Help! I Need to Find a Minivan That Can Fit 3 Car Seats in the Back 3Rd Row

I had this same problem!! I couldn't fit 5 car seats in my '05 Grand Caravan. So, my hubby bought a Tahoe (Much wider bench seats!) we traded in my van for a Chevy Cobalt (better on gas) and we are buying a third row seat for the Tahoe, so I will actually be able to fit 6 kids in the car when I need to go somewhere, and my hubby will take the Cobalt to work.

I have heard great things about the Radian carseats - I saw a few others have recommended them. I thought they were very expensive but then someone said "not more expensive than a new car" which is totally true. You might be able to get a less expensive car and just invest in the car seats.

I have an 06 Ford Freestar. It works fine for 3 seats in the back row, and middle bench holds 2 more. Really my suggestion is to try as many vans as you can bring three car seats to see how they fit. Some car seats will be tight to buckle, unless you leave them there perminantly and buckle them in with the three point harness buckles yoiu might always have trouble.

Hi, I can't help with a car recommendation, but I can help with a carseat recommendation - the Radian made by Sunshine Kids (www.skjp.com) is very narrow and many people have good luck fitting 3 across the back seat of many sedans, SUVs and mini vans. They're not cheap, but they're great seats. We've had ours for over a year and really like it. Since it is low profile my DS can get in and out easily. Also, it harnesses to 65 lbs and has decently high top shoulder harness slots. It also can be rear faced - so it is in the same class as the Britax Marathon, for reference. I don't know if you were looking to supply the seats or not (I can't imagine that you'd install 5 seats every day, so I'm guessing you would), this would be a decent investment at around $200 or so a pop, but it may be worth it to open up more options in the van world for you.

Cheers!
K.

Look into the bigger minivans such as the ford freestar or the chrystler.

i have a ford windstar, which i've had for 5 years. the third seat fits 3 comfortably, but i'm not certain about car seats. you should look on the car websites for further information. i'll see what i can find for you in the meantime.

The siena has an 8 seater model. Most of the minivans are 7 passenger standard. they're kind of pricey though IMO.

http://ebrochure.interx2.net/pdfengine/generate.pdf

Here's a quote from a mom of another board i belong to.
“We struggled over the whole car issue as we already had three children when we found out we were having spontaneous triplets. We ended up with an 8 passenger Toyota Sienna and we love it. We can fit the triplets across the back and there is plenty of room for two car seats in the middle and if you only need 7 seats, you can remove one of the side seats to make it really easy to get in and out. We love the versatility and the seats are very comfortable. The back will even fit three Britax husky car seats which are very wide. As far as the cargo storage area, I can fit my Peg Perego stroller by stacking the seats and the base stands next to them taking up a little more than half the back area. The back area is so much larger than other mini vans we have looked at. Then I have half of the back area for a crate that has some "just in case" items in it. I can get lots of grocery bags in the back and then we use under the girls feet if we have bulky items like boxes of diapers and cases of things. There is room under the seats for diapers and I have a low basket with books for the girlies. I keep a travel potty chair under the driver seat and we are set for most emergencies. Check out the Sienna if you want to stick with a mini van. We were amazed at the amount of room inside and how it differed from other mini vans. We have an '04 model and I have not checked out the Odyssey since they re-did it in '05.”

Also check out the saturn outlook below
http://www.edmunds.com/saturn/outlook/review.html

Good luck finding a van! I have been looking to! I had talked with my doctor and she said to also look at the size of the carseats themselves cause that can make a big difference!

Try the Honda Odyssey. It can fit 3 in the back and has a removable 3rd seat between the middle row seats. I had a Dodge Caravan before and had a lot of trouble fitting 3 carseats in the back. Now I can do it with no problems.

The Odyssey actually has more room in the back then the Toyota Sienna. We test drove both and preferred the Odyssey because with 3 growing boys and their friends, we felt we needed the room in the back vs. the front end like the Sienna.

Good luck!

Have you ever seen Jon & Kate plus 8 on TLC? They have a Dodge Sprinter. It holds 6 toddler carseats! It's a behemoth of a van but it's large enough for what you're looking for.

I have a van that will fit 5 carseats, but I live in Maine.

I have 4 kids in carseats and I sometimes put in a booster seat in the 3rd row. I have a Toyota Sienna and love it. I am anxiously waiting my portable DVD player with dual screens so both the 3 in the back and my twins in the front can watch some movies and I can enjoy a sane daytrip someplace.
I love my Sienna. I think next year they are coming out with a Sienna hybrid which should get around 28 mpg or more. The sienna also has a good payload which is awesome for my huge double stroller and a single stroller and of course all the gear that goes along with a big family with lots of little kids.

Try the Toyota Sienna. My brother and his wife one and love it! They have triplets and they are able to put all 3 car seats in the same row together. It has a lot of room for cargo storage as well.

I have a 99 caravan fits 5 car seats 3 in back 2 in middle. had an older caravan it worked in as well. L.

Chrysler town & country or Dodge Caravans fit 5 carseats. Make sure you get two bucket seats in the middle.

Hi J.,
Wow you have your hands full, great career choice. i love children too and their saftey is also important. Two years ago when i was shopping for a vehicle because i wanted a vehicle with lots of space i bought a Honda Odyseey EX its great and its seats 7 and i never had any problems with it. You can check out honda on line to see the nearest dealership near you if your interested.
Good Luck shopping, Rosie

A few years ago my friend was looking for the same thing. The only thing she found was a Chevy Tahoe, which fit three in the middle row. It's actually an SUV. Good luck!

J.,

My van fits 3 carseats in the back. I also do daycare and I'm 42 too!!! My van is a 99 Chrystler Town & Country.
What kind of car do you have now?

K.

