Best 5-pt harness after 40 lbs?

[toddlertime]

Hello
I am so glad I stumbled on to this great site. I have been struggling with issues around carseats and I have really learned a great deal by reading the posts. However I still need your help. My daughter is 4 years old, 38 lbs and 40 inches tall. So I will need to replace her Britax Roundabout in my 2003 Camry and her Evenflo Vanguard in my husband's 1998 Camry.

I had been planning on getting a booster seat but I have learned that it's best to keep her in a 5 point harness as long as possible. For the 2003 Camry the Britax Boulevard which goes to 65 lbs seems like a good choice. I tried it in my car and it fits well in the middle seat and she is comfortable in it. I would have loved the Regent but it is so wide that I would have lost the use of the passenger seats on either side of the carseat. Does anyone have any experience with the Boulevard?

For my husband's car it's trickier. He does not have latch. Also the middle seat is puffed up a bit, while the two outboard passenger seats have a sort of well in them. Therefore, the carseats don't seem to fit as well in the middle. Her current seat is in the outboard position which makes me concerned in case of a side impact. I tried the Boulevard in the middle and I still got about an inch of wiggle on either side. I was thinking of ordering the Sunshine Radian as many people on the site liked it and trying the fit with that in the middle.

My question is if I cannot get a really tight fit in the middle position with any carseat is it still better to have the carseat in the middle or is it better to put her in the outboard position but with a tighter fit. And which is the best 5-point carseat if she has to be in the outboard position, i.e. best side impact protection. Also does anyone know if the Radian 80 requires a top tether anchor after 50 lbs. like the Regent because his car does not have that.

Sorry for the length of this .. but wanted to get all the relevant info out there. Thanks so much for the help.

Toddlertime

[Joolsplus2]

Fortunately, ANY rear seating position is incredibly safe in a properly installed harnessed seat :). So if outboard is all you can get a good fit in, then that's really ok. I'm not sure if the Radian fits in a Camry... www.carseatdata.org might know, or www.car-seat.org might have the answer. It's sometimes hard to fit in some cars, otherwise I'd recommend it right and left (it's a nice high quality seat, almost like a britax :) )

Maybe the Cosco Apex would work for you in one of your cars (or both, but it's almost as wide as the Regent, and does require vehicle head support behind the child's head at all times).

And sometimes a tech will know a trick or two to help you learn to install seats in tricky spots... maybe a real life one from www.seatcheck.org could help you figure out those tricky center installs (since you need the seatbelt in the middle of yours, and the humps are so vexing :P )
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[o_mom]

Just an FYI, the Radian 80 is not any taller than the Radian 65. Since your DD is only 38 lbs at 4 years, she will probably not even get to 65 lbs in the seat before she outgrows it by height.

The Radian seats do not require top tethers, but they recommned using one if possible. It is highly likely that your husband's car could have top tether anchors added. Just post a question here and one of the techs with a LATCH manual can look it up for your.

[toddlertime]

Thanks - this is really helpful info. I will check out the sites you recommended.