Making the Rear Seats Safer

rasband

rasband

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I have two kids under 5 and need to make the back seat safe enough for them. Currently they are in car seats that hook in, but the oldest is close to a booster. I’ve noticed two things that seem to matter:

1. The seatbelts don’t lock when jarred
2. There’s no headrests

I’m okay accepting some risk, but would like to make it more safe. What options are there? I’ve seen both the bestop rear seat and PRP that have headrests, what else is out there?
 
Those are the only 2 that have headrests that I know of. The seatbelts not engaging when a sudden motion happens is something you need to fix. A new seatbelt pair for the rear isn't a ton of money and would be an easy fix to give you some additional safety.

Safety in a solid axel/steel frame vehicle is already less than that of most others. Jeeps are not really designed for energy absorption like unibody vehicles. You can replace the seatbelts with newer ones and make the seats safer but you'll never make a Jeep as safe as a modern car/van.
 
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Rooscooter said:
Those are the only 2 that have headrests that I know of. The seatbelts not engaging when a sudden motion happens is something you need to fix. A new seatbelt pair for the rear isn't a ton of money and would be an easy fix to give you some additional safety.

Safety in a solid axel/steel frame vehicle is already less than that of most others. Jeeps are not really designed for energy absorption like unibody vehicles. You can replace the seatbelts with newer ones and make the seats safer but you'll never make a Jeep as safe as a modern car/van.
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Im okay with some added risk, just knowing what the Jeep is. I’ll look into the belts, were these belts originally locking or is that something lots of folks have added?
 
rasband said:
Im okay with some added risk, just knowing what the Jeep is. I’ll look into the belts, were these belts originally locking or is that something lots of folks have added?
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All belts should lock when a sudden change in direction or movement occurs. If your's aren't doing that then you need to replace them. The regulations for locking shoulder belts on all seats was in 92 I believe. It was on front seats well before that.

Here's a link to some seat belts at Quadratec's site: https://www.quadratec.com/categories/jeep_interior/seat_belts_harnesses?kw=seat belts
 
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Stay with highback boosters in the backseat as long as they can fit properly. My kids are 8 and 10 and that's what I have them in since there are no headrests for the backseat. Our seats have the LATCH anchors to help keep them in place and have the seat belt adjuster in the top section. Also added seat belt buckle blocks to make connecting the belts easier.
 
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DougB said:
Stay with highback boosters in the backseat as long as they can fit properly. My kids are 8 and 10 and that's what I have them in since there are no headrests for the backseat. Our seats have the LATCH anchors to help keep them in place and have the seat belt adjuster in the top section. Also added seat belt buckle blocks to make connecting the belts easier.
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I wasn’t aware of the different booster style, that’s great! If all I have to do is swap the rear belts and a set of these, that’s not a bad deal.
 
06TJ35's said:
I have seen Bestop rear seats with headrest.
Found the link https://www.bestop.com/jeep/2005/wrangler/trailmax-ii-fold-n-tumble-rear/sub-model/standard/
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I looked at that before but then noticed fine print... Not certain why it does not fit LJs and did not investigate further
1591850605356.png
 
rasband said:
I wasn’t aware of the different booster style, that’s great! If all I have to do is swap the rear belts and a set of these, that’s not a bad deal.
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We have 6 of them across all 3 vehicles so the kids are consistently in same style seat. Thankfully, mine do not complain (much) about being in a high back booster still despite seeing their friends in just the bottom booster and regular seat belt.
 
DougB said:
We have 6 of them across all 3 vehicles so the kids are consistently in same style seat. Thankfully, mine do not complain (much) about being in a high back booster still despite seeing their friends in just the bottom booster and regular seat belt.
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My opinion is that it helps they’re not in a minivan :D
 
06TJ35's said:
I know there’s a DIY headrest thread on here somewhere...
Also Prp will add a headrest.
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I have seen that thread as well. I'll revisit the headrests once my oldest is tall enough to graduate from the highback booster to regular seat. But then, might be able to stick him in the front seat. He'd love that, but his sister would be jealous! :LOL:
 
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rasband said:
I overlooked that, glad I didn’t buy one yet. Though I thought the brackets were the same - I may need to email/call bestop to find out.
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Found this in the Q&A on Amazon:

Question:
can anyone tell me why this wont fit the unlimited model?

Answer:
Its the way that it mounts in the LJ, the floor mounting brackets nor the striker plate fit correctly, like they do in the TJ. We've tried to install this seat in an LJ and were unsuccessful. Anything can be modified, sure, we wouldn't be able to assist with that, however I can say that you'll be doing some drilling if you want this seat in your LJ.
default._CR0,0,1024,1024_SX48_.jpg

A manufacturer
Manufacturer · April 10, 2019
 
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DougB said:
Found this in the Q&A on Amazon:

Question:
can anyone tell me why this wont fit the unlimited model?

Answer:
Its the way that it mounts in the LJ, the floor mounting brackets nor the striker plate fit correctly, like they do in the TJ. We've tried to install this seat in an LJ and were unsuccessful. Anything can be modified, sure, we wouldn't be able to assist with that, however I can say that you'll be doing some drilling if you want this seat in your LJ.
View attachment 169012
A manufacturer
Manufacturer · April 10, 2019
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Bummer, thanks for looking! Sounds like updating the belts and the high backs may be the only option, depending on the PRP. However I drop the rear seat pretty regularly
 
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