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3 kids

16K views 111 replies 20 participants last post by  Jdsmitty10 
#1 ·
Ive got three kids 4 years of age and younger. Any of you out there have 3 kids in your JGC and use it as your primary family vehicle? If so, did you ever think you needed more room and should have gotten, say, a Durango?
 
#3 ·
Not sure of the age ranges that you have, but the JGC doesn't handle rear-facing car seats very well, IMO. That's why my family has the minivan, though.
 
#5 ·
We have a 9 month old and the rear facing seat really is kind of a pain. I tried leaving it in the center and I hated having to have both front seats moved far up. I ended up keeping the seat behind the passenger seat and its pretty good there. Easy to get the baby in and out, allows access to fold down the larger rear seat section to load large stuff in the trunk, and on the sides you can use the securing straps that come with the seat which IMO secure it MUCH better than using the seat belt in the center.

James
 
#7 ·
I have 3 kids 3.5 yrs and younger.. its our primary vehicle and it is great compared to my tacoma. RF infant seat makes the passenger side slightly tight up front but my 5'4" wife sits there so its no biggy.. i started a thread about 3 car seats across somewhere..couldnt find it to post in this reply tho.. i have one rearfacing infant seat, and 2 FF full carseats in it with not problems at all.. i Do have a radian 65 which is very narrow to make 3 across work..
 
#8 ·
So, I have put three forward facing seats in the back before. Its very tight and it takes a while to get everything locked in. IIRC, I actually have to remove one of the side seats to lock in the middle one, then place it back into the vehicle to lock in the 3rd kid. If you have the car seats that I have, its a pain, and I would not recommend it. It is possible that you could do some research and buy narrower seats...that could make a big difference...but for the 3 I have used, it would drive me nuts...
 
#11 ·
I found when cross shopping the durango is how do u get to the third row if u have 2 car seats in the second row? Plus no cargo space for strollers and stuff if 3rd row is up. Plus I like the wk2 better
 
#12 ·
The minivan is the ultimate family hauler because of the ease of getting the kids in the 3rd row. Yeah, no one likes to be "seen" driving one but for value and practicality they are hard to beat. I had three of the damn things.

Expensive, but probably second in convenience was my Ford Expedition. The center row was in three sections, and the middle folded down and made a flat table, separating the seats nicely and enabling the kids to scramble over into the back row. As an alternate the center slid forward, directly behind the first row console, so a baby in the center could be reached easily from the front. On the downside, the width of the vehicle and the hinged doors made access to the rear difficult while in a narrow parking space.
 
#13 · (Edited)
The minivan is the ultimate family hauler because of the ease of getting the kids in the 3rd row. Yeah, no one likes to be "seen" driving one but for value and practicality they are hard to beat. I had three of the damn things.

Expensive, but probably second in convenience was my Ford Expedition. The center row was in three sections, and the middle folded down and made a flat table, separating the seats nicely and enabling the kids to scramble over into the back row. As an alternate the center slid forward, directly behind the first row console, so a baby in the center could be reached easily from the front. On the downside, the width of the vehicle and the hinged doors made access to the rear difficult while in a narrow parking space.
Thanks...live in Alaska and so there's snow and ice on our roads for 7 months out of the year, plus we live out of town, so I'm looking for a 4WD vehicle. The only company that makes an AWD minivan is Toyota (I refuse to buy a foreign car...especially a Toyota or Subaru), and the Expedition is just way too darn thirsty on gas with that 5.4L. I had a 2009 F150 with that 5.4L it was horrible on MPGs, especially when temps turned cold, like down below -20 or -30.

We love the new GC and before we had kids, we owned three XJs between us. Loved em. We now have an 08 Mountaineer and it is paid off, but its value is depreciating fairly quickly and it is horrible on mileage, like 13 city, 18 hwy.

Just trying to decide if the new WK2 is right for us, or if we should go with the Durango. I like both, but like the GC WAY MORE!!! Plus, I agree with the third row thing - it's useless with car seats in the middle row. How the heck do you access the 3rd row?? I thought maybe about ordering a Durango with the 2nd row captain's chairs, but then with 3 kids, you always have to have at least one of the seats in the 3rd row in the up position and you lose out on all the trunk space.

Decisions Decisions. But damn the JGC is nice!
 
#17 · (Edited)
Toyota is not the only awd minivan not that I think u should get one..

I have a limited v6 and it's working great as a 3 kid hauler. Our double stroller even goes diagonal across the cargo area..

And I figured if I need more cargo room I would take my Tacoma doublecab.. Not as comfy with kids in it but works...
 
