Minivan trunk/seating size Please HELP!

[seobaina]

Hi

Six of us are travelling around from New Orleans to Memphis, Nashville etc and down to Orlando. Last year 5 of us travelled in the lower priced 7-seater which I believe was a Dodge Grand Caravan. With cases etc it was ok but not loads if room due to having cases on the spare seats. With six of us going we are looking at the higher price options of 7-sweaters like the Chevy Tahoe. Will this give us extra room? I know it's probably better to have two cars but the extra costs in fuel, parking and one-way drop off fees makes it soooooo much more. Also I'm the only experienced driver in USA above 30. Help!! Thank you

 

[xlxo]

I think it depends on your luggage.... for superior luggage capacity with comfort... also consider Suburban's and Yukon XL's.

 

[seobaina]

I think it depends on your luggage.... for superior luggage capacity with comfort... also consider Suburban's and Yukon XL's.

Thanks. I've not even seen those in the hire options but I'll look thanks.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi

Six of us are travelling around from New Orleans to Memphis, Nashville etc and down to Orlando. Last year 5 of us travelled in the lower priced 7-seater which I believe was a Dodge Grand Caravan. With cases etc it was ok but not loads if room due to having cases on the spare seats. With six of us going we are looking at the higher price options of 7-sweaters like the Chevy Tahoe. Will this give us extra room? I know it's probably better to have two cars but the extra costs in fuel, parking and one-way drop off fees makes it soooooo much more. Also I'm the only experienced driver in USA above 30. Help!! Thank you

Just curious if you put any of your luggage in the stow and go area of the Caravan?

 

[Yellowjj]

A Tahoe has no luggage space so nix that idea immediately. It sounds like your doing a one way. Most companies dont rent anything beyond a fullsize SUV (Tahoe) for one ways. Suburbans/Yukon XL's are Premium SUV's.

Your best bet is going to be a reserving a 7seater minivan, hoping to get or inquire about upgrading to a Sienna.

 

[xlxo]

Just curious if you put any of your luggage in the stow and go area of the Caravan?

The stow 'n go is a great place to hide a purse or small backpack. I found it's too tight to fit a full size airline carry-on.

A 7 passenger Caravan may be too tight with all the checked luggage. The longer Premium SUV's would suit me better for comfort.

 

[mom2rtk]

The stow 'n go is a great place to hide a purse or small backpack. I found it's too tight to fit a full size airline carry-on.

A 7 passenger Caravan may be too tight with all the checked luggage. The longer Premium SUV's would suit me better for comfort.

We usually have a number of smaller carry on pieces as well that would fit there, along with maybe a backpack or 2. But yeah, not big enough for full size packed bags.

But I'm willing to give up a little space for something that drives more like a car than a truck.

 

[monorailsilver]

FYI there is no leg room in Tahoe 3rd row seats.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We drive a Toyota Sienna. When we went to Disney earlier this month, we had a large laundry basket full of beach towels and air mattress, a large plastic tote (not sure of size, bigger than the laundry basket), two large suitcases, a medium sized suitcase, two overnight/duffle bags, a smaller tote, a medium-sized cooler and my husband's camera bag in the back of the van. The nice thing about the Sienna (I've never looked at any other vans), is that the trunk is deep enough that our laundry basket sat all the way down inside, and the large tote almost did.

I posted a picture below, just so you can see. It is before everything was loaded in, but most everything is in there at that point.

 

[bigbabyblues]

 

[seobaina]

Just curious if you put any of your luggage in the stow and go area of the Caravan?

This is probably a stupid question but what/where is the stow and go area?

A Tahoe has no luggage space so nix that idea immediately. It sounds like your doing a one way. Most companies dont rent anything beyond a fullsize SUV (Tahoe) for one ways. Suburbans/Yukon XL's are Premium SUV's.
Your best bet is going to be a reserving a 7seater minivan, hoping to get or inquire about upgrading to a Sienna.

Ok thank you

A 7 passenger Caravan may be too tight with all the checked luggage. The longer Premium SUV's would suit me better for comfort.

Sorry British and no nothing about USA vehicles - so a premium SUV would be something like the Yukon mentioned above or a Sienna?

FYI there is no leg room in Tahoe 3rd row seats.

Thank you!

We drive a Toyota Sienna. When we went to Disney earlier this month, we had a large laundry basket full of beach towels and air mattress, a large plastic tote (not sure of size, bigger than the laundry basket), two large suitcases, a medium sized suitcase, two overnight/duffle bags, a smaller tote, a medium-sized cooler and my husband's camera bag in the back of the van. The nice thing about the Sienna (I've never looked at any other vans), is that the trunk is deep enough that our laundry basket sat all the way down inside, and the large tote almost did.
I posted a picture below, just so you can see. It is before everything was loaded in, but most everything is in there at that point.

Thanks. That looks deeper than the Dodge Caravan. It's hard to tell. We're likely to have 6 quite big cases and handluggage/rucksacks. We managed it in the dodge along with all our shopping (which was a lot) lol but we'd have an extra person and case this time. Although we wouldn't be doing our disney shopping until the end of the holiday so that would help.

THanks for all the replies and help

 

[nono]

This is probably a stupid question but what/where is the stow and go area?

