What do you drive with 4 children? [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

mousefan20

08-03-2009, 01:51 PM

mommytodarlings

08-03-2009, 05:18 PM

Congrats!!!

Minivan.

I always said I would not own one, but with 4 kids under 8, I don't have much choice, lol.

We have 3 in car seats right now, 2 are in the middle seats and 1 in the rear seat. Our 2 boys are close to being in boosters, only a few more pounds to go, but they don't complain in the car seats.

When my youngest was first born, all 4 were in car seats. We had the newborn in the rear-facing infant seat in the middle row on the driver's side and our 2 y.o was in the middle row as well. Our other 2 were 4.5 and 3.5 at the time and were in the back seat. We had to climb in and out of the back of the van to put them in- that was NOT fun.

Again congrats!!

ado121

08-03-2009, 05:24 PM

we have a dodge durango and a montana minivan. 4 kids and 2 adults fit in both. durango pulls our boat and has 1 infant seat in back and 1 booster in back, middle row has 1 infant seat and 1 booster (can fit another booster if needed!!!) and front sits mommy and daddy.

Sheribo

08-03-2009, 05:25 PM

Dodge Grand Caravan. No carseats anymore but when we did, they were in the back. Middle seats flip forward for easy access.

ado121

08-03-2009, 05:36 PM

i just read your post fully....congrats! :banana:we had a baby instead of going to wdw last year..!!!!:rotfl2: hehehehe. this year we are going. come heck or high water, as my father says. :thumbsup2

4 kids is great. mine are 2 years apart and all under 6!

take care

canadianjovigirl

08-03-2009, 05:44 PM

Expedition..........love it love it love it.........

momtolots

08-03-2009, 06:11 PM

Suburban 4x4. We live in the country and have 6kids between 4(as of yesterday) and 17yrs. old. So... we need 8 seats, which is hard to find in a 4x4. We are driving down Dec. 26th, 2009 and staying until Jan. 8th. Fortunately, we are taking 2 vehicles as Nana is coming too, as well as a friend for the 17yr. old

rjan67

08-03-2009, 06:42 PM

I only have 3 kids but we have a Honda Odyssey. We also have an Avalanche but if we had one more we would probably have gotten the Suburban instead.

abirdd

08-03-2009, 07:00 PM

Congrats - we too skipped WDW last year, thanks to a new little guy :cool1:

In terms of cars, can't help you much... but to say ALL current Subaru models will not work. We can barely fit two car seats, let alone a third passenger in the middle...

tjbaggott

08-03-2009, 07:01 PM

We have a Ford Freestar. I find it nice and roomy. I have only one child in a carseat, well booster seat now. The older 3 have long outgrown boosters, (they are 12, 16 and 18). My 6 year old sometimes sits in the middle row, sometimes in the back. When he WAS in a carseat, it was always installed in the middle row. There it was easier to get them in and out, than having to lean over a seat or climb in, to get him into a carseat in the back row.

Debbie

08-03-2009, 09:21 PM

When my kids were little, we had the Chrysler mini-van with the integrated car seats. Loved them. I can remember a big honkin' diesel car with THREE carseats in the back seat! Then it was mini-van time with 3 carseats. Then 2 carseats in the middle, then the integrated ones. Now, we are down to one Toyota Corolla. ;)

murcor

08-04-2009, 08:44 AM

Expedition..........love it love it love it.........

Same Here :thumbsup2:thumbsup2

mousefan20

08-04-2009, 09:45 AM

Just wondering what everyone drives with 4 children. We will have 2 in car seats and 2 without. Where do you put the children in car seats? Second row? Any help would be great we have to find something soon. Thanxs:goodvibes:goodvibes:goodvibes I will have to update my slider now we will be having a baby instead of a trip to Disney!!!!:hug::hug::hug:

We are torn between the suburban/expedition and the mini van. Obviously the mini van is the way to go, pratical wise. The larger SUV fits our lifestyle, (hauling snowmobiles and dirt bikes. I guess it comes down to operating costs as well, however when it comes to a family of six and a golden retriever, operating costs should have been identified after baby number one:rotfl2: THX for your responses, we will continue to car shop with some good advise from all of you, we have until April when our Florida trip arrives, or I mean baby arrives:rainbow:

DonaldDC

08-06-2009, 12:50 PM

Congrats to all the new parents! We only have three children our oldest just turned 5 but the youngest are a set of 2 year old twins. Until just this week we actually took out one of the captains chairs in the second row so that it was easier to get to the back row to buckle in one twin and the 5 year old. We've got a Montana SV6. If your older children can put their own seat belts on I'd put the two carseats in the middle. It's so much easier to get them in and out, not to mention the passenger can reach them with snacks, toys, etc when needed.

natkenicra

08-06-2009, 10:17 PM

nat1234

08-06-2009, 10:27 PM

Chevy Astro van, sits 8 and had lots of room. We don't need it so much now, but when the kids were younger we also had room to take a couple friends with us and drive half the soccer team if necessary:thumbsup2

disneycruising

08-06-2009, 11:29 PM

I also have 4 children.:thumbsup2 They are 9, 11, 13 & 15.

When they where little I bought a mini van...with power doors & tailgate!! Greatest invention for a mom with her handsful! I put the two carseats in the middle row and had the older kids climb thru to the back row.

When the kids were old enough to finally climb in and out on there own & we had no more carseats...I bought myself an SUV.