I had my own daycare back in the 80's and I was able to put that many car seats in a Chrysler mini van I know the seat have changed a bit so I'm not sure if they will fit in the newer ones. I have a 2000 now and the seats are a bit different. I would try and fit that many in but I don't have five car seats to check it out now!!:) Good Luck I really enjoyed that for 15 years!!!
S. S

I drive a dodge grandcaravan. I have 5 kids and can fit 3 carseats in the 3rd row. Good Luck
Niki W.
mom to Brynda 9.5, Robbie 6 and Luke, Kate and Allison 4.5

Hi J.,
I have six children of my own and was in the same boat with car seats having children (at the time) that were ages 2,1, and newborn. We chose the Ford Windstar and loved everything about it - especially the safety rating! I know they don't make that van anymore but check out their products. My children are now ages 15,14,13 and 9,7,5. Good luck to you with your career change. I am thinking about that too.
M.

I have the piolet and bought it for that reason. It's not a van and a little ackward but fits five car seats one skinny small paerson and two adults. good luck

I can fit 3 in mine. It is a Mazda MPV. I don't know where you live but I bought mine at Werner Auto in Manchester, NH. It's great. It's one of the only minivans where the back windows go up and down. Good Luck with your new carreer.

L.

I have a Chevy Uplander and it will only fit 2 carseats in the back. Our Avalanche fits 3 easily. It is on the same frame as a Tahoe and Suburban. All my friends that have the Toyota Sienna love them but I don't know about the 3 seats across the back in those. An old neighbor that started a daycare from her home also traded in their vehicle for a suburban for the the same reason (anything you get will be tax deductible). I like someone else's advise of taking your carseats with you and trying them to be absolutely sure.

I have an 8 passenger Toyota Sienna that I swear by! I have fit 3 car seats into the back row. It is tight...but secure. You just don't want to have to put them in and take them out regularly...that would be a pain. It also fits 3 car seats on the middle row...but with three small kids in the rear you will want to keep one seat available to climb into the back to buckle and unbuckle kids.
Good luck!

I actually just started a daycare 6 months ago and purchased a 2006 Dodge caravan. I can fit 3 carseats in the back but one of them is a booster seat, I believe an Evenflo so it is very thin, It has a removable back and armrests, it only uses a shoulder strap for the seat belt. Not sure if this would work for you but I use it for my 5 year old. Hope this helps Good luck with your new business. If you are in the Palmer/Monson area we have a provider support group. you can get the number from your licensor. J.

I have an 8 passenger Toyota Sienna. I have triplets and I can fit 3 car seats in the second row as well as the back row. I love it.

Hi J.- I have a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. Depending on the car seats, mine could fit 3. I don't think it could fit 3 convertible seats. I think it could fit 2 convertible and one infant/booster.

Hope that helps

I haven't tried it but I think my Chrystler town and country can do it! Good Luck!

J.,

We own a 2006 Kia Sedona and we could probably fit boosters and carseats in the third seat. We opted for the bucket seats for second row, which allows us easier access to the third seat. The twins love it!

~R.
twinwithtwins06

I have a 2007 Honda Oydessey. I don't think I could fit three in the back row. I currently have a car seat and a booster back there, and the middle spot is pretty tight.

I might be able to fit a rear facing seat in the middle, but, again, it'd have to be just the right seat. Also, I could probably put two booster seats and a car seat in the middle.

I think you might be better off going to one of those huge SUVs like a Escalade or a Tahoe. I think the seats in those cars are wider in the back.

Your best bet is to actually take three car seats to a dealership and see if you can put them in. We did this when we bought our Accord. We had three seats across our Accord for almost a year. Most dealers don't mind as long as you go when it's slow.

Hi J.,

I have 7+ kids and a few grands as well, so we had to go the van route as I have had up to 4, maybe 5 car seats at a time. I have 4 Britax seats and a Juniper Booster, which take up serious space for a couple of the models. I have a 2002 Toyota Sienna XLE and it has worked out just fine for me. I also go to the car seat technician at least once a year at the Police Station or Fire Dept to make sure the seats are installed properly and they check for any recalls. Prior to this I had a Chrysler and it also worked fine. You need a full size van that would be an LE or XLE (not an SE or Sport Edition). A friend has a 3rd seat Explorer that works for her, but reaching over the middle bench to buckle car seats would not be easy in my mind. Hope this helps you.

I'm pretty sure mine does. I have a Chevy Venture (extended). It actually has one built in car seat (for older kids) in one of the seats. The back row of seats folds down into the ground. I've never used it....I've always folded it down to put the stroller and stuff in the back. I have put 3 car seats in the first row of seast so I can't imagine why 3 car seats wouldn't fit in the back. HOWEVER, it's hard to get into the back. Oh wait, if you took out the middle seat of the front row, you could climb through that way (or take out the side seat of the front row). I really think it would work - and I love my minivan! I bought it used and it was the best thing I ever did!

J.,

I have a toyota sienna, 8 seater for my daycare. I fit 6 carseat boosters in it just fine. And I have two large Britax.

Bring the car seats with you to make sure! Also consider an 15 seater van. I deeply regrete that I got a mini van, nat a full size van.

Good luck, M.

Hi J. - I have a Dodge Grand Caravan blue. 2 seats in the middle and 3 in the back. I have been looking for a different vehicle - would be willing to discuss trading or other options. The van is VERY reliable. Email me back so we can discuss our options. H.

No one has mentioned this... but a lot of "if a carseat can fit" is more about the carseat choice then the car itself.

I have a Saturn oulook - and it totally depends on my choice of carseats for that third row...

Check out the Sunshine Radian Kids 65 - first they have taller top harness slots then a britax marathon, they don't require a top tether, and they are the thinnest seats on the market... plus they have an 8 year life span (they are steel reinforced) which allows for longer use!