# Need QUICK help w/ carseat installation. Please!!??



## nalo (Oct 25, 2005)

Ahhh. DD is 1 and in a RF Britax. It is always in my car (old volvo) which has a lower anchor so I use the tether cord thing to get the seat VERY tight and secure. I have to put her seat in DH's car today ('02 Honda Accord) and I just found that, although it is equiped with LATCH, it doesn't have any lower anchors by where adult feet would go for me to use the tether strap. I don't feel the carseat is secure enough without this. What do I do? Is there some hidden anchor I can use? Can I attach it to some part of a front seat? I need to drive her but need the seat safe. Ahhhhh! TIA.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

I didn't think any cars had actual tethers for rf...

you use the extra strap bit and go around any piece that's bolted to the floor. Usually some place on the bottom of the seat will work well.

-Angela


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## Debstmomy (Jun 1, 2004)

You might want to post this in family saftey. There are car seat techs there.


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## [email protected] (May 24, 2005)

Hm, when we had ours installed by the FD, they used the rear facing tether, but it didn't tether to the floor, it tethered behind the seat in a LATCH...in that part of the car that's fuzzy, beneath the back windshield where you'd find the speakers (how's that for descriptive, huh? lol).


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *[email protected]* 
Hm, when we had ours installed by the FD, they used the rear facing tether, but it didn't tether to the floor, it tethered behind the seat in a LATCH...in that part of the car that's fuzzy, beneath the back windshield where you'd find the speakers (how's that for descriptive, huh? lol).

So the tether strap went over the seat? If so, that's a different method that I think is no longer recommended.

-Angela


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## [email protected] (May 24, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
So the tether strap went over the seat? If so, that's a different method that I think is no longer recommended.

-Angela

It's possible, it was two years ago. But it was like this: the australian one. It didn't go over the seat, but behind it, if that makes sense


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## ipeabody (Jun 4, 2007)

I am a qualified tech in Canada and have never seen a rear facing seat that tethers and I've done it for five years. Other countries do have different products though. But from my training, what makes a rear facing seat safest is that it moves in a collision and rocks, thereby protecting the babies body from the impact. If you secure it at the back(head) of the seat, then it can't rock and seems to defeat the purpose of the rear facing seat. But that is just my training and other countries are different.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ipeabody* 
I am a qualified tech in Canada and have never seen a rear facing seat that tethers and I've done it for five years. Other countries do have different products though. But from my training, what makes a rear facing seat safest is that it moves in a collision and rocks, thereby protecting the babies body from the impact. If you secure it at the back(head) of the seat, then it can't rock and seems to defeat the purpose of the rear facing seat. But that is just my training and other countries are different.

Britax seats and the radian both tether RF now. Different people have different views on the usefulness... personally I think it's an important safety feature.

-Angela


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

My understanding is that you want the seat to have a little give, as in about an inch, if you are in an accident.


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## Yuba_River (Sep 4, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
So the tether strap went over the seat? If so, that's a different method that I think is no longer recommended.

-Angela

That's how ours is, per the instruction manual. We bought in last summer. Why is it no longer recommended?


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Yuba_River* 
That's how ours is, per the instruction manual. We bought in last summer. Why is it no longer recommended?

Not sure the reasoning behind it, but I've heard they no longer recommend that method.

-Angela


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## nalo (Oct 25, 2005)

Thanks all. I ended up tethering it to a latch I found in the front of the car so the tether went between the front seats and attached up front. I know this is not manufacturer recommended but I just couldn't bear to drive without it. For some reason I couldn't get the seat nearly as tight with the seatbelt as I do in my car or perhaps I wouldn't have been so nervous. Anyhow, we survived the day







Hopefully we won't have to do that again until she is FF! I wonder if I could get a lower anchor installed in DH's car? I know that I can get top anchors installed in mine because they're not currently there so I bet.... However, I will definately be looking into this in case it has to happen again. Thanks again ladies.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Moving to family safety, home of all car seat threads


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Volvos do have dedicated RF tether anchors.

The Australian method has been ok'd by Britax. I wouldn't do it, since the Swedish method is so much easier.

