I have an older truck ('99) without the newer mandated kids car seat hooks in the backseat, so I have to use the shoulder seat belts. My wife is extremely paranoid and worried that they aren't getting the seats tight enough. They seem pretty damn tight to me, but admittedly they aren't as tight as the ones in her newer car with the hooks. Do any of you guys have experience with newer car seats installed in older cars/trucks that can share experience? Mainly I just need some expectation management I guess. I just don't know how tight they are supposed to be.

I pull mine as tight as I can through the buckle then as tight as I can through the retractor. Does it have a hook on the top? That would really help. If not, maybe find something the car seat can hook onto or make one.

what do you mean by hook on the top

Presley OBannons Sword said:

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what do you mean by hook on the top

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Should be some sort of belt with a clip on the car seat & your truck my have a cable or eye bolt behind the head rest/seat to attach the clip to.

The tether

I didn't have brackets when i had my '06 F250. Out carsets had clips under the padding that you ran the seatbelt through.

I'd just pull a bunch of slack to run the seatbelt through, cinch it tight once fastened and then snap the car seat clips down on the belt and it was plenty tight.

I now have the clips and the only difference I see, with our car seats, is the ease of taking them in and out of the car. The seat belt method is kinda a pita compared to having the clips.

I used the seat belt for one of our car seats in my older truck because I did not have anchors in the right spot. It was noticeably looser than the seat installed with the LATCH system but it was relatively firm. The movement was front to back, not side-to-side.

And I have always had trouble getting the tether strap tight in my truck.

You should be able to set up an appointment with the local fire department for them to help/inspect the installation. I always thought this was silly......until I started having to deal with car seats. I cannot wait to be free of these horrid things.

You could probably buy some anchors online and bolt/weld them in if you were up to it.

03_Aggie said:

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I didn't have brackets when i had my '06 F250. Out carsets had clips under the padding that you ran the seatbelt through.

I'd just pull a bunch of slack to run the seatbelt through, cinch it tight once fastened and then snap the car seat clips down on the belt and it was plenty tight.

I now have the clips and the only difference I see, with our car seats, is the ease of taking them in and out of the car. The seat belt method is kinda a pita compared to having the clips.

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ok, this is pretty much what I'm doing. also in an f-250.

03_Aggie said:

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I didn't have brackets when i had my '06 F250. Out carsets had clips under the padding that you ran the seatbelt through.

I'd just pull a bunch of slack to run the seatbelt through, cinch it tight once fastened and then snap the car seat clips down on the belt and it was plenty tight.

I now have the clips and the only difference I see, with our car seats, is the ease of taking them in and out of the car. The seat belt method is kinda a pita compared to having the clips.

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That's what I do with our Celica and Volvo. The clips can be a blessing or a curse. They're easy to get to in the wife's VW, but a whole lot harder in other cars when they're way down in there.

sushi94 said:

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make sure you put some weight on the car seat as you tighten the belt. Use your knee to sink the car seat in and tighten the belt.

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What he said. And that's true for the LATCH system as well. My wife was a certified car seat tech when our kids were younger and I learned more about car seats than I ever cared to know. Latch is great because it's easier and you're less likely to screw up installing it. The belts can be used just as safely though. Read all the directions and follow them. When you're done the seat shouldn't move much side to side or back and forth. When I'd get done installing ours i'd try to shake the seat and the car would move, but the seat wouldn't.