Hi ladies! We are looking into a new vehicle for when this new babe arrives. Moms with 5 or more kids, please tell me what you drive please. I have no idea what to do.... [whatwacko]

I would like to know more about this also, as someday we might be blessed with the means to get a car and I will need to know what kind of car to look for....should it be a passenger van like a Chevy Astro or ???

When our kids were at home, we drove a 15 passenger van.

My SIL has 5 kids and they drive a Yukon.....

We like Suburbans. :)

We drive a Ford E350 12 passenger van now. Upgraded from a Ford Expedition, which was after a Chevy Suburban. :p

The Suburban had more cargo room. Missed that greatly when we got the Expedition. (but 'burb was on its last legs and we got a deal on the Exp, so....)

The Exp fit the 8 of us fine, until I started getting kids OUT of car seats/boosters. We had a '98 model and it did NOT have headrests and shoulder belts in all positions as I desire for passenger safety. So the third row had to have all car seats. Not a big deal, because that left the seat that needed flipped for access open to do so. Eldest moved up there because we had headrests in the outboard positions of the 2nd row. We could have had a 4th booster in the vehicle, but, it would complicate that flip down area allowing access to 3rd row. And, like I said, no head rests in 3rd row so I didn't want a non-boostered child back there anyway.

We would have hit the same wall with the 'burb.

Newer models will alleviate that mess. However...you still have the 3rd row seating issue as the children get older. There is less leg room in the rear. Won't be a big problem for you for a while, I'm just saying. *We* were at that point when leaving the Exp. The 'burb, again, would have been the same way.

But....for your ages...I'm all over the Suburban/Yukon (depending on the year, Yukon IS a Suburban, it used to be Chevy 'burb and GMC Yukon, but more recent models Chevy did away with 'burb and it's a Yukon (I think I got that all right)) and Expedition/Excursion (the Excursion is going to give you more cargo room, like the Suburban, but it is taller/beefier..you may feel like you're driving a tank...personally, something I enjoy LOL but I know it's not everybody's cuppa ;) ) idea ;) The 4 door access is nice, when buckling multiple children.

I'm thankful for big kids who can help buckle littles in my van as I do not enjoy crawling all through the seats.

Mini-vans are a bit better, especially those with the dual doors as it seems most have now days.

But I just like my trucks/suv. I hated to see each of mine go, but, we gotta fit the freaks, right? ;)

But....for your ages...I'm all over the Suburban/Yukon (depending on the year, Yukon IS a Suburban, it used to be Chevy 'burb and GMC Yukon, but more recent models Chevy did away with 'burb and it's a Yukon (I think I got that all right)) and Expedition/Excursion (the Excursion is going to give you more cargo room, like the Suburban, but it is taller/beefier..you may feel like you're driving a tank...personally, something I enjoy LOL but I know it's not everybody's cuppa ;) ) idea ;) The 4 door access is nice, when buckling multiple children.



Yeah, they're basically on the same chassis/engine with just minor changes to make them look a teeny bit different. Escalades are also the same, they're just "pimped out" a bit more I guess. Ford expeditions are basically the same as Lincoln Navigators (but the navigator is again, just "pimped out"), lol. Of course this pimping out costs a pretty penny, which is fairly silly IMO.

Dodge Durangos are also similar but honestly I don't know anyone that drives a dodge?

I guess these are all North American vehicles. Well, if you like Asian vehicles (like I do haha), there is the Nissan Armada (their large SUV). We have an Xterra (small SUV) and it's never let us down, we've had it six and a half years now....

(I know I don't qualify to answer since I only have 4 kids but I do drive an ext suv :) )I have an ext trailblazer(has 3rd row seat), the trunk space stinks, the one thing you have to think about is on suvs you have to fold down part of the middle seat to get to the back unless you have bucket seats in middle which knocks you down a passenger(which folding down part of the seat to get to the back does hinder on carseat arrangements), I want a surburban it has more trunk space, I love my ext trailblazer (which seats 6, seat arrangement is 2,3,2) but its terrible on trunk space, I never have enough room for anything, when I grocery shop with all 4 boys I have to limit what I buy knowing its not all going to fit in the back, I would love a chevrolet express if I had my way lol but since hubby against kids then a suburban will do, but I want to ride my trailblazer out until my boys are too big for it

I have a Sienna it can carry 6 but some have an extra seat and carry 7. My friend just bought a Toyota SUV (sorry but I would butcher the spelling! lol) She can carry her, her dh, her 4 kids, and 2 of mine!

