Children's Car Seats

I'm expecting delivery of my PT in about 2 weeks and someone just told me that they had a real problem getting car seats in their PT. Has anyone else had this problem? I have 3 grandkids and want to make sure that there's not a problem with this. My dealer told me there's all kinds of literature on car seats and installation of them so hopefully this will work.

[Blue in Mesa]

Are all three children car seat age?

We actually didn't have any trouble with our car seat because we purchase one that is LATCH compatible. LATCH is a new system where there are built-in attachments for children's car seats in the car. They work great and it's easy to put a seat in with them, and you know you've got it right when you're done. We used a regular car seat before that, and it wasn't too much trouble either.

The problem you'll have is with three kids. Really, there's not enough room to put 3 car seats in the back. Perhaps booster seats would be OK, but the manual even states that if you use LATCH seats, you can only attach one seat per removable seat group, so two car seats total. You'd have to squeeze awful tight with small seats to get 3 in back, and I'm not sure you could do it with belt positioning.

[Rick in PA]

We've got two kids, one in a regular child's carseat and one in a booster. No problems. We once shoehorned three carseats in, I'm not even sure if it's "allowed", I wouldn't recommend it. Two seats are OK, in fact this is one of the reasons I got the Cruiser, with the doors opening extra wide, it's really easy to load in the little ones.

We use the older style seatbelt secured carseats. The center seatbelt is the type that "ratchets" if you pull it all the way out then release it, this is good for securing a carseat with. The outer two seatbelts do not "ratchet", so if you use a seatbelt secured carseat, you will probably have to use one of those metal clips on the seatbelt.

One thing to watch for: I have noticed the armrest on the cardoor goes under the side of the carseat when you close the door. So I always try to be extra sure the kid's arm is out of the way when I close the door.

I have put the baby's car seat in the center, placed two boosters on either side. It was all stable and comfy for the boys. The only issue for the width was the need for Dad to buckle the seat belts, it is a bit of a pinch. The latch system is clearly superior to the annoying seat belt clips, and the PT has the ratchet mechanism on belts where once you pull the belt all the way out, it ratchets back and does not give slack with motion. This stabilizes the baby seat. Overall, I think it is a very safe arrangement.

[PTCruisingPA]

With the latches, bungies and straps can do wonders! I have 4 kids, and have found no car easier to do. Make sure to protect the seats and the seat backs with towels, to prevent crease marks.