FF Scenera in airbagless pickup for 11 mo old?

[ErinYay]

I'm preeeeeeetty sure I know what you'll say, but just thought I'd ask anyhow.

V is still RF, obv, in our Mazda Tribute. DH's truck is a 2000 Ford Ranger, with no airbags. I'm sure of this, as I bought it at auction and had to replace the panel where the airbags come through. (The panel was removed by a knife, as I had to clean out the area around it to fit the new one.) 99% sure it was a case of the dealer who bought it, and sold it at auction, removing and keeping/selling the airbags and not from an accident- I got the Carfax report and there were no collisions reported.

I want to take a day trip to Ikea next month (she'll be 11-11.5 months, 30" tall, 20lbs), about 1.5 hrs away, and would like to take the pickup so we can actually haul stuff. (The Tribute has minimal cargo space; it's a small SUV.)

Would it be okay for one day to have her FF in a pickup? We could take separate vehicles so she can ride RF in my truck, but, if it's "safe enough" we'd rather go together.

Thanks!

[NaturallyKait]

It is not only unsafe to FF an 11 month old it is also illegal. Why not RF her in the truck?

[chickabiddy]

It's illegal to FF an 11mo, 30" child in a Scenera. It's also an incredibly bad idea. With no airbags, RF her.

[ErinYay]

Welp, that answers that question! I guess I was thinking FF bc of the whole airbag thing with RF being super dangerous with airbags, but since there AREN'T airbags, I guess it would be okay to RF, in an emergency or something?

We'll take both vehicles, thanks! I'm glad I asked!

[chickabiddy]

With no airbags, RF in the front seat is fine. How you handle it is up to you, of course, but I would not be concerned about a child RFing in the front seat w/o airbags.

[Marissamom]

no question about RFing her. I would document that the airbag is missing before doing it, just in case of getting pulled over so you don't get a ticket for it.

[an_aurora]

Absolutely RF. I had my DD1 in my mom's 2000 Ranger for months, RF'ing in her Marathon. The Ranger has a keyed airbag switch, so even if it did have an airbag you can manually turn it off.

[elmh23]

My dh drives a 2004 Ranger with a keyed airbag switch (so he can turn it off) and whenever a small enough child was with him, they were RFing. Make sure you have the airbag keyed to off just in case, but it's perfectly legal if you have the switch.

[TheGirls]

My DD often rode RF in my 1995 Ranger (no airbags). It's not terribly dangerous, really, but DEFINITELY RF at 11months. It would be a pretty substantial emergency for me to FF a child under 2. But I'd be totally comfortable with a road trip in a pickup with a RF child and no airbag. We use to do it to go pick up craigslist furniture and such, so I didn't feel it was an emergency-only situtation.

[ErinYay]

Great info- thanks everyone!