Twins.....car seats

[HOBrian]

The wife and just had twins on Oct. 12th. They are coming home from the hospital very soon and I thought it was time to try out the new car seats. Well after moving the front seats of her Jeep GC just about all the way up and trying to fit myself inside (6'0" 180lbs. ) I had no room at all. #@$%! Stepping out of the Jeep I see my truck and think #@$%!#@$%! This is not going to be fun. Moving the seats up in my truck did allow proper infant seat installation. The only issue is that I have to almost push the clutch pedal straight down instead of away from myself. I had one other thought about my truck only... If I place one infant seat behind the wife (5'5" 0lbs) and the other in the middle position that would at least help me out in the leg room department.



Anybody with two car seats do this???

 

[wheatman]

the mounting points are present for a car seat in the middle position, i don't see why this wouldn't work. when they get older and face forward they will fight to sit in the middle. my daughter loves to see where we are going.

 

[PHenry]

First off, congratulations!

I have mounted car seats in the middle position without issue.

The latch systems makes the installation very easy. You should have no problems at all.



Good luck.

 

[JCasper]

You should be fine mounting one in the middle. The Ram is wide enough where many smaller cars are not.

 

[HOBrian]

First off, congratulations!

I have mounted car seats in the middle position without issue.

The latch systems makes the installation very easy. You should have no problems at all.



Good luck.

Thanks!!



Does the middle seat have the anchors for the latches?? I saw them for the two outer most seats but did not see any for the middle seat.

 

[NNovak]

congrats and good luck...



The wife drives a Sentra and in her car and the F150 I had prior to this truck, we did the middle part for a car seat as there was no room to fit a person up front with a car seat behind and drive safely.



Even if the anchors are not there, once you have the seat belt straped correctly and down all is good.



I hope you did get the infant car seats that have a base so you just lock it in and go. If so I found the best route for the middle is to lead the car seat fee first through the front and then between the seats. Allows the baby to stay more level and it lines up to the base easier. Going in from the side and back door will be complicated for the middle spot.



2 kids of experince for this one.

 

[DZLFREK]

Congrats!

We also have twins, and also a third singleton. I have had all three in my '06 dually. No, there aren't anchors in the middle area, just the outsides. Since my older twins use boosters, I simply put them side by side (read: middle and left) and put the infant seat on the right. Works fine and plenty of space, except for the non-stop antics of twins sitting next to each other.



Oh, get running boards! The tube sides work fine for older kids, but the young one's can slip and get their legs cought between the tube and the body. This could cause a nasty break. Running boards help them get in and they can slide out with ease. It also helps our backs!



Continued Blessings!



David

 

[HOBrian]

Oh, get running boards! The tube sides work fine for older kids, but the young one's can slip and get their legs cought between the tube and the body. This could cause a nasty break. Running boards help them get in and they can slide out with ease. It also helps our backs!



Continued Blessings!



David

Thanks!!!!!!!!!



The running boards is a great idea that I would not have thought twice about. Oo.

 

[Tejasdge]

It amazes me how poorly car seats and vehicles are designed to work together. I have a 2 and 5 year old and the rear facing seats are a pain. Don't use the side seat latch loops for the middle seat as there is too much side movement. With two infants, there shouldn't be a seat war issue (for a while anyway) until they are forward facing and then there is not as bad of a problem with having a kid behind you. It's like having a custom seat massager. If you didn't get the type that you leave the seat base in the vehicle, I would also recomend taking them back and getting the base style. Buy your 2 complete seats and get spare bases for the wifey's car and a spare set to loan so you don't have to swap them all the time (When, of course, you finally get to go somewhere with the wife without the kids:-laf). I could put a rear facing behind me (Graco) and only loose a few inches of leg room and I am also 6' but a little bigger boned than you. Also, I like the blue with yellow handle seat belt ratchet that Babies R Us carries for the middle and non-latch spots. I don't like much seat movement and Grandparents and others never seam to have Latch loops, or they are in the wrong place. Also, there is no such thing as too tight. Stand on it, jump on it, whatever it takes, but it should have minimal movement. No offence ladies, but I have never seem a seat put in by my wife or Mother-in-law that was tight enough, and they can hardly ever get seats I put in out. I guess pushing a release button is asking too much. Also, don't cheap out if you are going to drive them around much. I bought better seats, i. e. better padding, when we moved from Dallas to Atlanta and was amazed how much less of a struggle it was getting them into the seats. They were finally comfortable. Congrats on the two little ones and enjoy them. It's going to go twice as fast for you.



