Interesting information regarding LATCH

[jen_batten]

Originally Posted by Tris I can't get a good install with a seat belt, it always flops around.

Put your knee in the seat with quite a bit of your weight on it during install. Pull the seatbelt SUPER tight while you've got the pressure on it and be sure and put one of those little seat belt clippy things on there. We've never had a car with latch (our newest rig is a 99) so I only do seatbelt installs but I do them pretty well--they don't budge.

[myblessedbaby]

Originally Posted by ktmelody I am confused. Almost every manual for any car with latch says not to use when the child weighs more than 48 pounds anyways. So if the seat is 20 pounds and the kid is 45 you then reach the 65 pound limit. Is this info just not well known?

I agree. I switched to a seat belt install when my kids were about age 3/4. I read something in the manual about 40ish pounds and it also referred to the car manual. So looking at both, I made the decision to seat belt install at that point. It took some education of how to properly install with a seat belt, had to figure out what how to use a locking clip, but all the info was there in the manual. I guess the general population just doesn't read them?

[sisu]

Originally Posted by ktmelody I am confused. Almost every manual for any car with latch says not to use when the child weighs more than 48 pounds anyways. So if the seat is 20 pounds and the kid is 45 you then reach the 65 pound limit. Is this info just not well known?

I have a 26 pound seat and a 40 pound toddler.

[ktmelody]

Originally Posted by MarchMama2010 I have a 26 pound seat and a 40 pound toddler.

Right. My manual says to stop using latch when the child is 48 pounds. It says NOTHING about the weight of the seat. So regardless of seat weight no one should be using latch with kids in the 40-50 pound range. At all. Because average seats are 20-25 pounds.

My latch is rated to 48 pound child weight it does not mention seat weight. So I am understaning that new new rules are including seat weight and not child weight.

[mrosehughes]

Originally Posted by ktmelody I am confused. Almost every manual for any car with latch says not to use when the child weighs more than 48 pounds anyways. So if the seat is 20 pounds and the kid is 45 you then reach the 65 pound limit. Is this info just not well known?

This is even confusing to techs, because car manufacturers are all handling the transition differently (there is a long thread about this change on car-seat.org). Although the goal was to simplify the rules I think it actually complicates them, since child restraints weigh different amounts. Those of us with large children are pretty much stuck installing with seat belts.

[ktmelody]

Originally Posted by mrosehughes This is even confusing to techs, because car manufacturers are all handling the transition differently (there is a long thread about this change on car-seat.org). Although the goal was to simplify the rules I think it actually complicates them, since child restraints weigh different amounts. Those of us with large children are pretty much stuck installing with seat belts.

Right. I think the general consensus should just be that latch is only tested to 65 pounds including seat and child.

I have never personally latched past a 40 pound child for this reason. It just isnt tested enough.

Once they hit 40 pounds we do a seatbelt install.

This of course will push seat manufacturers to put the seat weight in a visible area on the seat with a warning lable.

[jjordan]

FYI - usually seatbelt installations do NOT require a locking clip.

[craigwick]

Originally Posted by jjordan FYI - usually seatbelt installations do NOT require a locking clip.

Depends on the vehicle...if the seatbelts don't lock into place on their own you need one (DH drives an ancient car so we use them in it, and the back row of our newer van, the seatbelts just don't lock the way they should so I use it there too.)

[myblessedbaby]

Originally Posted by jjordan FYI - usually seatbelt installations do NOT require a locking clip.

My britax has a built in lock off, but with the radian I had to figure out to use the locking clip. Wouldn't all seats that don't have a built in lock off require the locking clip? I know it also depends on the type of seat belt. My car has a self locking seat belt in the center, but not on the sides.

[songbird516]

We already use the seatbelt; I find it easier than the LATCH. We would definitely be over the weight limit, because my 3 year old weighs a little over 40 pounds.