renting a minivan with 3 booster seats?

[Treysar]

we are still deciding if we will drive or fly to Florida for our trip in October. My 3 children are still in booster seats. We definitely can't carry on 3 boosters, it simply isn't possible for us to get through the airport like that. Not an option.

Can we rent a van with 3 boosters? Any other ideas? We definitely do need a vehicle.

If we drive, we have everything we need, just less vacation time. (Coming from CT). The flight is worth the money but I can't wrap my head around the logistics of how to get booster seats.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Treysar]

In think I put this in the wrong forum. Sorry, can't figure out how to delete!

 

[Habbott]

Are your kids in backless boosters? If so, why not get bubble bums? Easy to travel with and probably as much as rental ones could cost.

Last trip we carried on a regular booster and had the back in our checked luggage.

 

[Halle]

we are still deciding if we will drive or fly to Florida for our trip in October. My 3 children are still in booster seats. We definitely can't carry on 3 boosters, it simply isn't possible for us to get through the airport like that. Not an option.

Can we rent a van with 3 boosters? Any other ideas? We definitely do need a vehicle.

If we drive, we have everything we need, just less vacation time. (Coming from CT). The flight is worth the money but I can't wrap my head around the logistics of how to get booster seats.

Thanks for your input!

We rent car seats from Dollar all the time. I would think they have booster seats. It is not cheap though. I think it was $12.50 per seat per day....rented 4!!
I have seen people with booster seats at the airport and they are strapped to some sort of rolling carrier. DD bought one for a car seat and it works very well.

 

[Treysar]

Are your kids in backless boosters? If so, why not get bubble bums? Easy to travel with and probably as much as rental ones could cost.

Last trip we carried on a regular booster and had the back in our checked luggage.

Are your kids in backless boosters? If so, why not get bubble bums? Easy to travel with and probably as much as rental ones could cost.

Last trip we carried on a regular booster and had the back in our checked luggage.

I'll have to look into this! My kids are in high back boosters. I might be over cautious. I'll research if they are allowed to switch to a backless. Thanks!

 

[Treysar]

We rent car seats from Dollar all the time. I would think they have booster seats. It is not cheap though. I think it was $12.50 per seat per day....rented 4!!
I have seen people with booster seats at the airport and they are strapped to some sort of rolling carrier. DD bought one for a car seat and it works very well.

That sounds interesting, but I don't think I can do that with 3. Logistically impossible when I consider the hand holding...lol

 

[Habbott]

I'll have to look into this! My kids are in high back boosters. I might be over cautious. I'll research if they are allowed to switch to a backless. Thanks!

I am probably over cautious as well, my 5 1/2 year old is still harnessed 90% of the time. And I know vacation is not the time to skimp on safety. We only had one taxi ride on our last adventure, so a booster was fine for us.

As long as the kids make the weight requirement and sit well, they are safe in a no back booster. You might need to practice with the shoulder adjuster to get a good fit.

Here's an article from car seats for the littles. There's a blurb on high back or no back. They do prefer highback since it serves as a better reminder to sit better. You should also check out their travel articles. They might have suggestions I've forgotten about. http://csftl.org/harness-or-booster-when-to-make-the-switch/

 

[msb578]

We recently rented a minivan from Avis to drive from Port Canaveral to Savannah. No trouble renting 3 seats from them- it was 2 child seats and 1 booster, but it could have been any combo of those.

 

[scrapquitler]

we are still deciding if we will drive or fly to Florida for our trip in October. My 3 children are still in booster seats. We definitely can't carry on 3 boosters, it simply isn't possible for us to get through the airport like that. Not an option.

Can we rent a van with 3 boosters? Any other ideas? We definitely do need a vehicle.

If we drive, we have everything we need, just less vacation time. (Coming from CT). The flight is worth the money but I can't wrap my head around the logistics of how to get booster seats.

Thanks for your input!

I would use the seat only kind (without the high back) and put them in a checked bag.

 

[caliope]

I'm also overly cautious; my 3.5 year old is still in a five point harness convertible seat rear facing. Boosters are far in our future! But I've gotten great info from Car Seats for the Littles, as recommended by the previous poster. In addition to their reviews and articles (including specific ones on travel to Disney), you can also email them with your questions and they'll reply with suggestions. A lot will depend on your children's sizes.

