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  1. #1
    Shy
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    Best vehicle for 6 carseats

    Hi ladies! My son starts Kindergarden in the fall and I'm in the market for a new vehicle so I can drive him (and therefore all the dayhome kids as well). I'll have 6 kids in the vehicle - one rear facing, 4 forward facing in harnessed seats, and one in a belt positioning booster.

    What vehicles do people drive? We have narrowed it down to the Honda Odyssey or a Chevy Yukon. Any advice or suggestions on these would be great. I'd love to know what seats people use, particularly in the back rows of these vehicles. Is it possible to do 3 radians across the very back??? Should mention I am buying the carseats

  2. #2
    Euphoric !
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    Also consider that whatever seats you buy may have to fit in both directions as the group you have will get older, or change so at any given time the configuration could be different. I don't take the kids in a vehicle so no help there.

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  4. #3
    Starting to feel at home...
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    I don't transport any kids in my van, but we have the Honda Odyssey and LOVE IT!

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  6. #4
    Shy
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    The Odyssey is a big contender because it is the ONLY minivan we saw with 6 tether points. But we currently own a Ford Explorer and can't give it up because we need something that is designed for towing. If we don't want to have 2 vehicles, trading up to an 8 passenger SUV seems to be the better financial choice. I really like the Honda Pilot (also has 6 tether points - Honda is smart!!!) but it will come down to wether or not we can get all the carseats in. Decisions, decisions!!!

  7. #5
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    Did you ever find a solution to the car seats? We just tried putting 2 car seats and a booster in the back of our dodge caravan and it won't work. My daughter starts playschool next week so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. A vehicle for 4 car seats and one booster.

  8. #6
    Shy
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    I'm not not sure car seat wise causes had the cars eats already and just took them to every SUV I liked and tried it. The only SUV that will do 3 carseats in the back that I found is a ford explorer, expedition, or the max.

  9. #7
    Euphoric ! bright sparks's Avatar
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    If you are looking for a used vehicle then without a doubt go for the Chevy venture 8 seater. I had one for 3 years while doing daycare and I had 6 Eddie bauers which worked perfectly.

    Now I have a Honda Odyssey 8 seater, the 2013 and it is a tight squeeze but when I needed to replace one of the seats I bought a slimmer one for the middle back seat. In addition the middle row seats are designed to move apart to give extra space to fit 3 car seats in. Sometimes a vehicle may seem to not fit the car seats in but it takes just a bit of nack to put them in a certain way to make them fit. It also helps if they can stay in permanently.

  10. #8
    Expansive... Judy Trickett's Avatar
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    If you can find an older model Dodge Caravan ( I think they changed the model around 2007, so a model 2007 or older) you can get another rear seat and put it in the middle position. That model of Caravan comes with a two-seat bench in the middle and a three-seat bench in the rear. BUT, the benches are interchangeable in those models so you can go to the scrap yard, buy another rear seat and put it in the middle. Voila! Now you have SIX seats to hold daycare kids.

    I did this many moons ago when I had to do school runs. I think the scrapyard bench seat cost me around $75 at the time. AND, you can pick up a 2007 model Dodge Caravan for around $2000-$5000 depending on mileage and the shape it's in. AND, if you are using for daycare you can write off the payments as a capital cost.

  11. #9
    Euphoric !
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    If the whole purpose of this is to drive your son to school it seems to me he would be in the zone for bussing if it is too far to walk. This seems like an awful expense and hassle for the cost of a runabout stroller instead to walk to the bus stop.

    That is a lot of buckling kids in and out of carseats if you have to put them in to get there, get them out to take son to his class/door/area etc, then back in for the trip home.

  12. #10
    Expansive... Judy Trickett's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by playfelt View Post
    If the whole purpose of this is to drive your son to school it seems to me he would be in the zone for bussing if it is too far to walk. This seems like an awful expense and hassle for the cost of a runabout stroller instead to walk to the bus stop.

    That is a lot of buckling kids in and out of carseats if you have to put them in to get there, get them out to take son to his class/door/area etc, then back in for the trip home.
    Not necessarily. In my city you have to be 1.6 kilometers away from the school to get bussing. We are 1.2 kms away and when my kids were in school I had to walk with all the dckids that distance. And that is a LONG way for little kids back and forth at least twice a day.

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