OP, move the front seats forward and look for a spot on the front seat track. Loop the d-ring around that and then clip the tether to it.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ipeabody* 
I am a qualified tech in Canada and have never seen a rear facing seat that tethers and I've done it for five years. Other countries do have different products though. But from my training, what makes a rear facing seat safest is that it moves in a collision and rocks, thereby protecting the babies body from the impact. If you secure it at the back(head) of the seat, then it can't rock and seems to defeat the purpose of the rear facing seat. But that is just my training and other countries are different.

You've never seen a Britax or a Radian?

I would read this to become more familiar with how a RF seat works


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## cancat (Jun 15, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ipeabody* 
I am a qualified tech in Canada and have never seen a rear facing seat that tethers and I've done it for five years. Other countries do have different products though. But from my training, what makes a rear facing seat safest is that it moves in a collision and rocks, thereby protecting the babies body from the impact. If you secure it at the back(head) of the seat, then it can't rock and seems to defeat the purpose of the rear facing seat. But that is just my training and other countries are different.

I am a CRST and we see alot of Britaxes and Radians ... there is nothing about RF tether in the CRST manual because it is not tested by Transport Canada. There is a debate in the CRST community about whether we should RF tether, but either way you should be familiar with the concept since those two very popular brands are sold with RF tether instructions in Canada.


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## cancat (Jun 15, 2004)

I would like to add, separately, that you should have a tight install REGARDLESS of whether you tether RF or not...you should get the seat as tight as possible BEFORE tethering.


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## nalo (Oct 25, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *an_aurora* 
Volvos do have dedicated RF tether anchors.

The Australian method has been ok'd by Britax. I wouldn't do it, since the Swedish method is so much easier.

OP, move the front seats forward and look for a spot on the front seat track. Loop the d-ring around that and then clip the tether to it.

I tried to do this but there was NO place that I could find to do it. My car has multiple options for this looping suggestion but the Honda had literally none. So frustrating!


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DoulaMary* 
I tried to do this but there was NO place that I could find to do it. My car has multiple options for this looping suggestion but the Honda had literally none. So frustrating!

You will have something. Is there a plastic piece covering the seat track? If so, take that off and you should be able to find something. If nothing else, there will be a bar under the seat that you can tether to. You can do that as a last resort, as you won't be able to move the front seat without loosening the tether and adjusting.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pbjmama* 
My understanding is that you want the seat to have a little give, as in about an inch, if you are in an accident.

No, that's backwards... you want the seat to have NO MORE THAN an inch of give (wiggle) where the belt path is. Ideally, you want it rock-solid with no wiggle at all.

Infant seats (baby buckets) will "cocoon" in an accident, unless they have a rebound bar, so they flop up and down on the side away from the belt path... but they shouldn't wiggle back and forth next to the seat back.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ironica* 
No, that's backwards... you want the seat to have NO MORE THAN an inch of give (wiggle) where the belt path is. Ideally, you want it rock-solid with no wiggle at all.

Infant seats (baby buckets) will "cocoon" in an accident, unless they have a rebound bar, so they flop up and down on the side away from the belt path... but they shouldn't wiggle back and forth next to the seat back.

Wow yeah good catch! You are definitely right


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## ipeabody (Jun 4, 2007)

I have never seen a Britax in the past five years of doing inspections, not anyone at the clinics I worked has owned one. Everyone out here has those huge Eddie Bauer seats. I live in a smaller community, and no one sells Britax. You'd have to drive at least an hour to hit a toyrus or safety superstore. We always read the manual for seats we aren't used to seeing anyway, so we'd catch the difference, but it's interesting that they just aren't used much out this way. Are they more expensive or just harder to get?


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

They're more expensive. They're not at all hard to get; they sell them all over online, even on Amazon.


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## ScotiaSky (Jul 2, 2004)

Yes, Britax and Sunshine Kids are slightly more expensive then other seats.
299.99CAD for a Marathon 249.99 for a Roundabout. They are releasing three new Britax seats in Canada in the next two weeks.
Radian65 is around 249.00 and the Premiere version is 269.00 I believe.
But there is a store near me that sells the Radians a bit cheaper.

Britax seats are sold at TRU and baby boutique type stores.

