How would you set up my van?

featherhead

Well-known member
I'm trying to figure out how I want my van configured when baby comes in October. At that time DD1 will be 6y4m. She is currently 40 lbs and 45" and rides in a Monterey. DD2 will be 4y6m. She is 37 lbs 40" and rides in a FrontierXT. DD3 will be 23 months. She is 23 lbs 30" and rides rear-facing in a Radian XTSL. The baby will ride in a Keyfit.

I drive a '98 Odyssey. It is a 6 passenger. All positions have shoulderbelts and headrests. With all the seats up, I only have top tethers on the back bench. This is a really small van. The captains chairs do not slide forward or back, they also do not tilt forward. So to get to the back you have to go past the seat and down the aisle. The only rear-facing seat I have been able to get in the back so far is the Radian with AA, though I'd have to double check that it was an acceptable instal. The buckles are 4 inches forward of the bight, on a long flexible stalk.

So DD2 will have to go in the back in her Frontier. Keyfit will have to be in a captains chair. I need to figure out if I should put DD1 or DD3 in the other captains chair.

DD1 can easily buckle herself in the Monterey. She can also unbuckle herself, as well as the other girls for me. This has become her job. It has made things a lot easier for me. We will be working on DD2 buckling herself this summer. She can often get one side buckled, but not the other. And I'm afraid that in October she won't be able to when wearing a jacket as the straps are even tighter then.

If I put DD3 in a captains chair I will have to go through the front, and all the way to the back to buckle DD2. DD1 can do the unbuckling so I don't have to worry about that. They would have to all climb in before I pop the infant seat in.

If I put DD1 in a captains chair, she would have to wait outside the van while I climb in the back and buckle DD2 and DD3. Not sure how easy it will be to buckle DD3 rear-facing in the back. Like I said, this is a small van. It would be like leaning through the front seats of a car to buckle your rear-facer.

So, neither option is easy or convenient. Which would you choose?
 
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bnsnyde

New member
I buckle the FF and RF kid in back of our Odyssey through the trunk. The RF is easy and the FF requires bending that I can do now since I'm not pregnant, lol.
 

Kel

Well-known member
When I had six kids in my windstar, I would load 1 RFer through the hatch. It wasn't great, but it worked. My favorite seat for that was the MR65. It sat up higher, and made it easier to reach him. I'm short, so it helped.
 

jjordan

Moderator
That's almost the same ages that we have now. Baby is in the 2nd row driver's side, 4 yo 2nd row passenger side (FF), booster rider outboard passenger's side (I buckle the booster through the hatch if/when she forgets), toddler is RF 3rd row driver's side (she usually climbs into her seat by herself and gets buckled/unbuckled through the hatch).
 

featherhead

Well-known member
Hmm, I'll have to see how easy it is to load/buckle through the trunk. My one thought though, in the dead of winter when it is -30, a lot more heat escapes that way. There are no vents in the rear of the van at all, only in the very front, so I hate to let it all out.
 

Kel

Well-known member
Make sure you remove the head rest in the back if you put a RFer vs back there.that way you can lift them up and over. As far as loosing heat, I got really fast at it. IT's not that bad. It just sounds funny. And it looks REAL funny too other people, lol.
Like had people stop in a parking lot and watch me load babies through the hatch, lol. My DH in 6'4", he had no trouble, just reached over. I stood in the hatch.
 

Kel

Well-known member
Some other things that MIGHT work. Can you switch your seats? A few vans do. You could put 3person bench in middle and a captain's chair in back. If that worked, you could even leave one chair out for more room.

Or what I did later was buy a 2nd 3 person back bench....that made me able to do a TON more even with all 6kids in the back. A 3 person bench takes up less space than 2 captain's chairs. It fit closer to the drivers side and left a bigger gap on the passenger side to slide through to the back. Then you could put both RFers on the first bench.

Just something to think about. Good luck!
 

featherhead

Well-known member
Some other things that MIGHT work. Can you switch your seats? A few vans do. You could put 3person bench in middle and a captain's chair in back. If that worked, you could even leave one chair out for more room.

Or what I did later was buy a 2nd 3 person back bench....that made me able to do a TON more even with all 6kids in the back. A 3 person bench takes up less space than 2 captain's chairs. It fit closer to the drivers side and left a bigger gap on the passenger side to slide through to the back. Then you could put both RFers on the first bench.

Just something to think about. Good luck!

I'm really not sure. The back bench, which is a 2 seater, folds into the floor. I don't think it can be removed. But I wonder if it is possible to put a bench in the middle.
 

featherhead

Well-known member
Make sure you remove the head rest in the back if you put a RFer vs back there.that way you can lift them up and over. As far as loosing heat, I got really fast at it. IT's not that bad. It just sounds funny. And it looks REAL funny too other people, lol.
Like had people stop in a parking lot and watch me load babies through the hatch, lol. My DH in 6'4", he had no trouble, just reached over. I stood in the hatch.

Lol, yeah I'd probably have to climb in to do it. I can just imagine the looks we will get... :p
 

featherhead

Well-known member
Do you have a 50/50 split bench in the back or a 60/40?

The back bench is not split. The whole thing folds into the floor together. It really is quite a different vehicle than the newer generations. My sister has an '03 and my parents have an '05, so I've seen newer ones as well. Maybe I should take pictures of it :)

I did some googling and it appears that there is a 3 person bench that you can possibly switch out for the 2 captains chairs. The only problem is that it is a 50/50 split, so I couldn't have 2 seats there and still flip the one side forward to let the others in the back. DH doesn't think it would work well for our situation.
 

featherhead

Well-known member
And some interesting info from Wikipedia to show how small it really is:
Length 187.6 in (4,765 mm)
Width 70.6 in (1,793 mm)
Height 64.6 in (1,641 mm)

Compared to second generation ('99-'04)
Length 201.2 in (5,110 mm)
Width 75.6 in (1,920 mm)
Height 69.7 in (1,770 mm)
68.5 in (1,740 mm) (LX)

So it is a lot smaller all around. Here is a pic I found of one exactly like ours.

1998_Honda_Odyssey-1.jpg
 

MommyShannon

New member
I have my 11 month old rf in the 3rd row right now. Its awkward, but its the setup that keeps everyone the happiest riding. If your 23 month old will willingly get in her seat, I'd put her in the 3rd row. The hardest part for me is loading and unloading DD3. Once I get her in the seat, I can just kneel on the back bumper and lean in to buckle her. I'd teach her to climb into her seat herself with the help of siblings if needed. Then you can reach in to buckle her. Something else that's helped me with different setups for 4 kids is sliding the front passenger seat as forward as it will go when nobody is in it. Those extra inches are nice to have if I'm climbing in and out.
ETA: for winter, I'd just climb in to do the buckling. Hopefully moving a front seat forward and having the child in the captain's seat tuck their legs up will give you room to climb in and out.
 

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