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Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:06 pm

does anyone know of a safe and legal way to put a kid seat in the back of a buggy? I am trying to avoid a car seat on a adult seat, looking to keep the seats low as possible. I have seen the race trim kid seats but don't know if it's legal. thanks.

Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:01 pm

I am glad you brought this up, because I too have to put two child safety seats in my buggy but I have not seen how other people have done it.

Eric

Wed Mar 31, 2010 5:10 am

I'm no expert and where it comes to kids you can't be too safe. Lots of folks compare buggies to motorcycles as a gauge of safety, a little more visible and a lot less chance on laying it over but when meeting up with a SUV you aren't really much better off.

A full cage will improve your safety and depending on the size of the kid you could probably secure a seat as well in a buggy as any other car provided you find good anchor points etc.

All that said I'm building my buggy with the family in mind, ice cream and errand runs, all in traffic, no off road. The rate I'm going I probably won't need to worry about car seats unfortunately. :(

I've seen it done in this forum and wish I could remember a couple of the threads for you. One had the kid seat stuck up in the rear and reminded me of the "Beverly Hillbillies" truck with Granny pearched in her chair high and exposed. :lol:

Do your very best to secure the seat, make sure it at least passes the wife test, and drive like every idiot out there is gunning for you. If any of that raises questions in your mind it's probably not worth it.

Good luck, a buggy can be a great family fun toy.

Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:16 am

Does Ca have a legal requirement for child seats? If so, you should find out if the law appies and if it does your installation will have to satisfy some inspector somewhere.
Here we have seat belt laws but they do not apply to vehicles not originally equipped with seat belts, however we also have child seat requirements which I think does apply regardless of whether or not the vehicle was originally equipped with seat belts.
There really is only one way...install some seat belts using the strongest reasonable anchor points you can dream up then attach the child seats using the seat belts. You will probably need a "high point" attachemnt point like the ones on the rear window shelf of new cars.

Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:46 pm

When my son was little I just strapped his car seat in the buggy.

I felt it was safer with him in the front.

Looking back this wasn't safe at all, letting him ride while the wife was driving :lol: :lol:

Thu Apr 01, 2010 6:57 am

I installed a heavy chain behind fiberglass anchored w/grade-8 bolts to frame on either side of transaxle. Tight fit w/less than 1/2" play & welded to a plate that aligns it to center, on seat side the bolt holds 2 seat belt straps. Other 2 belt straps are bolted down along with roll bar. Car seat centered is strapped down with both sets of seat belts & top strap is around top loop of roll bar to prevent forward movement. Once in place, it's tight. Kid is strapped in with belts built into car seat.

Just an option for you to consider, everybody's got to make their own call on this topic.

Sat Apr 03, 2010 10:44 pm

Thanks for all the input. Me and the kids are getting excited. need to get this worked out.

Sun Apr 04, 2010 8:13 am

First off........ Back area of buggy ( in what I consider a "package tray") where one would anchor seat is just a fiber glass panel with no structural strength.... If you are going to mount seats, there should be a steel sub structure actually secured to chassis and seats should bolt through fiberglass and into steel sub structure....

Also roll cage should be extended to where it is above and behind child seating in rear..... Also since child seats are designed to sit in standard seats, I would NOT depend on structure of child seat for full support, I would definitely consider a steel hoop or framework to support plastic child seat and standard belts to augment child seat construction....

Interesting picture, child is strapped in but driver and passenger is not....... Shame on you.....

Dale

Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:28 am

Dale M. wrote: Interesting picture, child is strapped in but driver and passenger is not....... Shame on you.....

Dale

:shock: Not shame on me, shame on the driver my wife :!:

I totally agree there needs to be some structure that's why that buggy is long gone and now were sporting the long body.
Even with all the tubing I still don't feel very safe.
I'm sure you've seen the pics.

Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:50 am

This is all great input for people that are dealing with now and the future, please keep them coming.

Eric

Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:28 pm

I did similar to fiberbuggy, but I used a piece of plate from the bottom and welded in some U-bolts that I use to strap the kids car seats to. You can see my picts in the gallery if you search for pictures submitted by 5150 vw. When the car seats aren't being used, I bought some clip in seat belts for adult riders.

Hope it helps. I know (think) my kids are as secure as they can be in my buggy.

Thu Apr 08, 2010 3:48 pm

I put in real 5 point harness seatbelts rated for drag racing in and didn't use a child seat at all. When we drove around it was like a parade, my son waved at everyone, even the cops, who waved back and never hassled us.

He couldn't move an inch and was very safe. (well as safe as a buggy can be anyway...) Of course by buggy only has two seats and no back seat.

Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:36 am

vwkyote wrote: I put in real 5 point harness seatbelts rated for drag racing in and didn't use a child seat at all. When we drove around it was like a parade, my son waved at everyone, even the cops, who waved back and never hassled us.

He couldn't move an inch and was very safe. (well as safe as a buggy can be anyway...) Of course by buggy only has two seats and no back seat.

Not good enough any more....as of Sept, 2005, approved child safety seats are required in Ontario.

from http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GONE/2005/08/11/c9240.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html
"A new law goes into effect September 1st, making it mandatory for anyone transporting children to make sure children are properly secured in either an infant seat, child seat, or booster seat. This would apply to all caregivers, from babysitters to grandparents."

Check your local regulations first......

Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:18 pm

The following is the law in California:

http://www.chp.ca.gov/community/safeseat.html

Buckle your child in a safety seat every trip, no matter how short.

Remember: All children under the age of 16 must ride properly buckled up.
New law beginning January 1, 2005

Children MUST be secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint (safety seat or booster seat) IN THE BACK SEAT OF A VEHICLE until they are at least 6 years old or weigh at least 60 pounds.

Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:14 pm

eslack1 wrote:

Children MUST be secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint (safety seat or booster seat) IN THE BACK SEAT OF A VEHICLE until they are at least 6 years old or weigh at least 60 pounds.

Clearly your capitalized text doesn't apply if the vehicle doesn't have a backseat.

Sat Apr 10, 2010 5:38 pm

yeah I don't know. I just copied that statement directly from the California CHP website.

Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:44 pm

eslack1 wrote: yeah I don't know. I just copied that statement directly from the California CHP website.

The definitive info is from the CVC, not the CHP:

Quote: 27360. (a) A parent or legal guardian, when present in a motor vehicle, as defined in Section 27315, may not permit his or her child or ward to be transported upon a highway in the motor vehicle without properly securing the child or ward in a rear seat in a child passenger restraint system meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, unless the child or ward is one of the following:
(1) Six years of age or older.
(2) Sixty pounds or more.
(b) (1) A driver may not transport on a highway a child in a motor vehicle, as defined in Section 27315, without properly securing the child in a rear seat in a child passenger restraint system meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, unless the child is one of the following:
(A) Six years of age or older.
(B) Sixty pounds or more.
(2) This subdivision does not apply to a driver if the parent or legal guardian of the child is also present in the vehicle and is not the driver.
(c) (1) For purposes of subdivisions (a) and (b), and except as provided in paragraph (2), a child or ward under the age of six years who weighs less than 60 pounds may ride in the front seat of a motor vehicle, if properly secured in a child passenger restraint system that meets applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, under any of the following circumstances:
(A) There is no rear seat.
(B) The rear seats are side-facing jump seats.
(C) The rear seats are rear-facing seats.
(D) The child passenger restraint system cannot be installed properly in the rear seat.
(E) All rear seats are already occupied by children under the age of 12 years.
(F) Medical reasons necessitate that the child or ward not ride in the rear seat. The court may require satisfactory proof of the child's medical condition.

So, rear seat only unless the car seat cannot be properly installed there.

The interesting bit is "child passenger restraint system meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards" That is not necessarily a car seat! Some Volvos and Dodges have built-in child seats so there is no reason that you cannot build a seat specifically for a child. It's the same deal for the adult seats where the restraints also have to meet the "applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards."

However, if the child is very small and you are contemplating "serious" off-roading you might want to think carefully. Small children aren't able to anticipate upcoming vehicle motion and will get pretty beat up if you are driving in a spirited manner!

Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:19 pm

This question might be better directed to 5150.

Where do you connect the roll cage bar that comes down behind the car seats? My buggy has two bars underneath the body that come out from under the engine and bars go over the back of the body and connnect to it from the center/main roll bar. I don't like that look. I'm trying to get the bars to stay inside the body, plus I'd like to put one in the bottom back of the "rear seat" area that I could use as a LATCH connection point for the kids car seats.

Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:44 am

my rear seat had reinforced metal on the underside, tied into the frame. then belts attahced to that. on occasion the seat was located on the rear seat, attached with the lap belts. eventually i felt it was safer to put the car seat in the front seat and attached it there with the lap belts and the older kids in the rear with just the lap belts. the law in pa is somehting like a car seat until 9 years old or something? after about 5 i went to a booster seat and about 6 or 7 went with only lap belts. it was good enough when i was growing up so.. thats the decision ive made.

Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:27 pm

In CA the rules just changed on us! My daughter was free and clear but then had to get back in a booster after new year's day. It's now booster up to 7. I figure if I can get a car seat that will take a kid of their weight, then that's the cheapest 5-point seatbelt set up.

Regarding the metal under the seat, where on the pan/frame did you connect it to? I'm suspecting the tail end of the pan??