| SliderJeff |
Hey guys,
So I've been batting the idea around of ditching my full size Ford pickup in favor of the more gas efficient (and sexier) MO. However, I know we have friends that discounted the MO when they saw the size of it compared to the Toyota Forerunner. They mentioned that they didn't think they could get two babyseats in back of the MO.
My wife and I currently have one child, but hopefully will be adding number two in the near future. If/when that happens, we'll be needing to do the two car seat thing. So I want to know... anyone here doing that now? Any issues? I assume that there are at least two or three sets of baby seat anchors to attach the carseats to, correct?
Thanks,
Jeff |
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| SliderJeff |
Nevermind. When I used the search engine the first time I used "babyseats" and came up with only two posts. Went back and searched for "carseat" and VOILA, lots of discussion. Sorry.
Regs,
Jeff |
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| njjoe |
SliderJeff-
The backseat on the MO is pretty spacious (that's because they did not have to cram in a third row of seating) so I am sure two carseats can easily fit back there.
-njjoe |
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| Gonzo |
| You can fit two easily... as I do it all the time.... you could fit three if necessary as I did it once. |
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| manitoba murano |
There is lots of room.
My three yo has to work hard to kick the back of my wife's seat (she does sit a bit too far forward for my liking) and my infant, in a rear-facing 3 in 1 Eddie Bauer seat (large, takes up about as much space as a car seat can, identical to my 3 yo's front facing seat) is safely behind my seat, and will only touch the back of my seat IF my seat is as far back as it will go. On top of this, my wife can easily get into, and sit comfortably in, the middle seat. There are few vehicles where this is the case, short of full size trucks and SUV's.
One neat feature on the MO is the reclining rear seats. Reclining the seatbacks a bit assists you in properly installing the carseats, AND reclining the seatbacks also moves the seat bottoms/cushions backwards a bit--ie, lean the seats back, and get more leg room. |
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| SliderJeff |
Thanks for the replies, everyone. So the one thing I couldn't really suss out was where exactly the anchor in back was if you use the middle seat for the carseat... and do you string the long belt that attaches to the carseat OVER the MO's rear seatback... or somehow THROUGH the seatback?
Thanks,
Jeff |
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| manitoba murano |
There are no anchors for the middle seat. Unfortunately, the middle seat in the Murano is not really meant to be used for a rear facing car seat. The arm rest would be an unacceptable hazard for that type of seat. IF you remove the arm rest, this MAY be a suitable location. It really is too bad though, as the middle of the back seat is generally considered to be the safest place to seat an infant.
For a forward facing car seat, you could use the inboard lower anchors for each of the outboard seats to attach the seat in the middle. The tether strap goes over the top of the seat, and attaches to the tether points on the seat back. I don't recall off hand if there is a tether point on the middle seat, but I'm pretty sure there is. Infant(rear facing) seats do not use the tether strap--they just use the two lower anchors.
As a point of reference, it takes me about three or four minutes to install one rear facing seat and one forward facing toddler seat. It takes about a minute to remove the two of them. Most cars are very friendly to install and remove cars seats, but some are worse than others. The MO is about as simple as they come. |
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| SliderJeff |
Ahh, thanks, manitoba. That clears thing up alot more.
Regs,
Jeff |
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| KOZ |
Sorry but I've got to call you to the carpet on the inaccurate information below:
See my previous post on the topic- the NHTSA folks explicitly state that you are only to use Latch points if the car seat is in the precise location.
You are never advised to "modify" a mounting of the seat and place a seat on latch points it was not intended to anchor onto- it compromises the safety of the child and the integrity of the seat- simply put, the seat won't perform as intended and your child could be hurt/killed.
There is a middle teather for forward facing seats, it's at the extreme back-middle of the cargo area, closest to the door. It's under a little plastic cover which is marked.
Finally, alot of car seat manufacturers actually recommend that you use the rear facing teather when possible. Mounting the teather on the MO can be accomplished quite easily, as there is a metal seat bracket mounted to the frame of the car, which is quite accessible. Spot #2 would be the extreme back of the passenger seat track. For the naysayers, I had 2 NHTSA certified installers both recommend the installation as discussed.
Personally, I am not big on using the middle seat on the MO for forward facing carseat applications, as the seatbelt can NEVER be as tight as a properly cinched latch belt, and the teather has a little too much distance to cover in the cargo bay. I prefer to mount the seat to the passenger side, where latch is available and the teather mounts in close proximity to the seat. Plus, keeping the seat on the passenger side ensures that when you are taking a child out of the seat in a street environment, you aren't doing so with your back to traffic.
Sorry if I sound like a machine gun here, but the wrong informatin can have some very bad results.
quote:
Originally posted by manitoba murano
There are no anchors for the middle seat. Unfortunately, the middle seat in the Murano is not really meant to be used for a rear facing car seat. The arm rest would be an unacceptable hazard for that type of seat. IF you remove the arm rest, this MAY be a suitable location. It really is too bad though, as the middle of the back seat is generally considered to be the safest place to seat an infant.
