Large families, 5+ kids, what do you drive?

What do you love about it?

*sigh*
We drive 2 small vehicles.
We like..uh..nothing about it? Well..i suppose the gas muileage is the only plus. Even driving BOTH vehicles, we get better gas mileage combined than most large people movers. And, of course when we take only 1 vehicle and less than everyone, we are getting MUCH beter gas mileage taking 1 compact car than a large, partially-filled people mover.
Otherwise? ya, total suckage.

We have a 9 passenger conversion van that gets about 15-18 miles per gallon. But, we take it when we have at least 8 or 9 people. ANd mostly on the highway for our 1.5-2.5 hour trips to family. Otherwise, I get dh to take the sienna, which gets about 25 average, or the caddy, which gets less Yes, I don't think our extra vehicle for our son gets much better mileage than our big van. Eh, maybe it gets about 20, I could ask, as it has those gauges.

We love the conversion van. It is a bit noisy, but front seats are fully adjustable and heated:thumbsup: There are 4 captain's seats, with full latch, plus, that sofa/bench/bed thing has a tether for that center seat that has no headrest, and a shoulder belt (though the lock for that belt does not stay locked long enough). ANd I can fit a double stroller (in 2 peices at that!) and a single, and lots of other stuff back there. The entertainment system is fabulous, and there are headsets for each back seat, so we can listen to the radio instead. I got a great upright install of a radian in one of the captain's seats, plus a rf boulevard in front of it:thumbsup: I also have a regent and a monterey

Alas, we might need to sell it, for the money, as it is paid for... but we will cross that bridge when we come to it

Jennifer do mind if I ask how much it cost you?

I drive a Ford Windstar and I love it for 4 kids. Now that we'll have 5, its annoying. 5 car seats is a challenge. When my two oldest don't need boosters anymore it'll be fine. But with 2 FF, one RF and 2 boosters, it is a challenge.

April said:

Jennifer do mind if I ask how much it cost you?

I drive a Ford Windstar and I love it for 4 kids. Now that we'll have 5, its annoying. 5 car seats is a challenge. When my two oldest don't need boosters anymore it'll be fine. But with 2 FF, one RF and 2 boosters, it is a challenge.

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Pm me, and I will give you the details of how we got it

But, I have to go and get back to the family now

Double post

An 8 passenger toyota sienna. I love how we all fit and get all the modern conveniences. I like the 5 sets of latch and tether anchors, though I'd like 6 better.

We have an 03 Trailblazer Ext. It seats 7 and we love it. We also have an 06 Mustang for when we don't have everyone with, although we get the same gas mileage in both.
My sister has 5 kiddos also (plus add in a nephew and his gf) and she drive a 15 passenger van and loves it. She often has extras with her though.

Ford Excursion Seats 8, 6 of those can be in car seats with just about any seat working in just about any position.

I hate that there are only 4 head rests, which means I'm only comfortable with 4 people in the car that are NOT in car seats. It is rarely an issue, but as we get older our friends kids get older so no going places with another couple and their older kids in one vehicle. The gas mileage sucks, 8-9 with the trailer and 10-16 without.

I want a Ford Fiesta when they come out next month. If I can actually have 2 kids in booster or radians and a teen in the back seat. DH wants the new Ford F350 diesel. We went and looked at it this past week. Seats 6 with all having headrest and shoulder belts. The really crappy part is that the is ZERO lower anchors because of the weight. With the kids getting older and moving to booster I want them latched in, which you need lower anchors to do.

In my dream world they will re-release the Excursion with all head rest and shoulder belts, throw in LATCH and we will buy a diesel. Don't see that happening so I'm not sure what we will do. We need to be able to tow more than we can right now.

