Club 80-90 Forums

Please can someone help me with sound advice...not general opinion or "we got away with that".

My daughter is 18months, she weighs 11kgs and has just grown out of the only car seat I could get to fit in my vw t3 multivan with factory fitted three point seatbelts. This seat was a maxi-cosi pebble with a seat belt base. I cannot find a rear facing car seat that will fit with the seat belts for her age range 11-20kg. So I have been looking at options, ideally I would want isofix so she can use the same seat we use in the other cars, but this would mean retro fitting.

Question 1, Has anyone found a company that can safely and professionally install isofix into a T3?
Question 2, If not, why are company's not retrofitting? What is the safety drawback....what is stopping them.
Question 3, Seat belt extenders such as the just kampers ones, are these safe? I have just had an argument with the mrs that I would rather our daughter in a forward facing car seat that fits with the original factory fitted seat belt than I would a rear facing with an extender held on with a JK Chinese M10 bolt and washer. My logic being yes she may get greater whiplash, but she won't be flung across the van if the bolt shears when loaded?

Can somebody shine a light in a positive direction because my brain is fried...at this rate my wife will be following me all over the country to shows in her car with isofix!!!!!!!!

Thanks

Marcus

We used the Maxi Cosi Priori seats - they're forward facing with a five point harness and they attach through the use of the existing three point belt, which you feed through the back of the seat which then clamps onto it. As a result we never needed to fit an Isofix base, although I believe you can use them on Isofix so it would probably be compatbile with both your car and your camper. The only issue we found with using them in our camper was that we needed to fit a short receiver stalk to the seatbelt, so that it sat just above the seat cushion, otherwise we found it interfered with the clamping system for the seat.

I'm about to fit an isofix bracket for the rear seats, following what Bene has done on his syncro. Like you, I'd rather isofix than a belt fixing, though our girl is only 2 months old currently.

The bracket is available on eBay , from a f0rd focus and are f0rd factory items. I've got one, just not fitted quite yet. Approx £18. Using high tensile bolts, it's not going anywhere, no matter what crash test data (lack of) or insurance scaremongers say :-\

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When I carried my son, he was in the front in a rearward facing seat. This meant that in the event of rapid stop/bump, his entire frame would be braced against the back of the seat. I was taking no chances on that score. As time went on and he grew, he came out of that, and his feet now sit on the dash, but he's been in that seat since he was born (he's 12 now) and won't let ANYONE else sit there. He has his own ooohgaa car horn so he can toot other campers, plus HE has the sat-nav.

I think at the time I had no confidence in the rear seating to contain a baby so front was the safest option but rear-facing seems wise anyway.

Male father:-)

R0B wrote:Male father:-)

lol, yes - all 3 Billion of them...at least I think all the fathers are male...oh but I know frogs can do some weird transgender stuff, when required?!


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clift_d wrote:We used the Maxi Cosi Priori seats - they're forward facing with a five point harness and they attach through the use of the existing three point belt, which you feed through the back of the seat which then clamps onto it. As a result we never needed to fit an Isofix base, although I believe you can use them on Isofix so it would probably be compatbile with both your car and your camper. The only issue we found with using them in our camper was that we needed to fit a short receiver stalk to the seatbelt, so that it sat just above the seat cushion, otherwise we found it interfered with the clamping system for the seat.

From my perspective, the same as clift_d said, except ours is the Maxi Cosi Tobi seat. It's forward facing not rear facing. Never found a seat belt that's too short for it.

They're only in the rear-facing ones for a short while, then you're into front facing seats, and most of those will fit and belt down securely.

Haha, yes I am not sure on the male father bit of my post...I was in a moody place at the time having had my safety orders from better half....just part of the 80-90 therapy getting my frustration out on paper I hear you on the front facing seats, but from 2018 all new car seats sold will be rear facing up to the age of four (apparently...I have questioned this). I pointed out that my kids knees in her face will be the biggest injury risk as they will be under her chin by her fourth birthday...but apparently its true.

Whilst this is for new car seats only and you can use older front facing seats, I am inclined to try and sort rear facing given the age of these buses. I have ordered the isofix brackets, will be going down this option route and seeing where we end up!

Thanks

Marcus

R0B wrote:Male father:-)

To be read as 'father of a male'?

But he's the father of a female

I always felt punch drunk after each birth, maybe that is what has happened.

With our daughter we first used the maxi cosi cabriofix rear facing seat on the three point belt in the front until she was 10 months. Then forward facing in the britax eclipse. This works with the two point in the rear. We've now fitted three points in the rear, with the britax, which is good till 4.

My wife is happy with this. Not sure how rear facing would work at that age/size.

I'd probably look to fit isofox if we have another. Mostly cause its a pain in the a*** getting the belt done up in the van, as there is little room down the side of the seat!

Or he needs a visit to specsavers.

Just to add in my experience. After reading the forum i recently bought the ford focus isofix bar for the purpose of fitting a seat for new baby to the rear rock n roll bench seat in an autohomes conversion.
This seems like a good solution, and i know its worked for some. But in my van there is a big (10cm?) gap between the (upper rear) vehicle floor and the seat base ply, and then the seat foam itself is thick, probably another 10cm. So the isofix bars (only about an inch high) were just way too low for any isofix seats (atleast ones that Mothercare had) to reach down through the gap. Hope that all makes sense.
So we had to give up on isofix and get a 3-point seatbelt fitted, using the info on the wiki. That gaves us more options and we now have a Joie seat that is from birth to 12yo i think. Its pretty good, though when rear facing has to be on most upright (of 4) settings, meaning that she (7 month old) has a tendency to slump forwards whilst asleep. Not sure thats good for her so we plan to ask the shop about this...