is it easier to install britax bv compared to primo viaggio?

[elke]

Hi,
I just ordered the Britax BV (on the sale, thanks for that tip!!) and if it gets here before the weekend, I'd like to switch out our infant seat for it since we are going on a 2-3 hr cartrip and i was hoping dd might be more comfortable and happier in the new seat.
we currently have a primo viaggio installed in the middle, and we had major car seat technician help for installing it (well, the chp officer basically took the seat out and reinstalled it using a pool noodle). he did a good job explaining how to do it so i think we'd be comfortable installing that same seat again, but i am not sure about a new, and different type of seat.
i am pretty sure we wouldn't have time to have the seat checked before the weekend, so i was wondering if it's easier to install the britax - it seemed pretty easy with the latch anchors, but are there other pointers we have to keep in mind (peg seat was seatbelt installed)? or should i rather wait and only install it when there is a technician clinic again?

thanks!
elke

[Joolsplus2]

What car do you have? Is the middle an actual LATCH position? (techs are always getting this wrong, using LATCH that they shouldn't be...usually only US cars have LATCH in the middle...)...
Um...I'd say it's going to be an *entirely* different challenge.. BV's aren't known for their extreme ease of installation, particularly with the seatbelt (it's one of those seats you can appreciate that it is easy, but only after you've installed about a dozen other seats, lol).

If you DO have an actual specified LATCH location in the middle, it should be quite easy... seatbelts are harder, and finding a rearfacing tether might be a challenge (climb under your front seats and look for a place to tie the special tether connector strap to, I don't have a link right now, but someone else will, I think...).

So.. easier or harder? Hmmm...they both aren't really 'easy' IMO, but it really isn't too hard to learn, either.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[SusanMae]

Do you want to keep DD in the center or move her to the outside? Since she is in the middle now with a seat belt install you will probably have to use the seat belt with the Britax. Check your vehicle manual to see if it allows the use of LATCH in the center. Also since you daugher is older, she doesn't need the same 45 degree recline that she needed as a newborn and can be more upright.

First thing to do is get the seat out and READ the directions. Read them online before the seat even arrives if you'd like.

I've never done a RF seatbelt install, so I'll let some else explain that.

I have done LATCH and boy is it easy. Usually Britax's come with the connectors ready for RF, but check the book to be sure.

First lengthen the connector straps--push in the button and pull on the strap, so the tail gets shorter. Then connect the inboard connector--don't twist the strap and just push them on the the Lower Anchor until you hear a click. Then turn the seat so that you can attach the other side in the same manner. Next pull the tails until all the slack is gone from the connecter to the seat. Put pressure on the seat and pull them even harder.

Next you'll need to detach the peice(D ring) that is attached to the Versa tether. Find something non moving that is bolted to the floor like a seat track. You can attach the D Ring by wrapping the whole peice around the track and thread the metal end through the loop. Next attach the tether to the D ring. Pull the tether until there is no slack left, but not taut.

Techs---How'd I do?

Susan

[Joolsplus2]

<thumbs up>

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[elke]

thanks for the hints so far! we have a mazda, and i read on this board that mazda allowed latch in the middle (our peg seat was a 2002 model and didn't have latch), but i better check the manual again.
hmm - i guess we'll just try it out. how do you know how straight your child can be? she is 5 months old.
thanks!
elke

[SusanMae]

She would probably be ok with about a 60 degree recline. She's at the age where she is interested in the world around her, so she would probably like being able to see more.

Susan

[Joolsplus2]

Mazda! Yay :) (sorry, that LATCH in the middle thing is always a burning red flag to me, sometimes I overreact...however, it's NOT ok to have a Primo Viaggio installed with LATCH in the center, UNLESS the bars are the standard 11 inches apart. ONLY Britax allows LATCH bars that are between 11-20 inches apart, all other carseats insist they must be 11 inches apart).

I think you won't have a problem.

For what it's worth, the degree of recline angle is based on the child's back recline...more upright than 45 degrees would be expressed as like 30 degrees, while lying down way more than diagonal would be 60 degrees....same as any other passenger...when you are sitting in the front seat you are reclining at 15-20 degrees, if that makes sense? You can definitely be way more upright with a Boulevard, because the headwings will support a napping baby's head very well. See the link in my sig, to click on the rearfacing recline album, and you can see lots of appropriate recline angles (the only OVER reclined child is Dylan, he's definitely lying down way too much...Toby is probably a bit too upright, but it gives you an idea of acceptable angles)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[elke]

HI,

i just received the seat and installed it in the passenger outboard position (since infant seat is still installed in the middle - din't dare uninstalling it just yet all by my lonesome at work...) with latch, it was quite easy and seat seems to be super solid - so solid, in fact, that it looks like the carseat itself might suffer (upholstery).
so here is the dumb question of the day: can it be too tight? or should it, in fact, be that tight? i have no horizontal movement at all.
currently, i used the reclining position because the upright seems a little too upright. if i wanted to further manipulate recline, would i use a pool noodle? (since i otherwise only have 2 options for recline - upright vs. reclined).
after understanding the instructions, this was super fast!

thanks!
elke

[Joolsplus2]

It's good you used the recline, you really should when RF. How about top tethering it?
http://www.angelfire.com/wa3/isakswings/ratetherrf.html

I don't remember having a hard time finding a place to top tether in a Mazda, so you should be fine finding one. Glad it was so fast, isn't that LATCH the best?

:)

Oh, ps, no, it will NOT damage your car upholstery. My friend had hers installed rock solid for years, and when she sold me her car, there was a little dent in the shape of the base in the seat cushion for awhile, but then it popped out after a week and you could never tell the seat was there (and same with all my seats in all my cars, I get those puppies in TIGHT, and the dents always pop out ;) )
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx