Does anyone have an older Marathon in a Honda Odyssey?

[em_jon98]

We have an 8/12/02 manufac. Marathon, and are considering purchasing a Honda Odyssey. I was wondering if anyone had a Marathon with an earlier manufacturing date, and thus shorter LATCH straps, in an Odyssey and could tell me if the LATCH straps were long enough to use.

[CPSDarren]

I briefly had a Marathon in our Odyssey. It was the best and easiest rear-facing convertible installation I have done in our van, and I've done a lot:-) Using separate straps on each side and the mini-connectors rather than hooks helps considerably. I cannot confirm if it had long or short LATCH straps. There was some length to spare, and I believe it was manufactured in 2/03.

Darren
www.Car-Safety.Org

[em_jon98]

Thanks, that helps a bit to know that at least it installs easily. Our straps are 12" from bar to the ends of the connectors.

What are mini-connectors and hooks? (we have non-LATCH vehicles right now, so I'm a little behind all knowing about all the particular LATCH doo-hickeys).

[CPSDarren]

Sorry for the carseat lingo! At the end of your Marathon's LATCH strap is a plastic connector with a release button. You simply push it into the lower anchor and it locks, the button releases it. Britax uses these "mini-connectors", and you can find them on a few other models, too.

Most LATCH seats have a much simpler hook with a prong, much like what is found on the top-tether straps of many seats. These can be a bit more difficult to install, and are often much more difficult to release when you want to remove the seat.

Darren
www.Car-Safety.Org