Latching a booster

[MontrealMum]

Can you borrow the outboard latch for a center-installed booster seat if the latch is not being used for anything else? I know you can't install a carseat with borrowed latch, but the latch for a booster is just to keep it from being a projectile, the seatbelt does all the restraining work, right? At least, logically, that's how it seems to me. I have searched on here and car-seat.org and cannot find an answer to this specific question.

Seats in question are a Monterey and an Oobr, in an Outback and Forester.

I have also read 1 of 2 of our car manuals (same manufacturer) and it does not address this specific issue. It simply says that there is no center latch because carseats don't fit well there, that they should be installed outboard. Unfortunately, the Monterey won't fit outboard...at least, not with the door closed.

TIA for any help!

[Joolsplus2]

I'd probably do it... Will the Oobr fit? Monterey is that wide?

[MontrealMum]

Thanks for the response, Jools. The issue with the Monterey seems to be a combination between the Outback's curved outboard seats, the width of the Monterey, and the thick doors. We have just gotten a new-to-us car (a Forester) and the Oobr is new as well - it's a crash replacement. The reason this has come to a head is that I asked DH how many latch connectors were in the new car, he got very confused, and then it came out that there are only 2 sets in the Outback as well. I had trusted his original answer last year (when we got the Monterey) that there were 3 sets, and there are not. I have since been doing a lot of very frantic reading because the Monterey is currently in the middle with borrowed latch.

We're going to spend some time looking at each seat in each car to see which fits best where. The Oobr is definitely narrower than the Monterey, but they have different latch - Oobr is rigid, and Monterey is not. I don't know if the different type of latch connector would affect borrowing differently or not. I did read that there could be an issue of the latch interfering with the belt function. How would you know that by looking? Would it be very obvious one way or another just by looking at how they lie?

[MontrealMum]

Update: I made DH move the Monterey to an outboard position in the Outback and show me why it doesn't fit. Guess what, it does. It's harder to buckle it, but still possible. Sorry to vent a bit but I'm getting a little frustrated with having trusted that his answer on something is correct when it's not. In any case, if anyone knows a bit more about how to tell if the latch is interfering with the belts I'd be interested in knowing. I may want to put the seat back in the center in that car for easier buckling, but not if I have to buckle it in while empty.

[HannaAddict]

If it fits better in the center and is easier to buckle, even without LATCH, I would keep it there. The LATCH on the booster is convenience not safety at all, just keeps it from rolling around without a kid in it but is not for keeping a child safe. KWIM.

[MontrealMum]

If it fits better in the center and is easier to buckle, even without LATCH, I would keep it there. The LATCH on the booster is convenience not safety at all, just keeps it from rolling around without a kid in it but is not for keeping a child safe. KWIM.

Um, thanks, but that's what I was getting at in the OP.

My questions are pertaining to:
-borrowing latch for a booster (most info on this is for full-on carseats, not boosters)
-interference with seatbelt effectiveness/function when using a latch connector located outside the belt stalk

[HannaAddict]

Um, thanks, but that's what I was getting at in the OP.

My questions are pertaining to:
-borrowing latch for a booster (most info on this is for full-on carseats, not boosters)
-interference with seatbelt effectiveness/function when using a latch connector located outside the belt stalk

Uhm, sorry!

[Joolsplus2]

The difference in it working with Rigid or Flexible LATCH is just that the bars in the middle must be exactly 11" apart for Rigid to fit...straps can reach to whatever distance apart the middle is (for instance, Britax allows 11-20 if the vehicle allows LATCH in the middle and has those distances). Buckle interference is just...well, sometimes the LATCH isn't centered right between the seatbelt anchors, I've seen some Hondas where the inner LATCH anchors are literally in between the seatbelt anchors.
Anyway, don't feel bad DH didn't know what was up with LATCH, I rarely meet anyone who knows how to count anchors or which are ok to use (my CPST instructor in my class didn't even know how many he had, and it's been all downhill from there, sigh).
Sorry so late back, I don't even know if I even added anything, lol.

[MontrealMum]

Thanks, Jools! That is helpful. For now, we've got the boosters latched outboard in both cars, but when the weather gets better I will go out with a measuring tape and check things out. I really prefer having it in the middle in my car because we have parking on both sides of the street and it's just easier to reach the middle if you're parked on the opposite side to the booster.