Britax Regent in a RAV 4

[avd3875]

When we bought our RAV4, several years before our son was born, we thought it was huge. Now we realize it is a very, very small car - especially the back seat. Our 2 1/2 year old is quickly outgrowing his Roundabout at 37.5" and 35.5#. His shoulders are almost above the top slots and his ears are quickly approaching the top of the seat. He is definitely not mature enough for a booster, and I want to keep him in a 5-pt harness as long as possible. I'm very interested in the Britax Regent, but it is so huge. I looked at one the other day and the salesperson put it in our backseat. It did fit, but didn't leave much room for anything else. If we eventually have a second child we'll need to fit the Roundabout in the rear-facing position next to the Regent. This scenario leaves about 6 inches between the two large Britax seats (and it means the person in the passenger seat better have very short legs)! Does anybody have any experience with the Regent in a small car? What about the Regent and another seat in a small car? I really want to be sure about this before I spend $250 on what I hope will be the last carseat we ever buy. Thanks so much!

[Joolsplus2]

It'll fit fine, but yup, definitely turns a 5-seater car into a 4 seater car, that's for sure. You'd have to put 2 seats, when you have them, both outboard/window, and skip the center completely (there's no rule about putting babies in the middle, in fact older children should be in the middle if given the choice, and still ANY seat in the back is very safe). I would look for the Sunshine Kids Radian, though, at least to try it out. It's not nearly as big as the Regent, but my almost-7-yo still fits in it, and it has the flexibility of being a convertible, so you could put the baby in it if it fits better rearfacing...and it's *really* narrow, so you should even be able to fit it next to a Roundabout or infant seat and still be able to squish in next to it for short trips if need be.
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[avd3875]

Thanks so much for the great information. I really appreciate your time and knowledge! I found out that the store where I looked at the Regent the other day also has the Radian. I'll go look at them side by side later in the week. I'll be sure to try them both out while the Roundabout is in the rear-facing position to see how that would work, in case we ever have a second. Thanks again for your help.

[millerpjm]

I have a Regent in a Ford Focus wagon. It is a big seat, but placed outboard I have room for another passenger. I don't have another carseat in there (only have 1 so far) but another carseat would fit. I really like the Regent. HTH!

Jen

[postmodernmommy]

I have a Britax Regent in my Toyota Echo. Installed in the center (we only have one child). It's a big seat but really it's not THAT much bigger than a MA/BV/DC. We just recently moved our 4-yr old up from a RA to a Regent. I would highly recommend this seat- it's really wonderful. We got ours in the Sahara pattern. Just an FYI we installed it without the recline bar (that bar probably wouldn't work anyway in the RAV) and with the long belt path and got a rock solid installation. Our car doesn't have LATCH so that installation wasn't an option.

HTH!

Amy :)

[avd3875]

Thanks again to everyone for the great information. I think we have almost decided what to do. I looked at the Cosco Apex and the Sunshine Kids Radian, but I still like the Regent the most. I also found out that our Roundabout does not fit rearfacing in our car unless it is in the middle. So, if we ever have a second child we'll have to get the Britax Companion, which does fit rf and leave room for a ff seat. Back to the Regent, I read the entire user's guide on the Britax website and discovered that we need to use the tether once he reaches 50lbs. Our RAV is a 2000, no tether anchors. To top it off, my brother bought a 2006 RAV last week, so now we own his 1998 RAV as well. We have two RAV 4s that really can't accommodate the seat I want. Toyota says they have a tether anchor kit that will work for both model years. I've ordered two, and will hope that solves the problem. BTW, before I found out about the tether anchor kit I had decided to get the Marathon (I had read that it has the widest shoulder area of the MA/BV/DC options). Turns out that Joey's shoulders are too big for that seat as well. I'm just hoping that since he's built like a football player he'll become a very famous, very well paid football player someday so his mom can get a nice big car!

Thanks again!
Annemarie

PS - The roundabout in my mom's car is used about 3 times/month. Does the 6 year expiration rule still apply to a seat that gets used so infrequently?

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

Yes, 6yr expiration from date of manufacture applies to it no matter what, even if all it did was collect dust from inside a box on a store shelf.

in the third row of my van (not sure if it's much bigger than your rav 4 really... the third row is prettycompact) I can fit the Regent in the middle with the Marathon next to it
Not sure it would work rf as the widest part of the marathon is the foot, but it works ff.
rf, I think you'd have to try something narrower, like the cosco scenera... or the RA might work.

But you did say the RA doesn't work outboard rf.

Have you considered (dare I shock you with price) the Safeguard Childseat?

it only goes to 65lbs, but the top slots are about the same as those of the Regent and it's a good deal narrower.

Here are the specs: http://www.safeguardseat.com/child/specifications.htm

if you go to britaxusa.net and bring up the product info page on Adobe Acrobat for the Regent it lists the carton width as 22", so you figure that the Regent is 21-21.5" wide.
It doesn't seem like it would make much difference, but 2" is quite a bit of space.

Kat

[avd3875]

Thanks so much, Kat. I'll check the store near here to see if I can take a look at the Safegaurd. It looks like a great seat, now I just need to find out if Joey's shoulders fit! As far as price goes, I am not thrilled about spending a ton of money, but there is no price on Joey's safety, so it is not an issue. In fact, if I buy two Regents and have both cars modified I will be spending about the same as if I buy two Safegaurds!
I should have clarified about the RA rf issue. It fits rf in the middle, but not outboard because the backseat is so shallow. The passenger seat would need to be pushed so far forward that nobody could use it. I'm 5'4" and I have trouble sitting in the backseat because my legs are up against the front seats. The older RAV 4s are definitely not great for carseats (although my brother's new 2006 RAV could probably handle multiple large seats with no problem).

Thanks again for the great information. You have all made this extremely complicated process much easier to navigate!

Annemarie

[Joolsplus2]

yay to you for getting the tether anchors ordered! i get such a happy feeling when parents are one step ahead of our advice here (or anywhere, lol). I'm sure they'll install fine.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[avd3875]

This never-ending saga continues. I picked up my tether anchor kits the other day and had an appointment for installation today. After over an hour of waiting it was determined that the anchors could not be installed. Although the owner's manual shows how easy it is to put them in, the dealership said that it could not be done. The sheet-metal floorboard is too thin and in the event of an accident the anchors would get pulled right through the flimsy metal. After a long conversation with Toyota's customer service department it was determined that only the Canadian versions of the RAV4 have the ability to accommodate the tether anchors. Fortunately I was not charged the $129 installation fee and I am being allowed to return the specially ordered anchor kits, but I'm still furious that Toyota made different versions of the car but only one version of the manual.
Now we're back to square one. I need to find a seat that will keep my alomst 40# son harnessed as long as possible. I'm going back to the store this weekend to look at the Radian again, as well as the SafeGuard seat. Are there any others I should be looking at? Also, I heard a rumor that the Regent doesn't really need the tether after 50# in order to be safe. Apparently the seatbelt is plenty safe? Any thoughts?

Thanks again!
Annemarie