Child Seats: 3x rear facing?

[TooManySeats]

My wife and I (both 6') were all set to buy a six-seater X until we brought our existing Chico Keyfit 30 and and Diono Radian RXT to the showroom to verify they'd fit. It turned-out we had a problem, and now we're trying to figure-out our options. Any help, suggestions, or real-world solutions, are appreciated.

Summary: How has anyone dealt with either three rear-facing convertibles (1y and 3y) or a front-facing (3y in the rear row? and two 1y rear-facing in the second row). Is there a solution that works for 6' parents in the six-seater?

By the time this would be an issue, this summer, we'll have a 32 month old and two newborns. I'm not too concerned by this stage; we've ordered an Cybex Aton 2 based on what I've been able to find on-line (including I think a post here). If that is promising we'll either get a second or use it with the Chico Keyfit 30. I've also ordered a Graco Expand2fit based on TheCarSeatLady.com's suggestion for the Model X because it was clear the Chico and Radian weren't working.

I'm resigning myself to three rear-facing being unlikely, but it's a strong desire (and considering we haven't yet bought the vehicle, enough to have us reconsidering non-Electrics that are bigger). If the infants are on the same growth schedule as my oldest, we'll be fine for a year with the two Atons in the 3rd row and a rear-facing in the middle*. At the one-year point, we'll need to move the oldest to the third row in a front-facing and need two rear-facing in the middle: is there a solution that makes it easy to still get to the third row to buckle-in my oldest short of removing a rear-facing seat?

I really like the six-seat option, and it was a selling point over other options we looked at; but I did see some pictures of rear-forward-rear combos in the three-across row, so that does seem possible. Has anyone done three-across rear-facing convertibles?

Thanks in advance.

*I'm assuming for the moment.

 

[mattack4000]

I am going to give you some bad news. With 3 child seat at such young age, I don't think any of the seat configuration will work well for you. I guess you can get a 6 seater, have your 3 year old buckle him or herself in the third row. You can then throw the two young ones in the car seat in the middle row. If your 3 year old cant buckle, I don't suggest the 6 seater as you can't get in the back with the baby seat in the middle. That means your only option is to leave the baby outside on the ground or have someone hold your child while you climb into the back to buckle the 3 year old.

 

[Yinn]

My wife and I (both 6') were all set to buy a six-seater X until we brought our existing Chico Keyfit 30 and and Diono Radian RXT to the showroom to verify they'd fit. It turned-out we had a problem, and now we're trying to figure-out our options. Any help, suggestions, or real-world solutions, are appreciated.

Summary: How has anyone dealt with either three rear-facing convertibles (1y and 3y) or a front-facing (3y in the rear row? and two 1y rear-facing in the second row). Is there a solution that works for 6' parents in the six-seater?

By the time this would be an issue, this summer, we'll have a 32 month old and two newborns. I'm not too concerned by this stage; we've ordered an Cybex Aton 2 based on what I've been able to find on-line (including I think a post here). If that is promising we'll either get a second or use it with the Chico Keyfit 30. I've also ordered a Graco Expand2fit based on TheCarSeatLady.com's suggestion for the Model X because it was clear the Chico and Radian weren't working.

I'm resigning myself to three rear-facing being unlikely, but it's a strong desire (and considering we haven't yet bought the vehicle, enough to have us reconsidering non-Electrics that are bigger). If the infants are on the same growth schedule as my oldest, we'll be fine for a year with the two Atons in the 3rd row and a rear-facing in the middle*. At the one-year point, we'll need to move the oldest to the third row in a front-facing and need two rear-facing in the middle: is there a solution that makes it easy to still get to the third row to buckle-in my oldest short of removing a rear-facing seat?

I really like the six-seat option, and it was a selling point over other options we looked at; but I did see some pictures of rear-forward-rear combos in the three-across row, so that does seem possible. Has anyone done three-across rear-facing convertibles?

Thanks in advance.

*I'm assuming for the moment.

We're about the same height, both my wife and I.

In our AP1 7 seater, we had the Diono Radian in the center seat. This allowed 3 across if we used all Diono's, or outboards to be rear facing. It did not like having all 3 front or rear facing using mix and match of various car seats won't really work. In fact using the Diono in any rear facing combo really ruined the spacing so we stopped using it.

In our Ap2 6 seater, we stopped using the Diono for the above but also width was no longer an issue and it tends to run really long in a rear facing configuration. We now use a Chicco Nextfit Zip - just moved from rear facing to front facing. And my wife and I have plenty of space with it. Our 2nd car seats is a Graco clickconnect. We've also had them in the 3rd row, so those should fit fine. I can try to grab pictures for you later.

