Have Monterrey, another Monterrey or Parkway for 2nd car?

[patti_b]

Hi All,

I just bought a Monterrey for my 7 yo. I also looked at the Parkway, but like the Monterrey better. For the second car I think I would prefer the Monterrey also, but I'm wondering if we would be better off with the Parkway because it's easier to move around for car pools, riding with friends, etc. I also may want to move it from one side to the other in the same car. That's because when both DH and I are in the car, the non-driver sits in the back passenger side in order to reduce the risk of both of us being killed in an accident (overly cautious or sensible, I don't know, but that's our thinking), but when it's only one of us, it's better for DS to be on the passenger side for school dropoff. Though I guess we could use our spare Turbobooster for school dropoff instead of moving his seat if I got the Monterrey. One thing to consider is that DS is kind of stocky with broad shoulders, though not tall. I'm afraid he would outgrow the Parkway too quickly. We use the Turbobooster for friends' cars and travel, but I do like the SIP of the Parkway. But maybe the SIP doesn't matter that much for occasional use in friends cars/travel. On the other hand, my mom's car when we travel doesn't have airbags. Ack! I think I have myself talked into the Monterrey and then talk myself into the Parkway. I need help deciding! Thanks!

Patti

[bubbaray]

I :love-retry: our Monterey. I would buy another in a heartbeat. In fact, I did just recently when my insurance replaced my seats after I was rear-ended (I could have replaced with any other similarly priced booster).

If you have a TB, I'd buy the seat you like and you know fits well. Use the TB for "travel".

[patti_b]

Okay, installing the Monterey in my Tahoe reminded me that we only have latch on the passenger side. So, to comply with DH and I sitting in opposite corners of the car (DH is adamant about it, and I feel better about it myself), I either need to use the Monterey without latch on the driver side or use a Parkway in my car on the passenger side. I'm confused about whether the Monterey can be used without latch or not. The manual stresses its importance but I've read in other posts here and elsewhere that it's okay to use without latch. Any insights on that?

I've decided that I'd rather have the Monterey for both cars as I far prefer it, but only if it's okay to use without latch on the driver side so DH and I can be in opposite corners. (Does anyone else do that?)

[Joolsplus2]

It's ok to use the Monterey without LATCH. Some of us would be nervous about it because it's so heavy and could load the child excessively, while a light seat like the Parkway will not add as much weight to the child in a crash. It all depends on your comfort level (the law used to be that seats could not weight more than 9 pounds, but seats in Europe have never had such regulation and they have heavy boosters, no real data that they are harming their small passengers, so it may not even matter at all).
Last I checked, the front seat is safer for adult passengers (http://www.sae.org/events/gim/presentations/2008hong.pdf ), you guys might want to find a few more studies on the safest way for you all to travel :)

[patti_b]

Thanks Jools, for posting that study. Interesting, seems so counter-intuitive. I wonder why adults are safer in the front and children are safer in the back. I'm sure it has something to do with the physics of the head movement of adult vs child as related to the seating position.

Re the unlatched seat weight, my first thought is to be wary of it, but wouldn't pretty much all the movement of the seat be coming from the seat back? Wouldn't the movement of the back be pretty much the same whether latched or not?

Thanks again!