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Jim Sprott
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 12:36 am: | 
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The question is not that glamorous but has anybody figured out how to get American child seats to work well with the English seat belts in the Disco I? |
Peter Carey (Pcarey)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 02:16 am: |
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Are you talking about the middle one? Practice.
I also do what some people do and use both side belts, criss crossed to opposite buckles. Then tighten the side ones. More secure that way.
pwc |
Curtis N (Curtis)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 02:29 am: |
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Actually, it is a fantastic question. It probably has more meaning that any other "technical" question on this board.
I have tried every brand of car seat. Britax is the way to go if you want to protect the little ones. They are expensive. Very expensive. However they work in every brand of car (and most airline) seat you can find. They also rate the highest according to anyones rating. It makes paying twice as much worth every penny in knowing you did the right thing.
Britax also has some new models that accomodate the little ones in huge ranges of weights. Check them out at http://www.britax.com
Curtis |
marc olivares (Pugs)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 03:35 am: |
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I'm with Curtis, the Britax seats are the best, We have one in each of our cars. Yeah a little spendy, but no cost is worth the safety of my little one. And the big cat leopard print looks cool in the discos!!!!
marc |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 09:15 am: |
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I'll also give a huge thumbs up for the Britax seats. I can't stand the other seats now. However the Britax are what these seats should be like. We have 3 of them. They work well with a lap belt or 3 point belts. And for the newer cars can come with the ISOFIT (LATCH) system. |
Todd Sanders (Sanderskog)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 10:27 am: |
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Has anyone had any luck fitting a child seat on each side of the back seat? I have #2 on the way and can't seem to get a seat tight due to the location of the anchor point on the fender well. It seems to sit to far forward.
Todd |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 10:30 am: |
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On my D2 with the Britax it's very easy to do. I can even fit my wife in the middle.  |
Matt doc175
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 07:35 pm: |
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Thanks. That is some great info. I am going to have my first (boy) in Feb. Any other kids-with-Discos advise? Like Al I want to be able to put the wife and kid in back, I have to leave room for the dog in the front |
Jim Sprott
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 10:34 pm: |
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Thanks for the help on the car seats. Everyone seems to think the Britax is the way to go. I have been struggling with the seat belt angle as well. I'll go invest in the better seat and try it out.
Thanks again. |
Todd Sanders (Sanderskog)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 10:47 pm: |
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Matt - Congrats! Best advice I can give is to go pick up a Matchbox D2 before they stop producing them. You can't get my son's away from him when he driving around in daddy's grover.
Todd |
ken knebusch (Charlotterover)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 06:25 am: |
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I'm with Peter on center installation. I criss cross both shoulder straps from both sides then I also add the middle one for that added bonus strap!
Not going anywhere!! |
Zak Ruck (Zak)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 05:37 pm: |
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Congrat's guys! I ahve my first one on his/her way due this March. And on the advise of this website, we bought a Britax. I'll be trying to get it in the disco sometime soon, so keep the suggestions coming!!!
What do you put under the child seat to protect the back seat? |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 07:24 pm: |
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I used a neoprene (?) matt like what's used under rugs sometimes. It also helps hold the seat from working its way free. Also many firestations will inspect the seats for free. While the Britax are easy to install it's worth the call to your local firedepartment to see when they do inspections. |
Kirk Thibault (Kirkt)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 10:46 am: |
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I've used a Graco Snug-Fit (base/carrier combo) as an infant (up to 20lbs) rear-facing seat in the center position rear of my D2 without any problem. I now use a Britax Marathon convertible seat (up to 65 lbs) for my 8 month old and it is a worthwhile investment. If you're on a tight budget, it is VERY easy to transfer from vehicle to vehicle and takes less than 5 minutes to set up correctly with a little practice. My wife's vehicle is a Subaru Forester and is a little cramped in the back - the Britax fits fine in the rear-facing configuraation and installs easily.
It looks like Britax is coming out with an infant base/carrier combo (see www.britaxusa.com) called the Companion. Britax in general are more expensive by far than most carriers and seats, but are well worth it for several reasons, most mentioned previously in this thread. My DS2 is a 2000 and does not have the ISOFIX/LATCH system in it, nor does it have tether ponts in the rear (apparently available for retrofit from LR). However, the Britax Marathon comes with LATCH hardware, should your vehicle have LATCH d-rings in the seat bite. The Britax also comes with a webbing loop to anchor the top tether to any point on your vehicle (i.e., the rear d-rings in the cargo space) should you need to improvise top tether anchors.
