Fitting 4 carseats in Toyota Sienna 8 pass

Hi,
Bear with me. I have a bunch of questions and limited time to research these on my own like I normally would.

We are expecting #4 soon, and trying to work out the carseat situation. I have a 7 yo, 5 yo, and 3 yo and a newborn soon. They are all still harnessed in their carseats. 3 yo is still rear facing.

The seats we currently have are:
7 yo--in Graco Cherished Cargo--he is really tiny (still under 40 lbs, but getting close so will need a new seat soon --or move up to brother's marathan)
5 yo--in Britax Marathan (slightly over 40 lbs--just realized his shoulders are near top slots, so he'll need a new seat)
3 yo--Evenflo Triumph (seems fine for now)
newborn- we'll use the Graco Snug ride infant carrier

I'd like to put the 2 littler ones rearfacing in the middle seat with one of the side captain's chairs flipped down so the older ones can get to the back seat. In the Sienna, the back seat splits (2 seater/1 seat). We live away from civilization so usually our shopping trips are full of purchases, so ideally I'd like to see if 2 carseats can squeeze into that 2 seat back section with the 1 seat part down. Does anyone know if that is possible????

I was thinking I'd buy another Britax for ds 5 and move ds 7 up to the Marathan since he has a shorter torso, but I don't think that 2 Britax seats will fit. Anyone know?

Is a Radian seat a lot skinnier than a Britax? Are the top harness slots much higher than the Marathan? WOuld a Radian and a Marathan fit on that 2 seat section? I think that only the window side has LATCH.

Thanks so much!

In the very back, the Middle and the Passenger side(Not Driver side) have Latch positions. I've never tried a Radian in there so I can't tell you how it would fit.

I would put the baby rfing in the middle of the middle row. You can stagger the seats there, so the baby's chair is is actually about 6 inches forward of the other two chairs in the row. Then, you can easily get two seats to fit around that one. You should then be able to fit one seat on either the single back or double back seat. I don't think you'll be able to fit two car seats on that back double seat; MAYBE if one seat is rf and the other is ff, but I don't know. It's tight.

Of course, with this layout the one in back will have to do some climbing LOL.

ETA If your 5yo needs to move up to a Regent now, you will likely have to put him in the middle row seats. It is pretty impossible to install them in the back row with the new install rules...the seat belt isn't long enough to buckle the seat in with the recline bar, IIRC, from when I tried. And, if you try to put that seat in the back, there is no way you will get a 2nd seat next to it.

We have a Toyota Sienna 8 seater 2004. Based on our experience. Two booster base only seats do not fit next to each other in the back 3rd row. You can put one in the center only and no other boosters in the back. The only way we can get two boosters in the back is by putting one out board behind the driver and one outboard behind the passenger on the last row. If two booster bases only won't fit I think full carseats might not either.

You can put two MA on the second row. One in the small center seat and one outboard behind driver. I stagger the car's seats slightly with the center one forward. This way I can still flip up the seat behind the passenger to let other people/children to the 3rd back row.

I tried a Radian FF in the center of the second row and could only get a satisfactory install in that seat latch only. I originally planned for two Radians for my girls so I tried them in it and there seems to definitely be more space and height growth left in there then the MA. Like I said I could not get a satisfactory install without latch and because of our other vehicle, no latch, it is not a good option for us so I ended up MA. I think all but the driver side outboard on the 3 rd row back have latch in the Sienna. You might want to take that in consideration when cosidering the Radian.

We also have a larger family and use the Sienna for shopping. I add a lot of groceries on the floor in front/underneath the car seat. I don't think you can get that one single seat folded down in the back and have two full size car seats on that one double bench. Also if you need latch I beleive there is none on the third seat behind the driver site.

Let us know what set up ends up working for you. I have a similar car and always like to know what the possibilities are.

And yes the Radian is definitely a nice narrow seat. I wished this seat had worked out for us.
Anna

magoose said:

If two booster bases only won't fit I think full carseats might not either.

Click to expand...

Actually booster bases tend to be larger than some of the carseat bases. I had 3-across in our VW Golf; turbobooster, Marathon, turbobooster. When the Marathon was outgrown, I figured I wouldn't have any problems getting a third Turbobooster in there, but I can't. The Turbobooster base is wider than the Marathon base, even though the seat of the Marathon is much wider.

So if she has a Marathon, which sits up on a narrow base, next to a Radian, which is narrow to begin and low enough to possibly sit slightly under the Marathon's seat, they might fit. Whereas with two boosters you're stuck with the widest parts of the seat sitting next to each other.

I have 4 kids with a similar age span (9, 7, 4 and 2) in an 8 passenger Sienna.

After a trip to IKEA once, I folded down the 40 side of the 3rd row and put both my boys back there, but they used really narrow Starriser Comfy boosters and it was still a bit of a squeeze. Also note that if you use the LATCH attachments for a harnessed seat in the center of the 3rd row, the car seat will overlap the driver's side seatbelt and make that spot unusable. Maybe you could squeeze 2 in with seatbelt installs, but that middle spot is awfully narrow.

It might be easier to just move one of the older ones to the 2nd row and fold down the bigger part of the 3rd row for your shopping trips. The one riding in back could then just climb in through the trunk.

For everyday, I have my younger ones middle and behind the driver 2nd row and the 2 older ones outboard in the 3rd. We can flip the passenger 2nd row seat for access although most of the time, I just keep it slid all the way forward and they just squeeze through.