For a forward facing car seat, you could use the inboard lower anchors for each of the outboard seats to attach the seat in the middle. The tether strap goes over the top of the seat, and attaches to the tether points on the seat back. I don't recall off hand if there is a tether point on the middle seat, but I'm pretty sure there is. Infant(rear facing) seats do not use the tether strap--they just use the two lower anchors.
As a point of reference, it takes me about three or four minutes to install one rear facing seat and one forward facing toddler seat. It takes about a minute to remove the two of them. Most cars are very friendly to install and remove cars seats, but some are worse than others. The MO is about as simple as they come.
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| SliderJeff |
Much appreciated, Koz. Sounds like I will be using driver's side for my three year old and passenger side for rear facing newborn when "it" arrives. :)
Regs,
Jeff |
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| manitoba murano |
Yep, the middle seat anchor is at the back of the cargo area, not at the back of the seat (I did say I wasn't sure where it was).
As for NHTSA stating to use the tether on seats for infants, you'll have to decide for yourself what is best. CSA standards, which are more strict than NHTSA standards, do not recommend this. The reason being that in a frontal collision, the play in the seat (being allowed to move) will absorb some of the tremendous G forces. Having the tether attached means the seat can't move, and more of the G's are absorbed by the baby.
Most, if not all, infant specific car seats do not have tether straps anyway. I am puzzled as to how it is that these manufacturers recommend using these tethers that don't exist, but whatever.
As for using the LATCH anchors for the middle, if your local carseat expert says not to, and you want to use that seat for a forward facing toddler, then use the seatbelt. You can get it tight enough if you try (putting your weight on the seat as you snug it up).
If you have an NHTSA car seat expert available, then go with what they say. If you can trust them... |
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| Gonzo |
| Our parents were missing all the fun. |
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| SliderJeff |
Yeah, that subject comes up all the time with my in-laws. "You know, we didn't have carseats... and even if we did, it was hard plastic that just scooted all along the backseat every time there was a turn... and yet somehow we managed to live through it". :)
Then again, I'm not so sure the road was as littered with slobbering, drunken troglodytes as it is now. But I digress...
Regs,
Jeff |
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| NELSON |
I also have a baby coming.. Why do people keep saying to "place the carseat on the passenger side so that your back is never to oncoming traffic when taking the baby out"??
What if I live on the left side on the street and park on the left side of the street? Am I still gonna place the carseat on the passenger side? I've read many posts where someone said that. I don't get it. |
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| SliderJeff |
That means you'd be driving AGAINST traffic on the wrong side of the road to park in front of your home... generally considered a no-no. But hey, if that is what you do, then people's comments about the driver's side being the traffic side would not apply.
Regs,
Jeff
quote:
Originally posted by NELSON
I also have a baby coming.. Why do people keep saying to "place the carseat on the passenger side so that your back is never to oncoming traffic when taking the baby out"??
What if I live on the left side on the street and park on the left side of the street? Am I still gonna place the carseat on the passenger side? I've read many posts where someone said that. I don't get it.
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| NELSON |
quote:
Originally posted by SliderJeff
That means you'd be driving AGAINST traffic on the wrong side of the road to park in front of your home... generally considered a no-no. But hey, if that is what you do, then people's comments about the driver's side being the traffic side would not apply.
Regs,
Jeff
Jeff,
Have you ever heard of a one way street with parking on both sides??? Where I'm from, residential areas are composed of many more one way roads than two way streets.
Regards,
Nelson |
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| SliderJeff |
Sure, Nelson. I've heard of them. Plenty of them in downtown Houston... but as no one I know lives IN a downtown area, we all drive on the right side of the road and park there. Then again, we park in our driveways too, so what do I know. :)
Either way, if your driving patterns and habits necessitate that you drive on the left and park on the left, then our points about passenger side and driver's side are not applicable.
regs,
Jeff
quote:
Originally posted by NELSON
Jeff,
Have you ever heard of a one way street with parking on both sides??? Where I'm from, residential areas are composed of many more one way roads than two way streets.
Regards,
Nelson
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| NELSON |
quote:
Originally posted by SliderJeff
Sure, Nelson. I've heard of them. Plenty of them in downtown Houston... but as no one I know lives IN a downtown area, we all drive on the right side of the road and park there. Then again, we park in our driveways too, so what do I know. :)
Either way, if your driving patterns and habits necessitate that you drive on the left and park on the left, then our points about passenger side and driver's side are not applicable.
regs,
Jeff
OK. I was begnning to think that since I read it so much on this forum, it was the ONLY way to go about installing the seat. My carseat will be behind me so that I have the 60% of the 60/40 split to fold down. .. Oh, and there is really no left or right side of a one way street. I guess you missed my point. |
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| SliderJeff |
Yes, as did virtually everyone else, I think. Again, if it doesn't apply, it doesn't apply. Apologies for the confusion. Can we move on now?
Regs,
Jeff |
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| neo |
| Plenty of room and a fair amount of space inbetween. I had a 3+ year old and an 8 month old in daily. |
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