How to tighten infant seat using lap+shoulder belt?

Hello,
We had no trouble tightening our son's child seat in the rear-seat
center position, but now we cannot get it tight in the either of the
outboard (left or right) positions. Our rear seat has a lap belt in
the center position, and lap+shoulder belts in the outside positions.
I could really crank down on it in the center, since pulling on the
lap belt will tighten the belt.

But unlike the center lap belt, these lap+shoulder belts have
retractors that normally only lock when you're in an accident;
fortunately, they have a locking setting that allows them lock as they
retract, so they won't pull back out. (Otherwise they'd be totally
useless for a child seat.) But there is no way that I can see to
really crank down the tightness. I can put my body weight on the
seat, but it's loose again when I let off.

Unfortunately, we don't have LATCH in the rear seat (car was made the
year before LATCH was standard).

Can anyone clue me in on how to tighten (I mean really tighten) a car
seat using a retracting lap+shoulder belt?

Thanks,
John

On 1 Apr 2007 17:39:49 -0700, JohnV@nn wrote:


Can anyone clue me in on how to tighten (I mean really tighten) a car
seat using a retracting lap+shoulder belt?

I take it you don't have a minivan with reclining seats. If you do have
reclining seats, I have a foolproof way to get the carseats in tight, so
tight a grown man couldn't budge it one millimeter in any direction. The
car's seat and carseat become one. DH can't figure out how I do it. Let
me know.

JohnV@nn wrote:

Can anyone clue me in on how to tighten (I mean really tighten) a car
seat using a retracting lap+shoulder belt?

Some may recommend a locking clip, but don't use
one of those unless you investigate carefully, as you can
make things less safe if you use the wrong sort of clip
or if you install it the wrong way.
One possibility: after you get things as tight
as you can with the automatic retractor, unhook the
belt, let it go in one or two clicks, and then buckle
it back in again. This is probably a two person job,
with one person really pushing down on the seat to
have a chance at getting the seatbelt buckled again,
but it should result in a tighter installation.
(Or, as toypup mentions, if you have a reclining seat
in the position you're using for the carseat, you
can recline the seat a bit, tighten the seat as best
you can, and then put the seat upright again to get
a tighter installation for a forward facing seat.)

Best wishes,
Ericka

I think it's brute force, DH and I do it the same way, but when I do it, the
result is unsatisfactory, basically thread it all through, secure any clips
that only grab on to the lap section of the belt, then fasten the seatbelt,
then pulling the shoulder section towards the top, clip any clips that grab
that, then let the slack into the reel, than yank it very hard to lock it,
my yank isn't as hard, so it locks with a little extra slack than it does
for DH :-(.

The other thing to check is how well the seat is fitting, if the cushioned
shape of the rear seat and the solid of the car seat don't match well,
however tight the seat is, you're going to get wriggle room there and it
will slip out.

Also, double check the manual, it's not always obvious which bits go through
which clips when you make the switch from lap to both.

There is also likely to be some place you can take it for fitting, maybe
fire or police stations, I'm not sure.

Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:

The other thing to check is how well the seat is fitting, if the cushioned
shape of the rear seat and the solid of the car seat don't match well,
however tight the seat is, you're going to get wriggle room there and it
will slip out.

The other thing to remember is that up to 1" of
sideways play in the carseat is considered acceptable.

Best wishes,
Ericka

On Apr 1, 8:39 pm, "JohnV@nn" wrote:
Hello,
We had no trouble tightening our son's child seat in the rear-seat
center position, but now we cannot get it tight in the either of the
outboard (left or right) positions. Our rear seat has a lap belt in
the center position, and lap+shoulder belts in the outside positions.
I could really crank down on it in the center, since pulling on the
lap belt will tighten the belt.

But unlike the center lap belt, these lap+shoulder belts have
retractors that normally only lock when you're in an accident;
fortunately, they have a locking setting that allows them lock as they
retract, so they won't pull back out. (Otherwise they'd be totally
useless for a child seat.) But there is no way that I can see to
really crank down the tightness. I can put my body weight on the
seat, but it's loose again when I let off.

