Car Seat solution in 109 regular

[Cutter]

I thought I'd share my car seat solution, I know I searched on here for advice a few times. From what I remember there was some back and forth on the wisdom of having a child of a young age in a rover, but since that's been covered lets just skip ahead... I had thought about putting a fold and tumble seat in the back bed, but the fabrication and hassle of losing my load space made me look for better options.

I picked up a sunshine Radian 65 car seat, I searched for the narrowest car seat and it seems to be the one- and is pretty much the exact size of the center seat. It also has a pretty robust metal frame in it. This let me remove the seat back and put the carseat all the way back against the seat supports so my shoulders have a bit more room, and more importantly little feet can't kick the shifter so easily. Works well, so I thought it would be worth sharing on here.

[greenmeanie]

That looks good. Two quick questions. 1st is how wide is the seat for those of us too lazy to search and 2nd how are you retaining it in position. Is it only the lap belt or have you got a LATCH top strap hooked to something too?

[Cutter]

I think it was 14" wide, 18" deep - I will double check when I am out again. I don't have the top latch, only the lap belt, which is ok according to the manual. I'm going to look into the best place to put a mounting point for it though, not sure if building a bracket on plates sandwiching the bulkhead or something on the floor of the loadspace that ties into something below. More of a concern when my daughter gets bigger, for now she is 30lbs.

[artpeck]

Good solution. If you were here in California or other states with similar laws it still wouldn't be legal as they have to be in the back seat until 6 years old and 60 lbs. You would be surprised how many defenders out here go on the market when the first child arrives. That is how I found mine.

[bpj911]

What kind of wisdom does california have for something with no backseat?

[bkreutz]

What kind of wisdom does california have for something with no backseat?

Wisdom and California DMV in the same sentance? I think I'd rather go through overseas deployment immunization again before I darken their halls again.

[ignotus]

I think they only have to be in the back seat in Calif. if you have airbags but I could be incorrect???

gene

[Ncrover725]

That set up looks what I currently use for my three year old daughter. I also looked at a fold and tumble with other options. Since I only take my kids on short rides in lower speed areas I think it's more than sufficient.

[LaneRover]

What kind of wisdom does california have for something with no backseat?

I agree on the "wisdom and Cali gov't" don't belong in the same sentence. MAny states have a back seat rule, even Maine. But most of them say that it is IF there is a back seat. Officially Defenders have a back seat. Side ways and more dangerous but still a back seat.

[Broadstone]

Could you also remove the seatback stops, pushing the carseat further back to give you even more shoulder room. Could the spare wheel mount behind the center seat also act as an anchor for the over the top latch? I have not owned a 109 so maybe these are not possible options. I appreciate the info on this carseat though as I will be looking for a narrow one myself as soon there will be 2 carseats in the back of the 110.