Which Radian should I get to have DS RF again?

[arivecchi]

Turning DS1 back around if a Radian fits in our car. :praying: Which one should I get? An existing 65, 80 or XT with the 40 pound weight limit (DS1 weighs 32 pounds w/out clothes)? We have a BMW X5. DS1 is currently behind the driver's seat and DS2 is behind the passenger seat in his Blvd. Or should I wait for the new 45# ones to come out? I guess I don't want to wait too long to get the seat and will just order an existing one if the 45# ones will not be shipped anytime soon. TIA!

[Joolsplus2]

And you're sure it'll even fit RF in your car....?

[arivecchi]

I am not sure at all. I just figured I would order it from a website that has free returns or return insurance and return it if it does not work. I was also wondering if a Radian would fit in the center? I want to at least try b/c we were almost rear ended on the highway going to Wisconsin about 2 weeks ago. DS1 was sleeping in his Frontier and his head flew forward....

[Joolsplus2]

Do you have any better baby stores anywhere near you? You can try any Radian (I'm thinking, find a store that will let you try a floor model), because they are all the same seat shell, and order the one you want once you know if it'll fit :)
I'm sure it'd fit side by side with an RF BV, just not sure which would fit best in the center or outboard (but the seats themselves puzzle nicely when they are aiming the same direction).

[arivecchi]

Jools, believe it or not, I do not know of any stores in the city of Chicago that carry Radians - maybe in the burbs. But I am lazy and prefer to order one online and try it at home. :D Which Radian would be appropriate for my DS? By the way, I plan to keep the Frontier anyway. I :heartbeat: that seat.

[Joolsplus2]

80 SL or XT SL are the ones that RF to 45lbs, so the XT if you want the headwings or the 80 if you don't (I guess it's better SIP if you get the XT, just depends on your preference :))

[arivecchi]

80 SL or XT SL are the ones that RF to 45lbs, so the XT if you want the headwings or the 80 if you don't (I guess it's better SIP if you get the XT, just depends on your preference :)) Hi again! I just responded on the other board. ;) I just found out that some 80 and XT SLs will be in in 2 weeks, so I will get one of those from hipmonkey with the 15% off coupon. :D

[arivecchi]

I just went ahead and ordered a new 45# Radian XT SL in Bentley for $259 from Hip Monkey (that includes return shipping insurance). :cheerleader1: I hope I can make it fit in our car! They told me that SK is shipping 4 XT styles (including the Bentley) in 2 weeks!

[AnnieW625]

FWIW I have a friend with a similar sized Lexus RX 350 and she has the Radian 65 (I think) RFing in the center seat of the car. Both her and her DH are tall so I think that's the only way they could get it fit. They have a Marathon and Frontier on either side.

[arivecchi]

FWIW I have a friend with a similar sized Lexus RX 350 and she has the Radian 65 (I think) RFing in the center seat of the car. Both her and her DH are tall so I think that's the only way they could get it fit. They have a Marathon and Frontier on either side. Thanks for the tip. I think that is the only way we will be able to make it work as the Blvd only fits if the passenger seat is pushed forward quite a bit and DH cannot fit comfortably in that seat.

[arivecchi]

Ok - so I completely went bunkers and ordered a 2009 Radian 65 (40# limit) from diapers.com for $170! I will compare the two and keep the one that works best (figured I might not need the headwings if the car seat is in the center). I will report back.

[happyturtles]

I have a 2008 BMW X5 and the radian 80. I currently use the Radian in the center seat with the latch, but when I need to seat two people in the back seat, I move the radian to behind the passenger seat.

I do have to move the passenger seat forward to fit the RA well, but I'm 5'-6" and it didn't bother me too much. My dad's sat in the passenger seat as well and at 5'-11" he also didn't complain (could be he was just being nice)

[arivecchi]

I have a 2008 BMW X5 and the radian 80. I currently use the Radian in the center seat with the latch, but when I need to seat two people in the back seat, I move the radian to behind the passenger seat.

I do have to move the passenger seat forward to fit the RA well, but I'm 5'-6" and it didn't bother me too much. My dad's sat in the passenger seat as well and at 5'-11" he also didn't complain (could be he was just being nice) Oh my gosh, you rock. Thanks for all the tips. How did you do the Radian in the center with LATCH? I already have a Blvd behind the passenger seat with LATCH. Do you only have one car seat? I got the 65 in case the XT does not fit with the Blvd in the center.

[Joolsplus2]

Per the manuals, you DON"T use LATCH in the center, but it's an easy mistake to make if you don't read pretty closely. BMW doesn't allow it, and neither does Radian allow non-standard spacing (to use LATCH, it must be the standard 11 inches apart, and the vehicle manual must clearly state how to install the seat in that spot, you can't just 'borrow' the outboard center anchors, they may be the wrong distance apart and the results could be bad in a crash).

:)

[arivecchi]

Per the manuals, you DON"T use LATCH in the center, but it's an easy mistake to make if you don't read pretty closely. BMW doesn't allow it, and neither does Radian allow non-standard spacing (to use LATCH, it must be the standard 11 inches apart, and the vehicle manual must clearly state how to install the seat in that spot, you can't just 'borrow' the outboard center anchors, they may be the wrong distance apart and the results could be bad in a crash).

:) Thanks Jools. That's why I was asking. I just didn't see how you could do LATCH in the center. By the way, do the Radian 65 and the XT have the same size shell?

[happyturtles]

You know, I had read someone else's post alluding to not using the center seat for latch, so I looked/combed over the BMW manual to see if there was a restriction on using the center seat for latch. It did not say not to.

However, I did not know that Sunshine Kids only recommends 11" apart for their latched car seats. Thanks for the info. I have some rearranging to do.

I only had one car seat, that's why it was in the center. DD2 is due in 4 weeks and I was gonna to place the RA80 and Keyfit30 in the outboard seats then.

[AnnieW625]

Thanks Jools. That's why I was asking. I just didn't see how you could do LATCH in the center. By the way, do the Radian 65 and the XT have the same size shell?

We didn't have a Radian, but we made the same mistake in Honda Pilot; LATCHed the Marathon, and the Snugride I believe in the middle seat as the manuals are clueless and wouldn't have known anything was wrong unless Jools had posted something about it a few months ago (we had belt pathed the seat since we started FFing so well over 2 years). The spacing of them makes sense too, that's what's weird.

[arivecchi]

Does the RA80 fit RFing behind a seat? I'd rather have it outboard with LATCH than in the center with a seatbelt if I can swing it.