On Edit: My '03 only has Latch loops on the outside seats. To use the safest spot in the truck (middle) I had to use the seatbelt and the ratchet from BRU.

 

[wcjp]

It amazes me how poorly car seats and vehicles are designed to work together. I have a 2 and 5 year old and the rear facing seats are a pain. Don't use the side seat latch loops for the middle seat as there is too much side movement. With two infants, there shouldn't be a seat war issue (for a while anyway) until they are forward facing and then there is not as bad of a problem with having a kid behind you. It's like having a custom seat massager. If you didn't get the type that you leave the seat base in the vehicle, I would also recomend taking them back and getting the base style. Buy your 2 complete seats and get spare bases for the wifey's car and a spare set to loan so you don't have to swap them all the time (When, of course, you finally get to go somewhere with the wife without the kids:-laf). I could put a rear facing behind me (Graco) and only loose a few inches of leg room and I am also 6' but a little bigger boned than you. Also, I like the blue with yellow handle seat belt ratchet that Babies R Us carries for the middle and non-latch spots. I don't like much seat movement and Grandparents and others never seam to have Latch loops, or they are in the wrong place. Also, there is no such thing as too tight. Stand on it, jump on it, whatever it takes, but it should have minimal movement. No offence ladies, but I have never seem a seat put in by my wife or Mother-in-law that was tight enough, and they can hardly ever get seats I put in out. I guess pushing a release button is asking too much. Also, don't cheap out if you are going to drive them around much. I bought better seats, i. e. better padding, when we moved from Dallas to Atlanta and was amazed how much less of a struggle it was getting them into the seats. They were finally comfortable. Congrats on the two little ones and enjoy them. It's going to go twice as fast for you.

On Edit: My '03 only has Latch loops on the outside seats. To use the safest spot in the truck (middle) I had to use the seatbelt and the ratchet from BRU.

Well Said. Only the MegaCab has 3 sets of Latch in the rear. If you use the seatbelt in the middle be sure to use the special metal clip thing. I remember reading in the manual the Quad was only setup for two carseats. No reason though it can't work. We also used the Graco removable with base. Just buy extra bases for additional cars (and grandparents cars). We also had the stroller that accepted the Graco carseat. Might not be an option for twins.

Sold the Clubcab because of rear facing carseat room.
Pics are old. Front seats are all the way back.

#ad


#ad

 

[JCasper]

It amazes me how poorly car seats and vehicles are designed to work together. I have a 2 and 5 year old and the rear facing seats are a pain. Don't use the side seat latch loops for the middle seat as there is too much side movement. With two infants, there shouldn't be a seat war issue (for a while anyway) until they are forward facing and then there is not as bad of a problem with having a kid behind you. It's like having a custom seat massager. If you didn't get the type that you leave the seat base in the vehicle, I would also recomend taking them back and getting the base style. Buy your 2 complete seats and get spare bases for the wifey's car and a spare set to loan so you don't have to swap them all the time (When, of course, you finally get to go somewhere with the wife without the kids:-laf). I could put a rear facing behind me (Graco) and only loose a few inches of leg room and I am also 6' but a little bigger boned than you. Also, I like the blue with yellow handle seat belt ratchet that Babies R Us carries for the middle and non-latch spots. I don't like much seat movement and Grandparents and others never seam to have Latch loops, or they are in the wrong place. Also, there is no such thing as too tight. Stand on it, jump on it, whatever it takes, but it should have minimal movement. No offence ladies, but I have never seem a seat put in by my wife or Mother-in-law that was tight enough, and they can hardly ever get seats I put in out. I guess pushing a release button is asking too much. Also, don't cheap out if you are going to drive them around much. I bought better seats, i. e. better padding, when we moved from Dallas to Atlanta and was amazed how much less of a struggle it was getting them into the seats. They were finally comfortable. Congrats on the two little ones and enjoy them. It's going to go twice as fast for you.



