Chevrolet Express Safety

hockeywoman · Jan 28, 2009

DH and I are discussing our next vehicle purchase - whether that will be a 15 passenger van or we will just drive 2 vehicles everywhere. Our concern about the 15 passenger is no headrests - just how safe are the kids when they are no longer in backed boosters or carseats, without headrests behind them? We'd be looking for a van with the stability control system, but a Sprinter is completely out of our reach at this point.

Another concern is the long hours I work - if for whatever reason DH needed to pick them all up from daycare/school, and they didn't all fit in the van we had, that would be an issue.

For those who have been in this situation, how did you handle it?

Judi · Jan 28, 2009

Why not a mini van? Did I miss something? I fit 8 in mine. Your siggy only shows 4 kiddos.

hockeywoman · Jan 28, 2009

Judi said:
Why not a mini van? Did I miss something? I fit 8 in mine. Your siggy only shows 4 kiddos.

We are foster parents, and are anticipating at least 2 more placements in the next few months (we typically take sibling groups), and our van only has room for 1 (and with all 8 needing to be in carseats, even if our van had the 8th seat it would be very difficult for all to get in each time.

zeo2ski · Jan 29, 2009

I'm guessing you anticipate having older FC at some point, or some are yours and will grow older and not be in CRs much longer?

Have you asked Chevy if it's possible to have headrests added to the seats? It is a big safety concern to not have them.

How many children are you licensed for? Will you ever have more than 6 at a time? If not, an 8 passenger minivan or SUV could work. It would be tight, but if you have a child in a booster just put that on the access seat and it's easy to move to get kids in and out. I've also seen people say an infant carrier with a base is a quick install for the access seat.

zeo2ski · Jan 29, 2009

Or can you get a big van with some captains chairs instead of some of the benches?

christineka · Jan 29, 2009

My neighbor dirves Chevy Express vans as for the ride share. They sometimes have the 15 passenger one with benches and no headrests, but alternately they have the one that seats 8 and has headrests. I'd rather find options to fit in an 8 passenger minivan. I'm awaiting my 6th kiddo and will buy a sienna. I also have a Ford Aerostar that can fit 8 if I put in the extra 3 seater bench. Of course, it has no headrests in the rear positions....

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Jan 30, 2009

The sienna would likely work with the right combo of seats. I had 6 kids in mine (until we had #7

) Even though 2 were in just belts, if you put a booster on 1 of the 2nd row outboard seats, that can be moved to access the 3rd row. But anyway....

What we did was get a 9 passenger conversion van. It is a GMC with an explorer conversion. total of 6 captain's seats (4 rear with full latch), and a 3 person bench seat in the rear. 1 extra tether anchor last row center. I just didn't want to have to deal with no headrests and no lap/shoulder belts in all positions. Maybe some day ford and chevy will realize that headrests and lap shoulder belts are needed in all seating positions. Oh, and my dh hates the sprinter, so that was out.

Pingbns · Jan 30, 2009

I don't know your budget, but have you considered a GMC Savana. it seats 9 and has 6 chaptins chair and a bench all with headrest. and I think a even a DVD player to keep the kiddos entertained.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Jan 30, 2009

Wow, when did GMC put the conversion on their site? I don't remember it being there last year when I looked. That is basically what we have, it is bigger than a Manhattan studio apartment! It is great for our long trips back into the city to see the inlaws, and the kids are comfy.

hockeywoman · Feb 9, 2009

Thanks for all the helpful replies

Hmm.. the 9 passenger GMC Savana - I don't see details on their website. It's got me thinking, though, if I could remove one (or more) of the bench seats in the Express and replace with the captains chairs they use in the conversion vans. I've done some searching but not had any luck

Anyone know where I could find those seats, and if they fit in the same points as the benches?

Unfortunately, I'm not sure an 8 passenger would be sufficient, or even 9 for that matter. We just found out about a possible baby, and are waiting to hear about a match with a 4 sib group. DH and I are trying to decide which way to go on the next vehicle:

1. Replace current sienna w/15 passenger
2. Replace protege w/8 passenger sienna
3. Keep sienna and protege and purchase 15 passenger

Right now we have all kiddos harnessed, looking like it will be at least another year until DS outgrows the Nautilus. If the next 2 placements go through, we'd have the following kiddos: 7, 6, 5, 3, 3, 2, 2, 10 months and newborn

So that would be 4-5 forward facing and 4-5 rearfacing. There'd be no way to make that work even with an 8 passenger vehicle, though if these 2 placements don't go through then we might be OK for a little longer.

We'd ideally like to spend under 14K, but that is negotiable - we only pay cash for vehicles. What isn't negotiable is the stabilitrak system - if we go the 15 passenger route it needs to have Stabilitrak - so I think that is 2004 and newer.

zeo2ski · Feb 10, 2009

Wow, yeah I guess 8 pass is out! I don't have a clue about what you could get for that appx. budget, but I'm interested to know what you decide in the end! (because DH and I are beginning to think about what we'll do when we outgrow the suburban with fostering)

And...nevermind the car, how do you fit them all in your house! lol, seriously I hope it all goes through for you.

hockeywoman · Feb 10, 2009

zeo2ski said:
Wow, yeah I guess 8 pass is out! I don't have a clue about what you could get for that appx. budget, but I'm interested to know what you decide in the end! (because DH and I are beginning to think about what we'll do when we outgrow the suburban with fostering)

And...nevermind the car, how do you fit them all in your house! lol, seriously I hope it all goes through for you.