Congrats and good luck. The most important thing to remember about child seats is the correct installation and placement within the vehicle. This gets a little more complicated with several children in their own seats, but for one, the middle rear position is superior and the DS2 rear accomodates most seats. I have never tried to use multiple belts crossing through the middle seating position and would try the suggested method for installation before ever improvising something like that.
kirk |
Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 11:17 am: |
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Kirk,
The Graco I use seems to lean over to the driver's side - does yours do the same? I'm going to try Peter's method next if this can't be fixed.
Dean |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 11:37 am: |
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Dean.. the Graco's my wife decided to try did the same thing. She wanted a cheaper alternative to the one Britax we had at the time. I got so fed up with the Graco I trashed it and replaced it with a Britax. I can drive a D2 with dents and trail tattoos on it but when it comes to the child seats I'm about as anal as you can get and the Graco just pissed me off to no end. The Britax are much easier to install and when they are installed I can rock the vehicle from pushing/pulling on the Britax in any direction with no movement of the seat. |
Kirk Thibault (Kirkt)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 12:07 pm: |
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Dean, Al - Were you guys having problems with the Graco infant base/carrier combo seat system (i.e., base stays fixed in vehicle, carrier can be removed and snapped in, etc.) or were you having listing problems with a convertible or forward facing seat? I didn't encounter any problem with the base/carrier system and didn't have to stuff towels under it to level it, etc. The fit of the base was a little tight between the seat belt stalks but no problems otherwise. As most people have mentioned, the Britax is very easy to install and eliminates or minimizes some of the frustrating problems encountered with other seats. I imagine those problems get compoumded with multiple seats in the rear bench.
The main fit feature of the Britax Marathon that is key is the clamp-off device on either side of the seat through which the belt is routed. No need to fuss with those metal clips to keep tension on inertial reel belts. This is a great feature on the Britax that allows for the snug fit that Al alluded to above, as you can remove the slack in the belt and then fix the belt length with the clamp-off mechanism. I have not used the LATCH components but would assume that they offer even better anchoring, as intended. Again, for those on a budget, even one seat that can be transferred between vehicles and installed correctly in a multitude of conditions is better than risking a poor fitting seat.
Happy holidays all, buckle up!
kirk |
Ken Dunnington (Ihwillys)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 12:09 pm: |
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I'll chime in with a Britax and several Gracos.
First, the Britax is the way to go for a seat that is strapped in and then holds your child via 5 point. I used a Graco for my sons' infant seat which only gets used about 4 months before they outgrow it(the style that disconnects from a base that is strapped in). I chose the new Graco TurboBooster for a booster seat over the Britax. The TB works great and it has the same foam around the head area that Britax pioneered in child car seats(it's like motorcycle helmet foam). I have the Britax facing rearward on the passenger side for my 6 month old son. This causes the passenger front seat to have to be fairly far forward but it'll get better when we go forward facing at 1 year of age. My 3 three year old son sits in his booster on the driver's side. Having them apart is nice because the orneryness(gets that from me or so my wife says) of the three year old had him bothering the baby rather often when the baby was in the center. Now he just does it from a little farther away so he's a little less effective at pissing off his little brother.
Todd I know what you're talking about and all I can say is that I got the Britax in there nice and secure with careful tightening/securing of the belt and the tether(attached to the inner front seat mount for rearward facing, rear-seat belt mount for forward). To appease my wife we've had the set-up checked out by the fire dept, a free inspection. Got the thumbs up.
Ken |
Jan
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 05:59 pm: |
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I have a Disco II & the Britax fits great.
However, when I used the Graco infant base/carrier, 2 of 3 seatbelts could be used. The base was positioned in the middle and the drivers side back seat worked, but the base covered the passenger belt clip. |
TPH (Snowman)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 06:56 pm: |
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I've had good luck with Britax in most vehicles. Solid and had good reviews. I honestly can't wait until I don't have one in my car though. It's been 8 1/2 years of carseats!
S- |
scott
| | Posted on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 07:11 pm: |
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For those of you with the newer D2's with the latch system, I've got the Britax (still facing rear for my 10 mo. old). I use the latch to anchor the main body, but I ran the rear strap under the seat and attached it to the hook on the back of the seat. This really keeps the seat from moving side-to-side at all. It's a pain to install/remove, but is super solid.
PS: we had the graco infant carrier with the base (actually multiple bases for my truck and the wife's mini-SUV). The Britax is definitely the best convertable seat we tried, but also the MOST EXPENSIVE. Worth the bucks, tho.
Scott |
Mark Albrecht (Markalbrecht)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 10:58 pm: |
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I'll chime in. Currently using the britax booster (star riser or something like that -- stock Mercedes car seat which is available to the masses much to my sister-in-law's shock and dismay) which works great. Have also used the Graco infant seat with detachable base that also worked great. And have used century 200 (? as to the number) as a convertible (which, by the way, is great on the plane as it's narrower than most other seats) and a breverra also as a convertible -- also worked very well.
