Carrying kids in the 130

Tell the wife a Defender doesn't need a safety rating as they don't go fast enough. It has articulation, ground clearance, and correct gearing to climb trees. It has coil suspension to iron out the humps and bumps both on and off road. You sit high enough so you can see several cars in front as to gauge what's going on.

Japanese cars have safety rating because they go fast. They have NO articulation, NO ground clearance, and POOR gearing. They put big power motors in them so you can flog the crap out of it to get it to go anywhere off road, and drive like a car on road. They put lots of safety features in them to help people cope with all the speed on hand.
They have a mix of combating suspension so you bounce and bash over everything, and sit not much higher than a conventional car. If you lucky you might have .5 of a second to react before the 15 air bags go POOF .

They also plummet in value.

I just got s quote from the only fitter in Darwin. $750 for a bloody bar that he will attach to existing holes in the back. Absolute ripp-off, a special Darwin price.

Ours is a 110 td5 2006. i am so cranky and will not pay such much. What the hell is wrong with using the factory fitted seat beats? They are rated to ""safely" restrain a heavier adult. Why is Australia such a nanny state?

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Originally Posted by Bushranger

...Why is Australia such a nanny state?

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So fewer kids die in road accidents.

Where's the proof? Other countries aren't so regulated and do not have a higher incidence of road prangs. It is over engineering and the result of dumb and dumber administrators. It is over regulated nonsense.

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Originally Posted by Bushranger

Where's the proof? Other countries aren't so regulated and do not have a higher incidence of road prangs. It is over engineering and the result of dumb and dumber administrators. It is over regulated nonsense.

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Which country has a lower vehicle safety standards and fewer accidents resulting in death or injury than Australia?

You cant just use a seat belt with a child restraint, the kid would be catapulted through the windscreen in an accident. The way the seat is designed it has to be secured from the top and bottom - a completely different concept to an adult sitting in the seat with the lap-sash belt fitted. That's not over engineered nonsense - its physics.

Your experience has definitely been a standard Darwin one in terms of choice and price. You can buy a CRAB bar (the one you mentioned earlier) from interstate and fit it yourself - they are already engineer approved - this is probably a cheaper option for you and they work fine in the 110s.

Cheers,

Adam

My 'kid seat bar' is a piece of 50 x 50 mm slotted angle bolted to the seat belt anchorages for the 3rd row ( in a county back half )
In a defender you should be able to bolt the bar through the rear arch stiffeners
I then pass the kid seat belts through the cargo barrier.
I must take photos one day
And yes it's not engineered
DC

Where's the proof

Australia has probably the best child restraints in the world. Problem is most are not fitted correctly and many not used correctly. If the standard saves even one child then they are worthwhile.

Even NZ has no requirement for new vehicles to have anchor points

I am bugged by the fact that we don't accept the ISO FIX standard here. It takes away much of the incorrect fitting problem, but can't be retrofitted to old vehicles.

We even have discrepancy with age verses weight as to seat ratings and requirements. My miss 6 is 23kg but has a friend who is 36kg but by law have same seat requirement. I think should be height and weight based not just age.

I have 3 kids and 2 cars. We have just bought our 10th and 11th seats as the kids out grow them at a great rate. While not happy with forking out $300 bucks a time I would not compromise with the kids safety. Looking forward to when they are old and heavy enough to not require them.

My 130 has a bar with mounts that exceeded all the original requirements for the RTA etc but due to the insurance risk did not get engineers approval letter. It did however get the verbal approval of those engineers as being better than the approved ones they had seen. The rules changed after mine was originally fitted requiring access to the clip without tools that made it no longer meet the requirements.

James

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Originally Posted by Bushranger

Where's the proof? Other countries aren't so regulated and do not have a higher incidence of road prangs. It is over engineering and the result of dumb and dumber administrators. It is over regulated nonsense.

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I used to be an ambo and there is nothing more disgusting than learning what happens to a child in an adult belt when the lap section is too high and causes internal damage. It is your worst f@$$/;;(#£g nightmare.
I'll use my strapped in booster seats until the kids are too tall
I have skinny girls so the weight isn't an issue.
I like the 'iso' seats the BIL has them in his Renault espace
Got a mate in the states who rachet straps the boosters into the rear seat ( through the section behind the bottom )
Much stronger than the 8 mm(?) ht bolt
Dc