anchorage kit can be secured easily. If you use just the anchorage kit 771-007 on its own the plate/washer and nut are loose and this presents a problem for easy installation so people normally get both CRP1 and 771-007.

I have a 99 LC and I have three kids so three seats. Installing the center tether was very easy. The other two was actually pretty hard because the access to these areas was extremely limited, especially the passenger side because of a thick AC line that runs right around the coil tower cap. I literally had to use one hand to hold the nut in a wrench, long tweezers in the other hand holding the washer, a friend holding the anchor from the top And slid on the washer and the nut to put it all together.

But, all said and done I got them in, and I can sleep better at night knowing they are setup correctly instead of hooking them onto the cargo hooks which are not rated for the same amount of force in case of a collision (plus there is no center cargo hook). Definitely beats driving kids around with tethers at all, or having to sell the truck and buy a new one.

Now I need to do the same thing in my 80, which does not have any pre-drilled holes in the floor.

Here are some pics:

View attachment 2180092View attachment 2180093View attachment 2180094View attachment 2180095View attachment 2180097

I am super thrilled to find this as we have been rear facing to safe booster age (skipping forward facing entirely). It has been fine for occasional riding but now this will be my daily driver I am a lot more invested in getting a top tether.
Mine is a 99 too. I have the holes pictured above. I see where I can order the Bracket Sub-Assy 73709-12010 from my Toyota dealership but where did you get the washer and nut? Are those Toyota parts too or just hardware store parts?
Thank you for the great photos and information

 

[lclb99]

99 Land Cruiser. Found the center hole easily but really wanted to install outboard so the car seat doesn’t block my entire rear view however I can’t find where the drivers side hole leads any tips? I tried using a flash light, a screwdriver, about to go buy a pack of glow sticks… It doesn’t make sense I can see the hole from the top but not the underside

 

[lclb99]

99 Land Cruiser. Found the center hole easily but really wanted to install outboard so the car seat doesn’t block my entire rear view however I can’t find where the drivers side hole leads any tips? I tried using a flash light, a screwdriver, about to go buy a pack of glow sticks… It doesn’t make sense I can see the hole from the top but not the underside

Oh I enlisted help and we found it! Has to lower the spare tire to gain access. Ordering the bolt now, hopefully can figure out the washer and nut.

 

[TexLexican]

I know everyone is going to tell me that it isn't safe and my children are going to die, but I actually just have a chain I run from the cargo clips for the latch system. They're still held in by the seatbelts but I don't like the wiggle with the seatbelts.

This is what I came here for. I was going to buy a thick braided wire to run from each D ring behind the 2nd row seat, but I like your chain idea better. Don’t see why this would be an issue.

 

[LazarusTaxa]

I might be missing something, but why not use the cargo d-rings as the rear anchors? That seems plenty strong to me?

 

[2000UZJ]

I might be missing something, but why not use the cargo d-rings as the rear anchors? That seems plenty strong to me?

My only guess is it's not in-line, with the center line of the seat, potentially causing a rotation of the child seat in the event of a front end collision.

I have an '06, and currently use the middle seat LATCH system. I haven't even thought about using the cargo d-ring, but in a pinch I'd be ok if I ultimately HAD to.

 

[TexLexican]

I might be missing something, but why not use the cargo d-rings as the rear anchors? That seems plenty strong to me?

The cargo d rings are located too far from the seat where a lot of car seat anchor straps can’t reach them.

 

[NearJetties]