Car Seat installation questions

[_MrsC_]

DH installed the new seat in my car this weekend. He did a great job, it's very tight. The only thing is, he didn't hook up the tether. Is this a battle worth fighting? (and it will most likely be a battle because he said it was a bitch to get in there). I was looking at it, and I may be able to get the tether out from behind it without taking the seat out, but I haven't tried just yet.

Also, one more question... is there a tether point on a 2005 Dodge Ram Pickup?

[CiCi04]

my tether is not hooked up either and my DH is a safety nut!!! Next time you take it out, I'd deal with it then.

[Indigo]

Yes it's worth it, it improves the safety of the seat, which is why you have it after all. If you don't have a point you can tether to a fixed point, not moving piece of the car.

[HammBugga]

I thought you could only tether it to the tether point, that it wasn't safe to do it anywhere else. Well except for a rear facing britax with the extra piece...

[_MrsC_]

I think that some vehicles have places that are safe to tether too. I've seen Gypsy or maybe Chicka point them out to people before.

My car has a tether point, but I don't think the truck does.

[MrsKitty]

Yes it is worth it. In fact (In Canada) it is the law, and comes with fines if you are not using one. If you don't have one you need to get one installed at the dealership.

[_Gypsy_]

Yes it's worth the fight, in a crash the head moves forward a great deal - this is called head excursion - with the top tether attached, it reduces head excursion by up to 4-6 inches.

Yes, you have tethers - they are loops.

Route the tether THROUGH one loop and attach it to a loop behind the next seat.

[_Gypsy_]

Yes it's worth it, it improves the safety of the seat, which is why you have it after all. If you don't have a point you can tether to a fixed point, not moving piece of the car.

That's only true of Britax and Sunshine Kids' rear facing convertibles.

It's RARE but some cargo anchors are ALSO tether anchors - again, it's RARE that it's allowed, so don't just assume all cargo anchors are tethers.

[_MrsC_]

Yes, you have tethers - they are loops.

Route the tether THROUGH one loop and attach it to a loop behind the next seat.

I'm not sure I understand this part. Is this related to my question about the tether point on the pickup truck?

[_Gypsy_]

I'm not sure I understand this part. Is this related to my question about the tether point on the pickup truck?

Yes.

The tethers in your truck are not standard metal tether anchors. They are loops of seat belt webbing, and in order to properly use them as tethers, you have to insert the tether through one side of the loop that is directly behind the carseat - then go out the other side - then hook it on the loop behind a different vehicle seating position.

So if you are installing passenger side outboard, you insert the tether through the loop behind the passenger outboard seat, then attach it to the tether loop behind the center seat.

The center can be attached to either outboard seat.

Look in your owners manual for pictures.

[_MrsC_]

Look in your owners manual for pictures.

Will Do.

Thanks!