...And 3 is a crowd

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SuperDave456

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"Two is company...3 is a crowd"

Now that we are contemplating a 3rd kiddo I'm wondering how to get them around
We already have 2 SUV's and a truck. But they all have 2 rows of seats and cannot fit 3 car seats on that back row.

So I'm going to need something with a 3rd row of seats.

Kiddo #3 isn't on the way... yet.
But I figure that this is something I need to begin to research.
The oldest kiddos will be 3 years and the middle kiddo around 2 years.

What are your feelings on SUV's with 3 rows of seats?
Minivans?
Anything else I'm missing?

I'd love to purchase used.
 
Three row crossovers are the new rage for growing families. Many of them have minimal room in the third row though.

A minivan might be your best bet unless you want awd or 4wd. Toyota Sienna is a good choice.

Also, it’s not just the kids, it’s all their gear as well and they always get bigger.
 
Im in the same boat. The regular cab truck has gotta go, and im thinking about an suv. I work for Ford so ill be getting either an Explorer, or preferrably an Aviator. The wifes car holds everyone, but just barely. I cant bring myself to buy a minivan.
 
We had a minivan when we had 3 kids at home. Bought it new so we were stuck with it for many years, due to depreciation. If I could do that over, I would have bought a used Suburban...
 
I REALLY liked the Ford Windstar and Grand Caravan we had.

The windstar had great power and gas mileage, but felt a little lightly built.

The dodge handled FAR better and was more comfortable -
but had plenty of "weird" mopar electrical system issues.
 
Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
"Two is company...3 is a crowd"

Now that we are contemplating a 3rd kiddo I'm wondering how to get them around
We already have 2 SUV's and a truck. But they all have 2 rows of seats and cannot fit 3 car seats on that back row.

So I'm going to need something with a 3rd row of seats.

Kiddo #3 isn't on the way... yet.
But I figure that this is something I need to begin to research.
The oldest kiddos will be 3 years and the middle kiddo around 2 years.

What are your feelings on SUV's with 3 rows of seats?
Minivans?
Anything else I'm missing?

I'd love to purchase used.


Get yourself a minivan. Other people think it sucks to drive a minivan. They are some of the most practical vehicles you can own.

I've been driving a minivan since 2006. My manhood is still intact.
 
I remeber being able to fit 3 car seats across in the back of our 2005 Trailblaze LS, but one seat was a small booster. Our other vehicle was a 2001 windstar at the time. There's been a MV in our fleet ever since. Kind of a necessity for a family of 6.
 
A crew cab truck is working for my buddy with 3 but his oldest is in a booster seat. If you buy narrower car seats you may find 3 wide works in a wider midsize SUV.
 
We have 4 kids; aged 11, 8, 5, and 2. A minivan or 3-row SUV is definitely the way to go, for a family hauler, preferably with bucket seats in the middle row. So, the older kids can hop into the 3-row and buckle themselves without having to adjust the middle seats...

When you go from 2 kids to 3+ kids you have to change from a man-to-man defense to zone coverage, in order to maximize efforts. ANYTHING you can do to make simple day-to-day tasks easy to navigate will make your life better less stressful.
 
Originally Posted By: Al
Pass on the 3rd kid. in another 10 years you will understand why.


I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking this.
And I was third born, out of four, so I believe I speak from some form of experience.

BC.
 
Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: Al
Pass on the 3rd kid. in another 10 years you will understand why.


I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking this.
And I was third born, out of four, so I believe I speak from some form of experience.

BC.


please 'esplain

Fourth of four and didn't have any problems with my placement.
It gave me the opportunity to observe the older siblings' mistakes and make better life decisions
coffee2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
"Two is company...3 is a crowd"

Now that we are contemplating a 3rd kiddo I'm wondering how to get them around
We already have 2 SUV's and a truck. But they all have 2 rows of seats and cannot fit 3 car seats on that back row.

So I'm going to need something with a 3rd row of seats.

Kiddo #3 isn't on the way... yet.
But I figure that this is something I need to begin to research.
The oldest kiddos will be 3 years and the middle kiddo around 2 years.

What are your feelings on SUV's with 3 rows of seats?
Minivans?
Anything else I'm missing?

I'd love to purchase used.


Welcome to my consistent gripe about so-called suvs. Suburban or minivan has been my realized claim for years.

Buy a minivan, save a ton of money compared to a suburban, and enjoy space and cargo capacity. 3 row suvs that aren't a suburban are idiotic. There's negligible cargo space behind. We had friends that were convinced a three row SUV would be fine for their third. A minivan was bought soon after the birth.

I did recently rent a suburban that returned 27MPG over a long highway cruise. It just can't hold up in city driving. But the new suburban mpgs are pretty impressive given the engine size and rating. A modern base suburban makes the same hp as the big block 454 from 1998.

But a suburban starts around $50k, and it's easy to get out of a dealership with a minivan for 30-40k, saving a ton of money.
 
For 3 mini-me families a minivan is the way to go. If you want bigger, one of the full size vans would work but then you're paying fuel cost.


I have it on good authority (from more than one set of parents I know) that parental workload isn't a linear increase on the third child, but rather exponential. "Zone defense" indeed!
 
One kid was plenty for us- and it let me keep the vehicles in my fleet relatively small and entertaining.
We might have had a second if our first had slept through the night more than once in the first sixteen months...
 
We went through the same thought process as you. We currently have 2 kids in car seats but will likely have a 3rd in the next year or two. My wife had a Lexus GX460 that had 3 rows but almost zero cargo space behind the 3rd row when it was in use. No way would we be able to get a stroller or groceries back there. Minivans are the best bang for the buck in your situation but go figure, we ended up with a Yukon XL (Suburban) which my wife loves and will hopefully serve us well for years to come. They do make narrower car seats that allow 3-wide in most every vehicle which would be the most cost effective option of all.
 
Originally Posted By: MCompact

We might have had a second if our first had slept through the night more than once in the first sixteen months...


Ha!

*

Wife was fine with 2 in seats in a Civic, but I think everyone was happier when we traded up to the Camry. Which could do three boosters across the back, if needed.

The downside of a minivan seems to be horrible tire life. And it seemed like the electric sliding doors, as a rule, would eventually need a repair. But the sliding door prevents door dings (to other cars) so that might be a wash. I think that just leaves working on a transverse engine and maybe (lack of) AWD as drawbacks.
 
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