2014 Ram 2500 child restraint

WARNING!
•Improper installation of a child restraint to the
LATCH anchorages can lead to failure of an infant
or child restraint. The child could be badly injured
or killed. Follow the manufacturer’s directions ex-
actly when installing an infant or child restraint.
• Child restraint anchorages are designed to with-
stand only those loads imposed by correctly-fitted
child restraints. Under no circumstances are they to
be used for adult seat belts, harnesses, or for
attaching other items or equipment to the vehicle.
Installing Child Restraints Using The Vehicle Seat
Belt
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are
equipped with either a Switchable Automatic Locking
Retractor (ALR) or a cinching latch plate or both. Both
types of seat belts are designed to keep the lap portion of the seat belt tight around the child restraint so that it is
not necessary to use a locking clip. The ALR retractor can
be “switched” into a locked mode by pulling all of the
webbing out of the retractor and then letting the webbing
retract back into the retractor. If it is locked, the ALR will
make a clicking noise while the webbing is pulled back
into the retractor. For additional information on ALR,
refer to the “Automatic Locking Mode” description un-
der “Occupant Restraints”. The cinching latch plate is
designed to hold the lap portion of the seatbelt tight
when webbing is pulled tight and straight through a
child restraint’s belt path. Please see the following
table(s) and the following sections for more information
about both types of seat belts.
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Lap/Shoulder Belt Systems for Installing Child
Restraints in this Vehicle
Standard Cab
Quad Cab®/Mega Cab®/Crew Cab
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Quad Cab®/Crew Cab
What is the weight limit (child’s weight +
weight of the child restraint) for using the
Tether Anchor with the seat belt to attach a forward facing child restraint? Weight limit
of the Child Restraint Always use the tether anchor when using the
seat belt to install a forward facing child re-
straint, up to the recommended weight limit of the child restraint.
Can the rear-facing child restraint touch the back of the front passenger seat? Yes Contact between the front passenger seat and
the child restraint is allowed, if the child re-straint manufacturer also allows contact.
Can the head restraints be removed? No
Can the buckle stalk be twisted to tighten the seat belt against the belt path of the child re- straint? Yes
In positions with cinching latch plates
(CINCH), the buckle stalk may be twisted up to 3 full turns. Do not twist the buckle stalkin a seating position with an ALR retractor.
102 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Mega Cab®/Standard Cab
What is the weight limit (child’s weight +
weight of the child restraint) for using the
Tether Anchor with the seat belt to attach a forward facing child restraint? 65 lbs
(29.5 kg) The Tether Anchor can be used with the seat
belt until the combined weight of the child and the child restraint is 65 lbs (29.5 kg). Use theseat belt without the Tether Anchor once the
combined weight is more than 65 lbs (29.5 kg).
Can the rear-facing child restraint touch the back of the front passenger seat? Yes Contact between the front passenger seat and
the child restraint is allowed, if the child re-straint manufacturer also allows contact.
Can the head restraints be removed? No
Can the buckle stalk be twisted to tighten the seat belt against the belt path of the child re- straint? Yes
In positions with cinching latch plates
(CINCH), the buckle stalk may be twisted up
to 3 full turns. Do not twist the buckle stalk in a seating position with an ALR retractor.
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Installing A Child Restraint With A Switchable
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
1. Place the child seat in the center of the seatingposition. For some second row seats, you may need to
recline the seat and/or raise the head restraint to get a
better fit. If the rear seat can be moved forward and
rearward in the vehicle, you may wish to move it to its
rear-most position to make room for the child seat.
You may also move the front seat forward to allow
more room for the car seat.
2. Pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor to pass it through the belt path of the child restraint.
Do not twist the belt webbing in the belt path.
3. Slide the latch plate into the buckle until you hear a “click”.
4. Pull on the webbing to make the lap portion tight against the child seat. 5. To lock the seat belt, pull down on the shoulder part of
the belt until you have pulled all the seat belt webbing
out of the retractor. Then, allow the webbing to retract
back into the retractor. As the webbing retracts, you
will hear a clicking sound. This means the seat belt is
now in the Automatic Locking mode.
6. Try to pull the webbing out of the retractor. If it is locked, you should not be able to pull out any web-
bing. If the retractor is not locked, repeat step 5.
7. Finally, pull up on any excess webbing to tighten the lap portion around the child restraint while you push
the child restraint rearward and downward into the
vehicle seat.
8. If the child restraint has a top tether strap and the seating position has a top tether anchorage, connect
the tether strap to the anchorage and tighten the tether
104 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