#20 ·
Haven't been on one past 2hrs. But we have taken many trips to our hometown 2hrs away. Thy all sleep for that one. I'm in about te Mae boat as u. Daughter is gonna be 4 in sept, son will be 2 in a week, and other son is 5 months. Got Myself fixed haha cause 3 in that amount of time is enough.. We plan on taking it on all our trips.. 2 older kids are 5 point harnessed til 60lbs(car seat max and dot want to mess with reaching between seats to buckle boosters for my almost 4 yr old) and my baby is in a graco snugride base/carrier.. other seats are graco nautilous(really wide dot reccommend) and sunshine kids radian 65( very narrow)

 
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#21 ·
Haven't been on one past 2hrs. But we have taken many trips to our hometown 2hrs away. Thy all sleep for that one. I'm in about te Mae boat as u. Daughter is gonna be 4 in sept, son will be 2 in a week, and other son is 5 months. Got Myself fixed haha cause 3 in that amount of time is enough.. We plan on taking it on all our trips.. 2 older kids are 5 point harnessed til 60lbs(car seat max and dot want to mess with reaching between seats to buckle boosters for my almost 4 yr old) and my baby is in a graco snugride base/carrier.. other seats are graco nautilous(really wide dot reccommend) and sunshine kids radian 65( very narrow)
Looks good. Looks like it'll work for us. We have the 2 year old and 4 year old both in the Sunshine Kids Radians, so both very narrow. Thanks!:thumbsup:

Do you find it easier to get the seats in by reclining the 2nd row just a bit?
 
#33 · (Edited)
I don't have kids, but I have all kinds of family with kids that have Minivans and don't, and my wife spent years as a nanny so she's hauled all kinds of kids in all manner of different vehicles.

What if you want to take someone else with you in your Jeep with your kids? What if grandma or grandpa want to go on an outing with you? You also have no available seats other than the front seat (and by your admission it makes that front seat very cramped with a rear facing seat) when using the vehicle without your kids present without dismantling the carseats one poster here had to go so far as to say he had to remove and reinstall one of the Jeep's seats to make fit.

My sister in law only has one kid, but we were able to all (6 adults) get in the van and go somewhere with him in his carseat, and everybody was 100% comfortable. That would not have happened with the Jeep.

I just don't see how anyone with an unbiased viewpoint can say that an SUV, whether it has two or three rows, is as versatile a people and stuff hauler as a Minivan unless that person has had no experience with a modern minivan.

gopking119 said:
Exactly. You don't haul furniture with a minivan. That's what the F150 is for.
Why don't you haul furniture with a minivan? What if you don't have an F150? Why would I want to spend money on a truck, and go through the hassle of renting a truck and returning it, when I have a minivan that will haul what I want to haul when I remove two lightweight seats?

That minivan swallowed a BUNCH of antiques and saved the day. The Jeep can't hold a candle to the utility of a minivan in that area. It looks a lot better, its a lot cooler, and you can go a bunch more places...but thats only valuable to a certain point.

My advice would be have an open mind and look at a minivan if you're going to be carrying combinations of kids and adults. I could see getting by with the Jeep with one kid, but two or more I'd want a Minivan.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I don't have kids, but I have all kinds of family with kids that have Minivans and don't, and my wife spent years as a nanny so she's hauled all kinds of kids in all manner of different vehicles.

What if you want to take someone else with you in your Jeep with your kids? What if grandma or grandpa want to go on an outing with you? You also have no available seats other than the front seat (and by your admission it makes that front seat very cramped with a rear facing seat) when using the vehicle without your kids present without dismantling the carseats one poster here had to go so far as to say he had to remove and reinstall one of the Jeep's seats to make fit.

My sister in law only has one kid, but we were able to all (6 adults) get in the van and go somewhere with him in his carseat, and everybody was 100% comfortable. That would not have happened with the Jeep.

I just don't see how anyone with an unbiased viewpoint can say that an SUV, whether it has two or three rows, is as versatile a people and stuff hauler as a Minivan unless that person has had no experience with a modern minivan.



Why don't you haul furniture with a minivan? What if you don't have an F150? Why would I want to spend money on a truck, and go through the hassle of renting a truck and returning it, when I have a minivan that will haul what I want to haul when I remove two lightweight seats?

That minivan swallowed a BUNCH of antiques and saved the day. The Jeep can't hold a candle to the utility of a minivan in that area. It looks a lot better, its a lot cooler, and you can go a bunch more places...but thats only valuable to a certain point.

My advice would be have an open mind and look at a minivan if you're going to be carrying combinations of kids and adults. When we have a kid in a few years, the Jeep gets replaced with a minivan...bottom line.
Thanks for the $.02. A minivan really just doesn't suit our needs - mostly because where we live it's winter 7 months out of the year and we want an AWD 4WD/vehicle. In all honestly, we did test drive the Toyota Sienna minivan in AWD. Its AWD system just really wasn't very impressive - not for the kind of weather we face. Plus, the interior fit and finish left a lot to be desired. I think the cows they used for the leather seats must have been vinyl-fed cows. Just very cheap. Not impressed. Not to mention that we live out of town a bit and off the beaten path. Not exactly prime territory for a minivan.

