help with vehicle purchase - extended van

I posted this under carseats, but now see this is a better place to ask this question. I need to purchase a vehicle to fit 10. 3 babies in infant seats, 2 in toddler seats, and 2 other young children. Also 3 adults. I like the Dodge Sprinter but they do not come with tether anchors. Can they be installed? They don't have the LATCH system either, but I can use the seatbelts for this. The 12 passenger Chevy Express (or GMC) does not have head rests for the rear passengers, and many seats only have lap belts. Also, I was not able to tell if all the carseats would actually "fit" properly and still leave room for the other passengers. I cannot use a 15 passenger as I must have room for strollers, etc as cargo and do not like the seat so close to the rear of the vehicle. Thanks.

We have a 15 passenger express van and here is the set up. Obviously, subtract 1 row of 3 in your case..but everything else will apply. I was very concerned with how the car seats went in, so I understand how you feel.

Ours is a 2006.

The set up is as follows

Drivers Seat: No latch, no tether (obvious)
Passenger Seat: Tether, plus off switch for air bag (not next gen air bags)
First Row: Two latch anchors (both outboard), two tethers matching the latch points. All belts are lap/shoulder.

Second/Third Row: No latch anchors, one center tether. Center seat is lap belt only.
NOTE: These are not interchangable with the first row. They appear the same, but the brackets are slightly different. Trust me the difference is not apparent until you have wrestled, by yourself, because your wife is pregnant, both seats out of the van and back in in different order and looked closely at the brackets. Guess who got to do that one

Last/Fourth Row: No latch or tether points, four seating positions, center seats are lap belt only.

We have installed the following seats in the van with no issues

Britax Marathon RF and FF
Cosco Alpha Omega (one almost expired and two newer ones)
Evenflo Triumph
A couple of different boosters
One RF infant carrier, brand unknown

We've never tried 3 seats in a row, but we have done two and a booster, easily.

In ours we've easily had 11 people (15 passenger, remember) with room to spare.

If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to answer them.

Question are you having triplets? if you are congratz and best of luck.
Cant help with the van though the biggest i have had is a huge truck but doesnt seat any more than a car.

Question are you having triplets? if you are congratz and best of luck.
Cant help with the van though the biggest i have had is a huge truck but doesnt seat any more than a car.

Click to expand...

Me, nope. We have three with a fourth on the way and frequently watch two others (at least once a week). I got tired of fighting with getting 5 seats in the Sienna and knowing we were going to be unable to transport the entire family and the extras on those days after my wife has the baby. So I traded in the sienna (quiet, 20mpg, nice ride, nice looking, power sliding door) for a large gold-colored box that gets 13mpg.

However, I can now tranport a small army. So it was worth it...I guess.

Well i know how that is. I have a feeling down the road i will be getting one too. I do not have any children yet but if i get the amount i want i will get 5 and i know i will always be taking my godchildren out and i know she will have more even if she says no (she is not yet 21 with 3) so i will need something big too but hopfuly not for many many years. I am sorry i cant help i hope you find something you like.

Yes, we do have infant triplets. We also have four other children, two in carseats. I am hoping someone can tell me if the Sprinter has tether anchors. After trying carseats in the 12 and 15 passenger vans, I think they fit better in the sprinter, but the salesperson was very unhelpful regarding tethers. I did try another 12 passenger this weekend, and I could make the seats fit, but it would be very tight.

I checked the 05 LATCH Manual (07 coming soon!) and if a vehicle has a "none" label (for Dodge anyway), it means not only are there no lower or top anchors, but there are also no retrofit kits available.

I hope they correct this in the future if they haven't already! I'm sorry I don't have better news for you. Maybe this could be asked on the CPSPList to see if anything has changed since the 05 manual came out (most current edition until the 07 is out).

Thank you. I just visited the site mentioned and and waiting to be able to post. If I cannot add tether anchors to the sprinter, then is it possible to add more tether anchors to the Chevy express or other 12 passenger as they did have some anchors but not enough. On the Chevy, they came out of the bottem of the seats, and I did not know how they would be able to add more. Also in the other 12 passengers, the seats were low with no headrests and only some seating positions had three point harnesses. Does anyone have any other options for seating so many people and carseats properly. (10 people, 5 in carseats?) Is it possible to find someone who customized vehicles to add tether anchors to the Sprinter?

I just purchased a used mini-bus that seats 14 to replace my 12 passenger van (I have 3 very busy kids). It's only 3 inches wider than my old Chevy Express. The thing about these vehicles is that they use a standard track seating system that is compatible with many types of bus seats. That means you can buy seat rows that have integrated child seats, latch seats, etc. See http://www.safeguardseat.com/bus/products_seat.htm for some examples.

The two things that really sold me on going with a mini but instead of a van is the ease of getting everyone in and out with a bus door/center aisle, and the rollover safety (they meet school bus safety standards).

The vehicle I purchased is called a Turtle Top Van Terra. Google it to see what you think.

I have recently found the Turtle Top vehicles and Love what I see! However, when I have called the price is outrageous! (55,000). Where were you able to find a used one? I love the seat belt options! If I could afford it it would definately be in my driveway! So, if I bought a used one, I could put other seats in it?
Thanks!