We have a large enough house - about 2300 sqft plus finished basement. We currently don't use the living or dining rooms on the first floor, and my 3 DD share a bedroom. If we do get more kids they'll share the existing 2 bedrooms up to 4 kids per room, and we have a guest bedroom we'd convert. We also have an office off our bedroom that can be converted to another bedroom.

We use the finished basement as the main playroom for the kiddos, and we spend a lot of time outside when it's nice enough (we have a 1/2 acre flat yard that is fenced in the back). Our house almost feels too big right now for us (except for the tons of toys that we need to pare down).

We can get a 2007 Chevy Express for that budget, but I'd like a 2008 for the side curtain airbags. We'd love to be able to retrofit something with headrests but I think we'd have to talk to the dealer about that.

daniele_ut · Feb 14, 2009

The 2 vans we use daily at work are 2005 12 passenger Chevy Express. After driving them daily for the past 4 years, I wouldn't consider buying one. I own a Chevy Malibu and really like it, but these vans are not in the same class. They are very poorly made. We've had constant problems with the sliding doors that have caused it to be in and out of the shop mulitple times. The locking mechanism on one of the sliding doors still doesn't work after several repairs. Nearly all the trim pieces in the van have come off over time. I've also taken the Chevy vans on several cross country trips and the seats are really quite uncomfortable for anyone not in a carseat. We also have several Ford 12 passenger vans and they seem much better built.

Our company motor pool will no longer buy 15 passenger vans because they are so much less safe. They will only buy the 12 passenger or less.

hockeywoman · Feb 14, 2009

Danielle, I'd be open to other suggestions you have on how to transport a family with more than 6 children that wouldn't fit in an 8 passenger minivan :thumbsup: I have heard fords have worse reliability - were most of the issues related to the door or otherwise?

daniele_ut · Feb 16, 2009

I don't know too much about the reliability for the Fords, since we don't have direct access to them on a daily basis. They are at the other office about 40
miles away. Most of our problems with the Chevy are comfort issues or related to the fit and finish. One of them did have a problem with the alternator recently and was in and out of the shop a few times while they straightened it out.

We have a lot of big families here in Utah and the most popular vehicle seems to be the 9 passenger Suburban. My friend who just had her 6th baby traded in her Odyssey for one not long after she found out she was pregnant. We also have one of the newer Suburbans here at work, and it's definitely a much nicer ride than the vans, but pricey and better if you have older kids who can buckle themselves in the 3rd row.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Feb 17, 2009

You know, i thought about a 9 passenger sub or excursion, but I was not at all comfy with putting someone in that front center seat. Nor did I want to deal with no headrests (have 3 kids now not in any restraint) or lack of lap shoulder belts in all positions. So, 9 passenger conversion it was.

2boys3girls · Feb 20, 2009

"Converted" Chevy Express...!

Hello, I've seen several "converted" Chevy Express, GMC Savana's, and Ford E-series, though they have high miles..... meaning 100K. I LOVE THE IDEA! Im going to see if I can find a company who does the conversions, taking out the benches and putting in 10 or 12 individual HIGH BACK CAPTAINS.

We are in a similar situation concerning a vehicle to SAFELY accomodate our family. We dont have foster kids but in July we'll have our sixth baby! I really like the idea of getting *something* that will give us an extra seat or 2 for a guest passenger. Right now, we have an 03 Montana, which I like just fine. We have our 3 girls in Radians, but Im thinking about putting the 7 year old in a SK Monterey & using one of the Radians for the newborn this summer. So, I've been looking at the Express, the Suburban, the Yukon, the Expedition, and 9p conversions. I've ruled out anything that doesn't have headrests & shoulder belts. And now I'd also love to have side curtain airbags. I'm debating whether or not to forget about the extra seat(s) b/c we can all fit in an 8p mini-van, though my 2 oldest are getting to be pretty big boys (13 & almost 10)...! We could get a SIENNA, love it for the SAFETY & side curtain airbags, and we could more easily afford one of those rather than an 08 BIG van with the side curtain airbags. Or I could just get a Suburban or YUkon or other SUV.....?? We'll see....

skaterbabs · Feb 20, 2009

I just wanted to point out that as important as high seat backs are, really it's only an issue with teens & tweens once they've outgrown high back boosters by height, and there are now significantly taller boosters available that buy you even more time. If you mostly foster younger kids, you can get away with just using high back boosters for a LONG time and the seat back issue is not quite as big a deal.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Feb 20, 2009

THis is entirely true, but I have a 17 year old, a 12 year old, and a 9 year old, so this was a consideration.

hockeywoman · Feb 20, 2009

And for me, DH is highly against using boosters once they get to about age 10, he thinks I'm a little crazy

and so I'd like to have the option for high seat backs in that case.

We are foster to adopt, and like to drive cars into the ground (unless we outgrow them

), so I'm trying to think ahead as far as possible. So I guess if there is an easy conversion (i.e. snap-in seats) available to high backed chairs, we could deal with that in 3-4 years.

I did find a company that did conversions in CA, but I didn't like how they attached to the frame (bolted to the floor) and didn't like the no-shoulder belts on the middle. I'd be curious to know other options.

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