Looking for a Convertible Carseat

I have had 2 Expeditions, and a Britax Marathon has held both my children in them perfectly. The car seat began as my daughter's, but when my son got too big for his infant seat, I gave him the marathon and got her a seat that can go 5 point harness until 100 lbs. I can say that the marathan is a preferable seat beacuse it is comfortable and doesn't cause any problems when my children fall asleep in it. My daughter's seat now causes some seriously painful-looking head tilts when she falls asleep, but my son looks so serene. My husband is a firefighter and is very concerned with safety and he has always been a fan of the Marathon. Good luck!

Ironically, we have a Ford Expedition and use the Britax Marathon car seat for our 22 month old son. It fits great in the car and is the easiest car seat ever! Much easier then the Graco infant car seat we had used when our son was younger. I did a lot of research on car seats before selecting the Britax Marathon, and honestly, there are no complaints. The car seat fits well in our other car too, a Lexus IS.
Good luck!

Just about ANY carseat will fit well in an Expedition :)
I'd recommend the Britax Boulevard over the Marathon--all the bells and whistles of the Marathon, but offers True Side Impact Protection, in the form of headwings (makes for more comfortable in-car snoozes, too ;)
Way less fabric choices w/ the Boulevard, but it was an easy decision for the additional protection offered.
I have both my 27 mon. daughter and 18 mon. daycare baby in them--still rear-facing thanks to the 35 lb. weight limit & am very happy with them.
A total pain to remove the cover for washing, but a breeze once it's actually IN the wash AND Britax's customer service is incredible. I broke the foam pad in one of the seats and they sent out a replacement free of charge w/in a few days.

You can find more info on convertible carseats here: http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420776

I searched high and low for a good convertible car seat and decided on the Nautilus 3-n-1 by Graco. It's the best one that I found that was well constructed, attractive, and will grow with my child up to 100 lbs. I'm sure it will fit in your Expedition just fine as I also drive an SUV and have had no issues with it. My daughter is comfortable and snug and I am confident that she is safe in this seat. Here is a link to the manufacturer's page so that you can read their description and see a photograph. Good luck and happy shopping!
www.gracobaby.com

Hi L.,
I have had the Marathon for about 2 1/2 yrs and L. it! It was rated #1 in Consumer Reports and is a little cheaper than the Boulevard. It IS heavy and removing the cover to wash it can be a pain, but we were rear ended when my daughter was about 1 1/2 yrs old and my daughter was hurt at all. In fact, she didn't even cry! It isn't a carseat that is easily moved from car to car though. (too heavy) You can find some great deals online, sometimes getting a discontinued fabric for cheap! I like the fact that it holds children up to 65 lbs but can still be used for an infant starting at 5 lbs. I do recommend getting a really good seat pad to go under in though as the base CAN make marks. Email me if you have questions, I researched carseats alot before buying.
L.

Hi L.,

We purchased the Britax Marathon for our first son (now 2 yo) and loved it. It is a big carseat, but it fit in our Corolla fine and we weren't planning on taking it in and out to transfer into another car, so it worked for us. In doing the research, I was most comfortable with the Britax because of the safety standards they set. We liked it so much, that when our second son outgrew his infant carseat, we put him into the Marathon and purchased the Britax Regent for our older son. The Regent is huge, but again fits in our Corolla just fine and will last as long as our son needs to be in a carseat.

Hope this helps some.

N.

I know everybody loves ther Britax but I didn't like the bulkiness (sp) of it. I checked out every seat I could find and finally found the Radian80 by sunshine kids. I love love love it, I bought the 80 for my 11 month old daughter and the radian65 for my 3 year old son. it exceeds all safety ratings and it is a very slim design they both fit great in my explorer plus with another sit for my 7 year old. they even fold up flat for easy storage and they are airplane safe easy to carry for travel. I have 3 seats in my middle row and they all fit, and the best thing is they are very comfortable both rear facing and forward facing no head flopping. they have the latch system and the teather system as well. I would highly recommend this seat to anyone. They are easy to clean my son had a nose bleed in his and it wiped clean with a baby wipe no nead to take the whole thing apart and wash. and it is easy to adjust the straps, an dit also has the side velcro to hold the starps in place. Good luck and happy shopping

I have 2 marathons and love them. I am pretty sure they will fit in an expedition (I have an Odyssey), have a friend with that car and carseat. You can't go wrong with Britax. Not sure where you are, but Lullaby Lane in San Bruno can test a Marathon for you before your purchase. They also have a person who installs, by appt I think.

