Carrying kids in the 130

[Blunny]

G'day all,

New member here.
Have been a ute man for years but pressure from the wife means I have to get a 4 door /5 seat. So, I want a Defender!

Main sticking point before I commit to buy...do the rear seats have seat anchors for baby seats? Specifically the '12 130 crew cab utes. Any star ratings?

There is nothing on the web sites....

Thanks all.

[The ho har's]

Definitely not the older defenders, not sure about Pumas.

People get a engineered bar fitted with the anchor points.

Someone should be along shortly let you know where to get them:)

Mrs hh:angel:

[ajge]

Hi,
I have a 96 130. It has 3 anchor points behind the back seat. There is a round bar bolted to each side of the car. The bloke I bought it off had it fitted so im not sure where.
I upgraded from a cruiser ute for the same reason. Best thing I ever did. :D
Regards
Andrew

[Blunny]

Thanks, I will know soon then.

[newhue]

No Pumas don't have children's seats anchor points. Mind you that are nothing fancy for the money, a piece of angle with hole for a bolt, and a slot to accommodate the seats clip. They are bolted in an existing bolt hole that holds the top of the cab to the bottom. Not even a bar running the width of the cab utilising more factory holes. I was surprised, but I guess I have the compliance plate to say it's all ship shape, cost around $300 from a vague memory.

As for a star safety rating, your it. You have 4 disc brakes, a big chassis, two tone of vehicle and a brain. Drive it how you see fit.
The 130 don't have ABS or traction control. They do have F and R sway bars however. I find due to being higher than most things you have an advantage. I also fitted a full length sliders to the out riggers for extra piece of mind with a side impact, as well as access, and the obvious.

I do find however the puma rear seats are quite up wright in the back. Just consider that before you buy as there is virtually no play to tilt them further back.

[jasonedu]

Definitely not standard on the latest model 130. This thread has plenty of information.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/good-oil/57559-child-restraint-anchor-points-kid-baby-seats-capsule-booster-crab-creb-bar.html

There was also a thread in the past on Defender safety. There was some study in the UK of survival rates for two car collisions and the defender rated as one of the best.

[zwitter]

As defender 130 is sold as commercial vehicle, child seat mounts not required.

Mine has a solid alloy bar 60mm x 20mm full width of the rear behind the 2 vertical seat braces behind the seat. Mounted well and would not move too much. I tried to have it engineer approved but they changed the rules saying strap clip must be able to be undone without tools or removing seats. 130 fails this as seats held back by 2 x 6mm bolts. I thought of putting in quick release latches etc but engineer said every added complexity would reduce chance of approval. . Kids getting bigger and will not need child seats soon. He said was up to and beyond the job so left it as is. Fitted a safety hammer with belt cut tool in handle.

Zwitter

[Blunny]

Yes, the good wife asked about safety ratings....I muttered something about average lower speeds etc, higher & better vision etc then tried to wander off.

Swmbo keeps saying those Amorak or Ranger things look nice, Im trying to pretend I cant hear...

Its hard to convince when the safety argument is thrown up as that's one of the reasons she hates me putting No 1 brat in the front of the ute (in proper kid seat thing with racing harness seat belt). Safety.

I'm starting to lose....

[akelly]

I did the research on this last year for my 130. These guys were the only ones I could find in NSW that do a proper engineered job: Seat Belts - Karlisle's (http://www.karlisles.com.au/seat_belts/index.html)
They pull the rear seat to bits and make a frame that has three mounts across the rear seat back, then put all the trim and foam back in place. It's definitely the most professional option I could find. They were not cheap though and I didn't end up pulling the trigger - it's on the to-do list!

The 130 has no mounts from the factory and the 'bolts and plates' through the aluminium rear wall will not pass muster in NSW, although it does in other states.

The CRAB bar (yes, I know the B stands for bar) that fits in the 110 doesn't fit properly in the 130 and although you may find an engineer to give you the thumbs up, it's not a good solution for the 130 IMO.

The standard ute plates that fit vertically across the rear window can't be used on a Landy because of the aluminium body.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

Adam

[towe0609]

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/22548-child-restraint-anchor-points.html#post1419256

Hopefully you'll find this link helpful.

[newhue]

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.

[Bushranger]

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?

[akelly]

...Why is Australia such a nanny state?

So fewer kids die in road accidents.

[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.

[akelly]

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.

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

[modman]

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

[zwitter]

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

[modman]

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.

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