The Chevrolet Tahoe is one of the most recognizable large SUVs in the United States today. It competes with other large crossover SUVs like the Lambda clones (the GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, and Saturn Outlook), as well as other truck-based SUVs like the Toyota Sequoia, Nissan Armada, and its GMC twin the GMC Yukon. Families like it because it offers good storage, good seating, good towing abilities, and costs significantly less than large SUVs in the luxury segment with a Mercedes Benz GL-Class SUV or Audi Q7. I can’t say I blame folks for saving money.
From a safety perspective, the Tahoe was also one of the vehicles with the lowest driver death rates in the most recent IIHS driver death rate survey, although it was not one of the members of the “zero” list.
I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a couple of generations of the Chevy Tahoe this week in order to see how car-seat friendly they were. I’m on a mission to find the 3-across compatibility of every vehicle sold in the US today, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to test out the Tahoe when I got one in my garage. Before looking at what did and didn’t fit, though, it’s a good idea to look at the kinds of seats we should be using with kids at different ages.
First of all, I suggest rear-facing from day one until you can’t anymore. Rear-facing is the way to go even if it takes you through the preschool years (ideally until 4!). Once you can’t fit your child in a rear-facing seat anymore, forward-face him or her in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once your children outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The overriding goal is safety, which comes from using certain kinds of seats at certain times.
With all that in mind, I’m happy to say that the Tahoe is one of those SUVs that you’re going to have fun with when it comes to car seat installations; you’ll be able to get most of what you’re trying to puzzle to fit nicely if you take your time and try the suggestions I include below.
The list isn’t complete, but it’s my goal to make it as complete as possible over time. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.
You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images here are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2015 Chevrolet Tahoe (GMT K2UC/G)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Chevrolet Tahoe is 204 inches long and 80 inches wide, which means the world will practically be your oyster when it comes to car seat installations. Something you’ll enjoy on the inside are 2nd and 3rd row seats that fold flat, which makes it significantly easier to access different rows for buckling children or moving between the rows themselves.
At this width, you’re unlikely to need to use the seat belts in many installations, but it’s still a good idea to turn to them if you’ve got any trouble with the LATCH systems. Remember, of course, that the LATCH system also comes with weight limits, while the seat belts do not.
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe (GMT900)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Tips and Tricks:
The 2007-2014 generation of the Chevrolet Tahoe is 202 inches long and 79 inches wide, or 2 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than the current generation. In other words, practically every car seat that fits into the current generation will also fit into the previous generation, which again means the world will be your oyster when it comes to car seat installations.
At this width, you’re unlikely to need to use the seat belts in many installations, but it’s still a good idea to turn to them if you’ve got any trouble with the LATCH systems. Remember, of course, that the LATCH system also comes with weight limits, while the seat belts do not.
While you’ll have a ton of space across that Tahoe bench seat, keep in mind that not every seating position will have top tether anchors available, and top tether anchors are very important for forward-facing children.
Something particularly nice about this generation is that in 2008, Chevy finally made side curtain airbags a standard feature on the Tahoe. In the 2007 model year, however, it’s only standard on the LT3, LTZ, and Z71 trim levels.
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe (GMT800)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Tips and Tricks:
The 2001-2006 generation of the Chevrolet Tahoe is 197-199 inches long and 79 inches wide, or 3-5 inches shorter than the following generation. In other words, practically every car seat that fits into the current generation will also fit into this generation, which again means the world will be your oyster when it comes to car seat installations.
At this width, you’re unlikely to need to use the seat belts in many installations, but it’s still a good idea to turn to them if you’ve got any trouble with the LATCH systems. Remember, of course, that the LATCH system also comes with weight limits, while the seat belts do not. That said, you’ll have lower LATCH anchors available on the center and passenger seats of the 2nd row bench seat that you can use if you don’t have space concerns that necessitate the seat belts.
Another consideration to keep in mind involves top tether anchors while forward-facing. While the lower LATCH anchors are only available in the center and passenger seats if you have a 2nd row bench in the 2002-2006 model years, you do have top tether anchors for all 3 seats in the 2nd row benches. If you’ve got captain’s chairs in the 2nd row, you’ll have lower and upper LATCH anchors for both seats. The 3rd row does not include lower LATCH anchors in any of the seat, but you’ll have one top tether anchor that you’ll be able to use on either the center or passenger side position in the 3rd row.
Finally, you might need to fold some of your head rests back in order to get your car seat installations to be nice and snug. The issue with the head rests is that they often force a space between the seat back of the car seat and the vehicle seat. Pushing the Tahoe’s seat into its cargo mode will allow you to fold the head rests behind it; you can’t remove them.
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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.