Car rental with three car seats

[5ofus]

It's looking like mission impossible. We'll actually need two boosters and a car seat (kids ages 2, 4 and 6) and plan on driving straight from LAX to Vegas.

Anybody got hints or tips?

 

[battymum]

What do you drive at home? You may have to get a seven seater. We hired a dodge grande caravan, the seating was 2, 2,3 - the very rear seat could split for extra luggage room. Not sure of anchor points though.

 

[5ofus]

What do you drive at home? You may have to get a seven seater. We hired a dodge grande caravan, the seating was 2, 2,3 - the very rear seat could split for extra luggage room. Not sure of anchor points though.

We have a Commodore Wagon at home. I don't mind a seven seater, looked at those prices and we can do hat - its the booster/baby seats that are proving difficult

 

[Jade+3]

We have used minivans and SUV's for our 3. First time we took all 3 kids, we took our car seats from home. Stupid idea considering the amount of luggage we ended up with, plus a 9 month old that needed carrying.

Last year we hired car seats. We used Alamo and Dollar. Alamo seats were cleaner and in much better condition than Dollar.

Minivans, we have had the Dodge Caravan, and Town and Country. Both had anchor points on the two captains chairs in the middle row, and another on the back row. Loved it. Kids could not touch each other, and we could not hear the child in the back row. I want one!!

Last year our kids were 6, 5 and 2. The 6 year old (who was 2 months off 7) used one of those base only seats, 5 year old in a full booster and 2 year old in a car seat. We easily fitted all 3 across the back of a larger SUV. If you want to know what types (we had 2 different cars), let me know and I will find out.

 

[5ofus]

We have used minivans and SUV's for our 3. First time we took all 3 kids, we took our car seats from home. Stupid idea considering the amount of luggage we ended up with, plus a 9 month old that needed carrying.

Last year we hired car seats. We used Alamo and Dollar. Alamo seats were cleaner and in much better condition than Dollar.

Minivans, we have had the Dodge Caravan, and Town and Country. Both had anchor points on the two captains chairs in the middle row, and another on the back row. Loved it. Kids could not touch each other, and we could not hear the child in the back row. I want one!!

Last year our kids were 6, 5 and 2. The 6 year old (who was 2 months off 7) used one of those base only seats, 5 year old in a full booster and 2 year old in a car seat. We easily fitted all 3 across the back of a larger SUV. If you want to know what types (we had 2 different cars), let me know and I will find out.

Brilliant Jade, thanks so much! I just found that Alamo let you choose more than one booster/carseat when booking so I'm a fan already. Glad to hear you used them with no trouble. Did you like the SUV or van better? What was the luggage room like in the van? We will be driving from LAX to Vegas and then Vegas to Anaheim. Not planning on doing a LOT of shopping, but with five of us we will still have a significant amount of luggage.

 

[Jade+3]

We used Travel Jigsaw when booking our car. I rang them and they were able to tell me it was Alamo, as you dont get the voucher until just before you travel.

I don't think Alamo really cared what car seats were pre-booked as they always asked. DH mistakenly asked for the wrong thing and ended up with a capsule for our 2 year old. They laughed and changed it. All the car seats come in sealed bags, and looked like they had been cleaned (this was LAX). At Dollar we were directed to a rack and told to help ourselves. Some were filthy.

I should have taken some pictures of the luggage. The vans are deceiving as the storage area is quite deep. They also had compartments under the floor, good for hiding the camera and laptop. We had 3 cases (4 on the final trip to the airport), a stroller, a couple of cabin bags, and backpacks. It all fit, but once we got the 4th case, we had the to put stuff around DD on the back seat. DH preferred the SUV's for luggage.

 

[5ofus]

Thanks so much Jade! It really is hard to find info on traveling with three wee ones

 

[Jade+3]

Just checked with DH, his favourite was the Ford Expedition (this was also the biggest), followed by the Dodge Durango. He is not a fan of mini vans. He said they were ok for driving around Orlando, but on a road trip he would prefer an SUV.

Organising car rental with 3 in car seats is a nightmare! Glad to be able to help.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Hi 5ofus,

This info may or may not be of use to you, but I just asked about booster seats over on the Families section of this forum.
I was trying to figure out how to transport my 5 yr old safely in taxis etc.

Some wonderful people provided me with links to an inflatable booster seat called the BubbleBum. It gets great reviews on Amazon, and looks like it'll be a perfect solution for our needs. I love that I can bring a car seat with me from home that won't take up too much room in my luggage. Also, it's useful in that I can take my son in a taxi, deflate it while wandering around the shopping mall and then re-inflate it for the trip home.

Anyway, because you're doing a road trip it might not necessarily be the best option for you, but I thought it might be worth mentioning anyway.