ISO : Safe Booster for Small Car

[heather57]

Hi, I asked a few questions on this board a few years ago and everyone was great. Now I'm back!

My son is 3 yrs, 9 months old. He weighs 39 lbs and is 40 inches tall, so he is at the limit of his carseat.

Problem: My car is a 1988 Plymouth Sundance. It has no rear shoulder belts so my first hurdle will be getting some installed. (The car only has 74,000 miles on it and runs like a dream, so I don't want to trade it in.)

Then I'll need a booster seat. The car is officially a "compact", a little larger than a Dodge Neon. The booster will have to sit on the side of the rear seat because that's where the belts will be. There is a bit of a hump in the middle of the rear seat that could be a problem with a wide booster.

In a small car such as this, with the seat on the side, I like the idea of a booster with side-impact protection, such as the Britax Bodyguard and Parkway. But I know the head wings on the Bodyguard would drive my son crazy. He likes to be able to see. (We never travel long distances in this car so having a big headrest for napping is no advantage.)


So, my questions:
1) Is the Parkway vision-restricting, like the Bodyguard?

2) Would it fit in my car?

3) Besides the Britax models, are there any other boosters you can suggest that have good side-impact protection and that would fit in my car?

Thanks for any help.

[Joolsplus2]

No rear shoulderbelts at all? If you only have lapbelts, then there are NO boosters you could use. You will need a higher weight harnessed seat, or even a just a harness option, and may also have to find someone who will be able to install a top tether anchor (usually quite difficult to do in a pre-1989 car).

This page has more info, and some lapbelt only options that may work (I'm thinking Marathon would be your best bet, since it doesn't require a tether).

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/lapbelts.aspx

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

[heather57]

>No rear shoulderbelts at all? If you only have lapbelts,
>then there are NO boosters you could use.

Yes, I know that. That was why I stated that "my first hurdle is going to be getting shoulder belts installed".

This may be even more difficult than I imagined. I have spent the afternoon ripping my hair out getting the runaround from Chrysler and dealers who deny all knowledge of a list on the NHTSA site that says one can purchase shoulder belt retrofit kits for this car.
I am continuing to "bulldog" it and maybe if I am lucky, I will end up with some shoulder belts so I can get a booster.


>You will need a
>higher weight harnessed seat, or even a just a harness option,
>and may also have to find someone who will be able to install
>a top tether anchor (usually quite difficult to do in a
>pre-1989 car).

I cannot get a tether anchor installed; there is no secure point to even drill a hole for one. (At least Chrysler and the local dealers agree on this issue.)

>
>This page has more info, and some lapbelt only options that
>may work (I'm thinking Marathon would be your best bet, since
>it doesn't require a tether).
>
>http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/lapbelts.aspx

That is a good link but I've seen it and studied it.
I have come to a similar conclusion: If I can't get shoulder belts installed, I will have to get the Marathon or Wizard. I looked at the PDF files for their owner manuals and apparently both can go untethered to 65 lbs. Can you confirm this (or not)?

I still will have a problem when my kid goes over 65 lbs, though.
What on earth do people do?? I'm lucky because we *do* have another car, and I *can* afford a $250 carseat if I must get one-- but there are a lot of poor folks driving around older vehicles! What do they do?? (rhetorical question)

Thanks for your reply.

[Joolsplus2]

D'oh! Sorry, I totally blanked on that "get shoulderbelts installed" bit :P.

Ugh, sounds like they aren't making it easy for you, though.

Yes, you CAN use the Marathon till 65 pounds (or till the tops of the ears are even with the top of the seatback, about 49 inches tall) without a top tether.

What do people do? Go straight to the lapbelt at 40 pounds (which is fine by the law even in states with booster laws) and assume they won't be in a crash :(

Good luck finding a workable solution, keep us posted if you have any good news on the seatbelt front.


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

[heather57]

No luck yet, but I'm going to continue looking for a manufacturer's shoulder belt retrofit kit. There are generic kits available, but neither the dealer nor body shops I've called are willing to install a generic kit because of liability issues.

I've decided in the meantime (and got my husband to agree), that we ought to buy a Wizard or Marathon anyway. Reading some of your advice on this site was helpful in that regard-- it helped convince me that a not-quite-4 year old would probably be better off in a 5-point harness where he can't lean around and try to play in the car. Also it will just be safer all around, I think.

When he hits 65 lbs, we'll put him in a booster *IF* I've managed to find the elusive shoulder belt kit. If not, I guess hubby will have to switch cars with me (he'll hate that). But too bad! No way am I going to put him in a lap belt only, or even in a shoulder belt up front.

Or maybe we'll strike it rich and buying a new car won't be big deal-- well, one can hope...

Thanks and I'll let you know if I make any more progress obtaining the shoulder belts.