How easy is it to remove/replace Marathon?

[dogmom]

So I have my new Marathon, which I love, in my Subaru Outback. It's placed in the middle, rear facing, with a tether. My DH and I were just talking about renting a pressure washer for our deck again and realized, it won't fit! I can't fold the seats down. (I blame lack of sleep for not thinking of this earlier.) I took it to the police station to get installed. They did a bang up job, but I not so sure if I could easily repeat it. I can't use the latch in the middle position. What do you do when you temporarily need to fold down seats?

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/03

[Momof3Labs]

We learned how to install the seat ourselves and just take it out when we need to. We can get the seat re-installed in about 5 minutes now (with the LATCH) - seatbelts wouldn't take much longer.

This is why I don't like when techs just install the seat without teaching people how to install it themselves - what do you do when you travel or need to move the seat?? I'd recommend taking it back and having them teach you how to install it, and then you can go rent the pressure washer.

[em_jon98]

Jeanne,

We also had ours installed by the local police (or reinstalled properly, I should say!) in my Camry. I was terrified to remove it for fear that I would not be able to get it back in properly. I ended up having to take it out to check the straps for fraying. It was not as difficult to reinstall as I thought it would be. I was able to get back in the car, in a good, tight installation, in about 10 minutes.

I removed it this weekend to put in my mom's van to carpool to a cousin's wedding. It took a while to get it installed in her car. I was able to put it back into my car in less than 5 minutes. It gets easier each time you install it because you learn the techinique with the seat and your car. I have the most trouble with getting the locking clips fastened on my Marathon--not getting the seat in the right postion or getting the tether hooked up.

If you feel wary about installing it yourself, I would highly second the suggestion to make another appt with the tech at the local police or fire department, and make them walk you through installing the seat in your car. Then, take it out a few times at home and put it back in yourself. It should get easier after you do it a few times.

HTH

--Edited to say that we don't have LATCH equiped cars and are using the seatbelts and locking clips.