strap. See the section “Installing Child Restraints
Using the Top Tether Anchorage” for directions to
attach a tether anchor.
9. Test that the child restraint is installed tightly by pulling back and forth on the child seat at the belt
path. It should not move more than 1 inch (25.4 mm)
in any direction.
Any seat belt system will loosen with time, so check the
belt occasionally, and pull it tight if necessary.
Installing A Child Restraint With A Cinching
Latch Plate (CINCH) — If Equipped
1. Place the child seat in the center of the seating position. For some second row seats, you may need to
recline the seat and/or raise the head restraint to get a
better fit. If the rear seat can be moved forward and
rearward in the vehicle, you may wish to move it to its rear-most position to make room for the child seat.
You may also move the front seat forward to allow
more room for the car seat.
2. Next, pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor to pass it through the belt path of the child
restraint. Do not twist the belt webbing in the belt
path.
3. Slide the latch plate into the buckle until you hear a “click”.
4. Finally, pull up on any excess webbing to tighten the lap portion around the child restraint while you push
the child restraint rearward and downward into the
vehicle seat.
5. If the child restraint has a top tether strap and the seating position has a top tether anchorage, connect
the tether strap to the anchorage and tighten the tether
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THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 105

strap. Refer to “Installing Child Restraints Using The
Top Tether Anchorage” for directions to attach a tether
anchor.
6. Test that the child restraint is installed tightly by pulling back and forth on the child seat at the belt
path. It should not move more than 1 inch (25 mm) in
any direction.
Any seat belt system will loosen with time, so check the
belt occasionally, and pull it tight if necessary.
If the buckle or the cinching latch plate is too close to the
belt path opening of the child restraint, you may have
trouble tightening the seat belt. If this happens, discon-
nect the latch plate from the buckle and twist the short
buckle-end belt up to three full turns to shorten it. Insert
the latch plate into the buckle with the release button
facing out, away from the child restraint. Repeat steps 4
to 6, above, to complete the installation of the child
restraint. If the belt still cannot be tightened after you shorten the
buckle, disconnect the latch plate from the buckle, turn
the buckle around one half turn, and insert the latch plate
into the buckle again. If you still cannot make the child
restraint installation tight, try a different seating position.
Installing Child Restraints Using The Top Tether
Anchorage
Regular and Mega Cab® Trucks:
In the regular cab
truck, the top tether anchorages are located behind the
center and right passenger seats. In the mega cab truck,
the top tether anchorages are located behind each rear
seating position. There is a plastic cover over each an-
chorage. To attach the tether strap of the child restraint:
1. Place the child restraint on the seat and adjust the tether strap so that it will reach over the seat back,
under the head restraint and to the tether anchor
directly behind the seat.
106 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

1 — Tether Strap Hook
2 — Tether Strap to Child Restraint
3 — Tether Anchor2. Route the tether strap to provide the most direct path
between the anchorage and the child seat. The tether
strap should go between the head restraint posts
underneath the head restraint. You may need to adjust
the head restraint to the upward position to pass the
tether strap underneath the head restraint and be-
tween its posts.
3. Lift the cover (if so equipped), and attach the hook to the square opening in the sheet metal. Tighten the
tether strap according to the child seat manufacturer ’s
instructions.
Regular Cab Tether Strap Mounting
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