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BABY CAPSULE IN A VITARA SWB

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:59 am
by unfinished
i've had a lot of interest in the vitara from people with babies wanting to know if a baby capsule can be fitted in the back seat
i wouldn't think so but i haven't checked due to the fact i'm not running rear seats and i have a roll bar taking up most of the room in the back
i have rear seats to fit but just wnat to know if there is a tie down point for the baby capsule as i have pretty much turned 2 people away from looking at it as i said its not suitable

but i thought i'd better find out before i turn another away

cheers

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 12:08 pm
by fordy1
yes its fine for a swb vitara, i had a 2lsofttop with 1 capsule and 1 booster but both had straps to the rear, but the cap had to be on the passeger side as i had my seat all the way back

Image

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 7:50 pm
by noelb1
have a look in the user manual under child restraints , should have the locations of the bolt holes, if you are unsure take it to a restraint fitter and they will Identify it , if you are in the penrith area come in and see me as we are a restraint fitting station, tjm penrith 3/1 peachtree road penrith , or give us a call 4731 1400

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 8:05 pm
by built4thrashing
i dont want to hijack this thread but where are the child restraint points in a WT sierra?
thanx

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:22 pm
by skez
om sierras i think there on the back of the fold up seats seems dodgey tho

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 10:40 pm
by foolsp33d
I had NT and WT seats and neither had restraint holes in the rear. dont know if there are different models available, with and without.

this is a pic of the WT rear seat. no mounting points for restraint.

Image

I recall installing child restraints in new t'yota vans for a major 4wd parts company, and it was a pretty simple job.. drill and bolts through floor pan. there may have been steps to follow reg. distance from sides etc but certainly not a feat of engineering.

*Im not suggesting its the RIGHT way to do it and I wouldnt like my children being held in with this setup. Its just the way I was shown. and from what iv experianced. Id be more inclined to get it fitted PROFESSIONALLY and SECUREY to a RIGID base..

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 9:50 am
by Gwagensteve
built4thrashing wrote:i dont want to hijack this thread but where are the child restraint points in a WT sierra?
thanx
From memory they're on the floor behind the back seat. There's a couple of 8mm captive nuts in the floor.

Steve.

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 5:43 pm
by built4thrashing
Mines a 1990 WT and there are no unused captive nuts in the floor. Dont think the restraints are in the seats. must be a aftermarket part you can get to do this.

My sierra has a rather solid steel rollbar in it and a part of it goes across the floor behind the seats. Its bolted down with the seatbelt anchors. Ive drilled and bolted a restraint through this 10mm steel section and fixed the restrain hook there with a 8.8 grade 8mm bolt and this goes through the floor aswell. its plated with a large thick washer and high tensile nut and bolt.

does that sound adequate to you guys?

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 7:08 pm
by zooki
Vitaras have the mount point where the rear carpet trim panel is (the steal bit that screws down) if you dont have 2 mounts there or 2 5/16"UNC (they are always imperial) holes then there wont be anything underneath, I dont know what year they fitted them except mine is 96 and has them, an 89 doesn't

sierras have them in the back of the seat, not all WT had them and I dont even know if all split seats had them but the seat was designed to have them fitted and braced inside

I would be worried about fitting restraints to the floor in a sierra as the top of the seat may not be made to take the load and could crush, but I'm not an engineer so NFI really

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 7:17 pm
by foolsp33d
searched high and low and didnt come up with much but sounds pretty secure B4T.

might want to contact vicroads or kidsafe aust. and 'inquire' just to be sure..

http://www.atsb.gov.au/pdfs/child_restraints.pdf

http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/resource ... Report.pdf

should be some helpful info in there for you mate.

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 8:57 pm
by built4thrashing
interesting but boring read but it still doesnt give any clearer answer to how i can fit the seats to my sierra.


Ive got 3 different types of rear seat here and only the split seat has any allowances to fit a restraint but when fitted with seat in place things move about alot. It just doesnt feel very secure.

if i remove the rear seat completely can i fit the seat to the fron passenger seat and use the captive nut used to fix the rear seat down as the ancor point.? iTS THE CORRECT THREAD

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 10:54 pm
by murcod
I'm having similar issues with my GV XL-7 at the moment. The only seat that appears to be able to take an Australian Standards child restraint (with top tether system) is in the 2nd row on the RHS - directly behind the driver. It's a right PITA to try and have a rear facing baby seat/ capsule in that spot when you're over 6ft tall....... :roll: There's just not enough space.

I have discovered that the same seat position has ISOFix restraint points and today (after some surgery to the seat covering) I uncovered ISOFix fittings on the LHS of the 2nd row as well. We're using an ISOFix baby capsule so I'll be able to move it over to the LHS and put my seat back to it's normal driving position. :)

It's still technically illegal though as AS don't seem to have any approved ISOFix capsules/ seats. The one I'm using came from overseas and has no AS sticker.

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:38 am
by LSTRITS
Im in Adelaide and looking to have a child restraint fitted to the rear seat of my Soft Top Sierra. Ive removed the Alloy roll bar for room to access the baby and so on but cant find the mounting point. Should be taking the vehicle to Willshires Trimmers to see if they can help with a restraint fitment.

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:43 am
by built4thrashing
be really interested in what they say and where you end up putting the restraint. post pics when ya done it.

Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:00 pm
by LSTRITS
Will do... Seeing as its our only going away sorta car if I have to Ill have it specially made with a full on bench seat. Got a bench seat out the back of a Coaster Bus at work that is brand new that will need some modification so it may work... Either way Ill post it up.