We liked having the room to even carry another family with us. But you need lots of room to park and it's pretty dicey in parking garages because you always feel like you're going to scrape the roof.

One of our vans (the Ford) actually burned up at the grade school. The other one was purchased from a Baptist church and was a Dodge. I preferred the Dodge. It was wider and had one back door instead of two.

I do think there are safety issues with them, though. They have a high rate of rollover. We never had an accident. Well, WE never had one. Our son bonked into another car with it.

So, even though that's what we drove at the time, it may not be the best choice. I googled that particular van and safety issues. Check this (http://kansascity.injuryboard.com/defective-and-dangerous-products/did-you-know-15-passenger-vans-may-be-the-most-dangerous-vehicle-on-the-road.aspx?googleid=285892) out.

Thanks for your input everyone! Dh would like a Yukon, I think. But we'll have to see if we can find one that is affordable. :)

My sister drives a 9 passenger van (not sure the make/model) and LOVES it. I do like the idea of having extra space for grandparents/additional neighbour kids, etc. It's just that they are so HUGE! lol I think that would take some serious getting used to for me. We'll see what we end up with.

We are driving a Toyota Sienna right now... it has the 7th seat, but it just isn't wide enough to accommodate 3 car seats/boosters across the back bench. Which is why we are trying to figure out what to do next. (Although I was showing dh some vehicles last night and he said, "well, we don't have to decided now... we're not buying anything for more than a year." To which I said... well, how do you plan to drive the family around when the baby arrives? It was like a light bulb turned on and he finally made the connection that we have to make the change by early spring. lol

We are driving a Toyota Sienna right now... it has the 7th seat, but it just isn't wide enough to accommodate 3 car seats/boosters across the back bench.

What kind of carseats do you use?

We wanted to avoid buying a minivan, if at all possible, so our solution is a larger car (Buick Park Avenue) and smaller car seats. We got the Sunshine Kids Radians and they fit fine three in a row in a car.

Of course, you may have already considered carseats or you may already own the smallest ones possible....

Just throwing that out there in case that would be helpful. :)

We just bought a new Odyssey and I cannot begin to put into words how much I love it! Both doors open and close with a button that is inside the van or by pulling on the handle so kids can get in or out easily. When you stop and put the car into park only the driver's door unlocks so you have to intentionally unlock the other doors so no kids can open the doors before you are ready. The middle seat in the second row comes out (actually all of the seats come out easily) so it can seat up to 8. All seats in the back have the latch system and store easily. The tailgate also opens and closes automatically so that isn't a problem. Plenty of cargo room in the back as the trunk is incredibly deep.

Did I mention that I love my van??? I would keep this van forever but since we are moving to Japan I will be selling it back to the dealership in a few months....boooo!

Sara

Personally, I don't sweat the 'rollover factor'. The van is hardly any worse than an suv. And as long as you're not driving like an idiot.....

If you've driven small cars or tight minivans all your life, yes, a bigger passenger van is going to feel like a tank, initially. But *I* never saw it as that big of a deal. But....*I* am one who has always loved driving big trucks and would get behind the wheel of anything offered, without hesitation.

But, you are not to "must have big van" status yet ;) You can still fit in a minivan or SUV.

And like Cheese mentioned, those others are pimped out versions. I just mentioned the 'entry level' so to speak.

The Xterra though, that she mentioned, that doesn't seat many does it? A friend has one and needs to upgrade as they are expecting #3. They have NO room, there are only 2 seating positions in the back.

Anywho..yeah, the Sienna and Odyssey are great minivans, seating at least 7, with option to seat 8. Then you have the SUVs mentioned which seat the same.

Good luck, happy shopping!

The Xterra though, that she mentioned, that doesn't seat many does it? A friend has one and needs to upgrade as they are expecting #3. They have NO room, there are only 2 seating positions in the back.




Yeah it doesn't, I was mentioning the larger one (armada). We've talked about getting an Armada bc if we ever chose to have a #3, he/she wouldn't fit in the xterra (well except in the cargo space LOL)

Our Pontiac SV6 seats 7 very comfortably and with head rests in all but the middle back row position. Some mini-vans (I'm thinking maybe the Odyssey and/or Sienna) have an option to seat 8. My good friend with six children (some teenagers now) is still able to fit comfortably in her Suburban. Other than that I think you'd be looking at a 12 or 15 passenger van.

