Second row harness/booster seat

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aaronrules

aaronrules

Coolest person you know!
10 Year
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I've searched here and probably the rest of the internet. I am wondering what car seats you guys are using for the older kids (5 and beyond) in the second row? Right now I have a Britax harness seat. It is installed behind my drivers seat and it is not leaving very much room from the back of my seat to the front of the car seat. And this is after I am just about moved forward so much that it is uncomfortable for me. My 5 year old is plenty big enough to go into a regular booster, but I want to keep him in a harness for as long as possible. We did have the seat in the middle and there was more room, but the seat sticks out from the truck's seat so much, it was still a chore for him to climb in, and not so easy to buckle him up.

I need advice on what seats you guys are using. Price isn't a problem. I'm looking for high harness weight allowance, in the smallest foot print possible while still being super safe.

Consumer Reports has it's ratings, but they have to be at least a couple years old. And they take into consideration things like ease of use, fit to vehicle with LATCH and belt. All of that is pretty important, but all I care about is safety and fit. By fit I mean the seat/booster allows a good deal of leg room for my boy.

And to answer the question why not put it back into the middle: For the trip to HIH, the only room we have for a fridge is going to be in the back seat between both kids, and when he is in the middle, it's getting hard to get him all situated...cause I'm old and broken.
 
In my other cars IS350 and TSX wagon, i ended up with these. They arent very fancy but i found that base height was the biggest factor in leg room for my cars. By getting their buts lower i was able to give them more room so their legs where not into the furthest back reclining area of the seat. My kids and 2 and 4 and sub 35lbs so they might not work for you but the concept behind why i chose them might

Amazon.com : Evenflo Maestro Booster Car Seat, Wesley : Baby
 
There are anchors in my 2006. They are located in back cargo area. I think my old truck (2001 LX) might not have had them and I used one of the cargo tie downs?
 
I highly recommend the Britax Frontier Clicktight. It fits the 100's, 2nd row seats very well. The fastening system works well, which is important because you won't be using the lower LATCH anchors or at least not for much longer.

Plus, these Britax's have armrests and cup holders... and you know 100 owners are all about armrests and cup holders! ;)

I also have a pair of Diono's (not Ranier's). The seat base is narrow and when using the seatbelt to secure the carseat, the base still slides laterally, more than I'd like.
 
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hoser said:
I highly recommend the Britax Frontier Clicktight. It fits the 100's, 2nd row seats very well. The fastening system works well, which is important because you won't be using the lower LATCH anchors or at least not for much longer.

I also have a pair of Diono's (not Ranier's). The seat base is narrow and when using the seatbelt to secure the carseat, the base still slides laterally, more than I'd like.
Click to expand...

I have been eyeballing this one too. Does it sit more upright? Does the bottom stick out farther than the truck's seat?
 
The front/base of the carseat sits flush with the 100 seat cushion. The carseat's back cushion is at the same angle as the 100, at its most upright position. The height of the shoulder harness is very easy to adjust (3 sec). On my Diono's, takes 5+ minutes per seat, plus the time it takes to remove and reinstall the car seat.
 
hoser said:
The front/base of the carseat sits flush with the 100 seat cushion. The carseat's back cushion is at the same angle as the 100, at its most upright position. The height of the shoulder harness is very easy to adjust (3 sec). On my Diono's, takes 5+ minutes per seat, plus the time it takes to remove and reinstall the car seat.
Click to expand...

Fantastic! This might have just made my choice for me. We have used Britax seats since my first born...and he is 12 years old!
 
Here are my pictures. My tall 6 year old sits behind me and is good and I'm 6'2"

IMG_1514.webp


IMG_1516.webp
 
We've been using the Diono Radian RXT for years now (kid is six). Ours mounted with the belt just fine and doesn't move an inch. My pro tip for making it tight is literally sitting in the car seat yourself, compressing the leather and then tightening the belt that way. The Radian is ridiculously heavy (forget about boarding a plane with it) but otherwise it's served us well, both back and now front facing. Kid has plenty of leg room, too.
 
Ugh. I have this issue too. I'm 6' 1" and my drivers seat is jammed into the back of my daughters car seat. This eliminates any quick releasing the car seat so every day we have to unbuckle her and lift her out. At her age now (18 mo) it's not a big deal since she is walking and would rather sit in a shopping cart like a big girl or walk alongside us rather than lay strapped in her car seat, but yeah, it's super tight back there. Can't wait until she can face forward.

IMG_5710.webp
 
aaronrules said:
There are anchors in my 2006. They are located in back cargo area. I think my old truck (2001 LX) might not have had them and I used one of the cargo tie downs?
Click to expand...
I will check it more tomorrow, in my Xterra they were on the back of the seat. We decided to put him in the middle so he can see more and be away from the curtain airbags if something were to happen.
 
We have always used Recaro and the booster is awesome. I actually just bought another one last week. It leaves plenty of room for me (6'1) and my 6 year old can still use the harness instead of a traditional seat belt.
 
I went ahead and ordered this one:
Amazon.com : Britax G1.1 Frontier Clicktight Combination Harness-2-Booster Car Seat - Vibe : Baby
We have always used Britax and I feel pretty comfortable with them. If it doesn't work out, the Recaro or Radian will be the next I try. I will post pics after I get the Britax installed, with and without kid.

BTW, in all this research, I found out that the LATCH system should NOT be used for kids over 40 lbs! I always thought it was safer than the seatbelt. After seeing that information, I can understand. I am going to use both, and the Britax says you have to use the top tether in forward facing harness mode.
 
hoser said:
I highly recommend the Britax Frontier Clicktight. It fits the 100's, 2nd row seats very well. The fastening system works well, which is important because you won't be using the lower LATCH anchors or at least not for much longer.

Plus, these Britax's have armrests and cup holders... and you know 100 owners are all about armrests and cup holders! ;)

I also have a pair of Diono's (not Ranier's). The seat base is narrow and when using the seatbelt to secure the carseat, the base still slides laterally, more than I'd like.
Click to expand...

I have them for my two girls. They're great!
 
Ours is a britax as well. Love their stuff.
 
My wife and mother both have Britax seats. They are great, but for a little more, the Peg Perego seats make them look like junk. Just the fabric alone was worth it for me.
 
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None of the Peg Perego 'booster type' seats use a 5-pt harness, just the lap/shoulder seat belt. Certainly a preference but that puts them out of the runnings for this thread.
 
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