families with 5 kids...what do you drive?

abharrington · Mar 13, 2008

just curious. the mini vans seem to have such little storage, we like to go on long weekend trips, mostly to visit family, but i can't imagine being able to pack for 7 people in the mini van? i can't even really imagine having room for a stroller and my groceries?

so what works for your big(ger) family?

courtfrog2 · Mar 13, 2008

We have 5 kids every other weekend and we are definatly packed in our mini van! We have a 2 regents, 1 nautilus, and 1 marathon. The 13 year old is not in a seat. When we go on trips we usually put a soft sided car top carrier on the luggage rack.

unityco · Mar 13, 2008

We only had four kids in my family, but my parents had a Suburban and we loved it. We were able to do road trips with luggage and everything. (We didn't have any carseats in those days, though

)

abharrington · Mar 13, 2008

sigh...i would love one. but i can hardly stomach the thought of the poor gas milage. i am going to look into an 8 or 9 passanger chevy express. anybody know how that would compare to a suburban?

lovinwaves · Mar 13, 2008

Some vans have a "well" in the cargo area. It creates a lot more cubic space

abharrington · Mar 13, 2008

yeah...i noticed that on the honda pilot, too. didnt' think about the mini vans having it. thansk!

firemomof3 · Mar 13, 2008

We have a minivan for our kids, dog and luggage and then a small trailer for all the other "stuff" like bikes, pack n play, strollers, toys. Thats what we do when we go away for a week in the summer.

But for everyday use, ya I guess you'd have to get a Suburban or express van

MOM25BOYS · Mar 13, 2008

We have 4 but soon to be 5 kiddos in about 2 weeks. We drive an 04 Expedition with 3rd row. For road trips, mainly to the coast, we bought a cargo carrier for the top. I packed 2 pack n plays and all the suitcases and bags up there with no problem!

They are great when you need the added space.

abharrington · Mar 13, 2008

thats a good thought about the cargo carrier for the top. the extended lenght expedition has an impressive amt of space behind that 3rd row. do you have the model with the sliding middle center seat? if so, do you like it? and why?

unityco · Mar 13, 2008

abharrington said:
sigh...i would love one. but i can hardly stomach the thought of the poor gas milage

I can't give you specifics (not being the gear-head in the family,

) but my dad, an HD mechanic, has been pleasantly suprised with the economy of their current Sub ('96.) It's obviously not winning any green awards, but it may not be as bad as you expect - maybe even comparable to a full-size van. Like I say, though, I'm not really sure.

ProudMomof5 · Mar 13, 2008

We don't have 5 yet... we have 4 and one on the way.. BUT we are faced with this very issue!
We drive a 1998 Ford Expedition. It has hardly any room in the back. If I happen to take it grocery shopping (I try to use DH's car) then I try and go with out the kids so that basically they can put the bags in the seats as well. If I do have the kids, we just have bags all over the floor, in every open spot there is.
for traveling.. I always pack light so we haven't had too much of a problem, but we literally don't bring anything extra. I would like one of those cargo carriers.

oldeschool · Mar 13, 2008

From what I have researched about the Chevy Express vans, they have about 2mpg better gas mileage than my Excursion... so you would most likely have the smae gas mileage if you went ahead and got a Suburban. I have a friend who has a Burban and she gets about 3 miles more to the gallon than I do. My dh has asked all of the guys at his work who have Express vans and other full size vans and they all said that we would be better off getting a mini-van if we wanted better gas mileage. I am driving an Excursion now and I love it, except for the mpg, I would like to find a minivan to drive and keep the tank for when we have to tow. I also have a Dodge Durango and that is better on gas, we just use a back rack and a storage box to hold everything. Before we bought the box we had been having the kids hold all of the groceries on their laps.
I read a similar question on Mothering .com and responded with a very lengthy post about my experiences with our cars.

MOM25BOYS · Mar 13, 2008

I was soooo wanting the new extended length when it came out. I wish I had waited to buy it!

My center middle seat does slide back and forth for easier reach of the baby. It doesn't come out, although I have heard of people unbolting them from the floor to make a center passage. I do like the fact it slides and moves the baby closer to me when I am riding.

Also it is great having it up with the baby seated there to keep little hands off the radio and air adjustments on the back of the center console!

I keep getting suggestions that we need to invest into a express van for our growing family, but my expedition does great for now...

abharrington said:
thats a good thought about the cargo carrier for the top. the extended lenght expedition has an impressive amt of space behind that 3rd row. do you have the model with the sliding middle center seat? if so, do you like it? and why?

bobandjess99 · Mar 13, 2008

When the stepsons are here, there are 5 kids, and 2 adults. Those times, we drive a full size conversion van. LUckily, the boys are older, and do not need seats (all over 10), so only my 3.5 and 2 month olds need seats. If we needed more seats, it would be a lot harder. We have to pack stuff in the back "trunk" area, whihc is enough for normal stuff, groceries, etc. For trips, like with luggage and stuff, sometimes stuff has to be packed up front with us, in the aisle and around the captains chairs, etc. Not as safe, i know, but it's what we have....

twokidstwodogs · Mar 13, 2008

I definitely don't have five kids, but I must say that our Odyssey has an absurd amount of cargo space. When DD#2 was a newborn, We took a two-week 2000 mile road trip in it with the third row up, since I wanted space to nurse and change diapers. Luggage, diapers, stroller, cooler, Christmas presents, etc. went behind the third row. There was so much room to spare that when I randomly decided to buy a very large toy castle en route (don't ask!), DH was able to get it in without difficulty. It's amazing what you can pack in there. Not sure if it would hold luggage for seven, but it can hold more than you'd think!

douladana · Mar 17, 2008

We have an '06 Odyssey, which seats 8 people. There is more then enough room in it for all of us and our gear. Out of 5 kids 4 are in some type of seat ~ the baby is in an EFTA and DS is in a backless booster (middle row). In the 3rd row we have a Graco TurboBooster and a highback booster (soon to be a GN, when we find one) ~ my DS1 hops between the 2 open seats then. It has a "well" in the trunk space and that gives us SOOOO much room for traveling! We are avid campers and can fit everything we need in the van ~ I love love the hidden lazy susan in the middle of the van. Lots of cargo room!

Dana

christineka · Mar 17, 2008

We have 5 kids and a 1997 Ford aerostar, extended version. It isn't up there on our favorite vehicle list, but it works and is roomy enough for us to go camping. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you don't have much money to spend it'll work out okay.

Christine

Lys · Mar 17, 2008

abharrington said:
yeah...i noticed that on the honda pilot, too. didnt' think about the mini vans having it. thansk!

Ha! That well is so tiny! I couldn't fit 1 pair each of the kids shoes!
THat's one thing I totally miss about our Odyssey. This summer we are taking all the kids to Universal in Orlando for 5 days. We will definetely be buying a roof top cargo carrier.

hunnymamaof5 · Mar 17, 2008

We drive an old Grand Caravan (96) and don't have tons of packing issues. Though I make sure everyone only packs what they NEED. LOL Normally I have my double stroller in the back and still have room for my groceries.

It's not roomy but its' enough space. We are trying to stay with a minivan as long as we can to avoid the huge gas milage of a 10-12 passenger van.

families with 5 kids...what do you drive?

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