Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 21:56:31 -0700
Reply-To: Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Subject: Re: Shoulder Belts, Booster Seats, Infant Car Seats... Help!
In-Reply-To: <BD49767E.28A1%thequan@sbcglobal.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
On 18 Aug 2004 at 21:11, Jim & Wilma Quan <thequan@SBCGLOBAL.NET> wrote:
> Well folks,
>
> Baby number two is almost here and I need to start figuring out how to get
> my '91 Westy Syncro up to snuff to safely carry around my two bits of
> precious cargo according to the laws of the land. I know I need to install a
> shoulder belt and will need to bolt down some tether anchors somewhere behind
> the rear bench seat. I know I have seen to posts regarding shoulder belts, but
> don't recall anything about tethers specific to infant car seats. Anybody been
> down this road already? I would appreciate some suggestions.
I've yet to get a hold of the factory rear shoulder belt (good for pass side only), but did
the following to equip our '88 Westy for two car seats:
I attached the two seat anchor pieces supplied with the seats to each side of the rear
Westy seat where it bolts to the engine deck area. I then bought a piece of chain of
suitable size to allow the car seat clips to easily clip into it, and attached the chain
between the two anchors using threaded chain links. This allows me to quickly unclip
and remove the seats for folding the bed down - the chain falls beneath the seat out of
the way. I would recommend loctite on the seat anchor screws - they have worked
loose a few times on me. I have used this method since our oldest (now 7) was old
enough for a forward facing seat. The seats seemed more secure in the van than when
installed in our '85 Jetta, and much easier to tighten down securely.
I can provide pics if needed- just let me know.
ps: Since our oldest outgrew the seat, I had an upholstery shop sew up a "Y" harness
from seat belt material, which attaches to the lap belt, then goes over the shoulders and
clips onto the chain. The idea for this came from this product:
http://www.ezonpro.com/products/familyVehicle/86yHarness.shtml
--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
~This message sent by Pegasus Mail, the safe E-Mail alternative~
"Friends don't let friends use Outlook"