 

[2009CAN]

I feel ya. Our first trip with our trio (3, 4 & 4) DH and I lugged THREE Britax Marthon's through the airport to gate check along with three littles, carry ons, etc. It didn't go very well at all.
Second trip, (days away from turning 4, 5 & 5) I put our three backless boosters in ONE carseat carry on bag and check it for free with our luggage. Now, back home our kids do not ride in backless boosters, but we did it for our 10 day stay at Disney. We stayed on property but we also NEED a car. I can't handle the busses and not being able to go when we wanted to.
This year, I will be doing the same. Backless boosters for our (5 and two newly 7 year olds)

ETA: Back at home, all three are still in 5-point harnesses. I feel the caution.

 

[quagmire0]

I second the Bubble Bums. We bought one of DD on our last trip and will probably bring two along this next one. Very light and they have a tether strap that you can tie/clip onto luggage as you're going through the airport. They'll probably be cheaper than renting something, too.

 

[kohlby]

We liked the Bubblebum but we used it with a 9 year old. We tried out 6 year old on it and he was a bit too wiggly, making it move around more than it should. The no-back regular booster was better for him. Those are easy to put three in a car seat bag and check it. However, I don't know how old/tall your children are. If you feel they should be in high back boosters, then chances are you should do just that. Are you taking a stroller? If so, you could find a way to attach them to the stroller to make it easier to transport all of them.

Often you can rent car seats when you rent a car. But they often don't guarantee they'll have what you need so make sure to read the fine print.

Edited to add: i see now that they are 6, 6, and 7 and your trip isn't until Oct, so they'll be a little older. I'd do backless to make it easier to carry for this trip unless they have any special needs. Or - even doing the Bubblebum for the 7 year old and high backs for the 6 year old would be possible, strapping just two boosters onto your luggage or stroller.

You may also find the hand holding needed goes down a lot between now and then. My youngest is turning 7 tomorrow and he no longer needs hand holding - but did when he first turned 6.

 

[mommysaurus]

I feel the caution too....my 8 year old is still in a high back booster with center strap (britax parkway sgl). He was rear facing until almost 4. I will say the bubble bum depends on your kid and how they act in the car. My sons daycare in the summer goes on a field trip almost every day and required a booster seat for their vans. No way was I uninstalling that britax (still latches like a regular seat), hauling it inside at 6am, then hauling it back out, and reinstalling it every single day while it was in the mid 90s lol. So I bought a bubble bum. Problem is my son is either wild or sleeping while in the car, no in between. It wasn't restraining him well enough....at times he was totally off it. And if he nodded off there was no support at all. I ended up donating it to daycare and buying a backless graco turbo booster. At least the armrest kept him from wiggling off the side and he could put his elbow on the armrest and support his head with his hands if he nodded off.

If your kids are calmer though I'm sure the bubble bum will be fine. They are affordable and pack well. That would be my go to if you think your kids will do well.

 

[englishteacha]

I'd buy/use backless boosters and check them. Renting will be $10+ each per day. Depending on what airline you're using, you may find you can check them right through to Orlando with no extra fees.

 

[englishteacha]

Just an update...I was curious and Amazon has some backless boosters (regular, not BubbleBum) for $15 each. They easily would fit in a duffle to check them, and are small enough you could easily gate check them. Carseats for kids don't count against baggage for most airlines.

If you wanted to gate check your existing boosters, you could bungie them onto your rolling carryon luggage. However, if it were me, I'd get the backless ones. Your kids are old enough where, with some prompting, they should be able to sit correctly in a backless booster, especially for shorter trips. And with the backless boosters, you should be able to put 3 across a backseat and get a smaller rental car.
http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-Juvenil...129&sr=1-3&keywords=backless+booster+car+seat

There's a Graco one that's around $18, too.

 

[set1208]

We flew with three kids in boosters. It's totally possible and we came from CT too! Actually, we had a convertible seat, a high back and a backless booster. When we got to the airport, my DH dropped off me, the kids, our luggage and our seats curbside. I grabbed a porter and he piled all of our stuff for us and hauled it to the counter. I had two large plastic bags...one for the convertible and the other for the highback and booster. We were able to check them for free at the counter. They wouldn't check them unless they were in some kind of bag. Once we got to our destination, we picked the seats up at the luggage carousel, grabbed a porter to haul the gear to the rental car counter and that was that. It was a lot cheaper than renting seats.

 

[set1208]

Unlike other posters, I would not recommend the bubblebums. We bought two and we were really disappointed. They slid right out from under their butts and were not secure at all. At 7 and 6, I would assume that your kids can be in backless seats. You can get really slim, lightweight ones at walmart for under $20.

 

[eyeblaura]

You can buy several brands of backless booster seats at Target or Walmart for $20 or under, I keep a Harmony one as an extra in my car for friends who might need it. Buy 3 of those and pack them in a piece of checked luggage, they are light and compact.