If you've got three carseats in a row

[Em_in_FL]

Congratulations on your pregnancy…

Minivans aren’t that bad…
We dove in after just having one child - it was *time *to replace my car - (becoming unsafe for our one child at the time) and we figured we’d eventually fill it up. 6 1/2 years with the van and now have 3 kids… 2 open seats… we’re hoping to make the van last at least another 4 years!

 

[shannyk]

I did 3 kids in a Saturn SL1 3 across for all of about…9 weeks and then woke up. I tried taking them all to the grocery store, getting them and groceries in and out, it was a complete farce.

Even if you can squeeze 3 seats in, there is no room for anyone else, no room for stuff, strollers, hard to get stuff that falls on the floor under their seats, hard to bend to get them in and out, just and all around PITA.

I guess I am one who doesn’t get the mini van dislike. They are just way too convenient and versatile. But this is coming from someone who once drove an old taxi with the American Taxi still painted on it and two windows broken out and covered with plastic. I just don’t care how cars look as long a I can get where I’m going:thumbsup: To me an SUV or crossover is much more soccer mom looking these days anyway. I don’t mind being counter cool. Wagons are ok for the trunk space, but are still low and don’t have the seating options. I just really like a mini v for it’s usefulness.

Come on Steph, get a mini van, everyone else is doing it

And sparki makes an excellent point…

All I can say is, get a professional car seat inspection if you are going three in a row. Not all vehicles can take three car seats in a row.

In fact, we were in the “please, not a minivan” crowd until our youngest was born, and we could NOT get three car seats in the back of our SUV at the proper angles & seat belt tightness. We took it to a pro, and he couldn’t do it, either. So, that auto went back to the dealership and we traded for a minivan.

Car seats are always a safety issue. Even if you can get three across in your vehicle (which would have to be really, really wide), if it’s a pain to buckle the middle kid, the odds of buckling that child correctly are going to drop. It’s not worth it.

I still hate my mini-van but I like knowing all my kids are safely buckled.

 

[manualman]

Step back and realize just exactly who it is that says minivans are ‘uncool’ and why:
the Hollywood self-worshippers who call you ‘breeders.’

Tell 'em “up yours!” and buy yourself one of THE most useful and versatile vehicles ever conceived by humans. Minivans ROCK. We have an 03 Honda Odyssey. It seats 7, gets 25mpg freeway, STILL gets 18-19 pulling our 2,700# popup camper, fits our family plus having room for 2 grandparents to tag along, can haul 1,200# of drywall and plywood home from Home Depot, will blow the doors off any naturally aspirated 4 cylinder car, and has had few failures I couldn’t repair myself (medium skill) at 145,000 miles. The current Toyota Sienna is just as good and the 4.0 liter Chrysler vans really aren’t far behind. Shop 'em all and buy what fits you best.

The ONLY reason minivans have a bad image is because FAMILIES have a bad image in our culture. Ignore those dopes and dive in. “Nice daddymobile, dude.” Yes, that’s exactly what it is. Wear your badge with pride.

FYI, my commuter car is an 02 Saturn SL and I can get my 9,6 and 2 year old in. But it’s crammed tight and they fight like politicians.

 

[Truly_Beloved]

Even if you can get three across in your vehicle (which would have to be really, really wide), if it’s a pain to buckle the middle kid, the odds of buckling that child correctly are going to drop.

Not necessarily. There are tons of different carseats out there, and they all fit differently in different vehicles. It is possible to safely install 3 carseats across the back of most cars, the trick is finding the best carseat for your vehicle. Parents who can’t afford a new/different/additional car can be confident that they can safely transport 3 children in the backseat of most cars (even compact cars), all in harnessed convertible carseats. But it really depends on the carseat. The specific 3-across combination that works in a Mazda3 may not necessarily work in a Grand Caravan, despite the GC being a lot bigger.

The ONLY reason minivans have a bad image is because FAMILIES have a bad image in our culture.

I don’t know about Steph, but I’d rather skip the minivan entirely and go straight to the real vans, for family-size friendliness. After all, you can only fit 5 kids in a 7-passenger minivan. So, minivans are more ideal for small-to-medium sized families, but not for really big ones. (It’s my personal hope to outgrow a minivan’s 5-child limitation in the next 7 years.)

I love every large conversion van I’ve seen. I just don’t care for minis. Isn’t that odd? And I prefer the look of real vans over SUVs. Maybe I’m just weird.

