WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

Hello! My DS will be 4 in about a month, but he has pretty much reached the 35lb RF weight limit on our Marathon Classic. I'm shopping for a new seat, regardless of whether he turns FF, so both options account for buying a new seat.

DS is 34+ pounds, 39.5 inches, slim build (30%) & giant head (95% - one of the reasons I ERF)

1) Would you RF longer in a Radian, even if it's stable at the belt path but fishtails (rotates) significantly?
We don't own this seat, but I have bought it in the past to try it out, finding it to be a poor fit in both vehicles. I did not try the angle adjuster, but it would be a must for us to use it. If the angle adjuster keeps it from fishtailing/rotating, problem solved.

OR

2) Would you FF in a convertible or combination seat?
I don't know yet if the Recaro Prosport will fit on the center, multi-function seat in my Odyssey, but this is the seat I'm looking at for that position. DD will be right next to it, outboard RF in a Britax Blvd 70 or Roundabout 50 (we have both, but as she gets older it will remain to be seen if we need the higher weight limit or higher height limit). I think the ProSport is narrow enough to fit between DD's seat and the other captain's chair (which needs to be able to slide fully forward), but it will really depend on how the base is designed and if it drops over the edges of that narrow vehicle seat.\

If you have another suggested option for me to consider, please elaborate! Thanks!

Re: WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

I would give myself a big pat on the back for making it to 4 rear facing and I would pick out a combination seat.

Just so you know, the ProSport is not narrow. It does have flat sides that don't flare out, but it's pretty wide. You could also try the Evenflo SecureKid 300 or 400 or the Nautilus or Frontier to see if they puzzle with the other seat. If you can't get a seat to fit in that seating position, he will be safe outboard in a properly installed, properly used seat.

Re: WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

I don't know this 100% but my gut is saying a well installed ffing seat is better than a not quite right installed rfing seat. I turned ds1 forward facing just before his 4th birthday. It was a decision I was comfortable with.

Way to go on rfing this long. :)

Re: WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

I'd turn him forward facing.

We have a Prosport, mainly because it worked better in our 3 across than the Frontier, but it's not really narrow. I think there is a thread on car-seat.org about what seats are known to work in the "plus one" seat in Odysseys, so maybe poke around there a bit for ideas?

Re: WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

At 4, I'd FF without a second thought.

I would absolutely FF him.

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Re: WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

Thanks! I'm not looking for the seat itself to be "narrow." The Marathon is 18.7" wide next to DD's 18.5" seat. The Prosport claims to also be 18.5, so it should interchange with the old seat just fine in the horizontal space. I'm just concerned with the width of its base on that narrow seat. There is a store nearby where I can try one out, so I'll definitely look at that next week and the other seats suggested by PP. I'm definitely going to see if I can find that thread on car-seat.org, too. They had a blog review of the late model Odyssey that included "what fits where" but she didn't check every seat on the market. The Frontier fits that multi-function seat, but didn't allow room for the captain's chair to slide. The Nauti didn't work because the base design allowed the seat to slip inside the base (the base isn't flat enough on the bottom). A Radian fits there FF and allows the captain's chair to slide. Prosport wasn't one that she tried there, so I'll have to check that one myself.

I hope we come up with one that works. I'm happy DS was able to RF this long, and for months I've been saying that he would reach the limits around age 4 and that's when he'd turn; but since we're buying a new seat anyhow I figured I'd entertain the idea of RF longer if it seemed like a good idea. If the Radian seems to get me the only good fit FF, I might give it a shot RF for a while first, and then use the Radian as a FF/combo booster. Thank you everyone, for the input.

Re: WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

Just for anyone reading: Rear facing seats can and will move at the head of the seat, and it's perfectly safe. You just must have 1" or less of movement AT THE BELT PATH.

OP: I'd go combo, too. I love my ProSport, so hopefully it will work for you.

Re: WWYD - 4 year old reaches RF weight limit
 

Thank you. I had read before that movement toward the front of the vehicle is ok on a RF seat; is that true of significant movement at the front end of the car seat's base (where it touches the vehicle seat)? When I tried the Radian in this position, it moved several inches side-to-side on the side opposite the belt path (front of vehicle), still where the Radian base touches the vehicle seat. It moved less than 1" at the belt path (though I think it had a little wiggle).

Both those things combined made me question it, since I'm used to getting a rock solid Britax install. It's possible the angle adjuster would solidify things, but after talking with DS he seems ok with FF (that remains to be seen when we actually turn him - and I suspect there may be protest over facing a different way than his younger sister). We might just see if there's a good fit with the ProSport, but I'll check if the store also sells the angle adjuster for the Radian and try out both seats in that position.

4 is the age we will be turning our kids FF. So yep I would FF. Good job :)

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