Children's Car seats in a T25

[tally9040]

Do parents out there feel that a lap belt is sufficient strength to secure a child seat on the rear seat of a T25 ?
I have 3 year old twins that are still in full car seats ( usually the 3 point inertia reel system)
Is a lap belt safe enough ?
I am a new T25 owner and the garage has advised me that if I want 3 point seat belts each side of the rock and roll bed then the options are to build a sub frame ( and lose cupboard space) for the one on the left ( the right hand side is easy to mount ) or to add a rear facing extra seat behind the passenger seat. Either option will cost around 500 quid.
But I have a friend who has 2 kids and owned 3 VWs who states she has only ever used lap belts (which we already have fitted )
So - stay with the lap belts or not.

Advice welcomed xx

[kevtherev]

if the lap belts are stopping the child seat from moving why change?

easier to change the seats to a version that uses lap belts if not already.
Brickwerks have a tri point belt system and no frame is needed... surprise surprise

[toyclean]

I went through this when I got my van last year, my kids are 6 and 3 now. The van had lapbelts in already but we wanted full seat belts and just paid to get the extra anchor points fitted as the eldest was in a booster seat raher than full child seat, think about longevity!

The passenger side is easy as there's no cupboard in the way of the support joist, behind the driver is trickier as there's a cupboard, the company put it in the overhead cupboard against one of the roof joists, or whatever they're called in a van, then cut a slit for the belt to come through, nice tidy job. Anyway, it wasn't a cheap job at £200 and summat but I needed them done quickly and someone on here recommended them. As i'm in London so I'm used to pretty much always paying over the odds!

You can buy the seatbelt kits and do all that yourself, if you can be asked...

Hope that helps.

[Jonnyb416]

Did your mate ever have a crash with the kids in lap belts? Thats the only way you would know if its safe and even then every crash is different.

I am way off that stage but I know for sure I will be fitting 3 point seat belts for my kids.

I have read on here somewhere in London that fits them for under £200 I am sure.

Safe children shouldn't come at a price, £500 or lost cupboard space, get them done and enjoy the ride.

Jon.

[toyclean]

Tally, whereabouts are you? In case you're near London I ended up using these, this link has some pics http://www.quickfitsbs.com/gallery_vw.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Hope that helps.

MT

[pirate-pete]

Have a two year old and as most parents would know, her safety is of maximum importance.

Having said that I use the lap belt with her car seat as in my opinion it will be just as safe as with a three point belt. The child is held with a proper five point harness to the childseat and the lapbelt fixes this in turn securely to the camper seat. In an accident there are a lot of other things to consider in an accident like kit flying around and furniture. It will never be as safe as a modern car with multiple airbags and abs, stability control and all the other passive safety features now available but we would not have the weekend breaks we enjoy so much if I just drove round in my NCAP5 rated hatchback all the time.

In our case the manufacturer of the seat (MaxiCosi) used to approve lap belts with our seat although they don't seem to mention them now. With the earlier infant seat I needed the optional base to clip the seat onto as the seatbelts of my day to day car were not long enough. This base was held by a seat belt and a leg supporting it against the floor. The diagonal strap made no difference at all to the stability of that seat an if anything the lapbelt in the T25 was better as it was fixed rather than inertia reel.

[fodtommo]

We have a britax prince car seat for my son, and the sticker on the side specifically shows fitment using a lapbelt, furthermore when you fit it in a car using a 3 point belt you are only really using the lap belt part on ours. you pull the diagonal to get the lap belt to hold the seat in firmly, if you think about from n engineering/physics point of view (I generally do!) a lap belt should be sufficient as long as your seat is designed to be fitted with one.

[ringo]

I'm comfortable using lapbelts for my toddler and newborn - but what about when they grow out of these at 3-4 years old?
Most people use booster seats but this obviously isn't an option whith lapbelts is it.

I'm going to struggle getting 3 point belts in my LT Florida so may have to live with them.

Ringo