 

[outie]

It’s unlikely your 3yo still needs rear facing by then. My kid switched to front facing at 2yo. Our 3rd is coming soon so it will be 2 rear facing and 1 front facing. We are petites so it’s not an issue for us with that configuration. 7 seats monopost. We are switching to 7 seats bench after Tesla repurchase my car.

 

[TooManySeats]

Pictures would be great, Yinn! We did go back to the dealer with the Aton 2 and Graco Expand2Fit, and felt much more confident about the Model X working (especially after coming across some negative reviews of seats in the GLS, which is due for a full refresh anyway).

I am going to give you some bad news. With 3 child seat at such young age, I don't think any of the seat configuration will work well for you. I guess you can get a 6 seater, have your 3 year old buckle him or herself in the third row. You can then throw the two young ones in the car seat in the middle row. If your 3 year old cant buckle, I don't suggest the 6 seater as you can't get in the back with the baby seat in the middle. That means your only option is to leave the baby outside on the ground or have someone hold your child while you climb into the back to buckle the 3 year old.

This was helpful as well for setting expectations. We did find some luck while fiddling at the dealiership, although it's not the most convenient solution, and it doesn't allow for three rear-facing seats. Two Atons in the back and the Expand2Fit in the middle, behind the driver so my wife could stretch out, worked alright (but tight; my wife has longer legs despite being the same height and she still found it passable).

Flipping it, and putting the Expand2Fit in the middle; if the front-seat were empty, we could move the front seat all of the way up, then scoot the middle seat forward without it kneeling, but far enough that we could still reach into the back enough to adjust straps with the Diono forward facing in the third row.

We also looked at the five-seater, and verified that we'd have plenty of room with the Expand2Fit, but didn't try getting three rear facing convertibles across.

We ended-up putting our deposit down for the six-seat (no console), but still looking for any solution which might work better than what we found.

 

[TooManySeats]

Our 3rd is coming soon so it will be 2 rear facing and 1 front facing.

Congratulations!

It’s unlikely your 3yo still needs rear facing by then.

True. We were hoping to keep rear-facing as long as practical, and are accepting that "practical" is going to end when the newborns outgrow their infant seats.

 

[TJtv]

Forget about putting a rear facing seat in the 3rd row, it's not going to work regardless of whether you get the 6seat or 7seat version. See car-seat-lady's idea on that:
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So that leaves you with buying a 7seater or 5seater and trying to put 3 RF across in the middle, which many have said above is also extremely challenging if not impossible.

I think if you want the MX, then you'll need to commit to having your oldest sit front facing one way or the other.

 

[HugoBoss]

We have a 6 almost 7 year old sits behind passenger seat, a 2 1/2 year old sits behind driver and 1 year old sits in the middle. We got a seven seater X. All three kids sit in car seats in the middle row. We used the X as a 5 seater. Third row is always folded. I push middle row all the way back and lean the seats a bit. Works great for us. When we do need to use third row Wich barely happens the the 6 year old goes in the back. Get a seven seater.

 

[Yinn]

Congratulations!



True. We were hoping to keep rear-facing as long as practical, and are accepting that "practical" is going to end when the newborns outgrow their infant seats.

It took a while, I needed to pull some car seats out of storage and rearrange mine.

The Chicco Nextfit zip fits forward and rear facing with about 1-2” of gap between the seat and the back of the drivers seat. Driver is ~ 5’ 10”

I pulled a carrier out, Graco Clickconnect and it fits with about 3 inches between passenger seat back and the carrier. Passenger is ~ 5’ 9”

One thing I saw and never tried is the diono in a rear facing Center seat configuration. I have a 6 seater now, but it should fit in the middle with 2 rear facing and one front facing. The car seat will protrude into the front compartment area though above the console.

Forget about putting a rear facing seat in the 3rd row, it's not going to work regardless of whether you get the 6seat or 7seat version.

This is correct. They only fit forward facing in the 3rd row. I haven’t found a rear facing narrow enough to fit, at least not at the proper angle.

Hope these help! And if you didn’t use a referral code let me know and I’d be grateful if you used mine

 

[TooManySeats]

Thanks for the pictures. I took a look at a site that had a list of seat depths, but it's been hard to visualize how they actually sit in the car (the curvature of the front seats seems to be more significant than in other cars, with how rear facing seats fit).

Hope these help! And if you didn’t use a referral code let me know and I’d be grateful if you used mine

They do!
(Unfortunately we did use a code, already.)