Seatbelt Extender?

[Danager]

A family member has recently purchased a new 2022 Ranger. She has three children. Two are in front facing car seats and the third is in a booster. The booster is in the middle, the only way things will fit. Everybody fits and are comfy (and they have a F-150 for longer trips). My nephew in the booster in the middle has a hard time getting his seatbelt out from behind his sibling’s car seat.

It was recommended they use a seatbelt extender (only about 6”)
This is where the issue is. A Crew Cab Ranger has 5 seatbelts, with 4 different buckles ?
The rear left and rear right are identical. That seems to be the only extender the dealership can order.

My question is - has anybody here found a working extender for the middle seatbelt? Or do you have a different solution that is safe and would be approved by momma?
Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

Pics below show the middle seatbelt buckle and the extender.

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[DukeCanBuildit]

Your nails are lovely! ?

 

[WV_Ranger]

Check your local tractor supply. I bought one for my tractor because in the winter I'm too chubby with my insulated coveralls on to get it buckled. Lol

 

[Danager]

Check your local tractor supply. I bought one for my tractor because in the winter I'm too chubby with my insulated coveralls on to get it buckled. Lol

This one seems pretty specific. The regular Ford ones don’t even work.

 

[WV_Ranger]

This one seems pretty specific. The regular Ford ones don’t even work.

Ok, sorry I made a suggestion.

 

[CO2Ranger]

A family member has recently purchased a new 2022 Ranger. She has three children. Two are in front facing car seats and the third is in a booster. The booster is in the middle, the only way things will fit. Everybody fits and are comfy (and they have a F-150 for longer trips). My nephew in the booster in the middle has a hard time getting his seatbelt out from behind his sibling’s car seat.

It was recommended they use a seatbelt extender (only about 6”)
This is where the issue is. A Crew Cab Ranger has 5 seatbelts, with 4 different buckles ?
The rear left and rear right are identical. That seems to be the only extender the dealership can order.

My question is - has anybody here found a working extender for the middle seatbelt? Or do you have a different solution that is safe and would be approved by momma?
Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

Pics below show the middle seatbelt buckle and the extender.

Can he just loop the belt on his siblings car seat when he gets in/out? The struggle is real. We also use an inflatable booster in the middle that has little white hooks that keep the belt in reach. I'll see if I can find a link to it in case that helps.

 

[CO2Ranger]

Can he just loop the belt on his siblings car seat when he gets in/out? The struggle is real. We also use an inflatable booster in the middle that has little white hooks that keep the belt in reach. I'll see if I can find a link to it in case that helps.

Like this?
https://a.co/d/7JSOYkW

 

[Muddy Fenders]

sounds like the solution is filing the tang to match the middle.
for safety reasons the design is to prevent middle seat extensions.
the fatties need to be situated to the sides for airbag protection

 

[Danager]

sounds like the solution is filing the tang to match the middle.
for safety reasons the design is to prevent middle seat extensions.
the fatties need to be situated to the sides for airbag protection

I’ll ask but I’m not sure if she’d be okay with a home fix by filing. Though that does seem like it would work.

And I’m not so sure the intent is to prevent extensions. I was thinking this is done to prevent the seatbelt from being clicked into the wrong receptacle. What is more interesting is the front passenger buckle is different from the front driver side. And those are different from the back. ??‍

 

[Dereku]

It irritates my kids when one of the buckels dissapears under the seat. Then I keep hearing click, ding. I think it's insane they are all different. Good luck.

 

[CATX]

I got one of these for my wife’s car bc kid couldn’t reach the heckle.

Looks like they have a huge selection but their ranger one looks like the wrong type.

They have a form section where you can send in a picture:

https://www.seatbeltextenderpros.co...883.245490642.1667659192-235237698.1667659192

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

I did some digging into this for you and found a few things I can share.

1) It seems the mis-matched rear buckles is standard across all manufacturers as a defense against middle seat ejection (front window) accidents by using the wrong buckle receptacle. I couldn't find anything concrete on this next bit - but the BMW X5 and x3 forums are also convinced it is to prevent extending the middle seat specifically. This could be because...

2) Seat belt extenders with car seats and booster seats are VERY dangerous. In fact I just learned they are illegal in Clark county - the county I live in.

3) The only solution I found (BMW X5 forum) was to have something custom fabricated from a standard buckle tongue which seems very dangerous considering item #2.

My humble suggestion as the parent of a young one is you challenge the kid "I'll bet you can't undo the buckle with this"

And the kid will try until they prove you wrong!

Best of luck to your family member.

EDIT! - Stick is temporary of course, else they whack their siblings!

 

[Danager]

I got one of these for my wife’s car bc kid couldn’t reach the heckle.

Looks like they have a huge selection but their ranger one looks like the wrong type.

They have a form section where you can send in a picture:

https://www.seatbeltextenderpros.co...883.245490642.1667659192-235237698.1667659192

I submitted an inquiry this morning. Thanks.

 

[Danager]

I did some digging into this for you and found a few things I can share.

1) It seems the mis-matched rear buckles is standard across all manufacturers as a defense against middle seat ejection (front window) accidents by using the wrong buckle receptacle. I couldn't find anything concrete on this next bit - but the BMW X5 and x3 forums are also convinced it is to prevent extending the middle seat specifically. This could be because...

2) Seat belt extenders with car seats and booster seats are VERY dangerous. In fact I just learned they are illegal in Clark county - the county I live in.

3) The only solution I found (BMW X5 forum) was to have something custom fabricated from a standard buckle tongue which seems very dangerous considering item #2.

My humble suggestion as the parent of a young one is you challenge the kid "I'll bet you can't undo the buckle with this"

And the kid will try until they prove you wrong!

Best of luck to your family member.

EDIT! - Stick is temporary of course, else they whack their siblings!

Seems like we should be exploring a different approach - something to pull the belt out from behind the other seat.

 

[CATX]

Yes never considered the safety concerns. Might be overblown but If these extenders raise the belt higher on the body I can see how they may be less safe - effectively eliminating the benefit of the booster in the first place.

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