Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: HBB issues

  1. #1
    acmom is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    3,592

    Default HBB issues

    DD is 6 and 48 lbs and almost 48 inches. She has been in a harnessed Frontier in my Pilot (2006) for a while and switched to a Graco Affix in DH's car about 4 months ago. She does fine in the booster in his car and would like to switch in mine. We tried our carpool Graco Turbobooster for a few days, but she has a really hard time buckling it. The belt locks up on her often, plus the booster seems to shift over the belt buckle when she gets out so the next time she gets in the seat is often on top of the buckle making it really hard. I hate having to help so much and she doesn't like it either.

    What's my best best in this situation?
    -Just leave her harnessed? But I'm not sure this issue is going to get any better with time/growth as she can physically reach and buckle without an issue, its just the set up in the car that seems to be the issue.
    -Switch the Frontier to HHB mode? I haven't tried this yet bc I feel like I read bad things about the Frontier 85 as a booster.
    -Buy a different booster? But will any of them ease this issue?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Richmond, Virginia, USA.
    Posts
    20,018

    Default

    I bet the pilot has the same floppy buckle as my (dumb old) Odyssey? I actually put a little piece of foam pipe insulation or a skinny pool noodle around the buckle stalk to hold it up and make it easier to get to (I was too cheap for a bucklebiter, but it probably looks a lot nicer than my foam-and-duct-tape rigging, lol http://www.bucklebiters.com/).
    Frontier is going to be a lot harder to buckle than a smallish seat like the Turbo, so I wouldn't unharness it. Maybe something slimmish like a Parkway would be a good booster, and it LATCHes in. (as do the Recaro and Peg Perego boosters, and Diono Cambria...lots of LATCHers to choose from now, www.carseatblog.com has lots of reviews that might help pick, too).
    Julie
    Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST)

    DS age 18--Driving--(booster till 11 and almost 5ft tall)
    DD1 age 16--Learner's Permit!(booster till 11 and almost 5 ft tall)
    DD2 age 9-Safety 1st Incognito
    http://picasaweb.google.com/joolstag/LeahInCarseats#

  3. #3
    legaleagle is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    5,009

    Default

    My newly 6 is pretty much exactly that size has no problems buckling his recaro in all the cars I've tried it in, even the floppy stalks in the 3rd row of our mazda5. The seats are very wide though so it's not sitting on the buckle or immediately against it, not sure how much that matters. Definitely get something that latches if that's an option though.

    Jools - slightly off topic but can you top tether a combo seat being used as a booster if there's not lower latch in that position? Fronitiers 85 & 90 and recaro performance sport, to be exact.

  4. #4
    acmom is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    3,592

    Default

    Thanks! I ordered the parkway SGL and we will give that a try. Also going to think about the buckle biter...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Richmond, Virginia, USA.
    Posts
    20,018

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by legaleagle View Post

    Jools - slightly off topic but can you top tether a combo seat being used as a booster if there's not lower latch in that position? Fronitiers 85 & 90 and recaro performance sport, to be exact.
    For sure YES on the Britax, not sure on the Recaro, I'd think yes since honestly it's not going to do anything bad in a crash (plus their Recaro Start had mandatory tethering to get around an archaic booster-weight rule, they are comfortable with such a setup in principle).
    Julie
    Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST)

    DS age 18--Driving--(booster till 11 and almost 5ft tall)
    DD1 age 16--Learner's Permit!(booster till 11 and almost 5 ft tall)
    DD2 age 9-Safety 1st Incognito
    http://picasaweb.google.com/joolstag/LeahInCarseats#

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    308

    Default

    Can someone help me with a related question? I've been looking into replacing my 5 1/2 yr old twins' britax marathons possibly with Recaro HBBs. The reviews seem good overall, but a lot of complaints about the latches not tightening. Seems like a non-issue since it's the seatbelt that holds the kids and the seat in, but I read that you're not supposed to have the seat latched AND buckled at the same time, mandating that you undo the latch buckles every time your kid buckles in. This can't be true, right??


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    ...
    Posts
    5,984

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mom2beofboy/girltwins View Post
    Can someone help me with a related question? I've been looking into replacing my 5 1/2 yr old twins' britax marathons possibly with Recaro HBBs. The reviews seem good overall, but a lot of complaints about the latches not tightening. Seems like a non-issue since it's the seatbelt that holds the kids and the seat in, but I read that you're not supposed to have the seat latched AND buckled at the same time, mandating that you undo the latch buckles every time your kid buckles in. This can't be true, right??


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    No, definitely not true with a latch booster. The latch holds the seat and the seatbelt holds the child. The main complaint I see with latch that doesn't tighten (and it is designed this way, this isn't a flaw) is that it doesn't hold the seat completely stable while a child climbs in. The latch is there to keep the unoccupied seat from being a projectile in a crash. Non-latch boosters need to be buckled back in when the child gets out.
    momma to DD 12/08 & DS 3/13

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Richmond, Virginia, USA.
    Posts
    20,018

    Default

    I had a non-tightening LATCH booster for years, the First Years B570, and it never moved at all, whether LATCHed or not. It's tough for booster-makers to get over the training people have from harnessed seats that DO need tightened LATCH. Whereas some of us oldies are hard to convince that a booster should be tight, because we've seen ancient crash testing where a tightened LATCHed booster caused the child to fall forward and down and risk abdominal injuries, and are perfectly happy with LATCH that doesn't tighten on boosters (we want the seat to 'ride' with the child, having the armrests keep the lapbelt low throughout the crash sequence). In the end, it probably has no effect on injury risk whether it's tight or not, but people think it should be tight, so they complain when it doesn't get that way, IMNSHO
    Julie
    Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST)

    DS age 18--Driving--(booster till 11 and almost 5ft tall)
    DD1 age 16--Learner's Permit!(booster till 11 and almost 5 ft tall)
    DD2 age 9-Safety 1st Incognito
    http://picasaweb.google.com/joolstag/LeahInCarseats#

  9. #9
    legaleagle is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    5,009

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Joolsplus2 View Post
    For sure YES on the Britax, not sure on the Recaro, I'd think yes since honestly it's not going to do anything bad in a crash (plus their Recaro Start had mandatory tethering to get around an archaic booster-weight rule, they are comfortable with such a setup in principle).
    Thanks! It's pretty much total carseat roulette at my house but I'm guessing at some point I'm going to end up with a booster frontier in the back row of my mazda5 and it would be nice to have them attached some way to the seat since those suckers are so heavy.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •