# Help: 3 car seats across backseat of ford Taurus



## lineuponline (Jul 5, 2011)

I will need to be fitting 3 kids in car seats come October. I know the Diono radians are the most narrow but I need them to be small front to back as 2 will be rear facing. Any seat recommendations? One wil be a graco Snugride 35 for the first year but we need 2 new seat to go beside it. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!


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## synepona (Jan 11, 2011)

The Radians with an Angle Adjuster (which can be used to make them more upright RFng either after 12mth, or once the child has good head control - in Canada they were originally 12mth, not sure what is the most current instruction), make the seats not terribly deep front to back -- depending on the car and the effort you put into installing, it can save 3-4" of space, which makes a big difference.


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## lineuponline (Jul 5, 2011)

Thank you. I've looked into that but with an expensive seat and I think the extender was almost $200 it just isn't doable for us right now.


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## ballerina85 (Jan 15, 2014)

The angle adjuster is about $10 and makes a big difference.. It an be used when your child can sit on their own and has good head control


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

How old are the kids. What seats are they in now?


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## lineuponline (Jul 5, 2011)

I have a 4.5 yo a 2.5 to and I'm still cooking #3 EDD 8/26/14 so I'm getting a head start. Both the current car seats need replacing and the infant will be in a Snugride 35 for the first year.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ballerina85*
> 
> The angle adjuster is about $10 and makes a big difference.. It an be used when your child can sit on their own and has good head control


I have no idea what I was looking at then. I found what you're talking about. So the radian is definitely a front-runner.


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## ballerina85 (Jan 15, 2014)

I'm guessing the 4.5 year old is forward facing? A radian would be kind of a waste in that case since you wouldn't need it for the rear facing function.. A narrow combo seat (harnessed and booster) would probably be best for that and probably cheaper! I don't have experience with those yet but have heard the harmony defender is a narrow one.. Is the 2.5 year old still rear facing? My 22 month old is in a radian with the angle adjuster and it is a great seat!


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## lineuponline (Jul 5, 2011)

Yes we are ff with 4.5yo and that it a good point. 2.5 is rf still. I don't know much of anything about seats past a convertible so I'll look into it. Thanks!


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## synepona (Jan 11, 2011)

If you were to get 2 Radians now - one for the FFng child, one for the RFng child, you could use your infant seat now for the baby. Then, when the baby outgrows the infant seat, pass down the oldest's Radian for RFng, and decide what to get then for the older child. If new baby grows slowly, your oldest might be booster ready by then, and a dedicated booster will cost much less than most of the harness to booster seats.


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## ballerina85 (Jan 15, 2014)

Yea the radian is a good bet for your 2.5 year old and then maybe you can pass it down to baby when the baby is ready to move into a convertible? The Facebook group "car seats for the littles" is amazing. it is full of car seat techs who can help you find the best seats for you situation depending on your kids, car, and budget.. I can't say enough good things about it!


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## ballerina85 (Jan 15, 2014)

Also (and this is totally a personal opinion) I got the rxt model of the radian but now I wish I had gotten the r120 model. It's cheaper but has the same weight limit. The r120 doesn't have the headwings.. I don't mind the headwings but they can make it so that the seat is outgrown faster.. Another thing is that if you can hold off on buying the seats until June then the new radians are coming out and they will have higher weight limits. Or you can maybe get a great deal on an older model! Sorry one more thing I have heard that the radians are great rear facing and forward facing harnessed seats but they are not good booster seats for most kids because they are outgrown in booster mode around the same time as the harness is outgrown. The seats will still last most kids a long time and boosters are usually pretty cheap so that doesn't bother me but it is something to be aware of.


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## synepona (Jan 11, 2011)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ballerina85*
> 
> Also (and this is totally a personal opinion) I got the rxt model of the radian but now I wish I had gotten the r120 model. It's cheaper but has the same weight limit. The r120 doesn't have the headwings.. I don't mind the headwings but they can make it so that the seat is outgrown faster.. Another thing is that if you can hold off on buying the seats until June then the new radians are coming out and they will have higher weight limits. Or you can maybe get a great deal on an older model! Sorry one more thing I have heard that the radians are great rear facing and forward facing harnessed seats but they are not good booster seats for most kids because they are outgrown in booster mode around the same time as the harness is outgrown. The seats will still last most kids a long time and boosters are usually pretty cheap so that doesn't bother me but it is something to be aware of.


Yes to all that  We have both an RXT and an R120 for DD - one in each car - and I much prefer the R120 overall. I ignore the booster function, just pretend it's not even there. My 7yo son has been in a booster for 18mth or so, and is still below the weight limit to use the Radian as a booster. I'm not sure what sort of kid would be the right size, shape & age to actually fit into it as a booster. Depending on the size of your children, you could likely even get one R100, which is the lowest cost and weight limit version -- but it still has a lot of useful range -- this one doesn't come with the infant insert though, which might not matter if you plan to use the infant seat for the first year anyway for the new baby.

Inventory already seems quite low (or sold out completely) on Radians at several of the places I normally shop for carseats, so I'm not sure there will be a big price drop ahead of the newer models.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I agree on a radian for the 2.5 yo. You can either pass that on to the baby when the 2.5yo goes ffing (provided growth works out), and then the 2.5 yo can have the 4.5 yos seat assuming at that point the 4.5 yo is ready for a booster. Or you could do 2 radians, pass the oldest on to the baby, and re-evaluate seats for the oldest. As for narrow ffing seats, I don't' know offhand, but if you go ask at car-seat.org you'll get good advice.


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## lineuponline (Jul 5, 2011)

So my current plan is a Britax Frontier 90, Snugride 35, and the radian. We will see if it puzzles together!


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## ballerina85 (Jan 15, 2014)

Sounds like you picked great seats! Hope they fit well


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## lineuponline (Jul 5, 2011)

It will be awhile before we have it all tested but I will come update


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