 

[manualman]

I don’t know about Steph, but I’d rather skip the minivan entirely and go straight to the real vans, for family-size friendliness. After all, you can only fit 5 kids in a 7-passenger minivan. So, minivans are more ideal for small-to-medium sized families, but not for really big ones. (It’s my personal hope to outgrow a minivan’s 5-child limitation in the next 7 years.)

The Sienna and Odyssey are available in 8 seat configurations, meaning 6 kids, but it does get tight at that point. By all means if you need to seat more than that go for the Ford E350 beastie van. But only if you need it. 12mpg is no fun at fillup time! And avoid the 15 passenger version; it’s marginally unstable at freeway speeds due to the extended overhang. If you need that many seats, get the Chevy that stretches the wheelbase instead.

Seems a bit off the original subject though…

 

[tapiocapudding]

I don’t get the mini van hate either. I’ve told DH that if we want to keep having beautiful babies (and we do! ) we’ll need one eventually but he can’t stand the things. I think they’re cute
I would love to get a mini van right now if we could afford it. Then I could drive around my friends’ kids too! But I can’t drive anyways and we can’t afford a new car. Hopefully that will change before we welcome baby #3. But there is no point in worrying about it right now when we only have 1.5 babies!

 

[MooCowSteph]

Congrats on your pregnancy! I don’t have any advice but I’ll be watching this thread. DH and I definitely want more kids after this one and we have a very small car (plymouth neon) but probably will keep it as long as it’s still kicking so I was wondering if there was any way to get 3 carseats in there

haha! Not likely! I just actually sold my Neon after driving it for 6 years, carrying two kids. I don’t think even 3 radians would fit back there. Maybe two radians and a kid in nothing but a belt, but they are supposed to be, like, 17 before they are out of boosers

Oh, and as far as my research from back when Natalie was born, there’s not a double stroller on the planet that will fit in a Neon’s trunk. Well, maybe the twin kind will, but not the front to back.

Good timing, Steph! Kateri just outgrew your seat we borrowed.

DH and I went to the car show this wknd- there are 3rd row seat options other than a minivan, but honestly none of them can compete with the amt of space you still have left for cargo even with a giant suv like a suburban.

I think the oldest could climb over a forward facing convertible, but would be tough with 2 rear on each side. While the new baby is tiny, you could take advantage of the base and strap him/her in before installing, but who knows if that would be any better.

I was wondering about that, and I’ve been meaning to email you! I know she was such a little peanut I thought she’d probably still be in it. And I’m pretty sure it doesn’t expire for 2 more years.

If you can afford it, I would go for the mini-van. I had a crown victoria when I had my third, all three in car seats and it was a HUGE pain in the behind. Huge. Yes, they all fit, but getting them all in and out was more aggravation than I needed. We bought an Odyssey eventually and whoa, what a difference. Not onlyh was it easier to buckle the kids in, but it was much less strain on my back because I didn’t have to bend and lean in the car.

You also could consider the Chevy traverse crossover which has seats configured like a mini-van.

that’s pretty much what I’m thinking…

Come on Steph, get a mini van, everyone else is doing it

And sparki makes an excellent point…

LOL Shannon you are too funny

I see a minivan in my future…

I don’t know about Steph, but I’d rather skip the minivan entirely and go straight to the real vans, for family-size friendliness. After all, you can only fit 5 kids in a 7-passenger minivan. So, minivans are more ideal for small-to-medium sized families, but not for really big ones. (It’s my personal hope to outgrow a minivan’s 5-child limitation in the next 7 years.)

I love every large conversion van I’ve seen. I just don’t care for minis. Isn’t that odd? And I prefer the look of real vans over SUVs. Maybe I’m just weird.

Gulp. I’m still getting used to #3…

 

[captaincatholic]

Steph, I have been looking into the same issues for different reasons. We have a Chrysler Town and Country '06 and I would love to fit 3 seats across the back for the 3 boys just so I can have the extra space in the front for those long trips, to set up a little diaper change/play/eating area NOT in the carseats so I can sit with them and clean out their car seats in case of sickness. If I had it to do over again, I would probably buy an Odyssey or a Sienna. They seem to be roomier inside and still have the versatility of folding seats in, plus additional LATCH capacity that the Chrysler doesn’t have. (Currently, the two bucket seats and one rear seat have Latrch, so if I wanted to do 3 across the back, they would probably all need to be done via seat belt, yuck!