HTH a little!

Good point about the bases being smaller maybe on a full seat! Didn't think about that. I was thinking of two Marathon like seats next to each other. Also I wasn't sure if the Radian would work on the one seat, drivers side, on the double bench because there is no latch but a combo of different seats might work with a Radian in the center because it has latch. When I tried the Radian on the small center seat of the second row it sure looked like a nice fit size wise. Anna

Defrost said:

Actually booster bases tend to be larger than some of the carseat bases. I had 3-across in our VW Golf; turbobooster, Marathon, turbobooster. When the Marathon was outgrown, I figured I wouldn't have any problems getting a third Turbobooster in there, but I can't. The Turbobooster base is wider than the Marathon base, even though the seat of the Marathon is much wider.

So if she has a Marathon, which sits up on a narrow base, next to a Radian, which is narrow to begin and low enough to possibly sit slightly under the Marathon's seat, they might fit. Whereas with two boosters you're stuck with the widest parts of the seat sitting next to each other.

Click to expand...

I have an 8 passenger Sienna and 4 kids, too .

For a weekend my kids spent with my best friend, I had my kids and her kids all in my van (we both only had 3 at that time). I did manage to get 3 harnessed seats, 2 of them MAs in the third row, but it was very, very tight. I do not think I could get 2 MAs side by side on the 60 portion of the seat. I had a Graco Cargo between them and it barely fit. I want to say that a Radian fits in the second row of the Sienna, but not in the third row, but I could be wrong, since I'm not the one who's tried it. I believe Jeanum has a Radian and she has the same van I do , so maybe she'll see this and comment. What I might do is this. Put the baby in the middle of the 2nd row, with the seat moved up. Put the older RF child in the passenger side of the 2nd row, with that seat also moved up as far as it can go without the carseat touching the front seat. Use LATCH to install this seat. Put your 5yo or your 7yo (probably 5yo) in the driver's side of the 2nd row. The passenger side seat being moved up, coupled with using a LATCH install leaves enough space for skinny kids to get past the seat into the 3rd row. This is how I got the 3 kids (2 MAs and the Cargo) into the third row when I had 6 seats in there. Then you're able to have the 60 portion of the bench down and your 7yo can probably buckle himself without help better than the others. I'd probably either give him the MA and get the 5yo a Regent or get him a Regent and keep the 5yo in the MA. FWIW, the Regent fits perfectly on the 40 portion of the third row AND it fits fine with room to spare in the 2nd row with 3 across (had 2 of them and a MA in the 2nd row several times). I love the versatility of my van!

Hiya, yup I also have an 8-passenger Sienna. Two kids, though and I haven't tried many combinations three across in the third row. Our Regent is installed third row center with the short belt path seatbelt method, and I can fit a Safeguard Go or Marathon next to it on the passenger side. I can wedge our FP Safe Voyage belt positioning booster in the third row driver's side next to the Regent, but I don't think it's possible to actually buckle the seatbelt for the FP booster. If I position the Regent just so in the third row center, a tich closer to the driver's side, I'm barely able to tumble the third row's passenger side section without uninstalling the Regent.

I haven't gotten up the nerve or energy to try to install the Radian in the Sienna because of the reported difficulties/impossibilities of doing so with the seatbelt. (I got the Radian primarily for DH's car for the most part, and I apologize for being under motivated to try it in the Sienna ). I think some Sienna owners posted in the successful Radian install thread, although it may have been in the second row of a 7-passenger Sienna, and/or a LATCH installation. I'll try to bump up the successful Radian install thread and link to it. It's long, but there should be a Sienna entry or two posted in it, going from memory. Here's the direct link to the thread: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=18235

I have a 7 passenger Sienna and tote around 4 kids - 2 are mine. 2 are my sisters.

Here are my thoughts:

Is it really a good idea to have so much cargo that you need to keep the smaller split seat down? I'm thinking possible projectiles in a crash. Granted the same thing could happen in a roll over with no seats folded down, maybe that's less likely to happen?

If you are planning to keep all kids harnessed there is only 1 tether location on the larger portion of the split seat - so you would not be able to top tether both seats - not sure if this matters to you or not. The other top tether location in the 3rd row is on the seat that would be folded down. Not a big deal if you are planning to use a booster for one of the kids in the 3rd row. But if you are trying to get to convertibles next to each other on the larger portion of the bench it will probably only work if you use one FF and one RF like someone else suggested.

Rather than keeping the extra 2nd row seat folded out of the way, can you completely remove it? I know both our captain's chairs can be removed, but we also have the option of having a middle aisle with both captain's chairs outboard, or having them side by side. You could remove it the extra seat in the 2nd row, and put the 3 year old RF in the 3rd row outboard driver's side (since a top tether is not needed) and then have another FF convertible next to that seat where there is a location to top tether. You could then have the infant and the other FF child in the 2 seats in the 2nd row and still have access to the 3rd row and extra cargo room if your really needed it. Does that make sense? Although it would still work with the extra seat folded down, I was just thinking if you removed it that it would give you the extra cargo space so you wouldn't have to fold down a portion of the 3rd row.

I will tell you that I was able to get an Apex65, a Fisher Price Safe Voyage Booster (very narrow) and an Evenflo convertible (not sure what the model was b/c it was a friend's seat) all FF in the 3rd row. It was a tight fit, but it did work.