I have an 8 passenger Suburban. It has lap/shoulder in all but one seat and headrests in 6 positions. It's wide enough that I can fit 4 carseats, myself, dh and the grandparents, along w/ a double stroller, grandpa's o2 and equipment (portable o2 concentrator = not small), haul our RV, and still be relatively comfortable. Our other vehicle is a 10 yr old minivan, and we're currently 'discussing' trading it in, most likely for a Mazda 5. We rarely transport the kids in the minivan (dh's vehicle) but like to have the option of comfortably transporting a child or two, or family, while they are here visiting.

(I answer this thread because we're technically expecting #6, even though I presently only have 4 in my care.)

TXAggieTech said:

Ford Excursion Seats 8, 6 of those can be in car seats with just about any seat working in just about any position.

I hate that there are only 4 head rests, which means I'm only comfortable with 4 people in the car that are NOT in car seats. It is rarely an issue, but as we get older our friends kids get older so no going places with another couple and their older kids in one vehicle. The gas mileage sucks, 8-9 with the trailer and 10-16 without.

I want a Ford Fiesta when they come out next month. If I can actually have 2 kids in booster or radians and a teen in the back seat. DH wants the new Ford F350 diesel. We went and looked at it this past week. Seats 6 with all having headrest and shoulder belts. The really crappy part is that the is ZERO lower anchors because of the weight. With the kids getting older and moving to booster I want them latched in, which you need lower anchors to do.

In my dream world they will re-release the Excursion with all head rest and shoulder belts, throw in LATCH and we will buy a diesel. Don't see that happening so I'm not sure what we will do. We need to be able to tow more than we can right now.

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Did y'all go to the Rodeo this year? They had a company there (tax shelter, ranch managing type company of some sort) that had a F-350 that they modified to have 6 doors all together. So it was drivers row, back seat row and then a third row with its own door. It was pretty cool!

If you google for 6 door trucks, there are several companies that custom make them, and can meet any number of specifications. Before we discovered I was expecting, we were looking at this route for dh's next vehicle, but it's going to be too costly for us at this point.

DaniCPST said:

Did y'all go to the Rodeo this year? They had a company there (tax shelter, ranch managing type company of some sort) that had a F-350 that they modified to have 6 doors all together. So it was drivers row, back seat row and then a third row with its own door. It was pretty cool!

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We did, but just to the livestock section to visit a heifer. DH has found a guy that turns F350 into Excursions, but I don't want to go that route. He also has been talking to an engineer at Ford about adding lower anchors, but I nixed that unless we could get it from the factory. I have full faith in my husband in most areas, but trusting him to modify a vehicle (even with an OEM engineer) isn't going to happen! I know he will eventually get the truck he wants and I will just have to harness as long as possible. It is just killing me, I have 4 latchable boosters and no car with LATCH!

Jennifer mom to my 7 said:

Pm me, and I will give you the details of how we got it

But, I have to go and get back to the family now

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This is the vehicle that I desperately want! LOL.
We drive a Yukon XL and I donèt like it(driving is fine though)...I think it sucks for use with multiple carseats and big kids, plus any tag alongs.

We have an 02 Suburban, 8 passenger. I love everything about it passenger wise. (I like the transmission, power steering and suspension better on our F150) It has the L/S belt on all outboard positions, and LBO in the 2 rear center. Headrests with all L/S belts. I'm not worried about the LBO/no headrest postions because my 2 youngest are 18 mon. and 32 mon. So they will still be in harnessed seats by the time this vehicle gets replaced.

K, we fit myself, DH, 2 non boostered kids and 3 harnessed (1 FF and 2 RF) + one harnessed 65-lbs dog, double stroller, pnp and duffle bags comfortably. We just got another dog though so we will probably be using the roof rack for more luggage.

No LATCH, manufactured Oct 01. Never had LATCH so I really don't miss it.

Honda Odyssey Touring and Volvo XC90.

What I like about the Odyssey:
It's like a second home for us. The 8th seat is useless, but just about everything else is wonderful for our family of six. The downside to the Odyssey is that you can really only have four child restraints in the rear 6 seats unless you get really creative and squishy.

