Carrie_R
Ambassador - CPS Technician
My head is spinning, so I'm hoping someone can give me even a bit of guidance, especially with width/3rd row/RF issues.
I'm seriously considering a Pilot (2003/2006) as my "new" vehicle. The third row, while short on leg room, seems to be okay width-wise, but I'm not sure how it would do with RFing seats. So, I'm trying to figure out if this vehicle can work for me, in both my "school year" and "summer" configurations.
At the moment, I own: Radian80SL, Scenera, MR, Cosco Ambassador (backup use only,) Apex (which we all hate.)
Summer, I think is do-able. I'll have six kids:
Z, 8, 53" and about 90lb. I think he'd fit in the 3rd row without a booster, but if not, either nbb or a Pronto.
A, 8, 49" and 60lb. Not sure about the boosterless fit, probably NBB as well.
C, 6, 49" and 65lb. Thinking about a Monterey for him, I was leaning towards nbb until he used one for a longer trip today, and this kid NEEDS a back still. For sleeping purposes, and for not leaning out of the belt to poke his brother purposes.
N, 5, 44"ish and 50lb. He's almost booster ready, but not for the time we travel in the summer -- so I think Nautilus is where I want him. But it's wide.
J, 3, 39" and 40lb. RF Radian, can turn it FF whenever he tops out on weight.
S, 16mos @ summer, mid-20slb. RF MR. (I'm willing to get him something different if I need to, but I really loved the MR.)
My thinking would be to have the three oldest in the back, enter through the hatch, and then move the nbbs into and out of place. Obviously if I get a Monterey it will stay put, but I'm open to something else, too. OTOH, I could put the RFers back there and load THEM through the hatch, but will RFing seats fit in that third row?
In either event, I'm pretty confident I could get something to work. My kids are monkeys, and I'll often find them coming "out" of the wrong row of my old van (ie, my 3rd row kids crawl down off of my 2nd row, because they've crawled up the RFing seats and jumped into the 2nd row.) So if they need to climb over/around seats, it's not a big deal.
More concerning is my school year setup. I still have Z, C, J, N, and S (everyone but A.) However, Z "shares" a spot with two girls I watch, CC (almost 4/38"?/32lb) and CS (21mos/tiny/19lb.) I have them while he's in school. Typically I keep a seat installed for CC at all times, and switch out Z's booster with CS's seat. I had CC in a TF, but she also fit in and liked a Scenera, and CS used a Scenera. I'm trying to decide (a) which of them gets to keep the Scenera, and (b) how I would go about arranging them if I got a Pilot.
Z and C need to get out for school dropoff. Their school, in their ultimate wisdom, decided it would be best if the children exited the vehicle via the driver's side. It's easiest if I can give them access to this, but I'd also be willing to do an alternate dropoff method (ie, stopping in a side parking lot and getting them out the back hatch, etc.)
So...
*Six in a Pilot?
*Monterey for C? Does it fit 3 across?
*RFing in that third row?
*Can I fit a MR and a Nauti in that vehicle, in a 3 across?
What else would you buy? Do I need to sell anything? I *can* get a Radian for CC/CS to fit them, but as little as I have them, I'd prefer not to if I don't have to.
Thanks for any little bit of experience or guidance anyone has. I can do a new vehicle, I can do carseats with my eyes shut, but trying to put it all together (and quickly!) is a little more than I can wrap my brain around.
I'm seriously considering a Pilot (2003/2006) as my "new" vehicle. The third row, while short on leg room, seems to be okay width-wise, but I'm not sure how it would do with RFing seats. So, I'm trying to figure out if this vehicle can work for me, in both my "school year" and "summer" configurations.
At the moment, I own: Radian80SL, Scenera, MR, Cosco Ambassador (backup use only,) Apex (which we all hate.)
Summer, I think is do-able. I'll have six kids:
Z, 8, 53" and about 90lb. I think he'd fit in the 3rd row without a booster, but if not, either nbb or a Pronto.
A, 8, 49" and 60lb. Not sure about the boosterless fit, probably NBB as well.
C, 6, 49" and 65lb. Thinking about a Monterey for him, I was leaning towards nbb until he used one for a longer trip today, and this kid NEEDS a back still. For sleeping purposes, and for not leaning out of the belt to poke his brother purposes.
N, 5, 44"ish and 50lb. He's almost booster ready, but not for the time we travel in the summer -- so I think Nautilus is where I want him. But it's wide.
J, 3, 39" and 40lb. RF Radian, can turn it FF whenever he tops out on weight.
S, 16mos @ summer, mid-20slb. RF MR. (I'm willing to get him something different if I need to, but I really loved the MR.)
My thinking would be to have the three oldest in the back, enter through the hatch, and then move the nbbs into and out of place. Obviously if I get a Monterey it will stay put, but I'm open to something else, too. OTOH, I could put the RFers back there and load THEM through the hatch, but will RFing seats fit in that third row?
In either event, I'm pretty confident I could get something to work. My kids are monkeys, and I'll often find them coming "out" of the wrong row of my old van (ie, my 3rd row kids crawl down off of my 2nd row, because they've crawled up the RFing seats and jumped into the 2nd row.) So if they need to climb over/around seats, it's not a big deal.
More concerning is my school year setup. I still have Z, C, J, N, and S (everyone but A.) However, Z "shares" a spot with two girls I watch, CC (almost 4/38"?/32lb) and CS (21mos/tiny/19lb.) I have them while he's in school. Typically I keep a seat installed for CC at all times, and switch out Z's booster with CS's seat. I had CC in a TF, but she also fit in and liked a Scenera, and CS used a Scenera. I'm trying to decide (a) which of them gets to keep the Scenera, and (b) how I would go about arranging them if I got a Pilot.
Z and C need to get out for school dropoff. Their school, in their ultimate wisdom, decided it would be best if the children exited the vehicle via the driver's side. It's easiest if I can give them access to this, but I'd also be willing to do an alternate dropoff method (ie, stopping in a side parking lot and getting them out the back hatch, etc.)
So...
*Six in a Pilot?
*Monterey for C? Does it fit 3 across?
*RFing in that third row?
*Can I fit a MR and a Nauti in that vehicle, in a 3 across?
What else would you buy? Do I need to sell anything? I *can* get a Radian for CC/CS to fit them, but as little as I have them, I'd prefer not to if I don't have to.
Thanks for any little bit of experience or guidance anyone has. I can do a new vehicle, I can do carseats with my eyes shut, but trying to put it all together (and quickly!) is a little more than I can wrap my brain around.