Trying to see if there is a better way to hook this seat up so there’s not so much if any play. As you F150 owners know that the strap to connect the back belt is right under the headrest. So once I hook up to it it’s almost impossible to cinch it tight enough without any play. In my wife’s SUV the hook up bracket is on the backside of the back seat and once you hook to it you can pull really tight so there’s no play. It concerns me about the way it doesn’t fit snug against the back seat so am I doing something wrong or is it just difficult to get it as tight as I want to due to the hook up strap being where it is. Thanks!

Check with your local PD or FD. Many agencies have people trained in installing car seats. There is much, much more involved than you would realize. I went to the one day course and 3 of the officers under my supervision went to the three day course and it whipped their butts both mentally and physically. They learned how to put about any model seat into any model car. I can tell you one thing, if there is play it is not being done correctly and has significantly less safety value.

Buc ees is a long way from Huntsville but here is one of the programs:

http://www.hhwomenandchildren.org/car-seat-fitting

Play with some carabiners or webbing to to get it out of that tight spot. There doesn’t need to be any slack in the tether strap.

Also it pays to have them checked by those in the know. Car seats have an expiration date and you would be surprised at how many are being used beyond those dates.

This too. We at the FD do this. There’s not many MEN that show up other than the ones that have wives that make them bring it by for us to check.

That’s what I was thinking David. It bothers me so much that I will not drive with my grandson in the seat until it’s fitting in there tight. He hates riding in my wife’s SUV and loves my truck because it sits up higher. lol Just like a boy.

If the seat folded down like a Chevy does then it wouldn’t be a problem. But with the Ford design there’s a lot of excess strap due to the short hook up. If that makes any sense.

This is a new seat for his size which is over fifty pounds. And you are right his under fifty pounds seat has expired.

aight Leroy...you know me so don't take this the wrong way.... Either hire that chit out or guilt someone else into doin it.... .....

I have the same issue in my truck. IMO it’s a poor design. The Chevy I had before you could get it tight on it.

Sounds like a new truck to me!

Just curious how does a car seat expire? My wife mentioned this the other day and it sounded like bs to me, but since I seen it on aldeer maybe it's legit

Our folks throwed us in the back of the truck and said HOLD ON!!!

It's legit. In time the plastic starts to break down. Now I can't say at what point it becomes unsafe, but when your child's life may be at stake, you don't chance it.

Or....it may just be a ploy to sell more car seats, but I think the former is more likely.

In my experience there are two different car seats. The one in my wife's car was expensive, it's bulky, heavy as hell and a bitch to move around, but it is very stable. The other kind, like I have in my Jeep after I got tired of moving the heavy one is cheap, lightweight and more compact but I have to strap it down like a ladder stand for it to be as stable as the heavy one.

My lock is under the headrest also in my car. I would make the top as tight as i could, hook it first and then hook the bottom ties on the locks in the seats. They also make something called a "T" hook that can help lock it tighter. You can also run the seat belt through the back of the seat to lock it down tighter (make sure to "lock" the belt when doing this). That is if your's isn't a booster seat. Most newer cars/trucks/suvs come with the locks in between the seats, you will have to reach your hand in there to find them, they are usually shaped like a U. Hope this helps.

This the plastic becomes brittle and has been cases of it disintegrating on impact.

from cars.com:

How to Use Tether Loops
Tether loops are found behind or under the vehicle’s rear head restraints. To use them with a forward-facing child’s car seat, raise or remove the head restraints and route the seat’s tether strap through the loop right behind the car seat. Be sure to keep the tether loop of the strap positioned behind the head restraint, if they’re in place.

Next, attach the tether strap’s hook to the adjacent seat’s tether loop and then tighten the strap.

Two or three forward-facing convertibles can be installed with this tether system. In the 2017 Ram 1500 crew cab or Quad Cab, the owner’s manual recommends install the outboard car seats first. The tether straps are inserted through the loops behind each car seat and attached to the center position’s tether loop, but not tightened. The center car seat is then installed in the middle seat with the tether strap routed first through the center loop and then attached to an outboard seat’s loop; Ram doesn’t specify which loop to use, but some automakers do.

For safety, parents should then tighten the outboard child’s car seats’ tether straps first and then the center car seat’s tether.

I'm reading this with my first baby on the way coming November thinking "Good God Almighty, I hope car seats aren't that hard to figure out"

Just get ready. They are a PITA

I used these as my Hummer was similar in the back seat.

https://www.amazon.com/Diono-Mighty-Tightner-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B005PK1C7U