As to the bending over seats to do seatbelts, it is a HUGE pain in anything you can’t get into in front of the kids. Even having the boys in the back of the minivan and stumbling over the middle row to buckle them and pull up the harnesses from under them is just a lot of work and not pleasant. Presently, the oler boys are both in Graco Nautilus seats, which I think are massive, but safe. The baby is in his convertible Graco Comfort Sport that I got when Thomas was small. It’s simple and easy to clean, pluses for me, but not small. It is very wide and easy to accomodate extra clothes, toys, and much more dirt than I need. I am thinking about a Radian for him so that he could rearface in the back between the two Nautilus seats, but I don;t know if that is physically possible.

If you wanted to have a serious discussion about carseats and could see and try them in your car, I could arrange a mom’s group for that. I have wanted to do that kind of thing anyway.

Oh, and I REALLY like the minivan’s extra height for things like balloons from Trader Joe’s on the way home NOT blocking my view in the rearview mirror, or being able to shift in my seat and not hit my head on the ceiling of the car, and I’m not even that big. We drove to PA through a snowstorm a few weeks ago and were grateful that if we were stranded, we could fold the middle seats in and have a large open space to huddle together, and even joked about camping out in the van on our long car trips to save the hotel fees! (Just kidding about that, I couldn’t handle the no bathroom part.)

Friends of mine have a Pathfinder and can fit their 3 carseats across the back, but that was 2 front facing and one rear facing. I don’t know if she did one rear facing or not. The big deal is in small cars, there just isn’t enough room to get the front facer walking on the floor rather than climbing over the seats, and the extension and lifting is hard on my back to twist and turn and get kids in and out without bumping them on the ceiling or carseat. Besides, I think we all know how the toddlers like to go limp and not help get into or out of their carseats. I can’t imagine doing that in something smaller than our van now.

Congratulations, and good luck searching! I second the forum that Truly reccommended. It has some good information. Now if I could only find a Radian for sale for less than $250…

 

[Truly_Beloved]

Now if I could only find a Radian for sale for less than $250…

When they go on sale (so far, I’ve noticed they go on sale every other month or so), they usually come down to $200. And most of the time, if you find them on sale at one website, they’re on sale at every other site that carries them. I keep an eye on Target’s website specifically, because if something is wrong with the seat (or it doesn’t fit, or whatever) you can avoid return shipping costs and return it at the store. They are currently on sale for $200 at Target.

 

[MooCowSteph]

I’m considering Radians too, but I would get the XTSL for the extra side impact protection and they’re $300. And believe it or not there is only 3 inches difference between the Radian and the Nautilus. But of course the Natutilus is only forward facing, so Patrick and Natalie couldn’t use them for a while. I think Natalie will be able to rear face for at least another year, probably more, especially in the Radian since it FR’s to 45 lbs. It’s the only one I know of that does.

We’re getting the Dodge minivan. I asked Steve if he wanted to look at the Odyssey or Sienna and got a resounding NO. He said there were way too many recalls and issues, too expensive, and of course, he doesn’t have as much repair knowledge and the repair contacts on imports except BMW’s

 

[manualman]

Dodge vans are better than their reputation. They had a rash of horrid transmission problems in the early to mid 90’s largely caused by the fact that they were among the first makers to veer off the typical Dexron specification for automatic transmission fluids and a LOT of small shops didn’t realize or didn’t care that using the wrong fluid would drastically shorten the life of the transmission. Tell hubby to triple check that the transmission fluid matches the spec in the Dodge owners manual and you’ll likely be fine.

The 3.3 engine is a bit of a pooch, but nearly bulletproof. Should be fine unless you plan to tow something (small boat, popup camper). If towing, get the 3.8 or new 4.0 V6 engine.

Welcome to minivanland!

 

[MooCowSteph]

Dodge vans are better than their reputation. They had a rash of horrid transmission problems in the early to mid 90’s largely caused by the fact that they were among the first makers to veer off the typical Dexron specification for automatic transmission fluids and a LOT of small shops didn’t realize or didn’t care that using the wrong fluid would drastically shorten the life of the transmission. Tell hubby to triple check that the transmission fluid matches the spec in the Dodge owners manual and you’ll likely be fine.

The 3.3 engine is a bit of a pooch, but nearly bulletproof. Should be fine unless you plan to tow something (small boat, popup camper). If towing, get the 3.8 or new 4.0 V6 engine.

Welcome to minivanland!

We’ve been a Dodge family for a long time and hubby isn’t even considering another van, and I mostly leave those decisions up to him since he’s the one doing the maintenance. And no towing here unless we want to tow one of those luggage things in the distant future, but we don’t really vacation often.