Infant Car Bed Child Restraint System OWNER'S MANUAL Model 8403 Your childs safety depends on you installing and using this car bed correctly. READ THIS MANUAL! Return this manual to the storage pocket provided on the underside of the car bed for quick reference.
Table of Contents 1. Important Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8 1.1 About Your Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.2 About Using this Car Bed in Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1.3 About Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. Cleaning and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-33 7. Registering Your Car Bed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Contacting Graco Our goal is to make every product the best it can be! We are also committed to supporting our products after purchase.
1. Important Safety Information No child restraint can guarantee protection from injury. However, proper use of this car bed reduces the risk of serious injury or death to your child in the event of a sharp turn, sudden stop or crash. Do not install or use this car bed until you read and understand the instructions in this manual and in your vehicle owners manual. Do not let others install or use the car bed unless they understand how to use it. 1.
1.2 About Using this Car Bed in Your Vehicle ! Your child can be injured in a vehicle even if you are not in a crash. More common events such as sudden braking and sharp turns can injure your child if the car bed is not properly installed or if your child is not properly secured in the car bed. ! Do not place apnea monitors, oxygen tanks, or other medical equipment inside the car bed. Keep this equipment outside of the car bed, secured under the seat or on the floor.
1.3 About Airbags ! With some child restraint systems, such as rear-facing infant seats, an inflating airbag can strike the child restraint and kill or seriously injure a child. With regard to this car bed and airbags, our tests and investigations indicate that an inflating airbag will not strike a properly installed car bed and result in serious injury or death. Presently, Graco is not aware of any airbags that will strike a properly installed car bed and injure a child.
1.4 When the Car Bed is Not Occupied ! The surface of the car bed can become very hot if the car bed is left in the sun. Contact with these parts can burn your childs skin. Cover the car bed with a blanket if it will be exposed to the sun, and always check the surface of the car bed before putting your child in it. ! Never leave a car bed unsecured in your vehicle. An unsecured car bed can be thrown around and may injure occupants in the event of a sharp turn, sudden stop or crash. 1.
! Never use the car bed if it has damaged or missing parts. Do not use a cut, frayed or damaged car bed harness. You can order a new harness by calling 1-888-224-6549. 1.6 When the Car Bed is Not in the Vehicle To avoid injury or death from suffocation, falls and other hazards: ! Always secure child in harness straps whenever child is in the car bed. ! When carrying the car bed, use the handles at both ends of the car bed as shown. ! Always place the car bed on a firm and level surface.
2. Choosing a Suitable Location for the Car Bed Some seating positions in your vehicle are not safe locations for this car bed. For example, none of the seats on the drivers side of the vehicle are safe for this car bed. In addition, there may be some vehicles that do not have any seating positions that can be used safely. Improper placement of the car bed increases the risk of serious injury or death.
! Never place the car bed on the drivers Ê side of a vehicle (seats A and B) Ê. Only the center and passenger side seating positions (C, D, E, F and G) are potential locations for this car bed if all other requirements are met. ! The car bed must be positioned so that Ë the childs head is near the center of the vehicle. This means that when the car bed is properly installed, your childs feet will always be toward the passenger side of the vehicle Ë.
2.2 Be Sure Your Vehicle Seat Meets All of These Requirements ! THE VEHICLE SEAT MUST FACE Ì FORWARD. Do not place car bed in a rear-facing vehicle seat Ì or a side-facing vehicle seat Í. ! Only use this car bed on vehicle seats with seat backs that lock in an upright position. Do not use seats that can fold down without having to release a lock or latch of some kind. These seats can fly forward and strike the child in a sudden stop or crash.
2.3 Consider Accident Statistics and Information about Airbags ! According to accident statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in rear vehicle seating positions, rather than in front seating positions. ! Before placing the car bed in a seating location with an airbag, read section 1.3 on page 6.
2.4 Be Sure Your Vehicle Seat Belt is Safe to Use Many seat belt systems are NOT safe to use with this car bed, even though they can easily be routed around the car bed and look similar to other seat belts that are safe to use. Carefully read this section for information on seat belt systems and also refer to your vehicle owner's manual and any labels on your vehicles seat belt.
! DO NOT use a lap belt that stays loose and can move until it locks in a crash or sudden stop. This belt has an Emergency Locking Retractor, E.L.R. It is often seen in combination with a motorized shoulder belt. Since these lap belts will loosen if pulled on slowly, the car bed may shift to an unsafe position. This seat belt will NOT safely restrain the car bed Ê. However, you may be able to convert your E.L.R. belt to one that is safe to use.
! DO NOT use a seat belt that is attached to the door in any way. This type of belt is designed to open with the door and automatically surround the passenger when the door is closed. This seat belt will NOT safely restrain the car bed Ì. Ì ! DO NOT use a seat belt that is anchored forward of the seat crease. This seat belt will NOT safely restrain the car bed Í. Í ! DO NOT use a shoulder belt that moves along a track to automatically surround the passenger when the door is closed.
B. Seat Belt Systems that are Suitable for Use with the Car Bed The following vehicle belt systems can be used with your car bed, if the seat location meets all other requirements of these instructions and the requirements in your vehicle owners manual. ! Lap belt that is manually adjusted and stays Ê ! Lap belt that cannot lengthen once it is Ë tight. This type of seat belt is tightened by pulling on the excess belt once it is buckled.
! Lap/shoulder combination belt with a lock- Ì ing latchplate. Once it is buckled, this type of belt has a latchplate that will not allow the lap portion of the belt to loosen. This seat belt does not require a locking clip Ì. ! Lap/shoulder combination belt with a latch- plate that can slide freely along the belt. This type of belt MUST be converted to prevent movement of the lap portion of the belt.