Radian is sold at baby boutique stores and Canadian Tire used to stock them as well.

I live in a smaller town in Quebec and I can say that I am 99.99% sure that I have the only Britax seat in the area. Radians are slightly more common. I have saw two others besides the ones I own.







And one belongs to a friend.

I haven't even seen an Evenflo Triumph Advance in anyones car yet, and for the price and the features you'd think people would buy them over the Cosco ones.


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## cancat (Jun 15, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ipeabody* 
I have never seen a Britax in the past five years of doing inspections, not anyone at the clinics I worked has owned one. Everyone out here has those huge Eddie Bauer seats. I live in a smaller community, and no one sells Britax. You'd have to drive at least an hour to hit a toyrus or safety superstore. We always read the manual for seats we aren't used to seeing anyway, so we'd catch the difference, but it's interesting that they just aren't used much out this way. Are they more expensive or just harder to get?

More expensive but not really harder to get (for Britax at least, since alot of people buy their seats here at BRU anyway).

Can I ask where you are? We mostly see Eddie Bauer seats as well, but there are always a few other seats thrown in there ...however, 95% of the techs have Britax or Radians exclusively.

What do you do over there when there's someone wants to put a 40lb 3yo in a booster???


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## ipeabody (Jun 4, 2007)

I am in Northumberland County, in Ontario between Belleville and Oshawa, an hour each way on the 401.

We just don't see those seats and we haven't had the problem of the 40lb 3 year old in a booster either







Our most common issues are rear facing seats weirdly tethered (well meaning dads who weld or otherwise fasten seats into vehicles), or people who want to put their little one forward facing too early. We also get alot of people that buy seats that are way too big for their little cars, but nothing out of the ordinary.

We only have Canadian Tire, Walmart and Zellers. and none of those carry the radian or the britax. I just bought a convertible for my infant and we went to all the stores, very little choice.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ipeabody* 
We only have Canadian Tire, Walmart and Zellers. and none of those carry the radian or the britax. I just bought a convertible for my infant and we went to all the stores, very little choice.

All three of these stores sell them both online, though


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## cancat (Jun 15, 2004)

That's interesting - here we have alot of people in the eddie bauer seats who have grown out of the harness but are still using it. And convincing people to rear-face their children after a year and 22lbs of course









I do bet the "creative" installations are different in the country versus the city, though. We don't get welding as much, but maybe 12 towels instead of a pool noodle. Or tethering to cargo hooks, that I've seen before.


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## ScotiaSky (Jul 2, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ipeabody* 

We only have Canadian Tire, Walmart and Zellers. and none of those carry the radian or the britax. I just bought a convertible for my infant and we went to all the stores, very little choice.

Up until last fall Canadian Tire did sell the Radian both online and in store. In the fall they clerenced them for $99.00.
Walmart sells the Evenflo Triumph Advance but not in every store, but if you can find one near-by they will ship it to your store. Sears also sells them in store and online.
Zellers sells the True Fit both in store and online. Neither of those tether RF but are awesome higher weight seats with taller slots so I can forgive them for not tethering RF. Okay I can only speak for the EFTA but the True Fit RF to 35lbs so that makes its a good thing in my book.

But you have no children outgrowing their 3\1 by harness height? DS was just three when he outgrew his Eddie Bauer and it seems to be a common theme for the 3\1.
The only real choice I had at the time for us was the Radian with its higher weight and tallest top slots as I was not loving the Evenflo combo seats and Apex which were the only other higher weight seats then. The Marathon was out because I did not feel that I needed to spend that much money for a year or two of use but I put him in it the other day and he still has lots of room in it.

What convertible did you end up getting?


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## ipeabody (Jun 4, 2007)

I guess our stores just don't stock them. I guess people out here don't shop on-line, at least not those coming to the clinics







To be honest our Canadian Tire actually even had expired seats on the shelf and only two seats to choose from, and yes we did mention it to them. I ended up buying a safety 1st enspira (I think). It's smaller, so it fits well in both my small vehicle and our mini van.

At clinics we don't tend to see too many FF seats period. I think that people think they know how to install those and don't have as many questions, so they don't bother coming. We spend the vast majority of our time with RF and infant seats.


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