Daycare Friendly Vehicle

[squareone]

We have a Tahoe that seats 8. There are 2 bench rows in the back and yesterday I just discovered that I can fit 3 car seats across the 2nd row but can't fit 3 car seats across the back row!!!! Luckily I only needed 7 of the seats this time but I was very surprised that the 3rd row was not the same size as the 2nd row. When my car is paid off, I plan to purchase a larger vehicle to safely and comfortably transport daycare kids.

I am trying to avoid a full size passenger van because this will also be the vehicle that I drive around for personal use. So, does anyone have or know of a minivan, or SUV that can fit 3 car seats across the third row?

I know that car seats vary in width and that might make a slight difference. The Sunshine car seats don't have arm rests so they are pretty narrow. Any other model car seats that are particularly narrow?

I vaguely remember a discussion about this in another thread but didn't know how to find it.

Thanks in advance.

[Michelle]

My GMC Safari is an 8 passenger and I can fit 6 car seats in it.
It's a 2002

[Michael]

I had an Eddie Bauer Expidition that seated three in the back. They are/were great cars. I used it for field trips from school. 4x4 is even better.

[jen2651]

I had an Eddie Bauer Expidition that seated three in the back. They are/were great cars. I used it for field trips from school. 4x4 is even better.

That is mine too! Love it! My favorite thing is the back seat folds down with the push of a button from the back....loading up groceries - easy peasy!

[newtodaycare22]

I have an Expediton also, but it's the older (02) style. I fit 3 wide in the back but it can be a struggle to buckle boosters. I have preschoolers so we have a combo of car seats and booster seats. Anyway, if you have an issue with this in your new vehicle, I find that hooking them from behind (the trunk) is helpful.::

[childcarebytori]

I have a Suburban and it can fit three carseats in the third row easily. I know I had to test a few carseats out to find out which ones fit the most comfortable, but thankfully Babies'R'Us has a nice exchange program ::

I had a Ford Expedition but I had a huge problem not getting my triple stroller to fit in the back when I did fieldtrips and I was confined to only using my double stroller (which I threw plenty of fits about as I usually take my five, sometimes six, daycare kids out on fieldtrips and three of those are infants/toddlers). The new Suburban's are super nice, too, with an amazing amount of space in the back that fits my triple stroller. I definitely recommend this vehicle for daycare transportation!

[dEHmom]

I have an Expediton also, but it's the older (02) style. I fit 3 wide in the back but it can be a struggle to buckle boosters. I have preschoolers so we have a combo of car seats and booster seats. Anyway, if you have an issue with this in your new vehicle, I find that hooking them from behind (the trunk) is helpful.::

yep i do this in my van! .

we just bought a buick terraza. I like it. Although all the electronic components scare me, just thinking about when that stuff starts going. Before warranty is up, it's gone! . I'm not paying to fix that stuff.

I just find that there's not much room in between the 2nd row seats to get into the far back. So I obviously put the older kids not in big carseats in the far back. If I have to reach around to buckle them , I do it from the trunk. But I find the trunk part is not as big as I am used to (used to drive an Astro). So thats a pretty big drawback when all of your seats are full.

[MarinaVanessa]

I know I had to test a few carseats out to find out which ones fit the most comfortable, but thankfully Babies'R'Us has a nice exchange policy

yes thank goodness they do. I havnt taken advantage of this policy yet but I will this summer when I buy my new van. Originally we were going to buy an SUV but with gas prices the way they are and with rumors about gas prices hitting in the $5's this summer well I needed something that did a little better with mileage. I'll get an 8 seater Sienna and drive myself right over to babies r us to try carseats. Heck I'm doing it in the parking lot. Then once I figure out how to maximize my space with what carseats I'm returning the carseats and hitting craigslists .

[dEHmom]

but with gas prices the way they are and with rumors about gas prices hitting in the $5's this summer

we just hit 1.21/ Litre (no idea what that is for gallons) but i heard we will be at 1.50/litre by the summer. ACK

[Lilbutterflie]

We have a Tahoe that seats 8. There are 2 bench rows in the back and yesterday I just discovered that I can fit 3 car seats across the 2nd row but can't fit 3 car seats across the back row!!!! Luckily I only needed 7 of the seats this time but I was very surprised that the 3rd row was not the same size as the 2nd row. When my car is paid off, I plan to purchase a larger vehicle to safely and comfortably transport daycare kids.

I am trying to avoid a full size passenger van because this will also be the vehicle that I drive around for personal use. So, does anyone have or know of a minivan, or SUV that can fit 3 car seats across the third row?

I know that car seats vary in width and that might make a slight difference. The Sunshine car seats don't have arm rests so they are pretty narrow. Any other model car seats that are particularly narrow?

I vaguely remember a discussion about this in another thread but didn't know how to find it.

Thanks in advance.

I have a 2004 Tahoe myself; and I found I was able to fit an infant carseat in the middle, with two boosters on either side. Tight fit, but it did work! But there is no way it would fit three infant carseats.

[Greenshadow]

I have a Chrysler Town & Country and I can fit 3 carseats in the 3rd row. I have the Touring Edition so the 2nd row are 2 captains chairs so I fit 5 carseats altogether. If Im not using the backrow, they fold flat down giving me more room to carry stuff if I need to. I love my van.

[Lilbutterflie]

I have a Chrysler Town & Country and I can fit 3 carseats in the 3rd row. I have the Touring Edition so the 2nd row are 2 captains chairs so I fit 5 carseats altogether. If Im not using the backrow, they fold flat down giving me more room to carry stuff if I need to. I love my van.

I'm SOO envious! I want a Town & Country so bad!

[Greenshadow]

I'm SOO envious! I want a Town & Country so bad!

Whats even better, and Im not sure if Chrysler offers it anymore, but we bought the extended warranty and its LIFETIME for every single thing aside from what we add ourselves and it doesnt cover oil changes and regular maintenance but everything else is covered - for life! You cant beat that. Literally.

[Lilbutterflie]

That must've been last year when all the companies started offering the incentives to new car buyers?

That would be wonderful if they offered that now. Wow! What a deal!

I have to wait until our Tahoe is paid off, I think another year and a half. I so want it though!

[MG&Lsmom]

I have an 8 passenger Toyota Sienna and I can't fit 3 across the back with what I have. I can fit 3 LARGE seats in the 2nd row tho. Width isn't necessarily the problem in the 3rd row, it's the location of the seat belts and Latches. There are only 2 Latch/tether positions. The center Latch position overlaps the driver side belt buckle. Only one of my seats can install well with the position of the seat belt buckle forward of the bight. I need 2 narrow seats that can install well this way in order to do it.