Question Expecting Baby #5, would a Dodge Grand Caravan work?

U

Unregistered

Guest
My husband and I are expecting baby #5 this summer and are looking for a vehicle to accommodate our growing family. We are interested in the Dodge Grand Caravan but I'm wondering if we would be able to get all our car seats installed properly? We will have 2 rear facing, 2 forward facing and 1 in a booster. Is it possibly to configure those seats safely (we live in Canada, if that makes a difference) in a Dodge Grand Caravan?
 
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lgenne

New member
Hi and welcome!

Is it possible? Maybe. It wouldn't be easy at all.

The captain's chairs are no problem--put whatever you want there.

The 3rd row gets very tricky. It's very narrow, with only one tether anchor for the center position. It's also very narrow. The outboard seats don't work well with backless boosters, or with many high back boosters. You would probably have to put both rear facers outboard (and most rear facing car seats don't work there at all, so you might be looking at all new car seats). I know the Cosco Scenera NEXT works outboard, but not if it's reclined enough for a newborn. Some infant seats work there.

Then you'd need a narrow forward facing harnessed seat between them.

And you would have to re-figure out the logic problem every time a kid outgrew a car seat. Canada has a serious shortage of narrow boosters (the situation is only slightly better in the US), so eventually the problem might become unsolvable.

What model year are you considering? Do you have a budget in mind? Are there any features that really interested you? Maybe we can help you come up with an alternative that will work better.
 

jjordan

Moderator
Especially being in Canada, with fewer options for seats and forward facing tethering required, I'd be hesitant to get a Dodge/Chrysler minivan. If your finances are in the range of buying a new Dodge minivan, then you'd be better off buying a used Odyssey, Sienna, or Sedona. Or if you're thinking of a used Dodge, then an older used minivan of another make is probably a better bet. Generally speaking the 8 passenger minivans offer more flexibility when trying to arrange 5 children. But as the previous poster mentioned, if you have a specific price point or would like help comparing pros/cons to specific vehicles that you are considering, let us know!
 

aept

New member
I have a Dodge Grand Caravan and I feel like we are making compromises with just 4 children to arrange in it. Right now I have a high back booster outboard driver side third row, my eldest in an incognito third row center (that's a tight squeeze), no one third row passenger side, and then an infant seat and a Britax frontier 85 in the captain's chairs.

I wish I could just put my eldest in the third row passenger side to give everyone more breathing room but the shoulder belt fit is very poor for a child in a backless booster. It's not even great on an adult but for a child it is worse as it just hovers in front of their chest. Only certain high back boosters or certain rear-facing seats are going to work for you in both of those third row outboard spots (no tethers there) and then you need to cram someone in the middle too. It's not something I'd want to deal with every day.

We plan to drive this dodge a few more years (it's a 2010 and is paid off) and replace with a new, base model Sienna. Our other Toyota vehicles have been so reliable and I think the seating options will be better, too.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
No, don't get a Caravan (or its clones -- Chrysler T&C, Plymouth Voyager, VW Routan).

If I only had 5, I would have an 04-10 8p Sienna.

What's your budget? New or used? Do you want an 8p to give you a little "wiggle room"?

For budget 7p, I like the Sedona (long wheel base) & Freestar.
 

CarolynLeigh

New member
Thank you so much to everybody for your quick replies. I am the original poster (I had to make an account so I could respond). We are open to other options and appreciate your help in finding something that can easily and safely accommodate our growing family. $30,000 would probably be at the very top end of our price range and we are looking for something gently used.

Some of the reasons we like the Dodge Grand Caravan include:

- the bench seat in the middle row (not the captain chairs, the 2 seat bench) made it simple to reach the back without having to flip a seat every time
- the stow 'n go provided some much needed extra storage space
- there is enough trunk room for a stroller with a little room to spare
- it's very affordable
- it fits in our garage (not too high or too long)
- sliding doors

Another thing I should probably include is that we currently own a Ford Flex. It does have 5 seats in the back (3 in the middle, 2 in the back) but I assumed we would be unable to fit all of our car seats in it. Does anybody know if that is possible?
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
I'm pretty sure you'll have an easier time with the Flex than a Caravan. What seats do you currently have? What are your kids' ages, height, weight?
 

featherhead

Well-known member
With the Odyssey, if you get the 8 passenger version, you can leave one of the captains chairs out which makes it easy to get to the back. With older Odysseys, the passenger side captains chair can be moved to the centre position, also creating an aisle on the side.