When you go to look at cars...take all the kids with you. Let them climb in and out. This way you can get an idea of what it would be like to own this car.

I did this when we went SUV shopping. I had 2 SUV's that I thought I wanted... I ended up not getting one of them because you had to flip up the seat, everytime the kids got in and out (There was not pass thru in the middle). It was a deal breaker for me.

Thumper_ehhhhh

08-07-2009, 01:49 AM

We only have 2 kids but have had many kids in our van and truck as well as dogs. We have a Astro 8 seater and a Suburban 8 seater. Make sure what ever you buy it has enough hooks for the teather straps. Our Astro only had enough room for 3 teather straps. The Suburban I dont know as our kids dont need seats anymore so I never checked. For hauling 4 kids and a dog with all your gear beleive it or not the Astro has more room. Gear in the back and dog between the driver and passanger seat. The Suburban has a center consel so it raises a few issues of where the dog can go. The Suburban has more room behind the back row of seats depth. Beleive or not again the Astro has more inside width and height. If you guys are going big suv with that many kids make sure you get the Suburban, Yukon XL, or the Expedition max. They are a longer wheel base with more inside room for storage. The shorter Tahoe shorter yukon and Expedition has less space for gear about a foot less room behind the rear row of seats. If you have any questions feel free to either ask me in here or send me a pm. I will answer any questions you might have.

rjan67

08-07-2009, 05:50 AM

We are torn between the suburban/expedition and the mini van. Obviously the mini van is the way to go, pratical wise. The larger SUV fits our lifestyle, (hauling snowmobiles and dirt bikes. I guess it comes down to operating costs as well, however when it comes to a family of six and a golden retriever, operating costs should have been identified after baby number one:rotfl2: THX for your responses, we will continue to car shop with some good advise from all of you, we have until April when our Florida trip arrives, or I mean baby arrives:rainbow:

I will just add that when they are small it is a little trickier (for the children) getting into the SUV then the minivan. Also buckeling up seats in the Avalanche (like a suburban without the backseats) can sometimes be a pain, especially if you have a seat on the passenger side with another seat in the middle.

MCFADDEN5

08-07-2009, 06:10 AM

We love our GMC Acadia. You can get them with eight passanger seating. we have 7 captain seat in the middle and bench in the back. We have three kids, But you cold fit 4 comfortably. I can also get two hockey bags and a figure skating bag in the back!

Thumper_ehhhhh

08-07-2009, 06:12 AM

Oh yes the post from rjan67 reminded me. If you have a kid in a booster seat with the suburban that has a 60/40 middle split bench you will need to put the booster behind the passenger front seat because that seat needs to eather fold down or tilt then slide forward so you can get to the back row. Not the easiest to get back there but better than the astro with 8 seats. They only have 1 sliding door so clipping the back row and behind the driver middle bench can be a chore. I'm not tring to discourage you from getting these just tring to inform you so you can look at these possible problems when you go truck lookin.

Also

My 2001 astro gets 18 to 20 mpg on the hwy doing 70mph. Our 2004 Subruban gets approx 15 mpg doing 70 mpg. Astro towing 5500 lbs get 10.5 mpg average and the suburban gets around 12 mpg towing the same trailer. Suburban can tow way more is more comfortable and drives like a caddy. Oh Suburban has 4 wheel drive and Yukons have awd. Awd get worse gas milage sence you cant shut off the front drivetrain. 2 wheel drive of coarse are the same.

disneycruising

08-07-2009, 10:54 AM

oh, that reminds me. I do have the extended length SUV. I could not live with out it. I think we can fit 4 large suit cases in the back. You can take the seats out and it has amazing room! We have been able to bring home furnitrue from Costco! Take out all the seats and we are ready to bring home a sofa.(lol)

My mini van had very little space behind the back seat. I don't know if mini vans come with extended length know a days.

Reese

08-08-2009, 12:28 PM

mini-van with the integrated car seats. Loved them.
:thumbsup2We had a Dodge with those and just loved them.
Congrats on your expected addition. We drive a Ford extend van (had to upgrade before child number 7 last year), before that we used to drive a Dodge Caravan.. I found that I prefer to seperate the car seats since little one's can be mischevious. I place the youngest in the seat behind me and the next youngest in the next row.

CanadaMomto5

08-10-2009, 12:07 PM

Suburban!!! I love mine. We have all bucket seats, which is great so that the kiddies don't fight, (but we can't take any other passengers). We have two boosters in the back and two car seats that turn into boosters in the middle.

We had a Pontiac Montana before, but with the Suburban I can fit two hockey bags, two skating bags and groceries all in the back!!!!!

One of my girlfriends has an Expedition and she loves hers too.

We are driving down in October with a travel trailer.

Congrats on the new little one to come!! Four is a great number!!

This is me as well. The Montana fit us all (4 kids 4, 5, 7and 9), but I had no room for anything else,like groceries. I also like the peace of mind an SUV brings. It drops down to 4 cylinders when you are at a constant speed, like on the highway. It is almost as good on gas as the Montana was.

craz4dogs

08-13-2009, 12:48 PM

The Chevy traverse are awesome. Cheaper than the acadia but still the same size. You can get the bench seats 9seats 8) on the base model but with kids always going in the back I would upgrade to the buckets (seats 7).

We bought ours in April and best car we have ever had so far........gas mileage is better than most vans. I would check it out.