Stow and Go is the area under the second row floorboards in the Chrysler and Dodge minivans. It's where the seats can fold into if you don't want to use the second row. The area would fits knapsacks and such very well (as well as the occasional liquor bottle and assorted six packs) but usually won't have the clearance for a traditional piece of luggage. It's simply not that deep of a well.

 

[xlxo]

Watch this vid.... The idea is when the seats were up..... you can hide valuables under the 2nd seat floors.

Before Stow 'n Go.... you would pop out the seats and leave them in your garage. The big problem is the seats were very heavy to carry, especially for seniors. Also a lot of people had problems clipping the second row seats back in properly. The seats would detach when the vehicle was in motion!

 

[bigbabyblues]

Thanks. That looks deeper than the Dodge Caravan. It's hard to tell. We're likely to have 6 quite big cases and handluggage/rucksacks. We managed it in the dodge along with all our shopping (which was a lot) lol but we'd have an extra person and case this time. Although we wouldn't be doing our disney shopping until the end of the holiday so that would help.

THanks for all the replies and help

That laundry basket is about 12 inches tall.

 

[leebee]

When you rent a Dodge or Chrysler minivan, make sure "Grand" is in the title (i.e., Grand Caravan or Grand Voyager). They have more space in the back. On the standard models (listed as Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Voyager) there is very limited space behind the rear seats. I'd try to rent a Grand Caravan and fold down one of the middle captain's chairs. This is very easy to do; slide the front passenger seat all the way forward, lift the storage hatch in the floor, fold the back of the captains chair all the way down, lift the lever, and fold/roll the seat into the storage space and let the hatch back down. This is easier to do than explain, and there are usually numbers (1, 2, 3) to indicate the order of the appropriate "levers" to pull to make this happen. Then you could put 2 people up front, 1 in the middle, and 3 in the rear. You can store luggage in the back end and in some of the space where the middle seat is folded down, as long as there's space for 3rd row people to exit. It's going to be tight... can you get folks to pack less, or share suitcase space?

I don't think you are going to be happy with the bigger SUVs. I am not an SUV expert by a long shot, but the ones I've seen that seat 7 or 8 have very limited legroom and you have to continually fold a middle seat for people to have access to the rear seating area.

 

[Yellowjj]

Sorry British and no nothing about USA vehicles - so a premium SUV would be something like the Yukon mentioned above or a Sienna?

A Premium SUV is a 8 seater SUV with usually a extended trunk area. Examples include the Chevrolet Suburban, Yukon XL and Ford Expedition EL.

A Sienna is a 8 seater Minivan by Toyota.

Thanks. That looks deeper than the Dodge Caravan. It's hard to tell. We're likely to have 6 quite big cases and handluggage/rucksacks. We managed it in the dodge along with all our shopping (which was a lot) lol but we'd have an extra person and case this time. Although we wouldn't be doing our disney shopping until the end of the holiday so that would help.

It is deeper than a Dodge Caravan. At 39.1 cubic feet the Sienna has the most cargo room out of any third row vehicle. Yes even more than any SUV.

When you rent a Dodge or Chrysler minivan, make sure "Grand" is in the title (i.e., Grand Caravan or Grand Voyager). They have more space in the back. On the standard models (listed as Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Voyager) there is very limited space behind the rear seats.

That problem isn't present on the Chrysler Town and Country and I haven't seen a standard Caravan in years. Chrysler has only made the Grand Caravan since 2009.

 

[xlxo]

Another reason I like minivans..... width.... On narrow roads... I don't need to be concerned about the mirrors.

 

[NotUrsula]

As a veteran of moving a college student back and forth cross-country several times in a small SUV, and making room for an entire family's luggage in a cruise cabin, what I will advise is to buy special luggage for this trip. It's an expense, but if you are set on packing that many people into one vehicle and driving on what for you is the "wrong" side of the road, it will probably be worth the money, not least of which because it is worth it to keep your backward visibility good.

Use soft holdalls (what in the US we call duffel bags) instead of rolling cases. You can fit twice as many of them in a small space, as they conform to the shape of the space and compact with gravity. You'll need to use trolleys in the airport (another expense in the US). Example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Highlander-Cargo-100-Holdall-Blue/dp/B00ANKMOZQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_198_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=41rsx3l+p5L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=Z8PHXYM4FCHM68P6KNNZ
If you need to transport anything fragile back home, best option is a cardboard box that will fit inside the bag. You can stop into an office supply store for a box and some strapping tape. Keep the box flat whilst travelling around, and then pack the fragile items in it with some newspaper padding just before your flight home. Add some clothing to protect around the outside of the box and it should get home without damage.

PS: You normally cannot use a rooftop cargo bag on a rental; it is prohibited in the standard contract. The "young-driver-surcharge" normally applies for those below age 25, not thirty.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Have you thought of getting a cargo bag for the roof? Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-07203..._1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1467149741&sr=1-1

or this

https://www.amazon.com/Rightline-Ge...6?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1467149811&sr=1-26

 

[mkarizona]

It has been years since I used a stow 'n go compartment but it got so hot that the electronics I stowed were damaged. Does anyone know if the compartments still get that hot?