Just want to add the benefit to a Marathon is that it can hold the kid longer (65lbs, 49in.). My kids are tall and my son was out of the Roundabout by 3 years-too tall. So when my daughter was born we went straight to the Marathon and she is now 3.5 and 41 inches and still in it. It is a big seat but once they turn around and face forward it won't feel so large.

The National Safety Transportation Administration recommends kids stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. My son is now 47 inches and in a Britax Regent. He rides in a booster on occasion but I feel safest when he is buckled in a 5 pt.

I also recommend a Britax carseat but I say stick w/the tried & true original Roundabout. When our second son was ready to move outa the infant seat, I looked at the newer Britax's, I found them to be heavy,& bulky & there was no way my husband would be willing to travel/fly w/them! We were very pleased w/a Roundabout the 1st time around so we got a second one for our younger son. I have friends who have the Boulevard & the Marathon & they are HEAVY (!) not to mention very pricey....over-priced of you ask me. You get the same time-tested quality & safety features but for about $150 less & a few pounds less, as well. Then once your princess turns 4 or 40 lbs, she'll be ready for a booster seat handed down from one of her brothers. Hope this helps & good luck!

I actually looked at britax as well but I went with an eddie bauer "kingston" model and I absolutely love it! It even made me happier when I got into a pretty bad car accident in march where my sister and I got pretty banged up and my son came out PERFECTLY fine!(And a truck hit us on the side my son was sitting on!) As soon as the fireman pulled him out he was smiling. So between that and the fact that it is so easy to switch in and out of cars, makes it my fav! I actually got.mine at target and it cost just under 200. So that is my reccomendation! (Oh and my sons dad has a new denali that it fits great in, as well as other SUVS) I actually have a small two door coupe and it even fits good in there! So good luck!

Hello L.,
I agree with Love that they are made to be left in the car, and I agree with RamieBaby that I feel safer having the side impact protection. I have the Boulevard and love it. It stays in my car (minivan) and doesn't seem to take up too much room. There are a lot of stores that let you take the car seat out of the store and set it in your car to see if you like it. I would also look on Amazon and read their reviews (keep in mind the different fabric ones have different reviews, although they are the same car seat). I know with the Boulevard there were a few comments about where the crotch strap buckle sits and compared to the roundabout it does sit closer to the back of the seat. If you are set on the Marathon, I think you should just go with the Boulevard. They are pretty much the same size and weight, but you have the side impact protection, they have a great comparison feature on their website too.
Best of luck and enjoy!

Cosco Summit Deluxe High Back Booster has worked well for me. Both my sons have used it. It goes from 30 to 100 pounds. You can use the 5-point restraint or use to the car's seatbelt. Very safe. I think it's around $90 or $100, but it's worth the cost.

I'm still using it for my 4-year-old, although may switch to a smaller booster soon. It's held up well. I've had it for 4 years. It's really comfortable and has a cup holder. Only complaint, the pad is not too easy to remove!

We love our Britax Marathons. When our 2nd daughter was ready to move into a Marathon, we got our older daughter the Britax Regent which is very large, but would fit in an Expedition. It made our older daughter excited to get something new while we were able to continue using the Marathon. We love the Marathon so much we went and got another one for my husband's truck. As others have said, not meant for taking in and out of car a lot, but I'd rather have my girls as safe as possible and Britax can't be beat!

I have an Expedition, and if it can't fit in there, I don't know where it would fit! I have the Britax Boulevard and I like it better than the Marathon because it has side impact protection (also, it's nice because their little heads don't bobble when they sleep).

LOVE LOVE LOVE our britax (whole line)

also goto Babies r us and ask them to try them in your car before buying..