We got this Britax Traveller Plus for Chrissy last month. It fits up to I think 105 lbs with a 5 point harness, head support, extended leg piece, etc. Are you ready for the price??? It was just over $1200!! Thank goodness for Easter Seals, who paid the entire amount!!

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:04 am:

The Traveler Plus is basically a Britax Husky with added pillows and support for special needs. I believe it's also double tethered to accomodate the higher weight limit. Definitely expensive, but you've got Canadian prices to boot! Glad to hear Easter Seals stepped up to the plate.

Britax Traveler Plus

This is a pic taken a few years ago of DD in our Britax Super Elite (former non LATCH version of the Husky). It has the same seat shell and cover as your Traveler Plus.

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:21 am:

Marcia, do you have it installed with LATCH?

By Marcia on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:43 am:

Does your seat have an added piece you can snap on at the leg level? My tall 10 year old can fit in this with lots of room still. (Meghan, not Chrissy)
I don't have it bolted in yet. We just got it. It has cool clips that I never had with my old car seats, that lock it in without using the seatbelt. I went to the dealership to get the bolt installed, but the service dept. was closed. I have to go back. It hasn't been a panic yet, because she rarely uses the van. She travels to and from school on the bus in her wheelchair.

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:50 am:

No, my Super Elite doesn't have the headrest or any added pieces to snap on. Those are special features of the Traveler Plus.

The cool clips would be LATCH. What year is your van? Does it have LATCH? How much does Chrissy weigh?

By Marcia on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:57 am:

Yes, it has latch. LOL I thought you meant the bolts at the back for the tether. My van is a 2002.
Chrissy is 11, and only weighs about 35lbs. She's tall, though.

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 11:10 am:

Since your van has LATCH, are you getting another tether anchor installed for the double tether?? The reason I asked how much Chrissy weighs is because LATCH anchors in vehicles have weight limits. They are usually either 40 or 48 lbs. depending on the manufacturer. It should say in your owners manual or I could look it up for you. Once Chrissy reaches that weight limit (40 or 48 lbs) the Traveler Plus will need to be installed using the seat belt. When doing so be sure to read the user guide because it has a reverse belt path, which differs from traditional car seats. (Notice the seat belt in my photo above.)

By Feona on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 12:22 pm:

That is terrific that Easter Seals paid for it. She looks comfortable! We have the husky too. It is comfortable!

By Marcia on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 12:57 pm:

We've done it up with the seatbelt, too, so I know what you mean. I really like that a lot better than the way the old ones worked!!
In the book it shows how you can use one or 2 tethers. The crappy thing is, it shows the tethers going to the very back of the van. How in the world does that work, when I have 3 kids in the back seat???

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 01:04 pm:

I just checked the Traveler Plus User Guide at the Britax web site. You don't need to double tether it until the child reaches 80 lbs..

Where are the tether anchors in your van? What's the make and model? I can look it up in the LATCH manual. They are usually somewhere on the seat, either on the back or bottom.

By Kaye on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 01:58 pm:

Marcia, i have a honda and it has two sets of tethers. In the middle row they are right up under the individual seats, in the back row they reach across the cargo area (stupid placement).

By Marcia on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 02:18 pm:

I have a Ford Windstar, 2002. I didn't see them, but they should be there! I was looking on the floor of the van, though. The latch hooks were obvious, but I guess I was looking in the wrong place for the tether achors.

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 08:22 am:

Marcia, did you find the tether anchors? A cyber friend, who happens to be a CRS Tech in Canada, sent me these pics. She has a 2000 Windstar. I hope they come out, because I had to resize them quite a bit to post here. If they don't, I could send bigger versions to you via e-mail.
cpstmom @ gmail.com







HTH

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 08:23 am:

Yeah, they worked!

By Marcia on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 09:07 am:

Thanks! I'll go check that out this morning. The seat is sitting in the garage right now, but I do need to have her in it tomorrow. You just save me a trip to the dealership! I really had no idea they could be on the seat instead of the floor, and the carseat booklet sure didn't know that either.

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 09:15 am:

Double check in your Windstar owners manual. It's not in the car seat guide because there are many different vehicles and tether anchors are in different locations. Some cars even have them on the ceiling. Have fun!

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 10:28 am:

Actually, your tether strap won't look like the one pictured above. Britax seats have "Versa Tethers" which are shaped like a "V".

Here are pics of our Super Elite installed in my former van ('98 Toyota Sienna). It didn't have tether anchors so I had two installed at the dealership. In this case the tether anchor is on the floor, but this will give you a good idea of what your set up will look like. I took the headrest out because I got a better/tighter installation that way.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 11:26 am:

Those tethers attached to the floor look like you can get a firm installation of a car seat, more than just reefing on the seatbelt as hard as you can! Especially, since the seatbelts would loosen up after a while, so I was always pulling on the seatbelt to make sure it was tight!

Why didn't they think of that when my kids were little?

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 11:42 am:

Dawn, child passenger safety knowledge has come a long way since your kids were little. I'd like to add that if a car seat is properly installed the seat belt shouldn't loosen. Depending on what type of seat belt the vehicle has, it either needs a locking clip or to be put in ALR (locking) mode. Tethering a seat not only makes a tighter installation but also reduces head excursion during a crash. This reduces the risk of injury.

By Marcia on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 01:01 pm:

I found it. It's just an opening on the metal frame of the seat bottom. I can't remove the headrest, because the seat goes in and out and other kids sit there.

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 01:28 pm:

Wow, that is not a car seat I would want to take out and re-install often, and I'm a CPS Tech. LOL! Not an easy install or one that can be done properly quickly. Is there a spot where you could keep it installed long term??

By Marcia on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 03:04 pm:

Actually, it's not really a big deal at all. Remember, I'm used to dealing with wheelchair parts. LOL Chrissy doesn't go in the van that often - not as often as I have other kids in it who need her seat. Then again, with this seat, most of them can just sit in it. Nicole is the only one who is too big for it.
Chrissy also goes out with her mediator, so she's had it in and out of her car, too.