Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL carseat - fit in car rear facing

So those of you with a Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL carseat that are rear facing, does yours fit well in your car??

We just got one and #1 we cannot get a good fit in either of our cars.

The seat fits low to the ground which is nice for them to climb in and out, but it also means that the angle of the top is lower and then #2 the front seats have to be moved forward quite a bit.

Even still with the front carseat moved forward to make room for the carseat the actual carseat moves side to side quite a bit.

The other set of carseats we have (Recaro) fit so snug that they do not move at all. Maybe if I didn't have that to compare to I would be happy with the fit.

anyway, so many people rave about the seats that I really thought they would be a great set for us. Any ideas on getting a better fit?? If we cannot get a good fit, I guess I will be sending it back.

I did try it forward facing, and it fits great... but I didn't want to turn the kids around yet. And if I did want to turn them around, I didn't want it to be based on a set of carseats we bought... ugh!

 

We bought one of these seats so we could fit 3 across the second row of our Pilot. We did not like the angle of the Sunshine Radian. As you described, the angle has the seat way too reclined. My DD fussed and didn't seem to like the angle and it was more difficult for her to see out the windows. We ended up moving her back to her old seat and will use the Radian FF when we decide it's time to switch them (probably at 35 lbs). It does seem like a nice seat, though. I love how it is so narrow.

 

You have to tether it down to stop the movement. The seats are great for space saving but not as snug as my britax without using the tethers.

 

You can't tether seats rear-facing I believe.

I'd go to car-seat.org and ask there, hope you figure it out!

 

I think you can do a top tether with RF if your car allows for it. Our Pilot does not. At least that's how I understand the Sunshine Radian manual.

 

From other instruction that I've received from a car seat safety class and what not, I had been under the understanding that you always want the seat to be able to "fly" up, yet still hinged at the base to the car's back seat. So when I read in the manual that they recommended the top to be tethered for rear facing if the manufacturer allowed I was a little perplexed... in any case, I don't see a way to tether it in either of our cars so we can't do that.

Like I said our Recaro seats fit so tight at the LATCH strap area that they do not move even a milimeter side to side... and they will flex a little and "fly" up in a crash to help ease the motion of a crash.

I did like how the seat looked for forward facing, it looked more like a big kid chair than a baby seat... anyway, still not sure if we will keep... as it doesn't really fit our needs for right now since we are wanting to rear face...

 

You can tether a seat rear facing. Our Britax Boulevards tethered in both my Ford Escape and our minivan. But obviously the car has to allow for it.

 

thanks for the reminder on the car-seat.org website. wow, the link to the spreadsheet with all the stats on all the carseats limits and inches is awesome! I also perused the existing folders and did see some hints on trying to get a better fit... though we've already shoved the carseat back in the box, so I might have to wait until next weekend to try that! I did also post a question on the website to see if anyone else has better ideas on getting the seat to 1 - fit tighter and/or 2 - get a more upright fit.

again, thanks for the comments here!

 

well, our city offers carseat checks, so I had an appt this morning. I'd done a pretty good job of installing he said. He was able to tether it afterall. He actually used the extra piece that came with the carseat and did a loop around the track that the front seat is attached to on the floor of the car. Then the tethering strap hooked into that. Tethering it doesn't actually make it a tighter fit, it is a little loose, but what it does is keep the seat from flying up and the kids heads hitting on the back of the back seat in an accident. Interesting and I really do like the carseats. He also reiterated that you only check the tightness of a fit at the base by the seatbelts and not at the top of the seat. So now I have to order my other carseat since I only ordered 1 to begin with b/c that's how much gift certificates we still had at BRU. Oh, but I just remembered I need to check the fit behind the passenger seat... that one might not work as well since I had to raise my seat up a bit to get the fit right and the passenger front seat doesn't raise up...

anyway, thanks for the help. I do recommend always checking car seat installations with a professional if you can! Their knowledge is great and helps to reassure me.

 

Glad it worked out. That's great that you are still RFing!