The XC90:
LOVE the three across with just about anything you could ever imagine in that centre row. Hate the front-back space and how squishy the rear seats are. This thing drives like a sports car once you get past the extra weight and the crappy turning radius. The major downside to the XC90 is the 14MPG I get.

-N.

Technically not a "large family," since I do return the kids at the end of the day, but I do haul 5+ kids regularly so I'll answer anyways.

Right now I have a Pilot. More on that below. Before the Pilot, I had a GMC Safari. The good was that you could put any three car seats across that you wanted. The bad was that there were only TAs in three locations (second row outboard, third row passenger,) headrests only outboard, lap-only belts center. But, locking latchplates, so seats (except TF outboard) installed like a breeze. That dang thing broke down all of the time, constantly problems, it was loud, the gas mileage was crap (17 or so.) But, it seated eight, and was inexpensive, which was what I needed when I bought it.

The Pilot (2006) also has its good points and its bad points. It's safe, a lot safer than that Safari, which is the primary reason I went with it. For my purposes, I have three FF seats (or two and a RF on occasion) in the second row, and three RF seats in the third row, which I load through the back. That's perfect. I can also do two RF in the third row and a booster, with a child who is capable of sliding around a pre-buckled belt himself. Buckling a FF child back there would be impossible. And three acrosses are very difficult and limited. (Second row three-acrosses are great, though!)

OTOH, the car has six lap-shoulder belts, six headrests, and six TAs. It's amazing to not have to stress about how to arrange the FFing seats, or where I can booster. LATCH only second row outboard, though.

Long-term, I'm not sure how it would work for a family. Cargo room is zero with all rows up. The third row is difficult to access, although if I could put older kids back there, who could climb and buckle on their own, it might not be so bad. The other good point about it is that the row is somewhat "smaller," so kids will fit the belts earlier... so although it's hard (impossible?) to get three boosters back there, you won't need them as long. I have a large eight year old who fits the belts, and a six year old who almost does. Of course I'd never not booster the six year old, and the eight year old doesn't stay in position, but within a year or so he'll probably get sprung from the booster in the back.

If you stop at five, and can do two in the back row, and three second row, I might consider it. Or, if your kids are spread out enough that you can put a combo of older kids and RFers (a bucket would be great to just lift through the hatch) back there, I might consider it. If you'll need to puzzle three FF seats in that third row, eh, better vehicles can be found for that.

We have an 02 Chevy Venture, 8 passenger. I like that I can fit all the kids in seats, have 4 TTs, and I love remote doors. But I hate the safety ratings. When we get something new, it'll be a Ford Expedition or Chevy Suburban, 8 passenger. I'd like a Traverse, but it won't give us enough cargo room. We are hoping to wait until the boys don't need boosters, but that isn't seeming like it'll be soon. lol

Jennifer, I'm so glad I found this thread. I've been wondering what that vehicle is!

QueenM, I have 6, soon to be 7. Right now I drive a 2000 GMC Safari. Maybe not as nice as my SIL's Sienna, but it can haul a trailer & isn't nearly as cramped. It was the best we could afford in 2006 when #5 was on the way. Besides the power & space, I love that it hasn't caused us any trouble yet (fingers crossed), and didn't cost a whole lot. I also love that it ISN'T anyone's "baby" (unlike our previous F150), so I don't worry about dents/scratches when I leave it in a parking lot, and don't feel bad when I scuff the tires LOL.

Since we won't all fit into the Safari come August, we're looking to buy a recent (2005-2007) 15-passenger. The plan is to take out the back seat for now so we'll have an 11-passenger + cargo space for family trips, and only insure it for those trips. I'll still use the Safari to haul the children around while DH has his old Protege.

If/when #8 arrives, we'll dump the Safari and I'll use the 15-passenger full-time.

Or at least that's the plan for now. Might ditch the Safari & use the 15-p right away... Still have to buy it. DH is looking at a 2006 Chevy Express tomorrow.

Lesley (in Canada)