I'm on my second mini-van. We got our first in 2001 right before our third dd was born. I honestly don't like driving them and miss the maneuverability and better visibility when backing up, etc. that I had with a smaller car. I don't like filling our 25 gallon gas tank either.

Dh and I are almost ready to downsize cars again. We actually don't often ride as an entire family very often these days except for Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings to church. Since church is less than a mile away, it would be easy to take two vehicles. Our oldest has a learner's permit and next oldest will be driving next year, so we may just get two smaller vehicles to replace my larger one. I guess we'd rent a car for super long trips if we needed to all ride together.

Dh and I were talking more this afternoon... trying to sort out if we could make the Sienna work. It's a 7 passenger. We have Radians for Callum and Alanna. Radian boosters for Liam and Fiona. Still have to figure out what we are going to get for #5. Initially thought that we couldn't fit everyone in, but now are wondering if we could fit us if we put the 3 higher maintenance car seat kids (ie. the three youngers) in the back on the bench. It's the width of the boosters that make it hard. I just don't know if I want to be fighting to buckle the 3 youngers when they are all tucked back there, yk? Any thoughts on that? (FYI the second row where the two big kids would sit are bucket seats, not a bench. With option to have the access to the back on the side or in the middle.)

Just a couple of other thoughts... maybe some of you can help us flesh this out....

We are seriously thinking of getting another dog next summer. We have a bichon frise right now. But dh would really like to get a bouvier de flandres - which is a very large dog. So that has to factor in as well. The other thing that we are thinking about is that upgrading to a bigger vehicle means we can drive additional passengers. Be they the kids friends, or a grandparent joining us for skiing or whatever. There's another thing...lol... we cross country ski, so transporting people and all those skiis takes space.

BUT.... and here is the big BUT.... the van is paid off. Upgrading pretty much guarantees a car payment unless we experience a miracle and find something relatively new (don't need brand new) within a decent price range.

So those are the other factors in making this decision and we don't know what the right choice is yet. Good thing babies don't arrive overnight, isn't it?? :D

My radians and my Graco Snugride will fit three in a row even in our small Honda Accord! [thumbsup]

I imagine that any infant seat would behave similarly, unless it was way wider. So if you have radians already, you're not pushed to make any decision yet, as all of your younger kid carseats will likely fit three in a row on the back seat.

There's another thing...lol... we cross country ski, so transporting people and all those skiis takes space.

:D

Do you have a thule box now? We love our box for skis and extra cargo room. It makes a big difference for us. :)

Toting others played into our upgrade as well. We live down here, away from fam. Fam would visit then we'd have to take separate vehicles to all go somewhere together. Sucky. :p

As for the 3 most 'difficult' in the rear...ugh..I wouldn't want to crawl back there to buckle 3 kids, personally. Can Liam and Fiona buckle themselves? So that you can just give an eye check from the middle row?

Then maybe they could buckle one of the next ones. Leaving the youngest two, or the baby and whoever, in the middle row for you to tend to.

My 5 yr old buckles himself, has for...gosh, feels like forever. I have my older kids buckle the youngers, then they help supervise as the youngers learn to do it themselves. I still look to see that things are up to par, but I've trained my elders to be mini-child passenger safety technicians hehe

Then, back to the upgrade thing...yeah, we had a paid for vehicle too. It hurts to think about having a payment again. But, it's not the end of the world. ;) But I'm all about people and cargo space, it would have won out even if we hadn't found out we were expecting #7 :)

Kathaleen, we don't currently have something for the top of the vehicle for skiis, but we might have to look into it.

Tara... you really seem to think like me when it comes to cars, space and ease of use! :) I know we can fit the 3 youngers across the back and make due. But I *know* it would drive me nuts. Short term, maybe. (ie. If we don't find anything before baby, I could manage while we keep looking.) I just don't think I can make the back bench work with 3 kids without it being the three youngers. And we're having the same thoughts about family coming and constantly having to drive multiple cars.

Liam and Fiona can buckle themselves, but again, I just don't think I can fit them in the back row. Definitely not both of them. Callum is just learning to click his seatbelts closed, but of course can't tighten on his own. Once we hit the cold weather and winter jackets come out... I'm not sure if he'll be able to do that anymore. You know...bulk and mitts and all. I need to figure out what we are doing about a new bucket seat for this baby (other one expired) so that I can actually try out some arrangements and see how bad they are. :lol: And just wrap my brain around having a car payment again. sigh. Once this is solved, I'll wonder why I stressed about it so much. Right now, I'm just wondering why life can't be just a little bit simpler. lol :)

I know y'all get cold up there and have to bundle, but remember not to get too bulky in the car seat. It is best to stick to a good fleece jacket, put the straps on, tighten up, wear your bigger coat backwards, or cover with a blanket. I know, I know, I know....not fun, not easy up there. I just want to help you keep your crew safe. :)

Ok, CPST hat off ;)

Can Liam tighten Callum up though? That could be helpful.

