What to do about car seat in USA

[carseatchaos]

Have namechanged as this will be very outing as it's been a main topic of conversation in our family group!

DD is 3 (4in a couple of months) and we have a trip booked at the end of May to Disney. We have hired a car but don't know what to do about the car seat!

Car hire place only does harnessed seats up to 18kg of which DS is 19kg so he is unable to use this however according to USA law he has to be harnessed as he will be under 4/5 so the car hire place cannot offer us a booster seat.

So I'm lost. We are rear facing him still and have an axkid minikid so there is no way we can bring it with us and I see from travel groups that UK car seats are not allowed to be used in the US legally and could void any insurance we have if we got into an accident!

So what the hell do I do! Do I just buy one out there but then what do I do with it at the end of our trip? It will be a bulky piece of equipment so can't just Chuck it in a bin!

I've looked on travel group but there doesn't seem to be a consensus so I'm lost. AIBU to think this is ridiculously stressful or is it actually really simple and I'm being an idiot!

Just use the harnessed one provided by the car rental company and lengthen the straps appropriately? It's only 1kg out and it's only for a couple of weeks max.

Just leave it in the car when you return it? Although you would have to collect the car for one of you to drive to a store to buy a car seat, which does sound stressful.

Can you find a different car hire company with different seats available?

Who are you renting with? National has car and booster seats. https://www.nationalcar.com/en/support/car-rental-faqs/car-seats.html

Do you use one over here? You can take it with you as a free piece of luggage. We do this every year when we visit family in the US. We've got a bag for it that cost less than the cost of renting one for a single trip. It's a pretty generic thing that came from amazon so fits just about any kind of car seat.

Put in into the 18kg one, it's a guideline not a strict rule. 1kg won't make any difference, 10kg would.

Aha missed your sentence where you named your current seat! I'm not familiar with it but if it really isn't transportable, maybe consider getting a lightweight one here for similar trips?

UK/EU car seats are not legal in the US as far as I’m aware, so you shouldn’t take your UK seat to use there. Another option is to pre-order a US one online from eg Amazon and have it delivered to your hotel/house so it’s waiting for you when you arrive.

They sell the seat you have in the states, could be worth checking the spec for both seeing if there is any actual difference.

What have the hire car company suggested?

About 10 yrs ago we went to USA when DS was 4 and I cant remember details but we ended up with a booster with no back, just the seat type in our hired car which we didn't expect. We pulled over at a big Walmart a few km into the journey and bought a more appropriate one. Cant remember the price but it wasn't a huge amount. We thought we would have to throw it out on the way home but enquired with the airline and we were able to bring it no problem. I can't remember if it was free but the cost if any was minimal. It all worked out fine, just a bit inconvenient going into the airport with it.

I always flew with my own until they were out of belted seats, I used mine on the plane (check for maximum dimensions). European seats can be used in the USA, they just can't be sold

Well for a start are you going to California or Florida? If Florida are you staying on or off site? If on site you don’t need to hire a car or a car seat. If off site it may work out cheaper to Uber in every day and just bring a booster with you from the UK.

If he is only a month off being 4, and only a kg off being 18kg then just go with whichever you prefer.

We went to Orlando with kids a few years ago and wasn't sure what type of seat to get so just figured I'd deal with it when we got there.

Got off the plane and went to the parking garage with all our stuff and there was big piles of car seats just lying about outside the wee hut so just helped ourselves to the ones we wanted. The guy wasn't bothered - never booked or paid or anything!

Buy one and then donate to a fire station before your flight home. That’s what we always do on vacation.

I can't remember the weight limit but have a look at cosco scenera next. We bought one for about $50 a few years ago. It can rear face and forward face and I believe it can even be used during the flight if that's something you're interested in. You'd obviously somehow have to go and collect it from a shop first and I'm not sure how you'd do that without a car seat 😅 but just thought it was worth a mention

We may well just go and see what we get!

Happy to send DH off to Walmart and know I can click and collect and wait until he gets back to pick me and DS up.

We aren't staying on site which I really really regret now!

If you're planning to buy one out there I would go on the car seats for the littles page and ask them for recommendations. If you can identify which one to get before you leave, you can download the manual and watch fitting videos and reviews to get a feel for it.

I get the impression car seats are much cheaper over there compared to what we are used to, and there is more choice of higher harnessing seats. They are also often plane certified so you could bring it back with you as a travel seat, or just donate it to one of the car hire places when you leave.

You should familiarise yourself with how to lock a US seatbelt for car seat fitting - their version of isofix is often limited to 18kg like ours, but the difference is that it's common to have both modes of fitting in the one seat, and I understand that top tether is usually allowed to be used with seatbelt fitting, I would strongly recommend using this as top tether makes a big difference to the forward rotation.

I probably (personally) wouldn't use a US rear facing seat at that weight, there are no tethers, no support leg, and I just think it's a bit hairy in terms of how the seat is supported in the vehicle. Forward facing supported with top tether is a good option at 4 though.

Many US airports have amazon lockers so you can buy the seat and have it delivered there.

Don't forget you may also need an international driving permit for use whilst in the States.

Buy from a shop over there that lets you take it back for a refund once the week is up. Problem solved. Also you don’t need an international permit to drive there but you probably will need to go on the DVLA site to print off the other part of your license.

Don't wouldn't worry about it. Rented cars all over the world with a very tall 3 year old. Car hire companies are basically franchises, owned by local companies under the brand of Dollar, Thrifty, National, Avis etc - simply connected to one booking engine. All the details on car seats are vague because they cover all markets. Even more confusing if you do it via an agitator/comparison sites.

Half the time when you select a pre-booked seat, it's not like they ever have the seat ready. They go to the store room and bring the correct seat for your child which you have to fit yourselves.