Installing a baby capsule is straight forward, as the Manufacturers have designed the Instruction book to make the installation as simple as possible.
NOTE this is article is just some general hints to installing a capsule as there are a number of different capsules out there and they differ significantly. Should you feel the installation is beyond you capabilities PLEASE contact your nearest accredited car seat fitter.
However what do you do; if you have hired the capsule from either the council or baby hire shop. Firstly Some councils and hire shops may include the cost of the fitting into the baby carrier hire, so they will fit the capsule for you, however in the case the council or baby hire shop do not include the baby capsule installation in the price of the hire or do not offer a fitting service, you may want to install the baby capsule yourself.
Before you proceed much further you want to purchase a head snuggler, as the hire may not come with one or it may be really old and not offer much support for the child.
Next you will want to make sure the harness is in the lowest slot, if it is not then ask the baby shop/council to re-thread the harness for you. at the same time get them to install the head snuggler(most have press buttons so you can easily add them at a later time)
Baby capsule Base Installation
This is the most critical part of the installation and you need to ensure there is no lateral movement of the base.
If you have a car with ALR (Automatic Locking Retraction) seat belts such as Japanese cars and american cars then you may not need a gated buckle / sometimes called a locking clip.
The purpose of the locking clip is to lock in the lateral tension so the baby capsule will not move in the case of a side impact.
Next find a freezer (approx 2 inch long) clip, you will need this in the next step.
Once you have determined whether you need to purchase a Gated buckle; you can start to install the capsule. Pull the seat-belt all the way out and then attach the freezer clip, for those the ALR seat belts if you allow the seat belt to retract a little you will hear a clicking noise.
Getting the Lateral Tension
Thread the Seat belt through the seat belt path as indicated on the base, press down with your hand in the base and pull the excess seat belt to the side, until you feel there is sufficient tension. For those with ALR seat belts release the freezer clip allowing the seat-belt to fully retract(you will hear a clicking, if not you may not have pull the seat belt all the way or you may not have an ALR seat belt).
For those that need a gated buckle/ locking clip hold the seat belt together with thumb and finger and then follow the instructions to install the gated buckle(instructions are normally supplied with the gated buckle).
Upper tether attachment
Last, but not least you need to attach the upper tether to the capsule, for baby capsules such as the Safe n Sound Unity capsule, there is a hoop at the back that the upper tether passes through. The other end of the upper thether needs to be connected to the Anchor point of the car. For other types of baby capsule, the upper tether may just need to be connected just to the anchor point.
If in doubt please contact an accredited child restraint fitter.