Multiples
3 carseats in a van
We have a marathon for DD (rear facing) and will have two keyfit 30's.
We were out test driving all mini vans today and are now really confused about the carseat configurations in most of them. The oddesey seemed like it would work perfectly but my husband prefers the Sienna. However, I don't know how the three will fit. Infants in the second row with the center removed and DD in the 3 row center. How would I buckle her in rear facing and have both twins snapped in?
I feel like I am missing something?
Also, my husband has read that the oddessey has reliability issues. Which is why he is leaning towards the Sienna. Any one have any problems with theirs?
Thanks so much.
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Re: 3 carseats in a van
This is the setup that we have in our T&C except that we have the passenger side captains chair stowed below so we can all climb in if we need to. It's especially handy if it is raining or if someone parked too closely on the driver's side.
If you did decide to put the twins into the second row and your oldest in he third row you can fold down part of the back row and climb in through the back of the van to get her in and out. We considered it when we moved the twins to their convertible seats (easier to strap them in) but we didn't want to lose the storage that we have behind the back row since we store our stroller behind one half of the bench seat.
ETA: I should add that we've always put one twin in the second row and one in the third row with our oldest, who is forward facing. He's able to see and talk to both of them and try to calm them down if they get fussy while we're driving.
Christian Alexander - 11/13/06
Amelia Rose & Owen Thomas - 3/29/11
We have zero issues with our Odyssey.
We've had a multitude of arrangements since the twins arrived. When they were in infant seats, we took out the driver's side captain's chair. DD1 was in the pass. capt. chair, and the twins were in the 3rd row.
When the twins started in their convertibles, we put the chair back in, took out the middle, and slide the passenger captain chair towards the middle (the capts chairs were then touching). Twins in the capt chairs, DD1 in the first spot in the 3rd row.
Now we're back to the driver's side capt chair being gone. I just switched the twins to FF yesterday, so DD1 and DD2 are in the 3rd row while DS is in the pass. capt. chair.
I love having the open floor space for bags, diaper changes, and getting everyone buckled in the rain without getting soaked. We decided to go back to this configuration, too, when my DH deployed. I wanted everyone in and out of the same door so that I could make sure no one headed for the street while I was otherwise occupied.
Wow, looks like we have been doing and thinking the same exact thing. I was about to write this exact same post. We've been out test driving for the last few weekends.
We were between the Odyssey and the Sienna, but now we're both 100 percent sold on the Sienna.
But then I too started wondering about how it would be easiest to get everyone in and out. We're expecting twins and we have a 20 month old who is still rear facing. All along I imagined the twins in the second row and my son in the back row... but it's going to be super complicated to get back there and buckle him in so-- I'm leaning towards taking 1 captain chair out and putting at least one of the twins back on the 3rd row. That way I can have easy access to buckling him into this rear facing chair.
Since the twins will only need to be clicked it it won't be as tough I'm hoping
We test drove both and decided on the Odyssey. Feature for feature the Odyssey was less expensive. Slightly better gas mileage, and for me, the biggest one was all three kids will fit in the second row. DD (2.5) can still be RF and the twins can go in the captains chairs. DD can climb in her own seat and mostly buckle herself. It will mean that she gets loaded first, and then once she's strapped in we load the kids. This gives us the entire third row to stow or, if necessary use with other adults. I can't explain why but I didn't want either my oldest or one of my babies in the way back. However, if you do decide you want that configuration in the Odyssey you can take out the 2nd row center console (and the driver/passenger one if you wish) and create an alley all the way down the center of the van to allow you access to the back from the inside without ever having to get out. My cousin has that set up and in the rain she says it's great. She gets all the kids physcially in the van, gets in the driver seat, and then walks back to buckle everyone in.
As far as reliability is concerned, ours is so new that we haven't had any problems. But again, extended warranties (drive train mainly) were significantly less expensive on the Odyssey than on the Toyota. I own a Lexus now and while I'll say the car itself has been great, service is expensive and it's not significantly cheaper on the Toyota. Honda gave us the option to pre-pay service which is great because we're now done with all regular service appointments until 100k miles. And the warranties combined cover that as well -- so honestly, if you are worried about reliability and service issues you can address all that at time of purchase.
One last thing, don't know how old your oldest is, but DD could easily climb in and out of the Odyssey on her own. She could not climb in the Sienna easily. It's slightly higher to get in and out of. Another big selling point for us was her ability to get herself in the car leaving us with one less thing to think about.
Our crazy, wonderful life