2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission baby seats...

[THenningsen]

Will a baby seat for a newborn fit in the back of my '02. Anyone got experience with this? Thanks.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

They fit in the middle of the back seat - which IMO is where you would want it anyways. I've had my daughters car seats from when she was a newborn until now (5 yrs old) there with no problems - and I'm about to put a newborn seat there again in 6 months . Do yourself a favor and buy a mighty-tite from http://www.mightytite.com/ - it will make installing any child seat MUCH MUCH easier - it's a racheting device that makes it easy to get the seat in tight.

 

[VicR]

We are getting ready to do the same thing - due date April 10th. We have a Grayco travel system and the seat fits just fine in the middle of the back. At least with ours, if its in the outboard position the front seat has to be pretty far forward to clear.







-Vic

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Yes they'll fit just fine. This particular model is a rear or forward facing version. Now that she's 1. 7 years old, and facing forward, the lack of space is becoming apparent. It's easy for her to kick the back of my seat or the center console lid. My wife told me that it's time for a truck with a bigger back seat but this one is about paid off and I really would rather use the $$ for other things than starting another 4-5 year truck note.



My truck, and probably the '02s as well, don't have LATCH capability but the center seatbelt works great, and cinches down really tight if you put your knee into it to press down on the seat as you tighten the belt.



Here's a couple of pics for ya.

 

[vssman]

Anyone have a booster seat that works in the front center position? Obviously, it doesn't have a shoulder strap which all of the booster seats I've found require.

 

[rrl989]

vssman, Good question. I have a 4. 5 year old, whose legs don't fit anymore. I'm thinking of pulling out the front center seat to give room to the center rear seat, but, I wonder how safe it is to not use the shoulder belt on a child. Those boosters are to hold the sholuder belt in the right place, without, I'm guessing the booster is not needed ???



Ron

 

[R-N-R]

What the heck are the straps on the top of the back seat? I was told they were for baby seats but I never figured them out.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

The straps at the top are for child seats - it's called a 3rd tether. They attach to the top of the seat so that it doesn't whip forward. vssman - the primary concerns there are the airbag if your truck has one and the lack of a shoulder harness. The airbag very well may kill a child - which is why they have the ability to turn off the passenger side airbag in many vehicles. That would especially be a concern in concert with the lack of a shoulder harness.

 

[vssman]

My thoughts exactly on a booster that doesn't have any built in shoulder harness. I guess I'm trying to find a car seat that has shoulder harnesses built in but only attaches to the truck with a lap belt and has a higher weight/height limit than standard child seats.

 

[R-N-R]

Best in class ... and priced accordingly :{

 

[Scrappy]

latch system

The second gens could have the LATCH points installed by the dealer as a retrofit.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

They can't have latch points installed by the dealer - that is a very specific system and has to be built into the design of the seats themselves at time of manufacture. The latch system is a "plug in" type system where you do not use the vehicles belts at all - there are two anchors at the crease in the seat and the child seat simply plugs into it, quickly and easily. I know a lot about this because my brother was a seat designer for lear seating corporation and designed the first latch system seat for a US manufacturer (Ford). What you can get added to earlier model 2nd gen's (before 2000 I believe - after that they came standard) is the 3rd tether which is the strap that goes over the top of the seat and attaches to the top of the child seat.

 

[VicR]

child seat anchor TSB

I had the child seat anchor TSB done to the 99 a few years back. I thought I would be getting those straps that hang up over the back seat, but instead it was a metal tab that attached to the seat mounting bolts. Somehow I guess some seats have a clip that would clip into them. The Grayco seat we just got doesn't use that mount, so I don't know how functional it is.



But here is the TSB:



http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2000/23-08-00.htm



By the way, I did take off my back seat and look at adding the teathers, but it didn't appear to me that my 99 had the correct place to anchor them too in the metal of the cab, so I never pursued it.



-Vic

 

[vssman]

Thanks Rock! I think the Youth seat is what I'm looking for. Britax is a good seat - that's what were using right now but my daughter is at the limit of the child seat. As for the price... . It's cheaper than a new truck.

 

[R-N-R]

Good point comparing to the price of a new truck! My company was once owned by Britax before they sold off the automotive division, we used to get a real nice discount on the seats.