On Edit: My '03 only has Latch loops on the outside seats. To use the safest spot in the truck (middle) I had to use the seatbelt and the ratchet from BRU.

Great write up. You need to keep those little ones safe.



I use Britax seats until my kids outgrow them. A great seat and very comfortable for the kids. Britax :: Safety is Always in Fashion®

 

[LFarmer]

I also use Britax for my 2 and 4 year olds. We had a cheaper seat with the first child but went with the Britax with the second and the larger, more comfortable seat really makes a difference on long trips. I am 6'5" and 220 so it wasn't hard to talk the wife into trading the 2003QC for the 2006 Mega! Lots of luck with the newborns.

 

[Tejasdge]

Thanks for the nice comments. I'm a little fanatical about this subject and hope that others find the information useful. All the experts say to leave them rear facing and in booster seats as long as possible. I guess when my kids start driving, I'll let em out of the booster seats. :-laf









{You know that your in trouble when your 2 year old daughter yells weee when you goose it, go around a fun corner fast or putt around on the four wheeler. She's a pistol, and I have been told that I will have some very clean firearms when the boys start to come a calling:{}

 

[HOBrian]

{You know that your in trouble when your 2 year old daughter yells weee when you goose it, go around a fun corner fast or putt around on the four wheeler. She's a pistol, and I have been told that I will have some very clean firearms when the boys start to come a calling:{}

If you are like me, I figure by the time she is 30 and just starting to date I won't have to worry as much. :-laf:-laf

 

[RobWag]

wcjp beat me to the punch. I was going to say you wouldn't have any problem trading in for a megacab! We have a four month old boy and a 3 year old girl. This thing has so much room it's almost funny. They are almost far enough back that you can ignore them when they get riled up, but on long trips when things get real nasty (both crying & yelling), the wife just climbs over the center console (front bench w/folddown console), plops a bottle into the 3 month old, puts Dora in the dvd, kicks her feet up and relaxes, problem solved. This is the way to travel.



We used to take her Acura on long trips, it now sits in the garage. You can't beat the Mega for family excursions! And we still have room for two grandparents when they come to visit!



grandparents coming to visit - $400 in airplane tickets

take everyone out for the day to shop in the big city - $350

dinner for 4 plus 2 kids at the latest trendy restaurant - $200

everyone comfy for the 2 hour ride home - $$$PRICELESS

MegaCab - don't leave home without it!!!

 

[Spooled-up]

Another vote for the Mega Cab here. With Diesel (our GSP), we folded the rear 2/3rds of the back seat down for him leaving the seat behind the driver in the quad cab. I had to move my seat 4" forward to make the rear facing work. We do 20+ hr road trips a couple times a year and I wasn't going to be comfortable. Believe it or not, the wife talked ME into getting a Mega Cab!! The dog has more room than he should, the kid has more leg room than me, and if the wife gets bored, she jumps in the back and the dog sits up front with me and they watch DVD's while I handle the driving. If it only came with a long bed!! (I'm working on that though)

 

[wcjp]

but on long trips when things get real nasty (both crying & yelling), the wife just climbs over the center console (front bench w/folddown console), plops a bottle into the 3 month old, puts Dora in the dvd, kicks her feet up and relaxes, problem solved. This is the way to travel.

Didn't buy ours with the built in DVD. Bought a Dual Screen add on system.

 

[Tejasdge]

That's how I my '03 Quad!

Before this one I had a '96 1500 extended cab. A few 3 hour trips with the father-in-law in the front with me, and her and our son in the back "seat", she was asking me if I wanted a new truck (the rear facing seat would only go in the middle if two were in the front). The whole trick is to act like you don't want it, even though you have already built several different versions on the Dodge website. :-laf Just this week she asked when I would want/need a new truck. Heck, I only have 93k on her and toys waiting to go on. If we were still in Texas, I would be ordering a Mega right now, but Atlanta is not long vehicle friendly, and the Quad shortbed is as long as I want to go. And, if I ever clean out my side of the garage, I can get in with a few inches to spare.