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Dangers of a 3rd Row Rear Facing Seat

161K views 39 replies 28 participants last post by  Jabanagh 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have installed the Little Passengers 3rd Row Rear Facing seat and wanted to warn all those that might get it.

Last night after getting off the freeway and stopping at the light my 4-year-old burst into tears screaming I lost my sandal. He is facing backward so it's hard to completely understand him, I look at the wife, what did he say? He cries again, I lost my sandal! Right now or on the freeway? Nick our 5-year-old next to him, says now. I look in the side mirror and about 15-20 feet behind us is 1 blue sandal. Luckily the lights are long at that intersection and the car behind us must have seen it happen or the sandal as he stopped far enough back he wasn't over it. I jumped out and went and picked it up. Apparently, Nick and Cody were resting their feet on top of the tailgate which is how it ended up on the road, luckily it wasn't while on the freeway.

So there is my warning for the rear-facing seat, that and my 2 older kids always fight to sit in it, but I prefer the little ones in it since it is smaller and I don't need a booster for it, and if they sit in the middle seat they need the booster, which I don't like keeping in my Jeep now that I have the 3rd row.

The top was off when it happened, this picture is after the installation, not sure why Cody looks like he is crying, he was happy at the time of that pic.
 
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#5 ·
Yeah, Its a heated debate on the safety of them. I personally wouldn't put it in forward facing as they are not within the roll cage, however rear facing the little ones are within the roll cage and I feel it is pretty safe. Once I get my new rear bumper they will be even more protected :)

I have 4 kids and a wife and its the only way to enjoy it as a family, other then buying a 2nd Jeep which my bank account really can't afford after all the recent mods I've done the last week and the ones I'm doing this weekend!
 
#7 · (Edited)
First, it's your Jeep and you can darn well do anything you want to it. You commented about the dangers so...

My personal opinion and experience. Adds up to nothing for anyone but me.

I don't want to make anyone angry but I'm not a fan of the third row for the Jeep for the following reasons.

That back area was not designed for passengers. If you look at your second row the floor is down into the frame. This lowers the passengers in the compartment. They are better protected down inside the vehicle.

Rear crash crumple zone is figured into a vehicle's design. Obviously Jeep did not design the Wrangler to have passengers in this area.

Sport bar- is truly lacking in protection in any area but almost nonexistent in the rear. Rear facing does help some but look at my pics and tell me you think they will support anything in a rollover. The windshield is a very weak point and will simply fold down allowing everything else to move over and down.

My rollover was guardrail at 70 mph. Probably closer to 50 or less at the actual roll point. No mountains or anything just flat ground roll over on the top. Guard rail built up under the front and pushed me over.

Something to think about: 2dr not 4dr




 
#8 ·
I've seen those pics before purchasing as I researched the safety of the 3rd row. I very rarely get on the freeway with my Jeep. Most of my driving is in town since I only work 10 miles from work and any long distance travel is done in the suburban and if I need my Jeep and my entire family I will most likely be towing it.

I know this is can be a very heated topic about the safety and my thread was more of a fun chit chat post and the "dangers" of your kid loosing stuff out the back. There are plenty of threads here and every other Jeep forum where it has been argued to death.
 
#12 ·
Honestly I'm not sure what all the fuse is about they have just as much room as passengers in a 2 door Jeep.

This isn't a debate about the safety of what I have chosen to do with my vehicle, there have been plenty of threads about that. Just a fun story of my kid crying about his sandal.

If you want to debate the safety use the search feature and find a different thread as that topic has been done over and over again on many forums.

Dan, no point in you responding as I won't see it. Your blocked. Not worth my time.:shitstorm:
 
#13 ·
I fondly remember sitting in the "jump" seat in the back of our '68 Pontiac station wagon. Cars back then had steel bumpers and no crumple zones, we never wore seat-belts and we all survived just fine.

I also remember getting rear-ended at a stop light and got a bump on the head.

I am so sick of the government (lawyers) telling us what, where and when we can do stuff, all for our "safety".
:shitstorm:
 
#15 ·
I know. My dad used to load the family in the brown wagon and the folks would chain smoke w/ windows rolled up as we drove across the country, stopping for gas and more cold beers to hydrate pops during the drive. No seatbelts and climbing around in the back. Good times. I have no fuckin' idea why they frown on that shit now.
 
#20 ·
what ever happen to the days when it was cool as hell when dad picked me up in his bench seat pick up and just tossed my happy ass in the back bouncing all around dad hitting rail road track alittle to fast then looking back so see my smile ear to ear... (or saying to him self damn he is still back there?)...ahhh the days of yore :thefinger:
 
#21 ·
OP.....

I won't chime in on the 3rd row seat, as it's been beat to death already, but there is a solution for your kiddos losing stuff out the back of the Jeep with the top off....

Safari Straps.

Look them up.
 
#22 ·
Love the way those look! It's on the wish list and thanks for not beating the dead horse any more :)
 
#25 ·
Hey ShizNizy you screwed my ex wife :mad: oops wrong thread, wrong dude :emb:

Should have put this in modified tech or scrapbook and it would have lessened the :shitstorm:


Have you ever seen the back of a CJ, YJ or even a TJ ? I'd venture a guess the Nizy clan is tucked in farther and no less safe than in any of those.
 
#26 ·
That's why my seat is facing forward! And it is not used all the time!


Sent via your mom on a tricycle wearing a paper crown from Burger King
 
#27 ·
I have the third row installed. Facing forwards and bolted with back plates

Also we are running 4-point seat restraints.

Since we trail run so much we plan to pull the rear cross member and just tube across to pick up the head room about 3" and pad that as well.

Any heavy or extreme wheeling they are dropped off to watch the idiot driving (me!)

We also run today on 37's and 4" lift so a rear hit will go under....a roll, well you saw the pictures from the previous post...we try to run slow and over not fast and under.
 
#28 ·
Poor Bel-Air. What a waste...

<Ahhh!!!! Random searching results in zombie thread. Sorry.>
 
#33 ·
I ran the third row seat for 4 years in Hawaii and never had an issue (but then again I dont drive fast and mostly city streets), and when off-roading up any kind of obstacle I always had the kids hop out with their mom and stand over with the other family's kids and then hop back in.
 
#35 ·
If you read it, the one who posted said, "This is my Jeep after the rollover... about 50mph when it rolled", so I assume he was the one driving... }:->
 
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