Car seats - 3 across

I haven't seen a thread relating to this (and if there is one I apologize!) -

Wondering what type of car seats you have for fitting 3 across on a bench seat?

(And not meaning for people who have vans with captain chairs... I am specifically wondering about 3 car seats in ONE row!)

We currently have the Britax Marathon for DD. And 2 graco infant seats for the twins when they arrive. We have a Torrent and it all fits (tight, tight squeeze) but the Marathon seems so huge that we are thinking of selling it and getting a smaller seat for DD.

We've been looking into the Radian's... but I'm not sure I like the fact that they can fold up flat. Scares me a bit to think that maybe they could do that in the event of an accident.

Anyway, long story short.....what are you guys planning on doing? (And don't say buying a van! HA HA HA!)

 

We have all three Sunshine Kid Radians and we couldn't be happier with all three of them in the back seat of our car! Heck, we even tried putting them in our small VW Golf car and THEY FIT!

We have a family friend who is a fire fighter and he recommended the Radians and said that they were the safest compact car seat on the market and he and most of his crew have them for their children.

 

I also have the Radian and am very happy with it. It was recommended by a carseat safety specialist.

 

Radians also... they are made of steel and my girls love them. They are really heavy, but we don't move ours much other than the occasional cleaning. They are the only ones that will fit 3 across. We do have our 2 in a Sienna van so I don't know how they actually work in other non-van vehicles, but all the sales reps I talked to say they fit in most vehicles back seat -- as others above mentioned. They are pricey, but TRU/BRU will give you 10% discount with twins with anything that you buy 2 of and $50+, we bought ours online thru another store (I can't remember) and paid right at $210 each.

 

Adding a vote for the radian.. We have plenty of room for a 3rd seat in the second row of our van with the radians there and they are extremely solid!

 

I don't have the Radian, but have heard lots of Ladies on here (like the 3 you just read) speak very highly of them, might be a good one to try. :good:

 

Yes Radians are the ONLY seat made of steel. They are highly rated. I plan to move my 3 little ones to the 3rd row one day and these are the seats Im going with.

 

I recently got a 65SL radian for $179 and 2x 80SL for $211 from kohl's b/c kohls lets you stack 2 coupon codes and free shipping too. Just watch the website Babycheapskate for the deals on radians - they have a section just for car seats deals.

 

NICE deal on your car seats!!!! I live in Canada and had to pay a full $300 for EACH! I make sure I lock my car doors at all time. I have about $1000 worth of car seats in my car!

 

We just put the twins in Radian XTSLs a few weeks ago. We have them side by side in the second row of my Suburban, the passenger side seat of the second row stays flipped forward for my two big kids to access their seats in the second row. They ride in a Britax Marathon and a Britax Frontier. I have been a Britax lover and we turned to Radians when I discovered that there was no Britax option that would work in my seating configuration. Everything was to wide. LOVE the Radians.

 

Thanks so much ladies!! I've also heard great things about the Radian's and the only down side was that I heard they were really heavy (like someone mentioned here!)

So do any of you have a Radian and then 2 infant seats, making it 3 car seats across?

We have bought 2 infant Graco seats and then want to buy the Radian instead of our Marathon.

 

We had infant car seats on either side of our Radian and they fit perfectly fine! We had the Maxi Cozy infant carriers.

In regards to the car seats and how heavy they are, its not a huge deal. When we need to transfer our DS1 car seat into the other car, its not too heavy that we can't move it. Its of a decent weight, but its not an issue by any means.

 

I am so glad to hear that the Graco seats will fit on either side of the Radian! We will be moving to a van but we need to watch for a great deal and sell my car first. In case my car (which will not fit two rear facing car seats even without the Radian in there as well) doesn't sell before we need the infant seats I know I can get them in my husband's car. That's a relief! I just hope it works! We are getting a van because we regularly transport my grandmother for family events and we want to still be able to do that. Plus, we will probably be rear facing until almost 2. Our singleton daughter wasn't 20 pounds until 22 months and I can imagine twins will be bigger. Two rear facing convertible seats will NOT fit in DH's car.

 

Radian fans here!

 

Thanks Ladies! We bought the Radian yesterday for DD. And had a car seat tech install it as well as the 2 Graco infant snugride seats we have, to make sure it all fit before we bought it. Fit fine!!!!
And then once the twins are a yr old, we'll have to purchase 2 more radians, making it 3 radian's across!

 

It's not necessarily that you need 3 of the same seats to work. It's how they "puzzle" together. I don't have a Radian, but I believe it sits lower, whereas a Britax Marathon sits higher. So, they may puzzle together well. Sometimes rearfacing seats will puzzle well with forward facing seats.
There is a website (it might be carseat.org) that has a list of various vehicles and which 3 carseats worked together. Anyway, 3 Radians may not work side by side, whereas a different seat in the middle of two Radians might. Boosters often make it more difficult since you then have to be able to get to the car's buckle to fasten the seatbelt. Sometimes using LATCH to install carseats makes it more difficult to get them side by side than using the seatbelt installation as well.

I hope that helps.

Babies R Us will often allow you to try their display seats in your car to see if they fit.