LATCH or seatbelt install?

[KDsMommy]

DS' Frontier 85 and Nautilus are currently installed with LATCH. He's ~45 lbs and both vehicles are Mazdas. Should I be doing a belt install now or is it OK to stick with LATCH? I can't remember the weight limit rules.

[Joolsplus2]

40 on the FR and 48 on the Nauti. Have to change over on the FR, might as well on the Nauti while you're at it. Keep top tethering, of course :)

[KDsMommy]

Thanks Jools!

[PAfirsttimemom]

Are these the same weight limits for all cars? We have an original Frontier (not the 85) and boulevard in our highlander. Both are currently installed with latch and I've been thinking we need to switch to seatbelt.

[swrc00]

How in the world did I not know this?

Don't mean to highjack the thread! Thanks for bringing this up OP. I had no clue.

So, if DS is 42 lbs forward facing in older model Marathon, his seat should be installed with the seatbelt?

Currently it is tethered and installed with latch. :52:

[PAfirsttimemom]

Julie, where do we find the Latch weight limits? In our car's manual or the carseat manufacturer's manual? I have to check the limits for our cars and my parents' and in-laws' vehicles.

[Joolsplus2]

I think old Boulevards are 48, so no sweat there. It's the newer seats that say 40, either in the carseat manual or on a sticker on the side of the seat... this might help... http://www.britaxusa.com/support/user-guides (Low weight limits like that are a legal technicality but no one's child is in danger going a few pounds over without knowing it. So no one feel bad :))

[ha98ed14]

When you are talking about a seat belt install, do you mean installing the seat with the seatbelt and still using the 5pt harness? Or do you mean using the seat as a HBB with the seatbelt?

[Joolsplus2]

When you are talking about a seat belt install, do you mean installing the seat with the seatbelt and still using the 5pt harness? Or do you mean using the seat as a HBB with the seatbelt?

Using the seatbelt instead of the LATCH to install the seat, and still using the 5 point harness.
Later when the seat is used as a booster/HBB, you can LATCH it back in (since the LATCH will only be holding the 20lbs of seat, not the seat plus the child).

:)

[PAfirsttimemom]

I was talking about seat belt install using seats with 5 pt harness.

[PAfirsttimemom]

Using the seatbelt instead of the LATCH to install the seat, and still using the 5 point harness.
Later when the seat is used as a booster/HBB, you can LATCH it back in (since the LATCH will only be holding the 20lbs of seat, not the seat plus the child).

:)

We just got our first HBB recently (Graco Turbobooster), to use as a carpool seat, and we may start using it as the primary seat for DS1 (age 6) in our secondary car, a Honda Civic. Are you saying if we use the seat in a LATCH car that it should definitely be installed with LATCH? Or is this optional? We only threaded the seatbelt through, which I think was all that was required in the instructions? It did feel rather wobbly, though, since there is no other attachment or tether. Is that normal for boosters? New to this. Thanks!

[Joolsplus2]

We just got our first HBB recently (Graco Turbobooster), to use as a carpool seat, and we may start using it as the primary seat for DS1 (age 6) in our secondary car, a Honda Civic. Are you saying if we use the seat in a LATCH car that it should definitely be installed with LATCH? Or is this optional? We only threaded the seatbelt through, which I think was all that was required in the instructions? It did feel rather wobbly, though, since there is no other attachment or tether. Is that normal for boosters? New to this. Thanks!

Wobbly Turbos are the norm. There's no way to LATCH them, and no need to. It's the combination seats we're talking about (Frontier, Nautilus) that already have the LATCH built in, that you can LATCH and use as a booster (or the spendier boosters with LATCH, like the Parkway, Monterey, Oobr, Graco Affix, First Years B570, and the 3-in-1 Evenflos and Coscos...hmm...that seems like a long list! No worries, a Turbo is extremely safe, just buckle it in when there's no kid in there to hold it back from being a projectile in a crash).

[PAfirsttimemom]

Wobbly Turbos are the norm. There's no way to LATCH them, and no need to. It's the combination seats we're talking about (Frontier, Nautilus) that already have the LATCH built in, that you can LATCH and use as a booster (or the spendier boosters with LATCH, like the Parkway, Monterey, Oobr, Graco Affix, First Years B570, and the 3-in-1 Evenflos and Coscos...hmm...that seems like a long list! No worries, a Turbo is extremely safe, just buckle it in when there's no kid in there to hold it back from being a projectile in a crash).

Thanks for the info, Julie. It just seemed wrong to me to have a seat be so wobbly when we are used to rock-solid installs with our Britax seats. :-) So the seatbelt alone provides enough strength and protection to hold the child and seat in a crash?

To clarify, if I want to use our older Frontier harnessed, I will have to install with the seatbelt versus LATCH since my son is over 40 pounds, but if I decide to start using the Frontier as a booster, I can use LATCH to secure the seat.

[Joolsplus2]

Thanks for the info, Julie. It just seemed wrong to me to have a seat be so wobbly when we are used to rock-solid installs with our Britax seats. :-) So the seatbelt alone provides enough strength and protection to hold the child and seat in a crash?

To clarify, if I want to use our older Frontier harnessed, I will have to install with the seatbelt versus LATCH since my son is over 40 pounds, but if I decide to start using the Frontier as a booster, I can use LATCH to secure the seat.

:thumbsup: You got it just right.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

do you know if the LATCH limits remain the same in newer cars? We are using the Frontier with seatbelt in our 2012 Toyota Sienna since she weighs over 40 pounds. I didn't even think to check it when we got the new van, just kept doing what we were doing in the 2004 Toyota Sienna.

[Joolsplus2]

do you know if the LATCH limits remain the same in newer cars? We are using the Frontier with seatbelt in our 2012 Toyota Sienna since she weighs over 40 pounds. I didn't even think to check it when we got the new van, just kept doing what we were doing in the 2004 Toyota Sienna.

The cars made after 9/1/2005 are to a higher strength standard, but the stated limits haven't changed. In fact, now there will be new labels saying never to use the LATCH in any car when the weight of the seat + child = more than 65lbs. I personally probably would still continue to use the LATCH for a few pounds over 40, with my own child, because I use the top tether. The top tether spreads the forces out more so the lower anchors aren't doing all the work. But that's just me personally ;)