installing wiht LATCH in middle position

[sal799]

I need ot install my Marathon. anyhow, i read in the car manual that the LATCH clips are for outboard seats. I spoke with Britax on the phone, the woman said as long as the 2 anchors are 11-20 inches apart, i can use one from each outboard and install in the middle seat using LATCH. is thsi safe? the car manual doesnt say anything about htis. I have a 2002 Toyota Camry

[Joolsplus2]

Toyota doesn't allow center LATCH...so Britax is cool, Toyota's (a) fool :p
I'd be inclined to just use the seatbelt install in the center, and if that seems unreasonably hard, do the LATCH outboard and plan to practice to install it with the belt some day (it's actually quite easy once you've done it a couple times, but those first couple times might be pretty frustrating, if that makes any sense..).
www.carseatsite.com has a bunch of Britax installation videos that might help if you get stuck (and ask back here, too, someone will be able to walk you through it!)

[sal799]

Toyota doesn't allow center LATCH...so Britax is cool, Toyota's (a) fool :p
I'd be inclined to just use the seatbelt install in the center, and if that seems unreasonably hard, do the LATCH outboard and plan to practice to install it with the belt some day (it's actually quite easy once you've done it a couple times, but those first couple times might be pretty frustrating, if that makes any sense..).
www.carseatsite.com has a bunch of Britax installation videos that might help if you get stuck (and ask back here, too, someone will be able to walk you through it!)


ok, i have a question- so the video on that site showed it being installed using both lockoffs- do i use both? i installed it with only one. the other question is, i installed it with a tether. thing is, the tether is attached to a metal part of the car and is on one side of the car seat- not directly opposing. so the car seat is SLIGHTLY listed to that side. is that abnormal? is it not tight enough?

[DaniannieB]

If your seat belts lock (either at the shoulder/retractor or latch plate), you have the option of using either, both, or neither lock-off. As long as the belt is locked and your install is secure, you're fine.

A slight tilt due to an off-center tether is not really that uncommon. It's not a safety issue as long as the seat itself is secure (moves less than 1" at the belt path). Sometimes you can adjust the tether so that it's not pulling so much on one side, since it's V-shaped. Just pull slack from the "high" side into the "low" side.