Car seats in a truck.

[CanBoo]

Giving a lot of background, hoping it will help.

I am in Canada.

dd1 is 4.5. 40.5" tall, all in the legs. 33.5 lb.

dd2 will be 2 in the next few weeks. 31.5" tall. 23.5 lb

Our car: Mazda5.

2 Radians: one rear facing, one forward facing. Not a problem. No intention of switching anything around either right now. dd2 being such a light weight will benefit of another few months of rear facing in the main car. Not sure I will really have the patience to leave her rear facing until she hits the limit of her Radian rear facing, but not turning her yet.

MIL's car: She takes dd1 once a week and has a Eddie Bauer 3 in 1. Still harnessing dd1 in it. She still fits the harness, and the harness slot is above her shoulder. Taking dd2 very occasionally right now. I am ok with forward facing her in the Eddie Bauer occasionally like that. But Gma will probably want to take both once a week starting in September. dd1 still too light for a booster. Don't quite know what to tell her to get. (She got the 3 in 1 with her points and will not get an expensive seat like a Nautilus)

Our truck. That's the real head scratcher.

Ford Superduty Supercab. (It's a full with bench, but slightly narrower than the Crew cab).

dd1 has been riding in there about twice a week all winter. Currently in a 5 points to booster seat. The seat can be in harness mode up to 40" and 40 lb. She still fits it right now despite her height, just because she is all legs, not so long in the torso, but will probably still outgrow the harness in the next few months way before she hits the 40 lb mark to be in high back booster mode, given that she was 26 lb at 2, I don't expect her to be 40 lb until 6 or later. She has been riding either in the back seat or front with the air bag turned off. I am comfortable with the front given the size and nature of the vehicle and the fact that DH seems to get a better fit of a forward facing seat that way. My main issue with he front is that if I ride too I don't want to ride in the back when we go as a family lol. I am not 100% sure if she has the maturity to sit properly in a booster either but I think it is very possible that she does for short rides. She does not sleep in vehicles.

We were only taking dd2 occasionally in the truck and moving her Radian from the car to the centre of the back seat of the truck, but it is a real PITA. And with summer around the corner, we will take the truck more to go for bike rides and camping trips. I would like her to have a permanent seat there. Did a little reading and I think with the risk of hitting the rear glass so close RF, I am starting to prefer dd2 forward in the truck. She is two after all. My initial though was to put dd2 in the harness to booster convertible in the centre and get a Nautilus (or Frontier?) for dd1, but DH doesn't think he would be able to get a good install with the Nautilus: tethering a higher shell in the back will become nearly impossible. The lack of space in between the back seat and wall combined to a higher seat will make it a 90 degree angle down to the anchor point. It is not going to help much to tether it effectively. And his point that an an untethered 5 points is no better than a booster ...which I see the logic but the kid is not there weight wise. :/

Oh and we never got a Radian to fir very nicely forward facing in the truck for some reason.

Would car seats gurus have other suggestions? WDYT?

[SynEpona]

About the truck ... I think your DH's point about 'untethered 5pt vs. booster' is not relevant, as harnessed seats FF'ng are required by law to be tethered in Canada, as I understand it.

I think my dad's new truck is a Ford Supercab & I'll look at it this weekend, but it is possible (easier) to hook the tether on at it's full extended length, THEN install the rest of the seat, then tighten the tether? That would allow you to tilt the seat while the tether is being hooked on, which may allow more space to reach the tether.

I've never had any issue installing my Radian in any Ford .... are the seats in the trucks significantly different than the 2nd row seats in the Explorer & Expedition? My dad's last truck we only put the Radian in RF'ng, so I'm not certain how it would have fit FF'ng. I don't think I'll have the Radian w/ me this weekend when I see my dad's new truck, so I can't try it out & see where the installation problems might be.

A seat that is economical (in Canada :) ) that was recommended to me for a 4yo similar in size to your DD was the Maestro, we did get one, and it is the seat my daycare boy uses, as well as what we take for DS's spare seat in MIL's car etc. It's not expensive for a Canadian seat, and goes to 47lbs ... I think the torso height available is only about 1" less than on a Radian, so that may not give your DD enough growing room. It installs fairly easily for us in a Ford Freestyle & a Ford Expedition, as well as MIL's car. It does convert to a booster, however I believe the weight limit for boostering is pretty much the same as harnessed. That might be an option either in the truck OR in your MIL's car. I don't love it compared to our Radian, but my son doesn't seem to find it un-comfy or anything, and it was the right price! It does have cupholders, which makes the kids happy. It's 130$ at BabiesRus in Canada right now.

[KempsMama]

I'm sure someone else will come on if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding the tether with the Nautilus is optional, so that would be a good fit for the truck. 

[DahliaRW]

Tethers are mandatory in Canada.

 

Originally Posted by KempsMama 

I'm sure someone else will come on if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding the tether with the Nautilus is optional, so that would be a good fit for the truck. 

[elisheva]

Originally Posted by DahliaRW 

Tethers are mandatory in Canada.

 

Really? They are mandatory to be included with the car seat, but, as I understand it, the use of them is optional as not all vehicles have tether points. If you have a link, I'd love to see it.
 

[TheGirls]

A quick google shows dozens of official government sites in Canada explaining that tethers are required.  Here are two:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/carseat/tips.shtml#a2

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-childsafety-car-cartime-stage2-226.htm#tether

They are not required in the US, as you said (some seats require them for heavier kids, but most don't).  Not all vehicles have them in every seating position, but I'm pretty sure all passenger vehicles manufactured in the last decade or so are required to have at least some of them, and older vehicles can often be retrofitted to add anchors.  They make a big difference in safety, so it was a significant consideration for us when we chose our vehicle (which has tether anchors in 5 of the 6 rear seating positions). 

[KempsMama]

Originally Posted by DahliaRW 

Tethers are mandatory in Canada.

 

I totally missed the Canada part.  *Forhead smack*

[CanBoo]

Revisiting my old thread to say we bought two Maestos and it seems to work fine in the truck and in MIL's car.

It is a very upright seat and not comfy for sleeping in, but dd1 rarely sleeps in the car seat.

Found a second Radian from a trusted person to RF in the truck. Yay!