Consumer reports evaluates car seats every two years and is very helpful in deciding which to purchase. Even without a subscription, you can have the article e-mailed or faxed to you for about $8.
FOr those with leaning Graco infant seats, I'd suggest a two pronged approach: 1) use the base -- it's easier to secure than just the carrier (yes, I know that reportedly the base is less safe in a crash due to plastic fatigue -- but a well secured infant will always do better); and 2) put a knee or two into the base and 200 lbs will really help depress the base into the seat so that you can yank the stuffing out of the seat belt to make it tight. That will prevent the lean. |
Geoff 93 RRC (Geoff)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 11:26 pm: |
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Tethered child seats have been required in Europe and Australia for some time. We have the Britax seat which we originally bought in Australia. We had a Disco there ('97) and it came with the tether mounts above the rear door. Best crash protection with the tether. I imagine that the mount holes are there on the US versions (might have to pull the headliner a bit to find them - there are 3 mounts L,R, and center) you could order one from an Aussie dealer. |
Mark Albrecht (Markalbrecht)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 01:07 am: |
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Tethers are available for US disco's -- the two outboard seats have them on the seat back (in the cargo area) and the center seat tethers to a spot above the rear door. You need new trim covers (or an extremely precise cutting hand) and the tether kit. LR will install it for you for some $. |
Bentvictor
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:18 am: |
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I need to put THREE childseats in the rear seat, please do not tell me to get a minivan! Any help??. |
krisarnott
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 10:59 am: |
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I am an engineer for a company that manufactures an infant car seat that is safe to use in the front seat of vechicles with air bags. It is a little expensive at $250 or so. Please check out our web site www.safeinfant.com. It is the safest seat on the market where ever you put it. We do a ton of testing into air bags and steel barriers with very good results.
Kris |
Garth
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 05:33 pm: |
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Research in Australia (and I would presume that it would not be so different in other places in the world), indicates that the most dangerous seat to sit in an accident is the driver's seat, followed by the front passenger seat, the outboard rear seats and then the middle rear seat.
Even if the car seat is the safest seat available in the world, imagine how much safer it would be for your child if it was in the middle of the rear.
Unless you have a two seater car, what is the thing about putting a child in the front seat anyway? Unless you want to play citchy citchy coo when you're driving it's a hell of a lot safer for your child, for you and for other road users to put them in the back seat and stop when you have to minister to their needs.
Garth |
Christian Frezza (Christian)
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 08:55 am: |
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I don't know about the Britax child seats but they sound great. I've had three types of american made seats in my DII since I've had the vehicle. I have a Graco, Eddie Bauer and I believe a Cosco. All fit without mods in my vehicle.
I must say that anyone that is attempting to secure the seat in the vehicle in any way other than how it is described in the instructions could have problems with the company representing them in a crash if problems arise. I know, securing out little one's is paramount but if you change how the belts are suppossed to latch ie. criss-crossing from both sides etc. it may catch up to you in an accident investigation. Hell, I'd rather worry about the red tape later as long as the kids are okay. Check with local law enforcement agencies who gladly check how the seat is secured. Also, I lean my entire 220 weight on the seat while securing each seat and it doesn't move 1/2 inch at all. Good luck and always stay safe. |
Kevin Yankton
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 06:10 pm: |
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I have to throw my vote in on the side of the Britax seats. My wife just totaled our '02 DII on Friday, Dec 13th with our 3 month old and 3 year old in the car. The accident was a non-injury accident. Traveling about 55 mph, she attempted to change from the fast lane to the middle lane when another vehicle did the same from the other side. She corrected to get back to her lane and with the wet pavement, the disco lost control. It slammed into the center rail on the passenger front with the momentum then bouncing the right rear into the rail. It then continued spinning and flipped over on to the driver's side, slidding down the road. It did not roll all the way over onto the roof and it looks like the roof rack played a part in resisting the roll-over. After she cleared the haze from her eyes, she climbed through the back to get the kids out of their seats and out through the passenger doors which were now pointed toward the sky. The kids were completely without injury aside from being a little shaken. The 3 year old was seated in the far back passenger seat which hit the rail and the 3 month old was on the driver's side behind my wife. She got a bump on her head as it hit the side B pillar. No windows broke and the air bags did not deploy as it was not a front impact.