What year is your Flex? It could be possible to get all your kids in there, though I'm not super familiar with it.
 

jjordan

Moderator
I think you'll have better luck fitting 5 car seats in your Flex than in a Caravan, though a minivan will give you more storage space. We have a Ford Freestyle (older Flex) and I can definitively say that 3 seats across the middle of our freestyle is easier than 3 seats in the 3rd row of a Caravan. Also, Caravans do not have larger trunks than the other mnivans that have been recommended here. Honestly I don't see the stow n go being an advantage at all since presumably you'll have the back seats all in use most of the time, but on the rare occasion when you need cargo space, all minivans do have some ability to get the back seats out of the way.

For $30k I'd be looking at used Odysseys and maybe Sedonas, then Siennas after that.
 

lgenne

New member
If you can find a 2011-2014 8 passenger Honda Odyssey, that's in your price range, has fantastic options for car seats, and plenty of storage space. Even a 7 passenger Odyssey would be reasonable, unless you're planning any more children.
 

CarolynLeigh

New member
I should mention that we do not *want* to spend $30,000 but if we have to we could manage it. Ideally we would like to spend a lot less! Maybe there is an older minivan with low KM that would suit our needs for now? I expect we likely will have more children in the future but we would really like to have a vehicle that fits in our garage as long as we can!

Our children are 7 (approx. 44lbs), 5 (approx. 38lbs), 3 (approx. 36lbs), 1 (approx. 22lbs) and we'll soon have our baby - not sure of heights. We currently have 2 Diono Radians, 1 Britax Marathon and 1 Graco SnugRide 30. We'd like to get a booster for our 7 year old before the baby comes. I am open to buying alternative car seats in order to make the arrangement work.

Our current vehicle (the Ford Flex) is a 2009. We will have 2 forward facing, 2 rear facing and 1 in a booster. If anybody knows how we could make that arrangement work I'm open to ideas!
 

tribord

New member
A new Ford Transit Connect starts at $24,825 (2015 or 2014 used would be less of course), but is only 7-passenger. It is smaller than most other minivans so would most likely fit in your garage.

I have heard that the 3rd row headrests in the Flex are angled in such a way that they can interfere with forward-facing seats and high-back boosters, but I'm not sure if that applies to the 2009.
 

CarolynLeigh

New member
The Ford Transit seems to have the same seating configuration as our current vehicle (the Ford Flex). The problem we are having with 3 across in the middle row is that we have no access to the back row. How do the kids get in and out and how do we reach to buckle them?

The headrests in the Ford Flex are removable so we just take them off for our forward facing car seats.
 

tribord

New member
Yeah, it would be tricky. I would move the 7-year-old to a booster and load them last outboard in the second row, after you have the other 4 secured. If you are lucky the 2nd row seat may be able to fold forward with a booster on it, if not at least a booster is super-easy to put in and out.

If you can fit a standard-size minivan in your garage that will give you more options and space to load. You could fold down one seat in the third row and load the two oldest kids through the back.

Also, some carseats and high-back boosters require head support behind them so headrests may be a factor as your kids get taller.
 

CarolynLeigh

New member
The outboard seat in the second row catches on the middle car seat (in the second row) and does not fold smoothly. It will eventually fold with some muscle and some jostling but it is frustrating and not something I would have the patience for every time we go out. If there is a way, or a particular seat, that would allow the outboard seat to fold smoothly I would be grateful to hear about it!
 

jjordan

Moderator
The outboard seat in the second row catches on the middle car seat (in the second row) and does not fold smoothly. It will eventually fold with some muscle and some jostling but it is frustrating and not something I would have the patience for every time we go out. If there is a way, or a particular seat, that would allow the outboard seat to fold smoothly I would be grateful to hear about it!

When we were looking at getting a Freestyle (which we did get), someone told me that the seat can fold if there is a rear facing Radian in the center of the second row. I'm not sure if the Flex is similar enough for that to work in your vehicle, but maybe worth a try if you have a Radian or can get a hold of one.
 

CarolynLeigh

New member
When we were looking at getting a Freestyle (which we did get), someone told me that the seat can fold if there is a rear facing Radian in the center of the second row. I'm not sure if the Flex is similar enough for that to work in your vehicle, but maybe worth a try if you have a Radian or can get a hold of one.
I wonder if a rear facing Radian in the center of the second row would fit next to a rear facing infant seat?
 

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