3. Features and Components of the Car Bed Harness slots Rear of car bed (low side) Harness crotch strap Pad Harness shoulder straps Front of car bed (high side) Vehicle belt guides Locking Clip The locking clip is stored at the rear of the car bed. You will need to use it with certain types of vehicle seat belts.
4. Positioning and Securing Your Child in the Car Bed Premature and/or low birth weight infants have special medical needs that will influence how your child should lay in the car bed. This car bed is designed so babies can lay on their backs or on their sides. Under certain circumstances, it may be preferable to have babies lie on their stomachs. Consult your doctor about how your child should be positioned for travel.
Ê 20 1. Make sure that your child is dressed in appropriate clothing which: a. Allows the crotch strap to pass through your childs a. legs. b. Keeps the shoulder straps on your childs shoulders. If a blanket is used for additional warmth, it must be placed outside the harness straps and tucked around your child. Make sure no blankets or other articles cover the ventilation holes in the pad. Lying on back Ë 2.
4. Place your child in the car bed so childs head is at the end with the ventilation slots. Refer to label on the front of the car bed. (The illustrations below show child laying on back. Your child may need to lay in a different position depending on your doctors instructions.) 5. Position your childs shoulders at harness slot opening Í. 6. Bring the crotch strap between your childs legs Î. Check that crotch strap does not extend into babys neck and chin area.
8. Check that harness straps are not twisted. Twisted straps can create slack in the harness and reduce the protection provided by the car bed. 9. To be sure the straps are secure, pull up on the harness where the crotch and shoulder straps meet Ê. 10. Check that harness is snug on your childs shoulders. You should not be able to insert more than one finger between the harness and your childs shoulders Ë Ì.
5. Securing the Car Bed in Your Vehicle There are many kinds of vehicles, seat belts, and occupant protection systems. As a result, it is not possible for this manual to tell you everything you need to know about putting this car bed in your vehicle. You must carefully follow the instructions provided by your vehicle manufacturer, as well as the information in this manual. Before proceeding, be sure you have read and understood section 2.4 (page 13) about safe and unsafe seat belt systems.
Preparation and Initial Safety Checks 1. Make sure you have selected a suitable location for the car bed as explained in section 2 (page 9). Remember not to place child on the drivers side, and remember to position child so feet are toward the passenger side of the vehicle. 2. If a front passenger seat is used, slide the vehicle seat rearward as far as possible from the dashboard. 3. Be sure that the vehicle seat back is locked in position.
5. Thread the seat belt through all three guides as shown for a lap-only belt Ë and for a lap/shoulder belt Ì. There is no need to thread the shoulder portion of the belt through the three guides. Ë Ì Í 6. Buckle the seat belt. Make sure the buckle Use this buckle tongue goes into the correct buckle, and not the adjacent one Í. The seat belt should not be twisted or turned. 7. Some seat belts in the center rear seating position may be too short to fit around the car bed. DO NOT use a belt extender.
8. Now the vehicle seat belt must be tightened. When tightening the seat belt around the car bed, make sure there is no slack on either side of the car bed or along the belt path. To create a very tight installation, first remove your child from the car bed. Push down hard with one hand in the middle of the car bed while pulling on the vehicle belt with the other hand to tighten it Ê. ! If you have a lap-only belt, go to step 9. ! If you have a lap/shoulder combination belt, go to step 10. 9.
! A manually adjusted lap belt Ì is tightened by pulling on the excess belt while pushing down hard on the car bed. However, you may have trouble tightening the belt because of the upright angle at which you must pull. You may have to unbuckle the seat belt, estimate a seat belt length that will make the seat belt very tight, then buckle it again. 10.
! A lap/shoulder combination belt with a latchplate that can slide freely along the belt Ê requires the locking clip, unless your vehicles seat belt can be converted in another way, described in your vehicle owners manual. See your vehicle owners manual to find out if your seat belt can be converted to prevent movement of the lap portion of the belt. Otherwise, the locking clip MUST be used. To install the locking clip: a.
Final Safety Checks 11. Make sure child is secured with the harness according to section 4, Positioning and Securing Your Child in the Car Bed (page 19). 12. Make sure that apnea monitors, oxygen tanks, or other medical equipment are not placed inside the car bed. Keep this equipment outside of the car bed, secured under the seat or on the floor. 13. Make sure that the car bed is properly secured by the vehicle seat belt system by performing the following checks EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE WITH YOUR CHILD: a.
6. Cleaning and Maintenance ! To clean the car bed pad: 1. Remove the seat pad. DO NOT USE CAR BED without the seat pad. 2. Machine wash on delicate cycle and drip-dry. 3. Reinstall the car bed pad according to the instructions on pages 31-33. ! Car bed plastic shell may be cleaned by wiping with a mild soap and water solution. DO NOT USE BLEACH or household detergents. Use of bleach or detergents may weaken plastic parts, which may break in a crash. ! Harness straps must be kept clean.
Reinstalling Pad and Harness If pad and harness have been removed for washing or replacement, it is very important to properly reinstall them in your car bed. Ventilation slots in pad must be at the same end as ventilation slots in plastic car bed shell, and harness must be positioned to properly hold your child. Follow these instructions. 1. Turn the car bed upside down.
Fuzzy side of harness UP Ventilation slots
Low side Printed side Ventilation slots High side Ventilation slots 33
7. Registering Your Car Bed Model No. Serial No. Purchase Date Dear Customer, Please fill in the above information. The model and serial numbers can be found on a label underneath your car bed. Fill out the prepaid registration postcard attached to the pad and mail it today. Child restraints could be recalled for safety reasons. You must register this restraint to be reached in a recall. Send your name, address and serial number to: Graco Childrens Products Inc. P.O.
Graco Childrens Products Inc.