All I can say it thank goodness that no one was hurt. We will pick up our new '03 HSE with CCP, PPK, RAC, and RSP this Saturday. |
Shawn Peterson (Sgp)
| | Posted on Friday, January 10, 2003 - 02:23 am: |
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All this discussion about child seats reminds me of when I was a kid, laying on the floor of the car in front of the front bench seat, or occasionaly on long trips sleeping on the rear deck. Now, if you put your kid in the front passenger seat, booster or not, you feel like someone might call child services on you for neglect. How things change. |
Tim Ballard (Tballard)
| | Posted on Friday, January 10, 2003 - 10:12 pm: |
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I've had my 3 1/2 year old twins (boys) in the back of our 96 Disco 1 since they were born. I now have forward facing seats (Graco I think) in the rear passenger and middle locations. On the passenger side I run the shoulder strap through the location on the front of the base due to the location of the fixed end on the top of the wheel well which is rather far forward. The middle seat uses the lap belt (all that's available in the '96). By using the knee on the seat method, both of these are cinched down with very little play.
The biggest problem is that there is not much room left on the passenger side, and half of it is on top of the wheel well, which is not very comfortable. But it does work, for those of you wondering who need two seats at once.
Now my question for all you Disco II people is the following. Can I secure two booster seats in the center and passenger side, as the boys are about to outgrow their current convertible seats. I will probably use Britax booster seats, due to reasons mentioned above. I know I've seen shoulder straps in the center seat, but I'm not sure if they are on all years and models.
My wife is on my case to improve the rear seating situation, so I figure this would be as good a reason as any to get a Series II! |
OLIVER CLOTHSOFF (Everythingleaks)
| | Posted on Friday, January 10, 2003 - 10:46 pm: |
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Yes, all Disco II have a center shoulder strap. On the disco II LRNA will also provide some sort of child seat adapter at no extra charge if you ask for it. |
EricV (Bender2033)
| | Posted on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 01:04 am: |
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Anyone want to sell their Britax? I will need a newborn seat by May.
Thanks! |
bryan
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 09:28 am: |
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I have a 97 D1 and a Britax. The seat is now forward facing. I rigged the tether strap to run between the Britax and the seatback. It then travels through the spacing between the seatback and the actual seat surface (where the seatbelts come through). Then, it travels underneath the seat and fastens to the black bars (using the strap from Britax) that are used to anchor the seat to the vehicle. Quite difficult to do the first time (ripped knuckles, etc.), but the seat does not move, I mean no movement/wiggle at all -- rock solid.
Bryan |
Mark Albrecht (Markalbrecht)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 11:40 am: |
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Bryan: you're probably better off using the factory intended tether location. That being said, in both my old Jeep and Suburban (both way too old for factory tether locations) I hooked the tether to the seat belt anchors (but not the ones for the seat belt holding the base of the car seat). Some tether instructions even suggest just drilling a hole in the floor board and using a large washer to prevent the bolt from ripping through -- not my prefered route. |
bryan
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 02:29 pm: |
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Mark,
On a D1 I don't know if there are factory tether locations. |
Mark Albrecht (Markalbrecht)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 05:37 pm: |
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Bryan: you may be right. I thought that the federal mandate re: tether anchors came out pre-1999, but it may have been included in the LATCH enactment effective 9/1/99. |
pete cozzi
| | Posted on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 11:57 am: |
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All car seats in all cars will tend to piss you off! I've found with both rovers and toyotas that you have to use the lap belt portion and get it as tight as you can by putting all your weight in the seat when coupling. Then, take the strap that comes with the car seat over the vehicle seat and hook it on the webbing portion of the lap belt near it's base on the floor. Cinch the hell out of that strap and at the same time you will increase tension on the lap belt. If your vehicle seat starts distorting and or crushing you are applying proper tension. |
Howie (Fritos)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 12:34 pm: |
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Hi all. Newbie to the board and just purchased a
94 D1.
Not many people are aware of this, but there is a national program in force where the fire department will assist you in installing a baby seat properly.
I have utilized this service in Miami, FL twice. The officer who installed the seat stated that over 90% of baby seats installed are done so incorrectly. Rather ridiculous, especially when this service is free.
So call your local fire department and ask where the installation can be done. There is a very low chance ANYONE can install a baby seat correctly by him or herself. It is not an easy task at all.
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Christian Frezza (Christian)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 10:22 pm: |
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National rogram for installing carseats by your local fire department? Never heard of it and I've been a firefighter for over 20 years. I don't believe it is available in the New England area. Most if not all police department's provide this service. There are laws that are applicable for various agencies to legitimately install things in vehicles. This because of the lawsuits that will/can come from improper installation by a firefighter. We're not even allowed (police too) to open a car door with a door lock tool anymore. Good luck. |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 11:06 pm: |
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Our local VFD (Virginia) will check and install seats if needed for free. Only seats the had to reinstall for us were the Evenflo that I got rid of for another Britax. |
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