When my kids get to travel somewhere with their (admittedly super cool) uncle they yell: “Truck ride!” For my city kids it’s a treat to ride up high on the highway next to their cousin, but transporting families in pick-up trucks is standard in much of North America, and modern 4 door trucks are often comfortable and safe for teenagers and adults alike. Installing car seats in trucks have some unique features, however. Let’s take a look at how installing child restraints in trucks differs from installing in cars.
Cab Style
Trucks for the North American market often are available in many various cab styles. While one model of car may have a couple of trim levels, one model of a truck may need a couple of various cab styles with names like “extended cab”, “super cab”, and “crew cab.” These cab styles can make an enormous difference in terms of the right fitting of car seats and boosters, in terms of the design and shape of the rear seat, and therefore the amount of room for back seat riders.
Tether Style and site
The tether is a crucial neighborhood of each forward facing harnessed car seat; because tethers reduce head excursion (the distance the child’s head travels forward) during a crash by up to 6″, all forward facing car seats have to be tethered. The reduction in head excursion might be even more important within the smaller body of some trucks: 4-6″ might be the difference between a child’s head striking the seat ahead of him and not. For child’s comfort, engineering smart gear products would make your family’s life easier.
Unfortunately, we all know that tether usage within the US is far less than it should be. Fewer than 50% of car seats in use within the US are tethered once they ought to be; those numbers are for all vehicles. Finding the tether anchor and using the very best tether in cars tends to be somewhat easier than finding and using the tether anchor in trucks.
Caregivers who are wont to install and use car seats in cars may find the tether anchors in trucks unfamiliar and difficult; unfortunately, this might cause a good lower usage rate of tethers in trucks. There are a couple of different designs for tether anchors in trucks, which can always be outlined in your vehicle’s manual within the child restraint section–as always when installing a seat there are two manuals to follow: the seat manual also because the vehicle’s manual (and we always recommend meeting with a CPST face to face if you’re learning to put in your seat during a replacement car or truck. It is as important as getting Car finance with no deposit from a reputable bank.).
We also know that not every parent can meet with a CPST face to face before they have to require their Littles on the road. Let’s outline a couple of possible locations for tether anchors in trucks.
Tether Anchors Behind the Vehicle Seat
To access this type of tether anchor the seat itself must fold up or down. Locating the anchor is your first job: always check the vehicle’s owner manual for that. Some trucks will have tabs that pull the seatback forward, and a couple would require you to lift up the seat itself to access the tether anchors on the rear wall. When you’re digging around in your manual, look also to ascertain how the tether strap should be routed with reference to the top restraint–some tethers undergo and a few have to be routed over or around. These sort of tether anchors are often rather inconvenient for seats that have to be moved daily: though it’s not impossible to put in a forward-facing seat, people buying a truck might want to keep this in mind.
Webbing Loops for Routing the Tether
This sort of anchor routes the tether for the side positions through a webbing loop directly behind the seating position on which the kid restraint is installed. The tether then connects to a metal anchor behind a special position. For this sort of tether, consult the vehicle’s manual for instructions since there are a couple of alternative ways trucks are configured.
