Safety issues with new Valco Tri-Mode - what to do?

[tg_canada]

I got my new Tri-Mode today and am very frustrated:

* waist straps are set to largest and they just do up around my DD. When I put her snowsuit on I cannot get them done up
* crotch strap is at its loosest, and because of where they have the slits in the footmuff situated, the strap doesn't reach the waist straps and I can barely get it done up. With her snowsuit on, I can't get it done up.
* the slits for the crotch strap in the footmuff are in the wrong place (see above problem)
* the strap on the car seat adapter, which holds the car seat on, is too short and I can't get it done up over the car seat

The kicker here is, DD is only 3 months old. If I can barely get the safety harness done up now, I don't know what I'll do when she grows (you know like next week!!). And if I can get it done up with a snowsuit on, well it's pretty much useless. And if the car seat strap can't be done up, the car seat can fall out of the stroller very easily.

Has anyone else had these problems?

[ellies mom]

The strap issue I have is that the waist straps are very short. I figured it was because my child is older and it wouldn't be a problem with a baby.

For me that still isn't a deal killer but I am trying to figure out the best and easiest way to make them longer. I see that you are looking for Valco's number. That is a good idea. Let me know what they say. Id be interested in knowing.

As for the car seat adapter can you use different straps to make them longer?

[tg_canada]

My baby is only 13.5 pounds and I can barely get the waist straps done up, so definitely a deal killer for me. I do have the 4 season footmuff in place, so I'd have a bit more leeway without it, but I live in Canada! If I can't use this stroller with the footmuff, then this stroller is of no use to me. The problem is, the store I bought from does not take returns on special orders. Who would have thought the stroller would have a design flaw though?

The car seat adapter has the straps sewn onto the metal bars, so I would have to cut these to get them off. If they offer replacement, longer straps, I'd be happy to cut these off and put new ones on.

I sent them an email and hopefully they will respond. I also called the store where I purchased it and they are going to contact their Valco rep. She did say that the lady was terrible at returning messages though so it might not be for several days!! Seriously, after spending almost $800 with stroller, footmuff, car seat adapter and taxes, someone should be getting back to me sooner than that!

[ellies mom]

In my mind the stroller would be defective. If you can't use the straps on the car seat adapter, it is unsafe and defective. If the footmuff doesn't fit correctly on the stroller, it is defective and if the waist straps are too small for an infant, then once again it could be seen as defective. I would hope the store agrees. I also hope Valco comes back with a good solution.

[tg_canada]

>In my mind the stroller would be defective. If you can't use
>the straps on the car seat adapter, it is unsafe and
>defective. If the footmuff doesn't fit correctly on the
>stroller, it is defective and if the waist straps are too
>small for an infant, then once again it could be seen as
>defective. I would hope the store agrees. I also hope Valco
>comes back with a good solution.

Thanks Veronica, I agree as well! And I also hope that Valco has a solution because this stroller really is gorgeous. It turns on a dime and it almost pushes itself! The quality (other than this strap issue and footmuff slits!) is top notch. I am impressed with how the brakes work, how easy it is to switch wheel modes, the sturdiness of the canopy, the storage... I could go on!

[tg_canada]

The baby store called me and they talked to the Valco rep in Canada. Apparently there were some strollers that went out with straps that are too short. Looks like I may have one of these! She said something about strap extenders...I'll have to ask what these look like and how they attach. I am not too thrilled about having to put extenders onto my unused, brand new, expensive stroller if they actually have units out there with the correct strap length.

Anyway, the Valco lady is going to give me a call this afternoon, so I'll post an update once I talk to her!

[ellies mom]

Ohhh!! I'm going to have to see if I can get in touch with her too. Way to make a fuss! I was just going to suffer. Thanks!

[tg_canada]

>Ohhh!! I'm going to have to see if I can get in touch with
>her too. Way to make a fuss! I was just going to suffer.
>Thanks!

Please don't suffer! If you are in Canada, I posted her name and number under my thread where I was looking for the Valco phone number. Let me know how it goes!

Oh, can you tell me where your crotch strap is attached on your seat? Mine is attached at the back of the seat, then it comes up to the middle where it sits under a black webbed strap. So basically, it comes up in the middle of the seat. A lot of pictures I have seen have the crotch strap attached at the front of the seat. This is basically where my footmuff slits are, at the front of the seat. So, it would seem that the footmuff is made for those with the strap attached at the front. I wonder if my crotch strap location is newer or older? I can't find a manufacturing date on my stroller anywhere.

[ellies mom]

I'm in the US, although the number you posted looks like a CA number. I'm thinking of calling the store I ordered it from to see if they can help.

The strap on mine is like yours. The tri-mode is brand new so it would be newer. I wonder if the footmuff is for the older style Runabout. How frustrating.

[tg_canada]

> I'm in the US, although the number you posted looks like a CA number.

Yes, the number I posted is in Ontario. You could always call her just to get a U.S. number if you don't have any luck at the store where you bought it.

>The strap on mine is like yours. The tri-mode is brand new so
>it would be newer. I wonder if the footmuff is for the older
>style Runabout. How frustrating.

The weird thing is, this guy with a Tri-Mode has his crotch strap different than ours http://www.pbase.com/carseat/image/59340651 In his review of the stroller he also says that the stroller has a "puzzle" buckle, meaning you have to put the 2 waist strap pieces together before you can insert it into the crotch strap. Mine is not like this, I can buckle either side of the waist strap independently. So, it seems like they may have changed the buckle at one point.

As for the footmuff, I am not sure what's going on. My packaging for it shows in on the new Tri-Mode but that might not mean anything! I got it in pink to match my Tri-Mode, not sure if the older style Runabout was offered in pink?

[ellies mom]

That is wierd. That is actually the website I used to sell DH on the stroller. I guess I didn't pay much attention to that part. I don't know if the older one came in pink or not. I know that I had to wait to order mine so I could get it in red. I hope the Valco rep can figure it all out for you. I'd love to order more things for it later but not if they aren't going to fit.

I'm waiting for the store to call me back.

[tg_canada]

The Valco lady called me this evening, she was super nice. We fixed the car seat adapter issue. Apparently it is designed to be a super tight fit and not designed to have the footmuff underneath. So, it looks like I'll have to ensure the top of the footmuff is removed and it will be a bit of a struggle to get the strap clipped, but it's doable. I really think the car seat adapter is not a great design, but I guess it's all I have!

As for the waist straps, initially she said she'd send me out some harness extenders. Then we discussed the slits in the footmuff and she realized that my crotch strap was sewn at the back of the seat and not the front, thus wasn't going to work with the footmuff. So she is sending me a new "skin" (seat fabric) with the crotch strap sewn at the front which will work with the footmuff. These ones also have the longer waist straps, so now I won't need the harness extenders either. The only drawback to this is, now I will get that "puzzle" buckle. But I'd rather have that than extra waist straps to clip in and a crotch strap that doesn't work with my footmuff. She said that the "puzzle" buckle is on all of the new ones as that is a new standard (or going to be) in the U.S.

[tg_canada]

According to the Valco rep, you'll need a new "skin" with the crotch strap sewed at the front of the seat if you want the footmuff to fit. My suspicion is that the crotch strap sewn at the back of the seat pad was actually a mistake, just like the too short waist straps.

[ellies mom]

Well, my strap extenders are in the mail. Thanks for all your work. Oh and I was able to get hold of them through Valco's website.

I didn't really push for the new "skin" because I really wasn't planning on getting the foot muff in the future but the girl insists that it should work. I'm not going to worry about it though.

Thanks again!!!