Unfortunately, we don't have LATCH in the rear seat (car was made the
year before LATCH was standard).

Can anyone clue me in on how to tighten (I mean really tighten) a car
seat using a retracting lap+shoulder belt?

Thanks,
John

Another vote for contacting your local police station, and seeing if
they install car seats -- many PDs in the US do this gladly. Our seats
were installed by Office Big Man and Officer Brute Force -- it was
quick, they were happy to do this, and the seats just don't move.

Caledonia

Hi --

It sounds as though you've got the same problem we used to have. I used
to:

put carseat in car
thread seatbelt where it belonged except through the shoulder part of
the car seat.
fasten seat belt
pull seatbelt out as far as it would go to engage the
auto-lock-on-retraction-thingy
pull tight by hand
sit on carseatmyself
pull tighter by hand, pulling first across the lap part, which is easier
to pull on, and then push the loose belt parts up into the shoulder
part.
last thing: thread the seatbelt through the shoulder part of the car
seat.

It worked for me. It never worked for my husband.

good luck,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

"Caledonia" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Apr 1, 8:39 pm, "JohnV@nn" wrote:
Hello,
We had no trouble tightening our son's child seat in the rear-seat
center position, but now we cannot get it tight in the either of the
outboard (left or right) positions. Our rear seat has a lap belt in
the center position, and lap+shoulder belts in the outside positions.
I could really crank down on it in the center, since pulling on the
lap belt will tighten the belt.

But unlike the center lap belt, these lap+shoulder belts have
retractors that normally only lock when you're in an accident;
fortunately, they have a locking setting that allows them lock as they
retract, so they won't pull back out. (Otherwise they'd be totally
useless for a child seat.) But there is no way that I can see to
really crank down the tightness. I can put my body weight on the
seat, but it's loose again when I let off.

Unfortunately, we don't have LATCH in the rear seat (car was made the
year before LATCH was standard).

Can anyone clue me in on how to tighten (I mean really tighten) a car
seat using a retracting lap+shoulder belt?

Thanks,
John

Another vote for contacting your local police station, and seeing if
they install car seats -- many PDs in the US do this gladly. Our seats
were installed by Office Big Man and Officer Brute Force -- it was
quick, they were happy to do this, and the seats just don't move.

Caledonia


Some Fire Departments will do the same.

The other thing to check is how well the seat is fitting, if the
cushioned shape of the rear seat and the solid of the car seat don't
match well, however tight the seat is, you're going to get wriggle room
there and it will slip out.

The other thing to remember is that up to 1" of
sideways play in the carseat is considered acceptable.

Acceptable but best minimised, I think that's what I get when I initially
install, but DH then pushes on the seat, fairly violently, but it does
loosen fairly fast, I suspect in a side impact it would loosen instantly,
even with only an inch slack, plus it may be an inch at first install, but
probably not one you've taken a child in and out of it a few times.

Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:
The other thing to check is how well the seat is fitting, if the
cushioned shape of the rear seat and the solid of the car seat don't
match well, however tight the seat is, you're going to get wriggle room
there and it will slip out.
The other thing to remember is that up to 1" of
sideways play in the carseat is considered acceptable.

Acceptable but best minimised, I think that's what I get when I initially
install, but DH then pushes on the seat, fairly violently, but it does
loosen fairly fast, I suspect in a side impact it would loosen instantly,
even with only an inch slack, plus it may be an inch at first install, but
probably not one you've taken a child in and out of it a few times.

Sure, but you just can't get some car/carseat combinations
to the point that the carseat doesn't move at all. If you aren't
willing/able to get a different carseat that you can install more
tightly, you may have to accept a little bit of movement. Even
very conservative experts say that up to 1" of play side-to-side
(not front-to-back) is acceptable. With *ANY* carseat and *ANY*
installation, you need to check regularly. Any installation
can loosen, even if it was very tight to begin with. In fact,
one might expect very tight installations to loosen up more
quickly, as they're under more pressure.
I definitely agree one should try all the safe tricks
to get the seat in more tightly, but I wouldn't lose sleep
over it if I tried everything and still had a small amount
of side-to-side play.

Best wishes,
Ericka