As for baby seats, check Graco, Chicco and Britax. Oh or the Onboard Air (may not have that name just right *and* I don't remember for sure what's available to you). But any of those are good seats and should be slim enough to fit in tight spaces. At least, 'sort of' tight ones.

Are their boosters *that* big that you would have a hard time fitting Callum in between Liam and Fiona in the rear? Seems that, with having Radians, that should help greatly in being able to squeeze. But I have no experience with their boosters so I don't know how they puzzle or fit at all.

Anywho, sorry, car seats got thrown in....mix big vehicles and car seats and you got me suckered into a conversation...one you may not be ready to endure. LOL I'll step away now. Let me know if you need anything ;)

Don't worry about it Tara... I appreciate your input. Have you ever lived somewhere where winter gets to be -30 on a regular basis? Fleece jackets just are not an option..even with warmer ones on top. I do look for jackets with better than average compressibility so that buckling is tight. :)

I'm not sure if Liam could tighten Callum yet. And even if I could fit Callum in between Fiona and Liam in the back (I don't know if we could), I'm not sure they could get their hands in between seats to buckle, yk? It would be that tight. So.... we'll see. We're not in a huge rush to purchase anything... likely not until the new year at the earliest unless we find something amazing. ;) There's time. I'm sure we'll figure something out. And if I need seat advice then, I know who to ask. :D

No, I've not. And I know those in such a climate always say "hello? really? have you lived here? you have no friggin idea!" hehe

But I do know folks who do/have lived in such and manage fleece jackets while strapped in, warming car before trips, wearing bigger coats backwards, etc.

I know it has to be VERY cumbersome and unenjoyable. That's why I just politely remind parents what is "ideal" and encourage them to do the best they can. :)

I gotcha on the 3 in back. I have to watch my placement because my girl has a harder time buckling next to another seat. Thankful to have options now LOL (for that...not so much for my Radians, but that's a whole other issue)

But I do know folks who do/have lived in such and manage fleece jackets while strapped in, warming car before trips, wearing bigger coats backwards, etc.


I'd like to know who these people are and how they managed that exactly. [cheerful] I just know that the places we go and the timelines we work with it isn't always possible to warm the car before getting in... [weathersnowman][weathersnowflake][weathersnowman] I *hate* winter and car seats. I learned very quickly it was worth the extra money to purchase more expensive coats that are not nearly as thick and cumbersome so that they buckle in more effectively. :)

Kim,
We were looking at a Sienna or Odyssey '06 versions last year to go bigger from a Camry. We had a Suburban when my first 3 were very young, great vehicle. We ended up with a used Yukon XL '02 that uses flex fuel. The vehicle amount was less as well as the insurance (TX rates) compared to the Sienna/Odessey. The inside condition of the trucks seemed much better than most of the minivans we looked at. The roof rack and large cargo area are great for storage. Graco boosters will fit 3 across in the back and middle. We'll be looking for a used Excursion diesel,since our children are getting bigger and our family size is getting larger,next time around.
Hope that helps!
Blessings~Christie

Thanks for your input Christie. :D We have a Sienna right now, and it has been really great with the four kids. We're actually considering trying to keep it even when we upgrade so that when I'm out and about with only 2-3 kids, I don't have to drive a big beast! lol

Just wanted to insert here... I really hate minivans but we do have one and one thing that is really nice when you have smallish kids... the sliding doors will not ding the vehicle next to you! I think it would be a disaster for us to have an SUV at this point cuz the boys are always bouncing in and out and opening & slamming the doors on their own.

Don't know if it helps you, but I think it's something to keep in mind. :)

Thankfully for this baby... the big boys are 8 and 6 so they're old enough to buckle themselves up quickly in the back, and Sawyer and the baby can be in the captain seats.

And yes, to the issue of winter jackets... simply not possible in our country to not wear their parkas in the car seats. We don't park in our garage (it's tiny and we need it for storage) so when it's -30 and you don't have 1/2 hour to warm it up? Yup, you wear parkas! :)

Good point about the doors, Margi!! I had not thought of that. :)