Booster questions: (nearly) 6 year old who is 68-70#.

[Thandiwe]

My son is in booster mode in his Britax Frontier.  He is nearly 6, weighs between 68-70#, and is 45/46".  We have had him tether/LATCH restrained in the middle row of our van, then using the safety belt to secure him.  However, he now needs to move to the back row of seats.  We have a Grand Caravan and there's only one spot (not quite centered, but towards center) in the back row that has LATCH/tether anchor point.  So: my question is this...

...Is it safe using the Frontier in booster mode with the seatbelt without LATCH or tether?  It would appear that it is okay according to the manufacturer, but I want to know for *real* if that makes sense.  Is it really safe?  The thing is such a beast, I worry that it is too heavy and large to secure both him and the seat with the belt.  Would the large mass of the booster create such a force in an accident, when coupled with him, that it would harm him?  I have a low-back Graco booster I could put back there on one of the side seats instead.  The seatbelt doesn't cross his face when he sits in the Graco, so he fits it well, and we have a head-rest that adjusts to protect his head with the Graco.  But I do like the high-back protection of the Frontier.

So: which is safer?  Less protection with the Graco but less mass, or more protection with the Frontier but no tether or LATCH?

[DahliaRW]

It has to test ok without latch in booster mode, so you are fine.  Just buckle it in when he's not in it so it's not a projectile in a crash.

[Thandiwe]

Thank you!!!!!!

[~Amy~]

Yep, definitely safe without being LATCHed in.  I'd choose that over a backless booster any day.

[chickabiddy]

It's fine unLATCHed and I agree that I do not want to see a 5yo in a backless booster.

[ssh]

I'd try to keep it latched. I'd worry about the combined weight of the seat plus the child, too. We keep our nautilus latched in high back booster mode.

[Thandiwe]

Well, LATCH isn't an option right now with where I need to move him.  And neither is top tether, so it has to be used a plain-old high-backed booster. 

My next question is this: When you top tether, does it have to be directly behind the carseat?  I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with the vehicle, but I have an '06 Grand Caravan.  The back row had only one top tether anchor.  It's off-centered, kind of between the middle seat and the seat on the driver's side (we're talking about the very back row seat).  If I strapped him into the seat by the driver's side in that rear row, can I still top tether his carseat, or is that too dangerous because it's slightly off-center and not directly behind the carseat?

[chickabiddy]

My LATCH manual indicates that tether anchor is only intended for use in the center position.

[Thandiwe]

Chicka, that's what I figured.  Thank you for checking.  I'm thinking we will go ahead and use the Frontier w/o LATCH or tether and just strap it in when he's not in it.