Also, I'm not going to buy a vehicle that I don't really want or care for just for all the "what-ifs". I'm going to buy a vehicle that will suit my needs 99% of the time that I actually enjoy driving, my wife enjoys driving, that can take us where we want to go, and that will stand up to harsh arctic weather and off-road conditions. I'm not saying minivans don't have their place, but not everybody lives in suburbia.
 
#35 ·
In a climate like that its a different story, but I'd still get something with 3 rows just for the flexibility of being able to carry people in addition to you, your wife and your kids.

Don't even get me started about the interior quality of modern day Toyotas. Its TERRIBLE. Terrible quality leather, plastics, everything. It really is a shame because their interiors used to be some of the best. Its not just the Sienna, its everything they make nowadays pretty much.

The van I would buy is the Honda Odyssey. No AWD, but quality and styling is much better than the Sienna...
 
#36 ·
In a climate like that its a different story, but I'd still get something with 3 rows just for the flexibility of being able to carry people in addition to you, your wife and your kids.

Don't even get me started about the interior quality of modern day Toyotas. Its TERRIBLE. Terrible quality leather, plastics, everything. It really is a shame because their interiors used to be some of the best. Its not just the Sienna, its everything they make nowadays pretty much.

The van I would buy is the Honda Odyssey. No AWD, but quality and styling is much better than the Sienna...
If we were to get something other than the JGC, it would be the 2014 Durango with the 8 speed.
 
#37 ·
Or maybe the Grand Wagoneer when it comes out...
 
#40 ·
Been living without a minivan or third row for yrs and never once wished I had either. I am not interested in being the taxi because I can haul x amount of people. "what if" I have an 8 passenger minivan and need to haul 9?? You can what if all day long with anything.... Even when I had only 1 child center mounted in my Tacoma if we went placings with grand parents we always drove separately. Even 8 hrs to the beach. Took 2 vehicles.. Plus I live 2 hrs away from any fam so rarely do we do outings where we would want to squeeze into one vehicle...

The only what if I had about my 2 row jeep was "what if I knock my wife up again?"... Haha. Don't have to worry bout that now so no more what ifs lol..

Btw, what's with all the push/praise for minivans.. This is a wk2 forum... Seen these things come up in a couple threads lately...
 
#42 · (Edited)
Btw, what's with all the push/praise for minivans.. This is a wk2 forum... Seen these things come up in a couple threads lately...
So what if its a WK2 forum? The WK2 is not the only vehicle on the planet, nor is it the best vehicle on the planet for everyone and every situation. People come on here asking for honest advice, and sometimes the best advice is not "buy the WK2".

Even when I had only 1 child center mounted in my Tacoma if we went placings with grand parents we always drove separately. Even 8 hrs to the beach. Took 2 vehicles..
See I actually like to go places and do things WITH people. To me taking two cars places is just a PITA, and being in one vehicle with your friends and family is fun. I'm happy to be the "taxi".
 
#44 · (Edited)
If you'd read the whole thread you'd see that the OP and I have already discussed the fact that he lives in Alaska. I'm not suggesting he buy a minivan any longer, I'm just talking about Minivans as a more practical choice for families with kids.

I just don't see the point in buying a vehicle that only my family can ride in as a family/trip vehicle, because I routinely do carry more people than just my family that lives in my house. It doesn't make any more sense to me than buying a 2 seater car as your family vehicle. When I travel, or even just around town I want to be able to take people with me. We go take my mother out to dinner once a week, if we had 2 or 3 kids I would still want to do that. Where would she ride in the WK2?, in the trunk? On the roof? She lives nearby and travels places with us. Where would she ride? I don't want to make a 65 year old woman follow me everywhere in her own car. My mother in law would come down to visit a lot too, and we'd want to go do things, etc with them both. If one can't ride in the WK2...where would the other ride? You must see my point.

You said yourself you don't want to be the "taxi", that implies that you take offense at having to drive other people around and I'm just not that way. And for the record, I have absolutely packed up and traveled with kids. Not my kids, but kids. I know what all you have to carry. Hell, a decent sized stroller takes up half the cargo area of the WK2...its actually quite small without dropping the rear seats, and pretty narrow. I don't know how you carry 3 strollers in the back of it and have room for anything else or be able to see out the rear window.

If you would let the stigma go, and let the preconcieved notions about "style" and "look" go...there is no doubt in my mind your family would be more comfortable in a minivan.
 
#45 ·
Once again I bought what it's my needs in function and style.. A minivan of course would be more comfy than a wk2 any day.. Never said it wouldn't.. I can get my double stroller and another smaller one of needed and fit other stuff in the wk2.. If I need more cargo area I will take the truck which fits my 3 kids too(not as comfy as wk2 but doable). I like style in my vehicles and minivans don't do it for me. Sounds like u should get yourself a van..

With a van fully loaded with people u don't have much cargo space fr everyone's stuff... To accomodate people u gotta give up cargo area too.. We can go all day. Your right in your mind, I am right inmy mind.. Case closed
 
#46 ·
My first minivan was the 1996 Windstar. When you overlooked the stigma it was a great vehicle. That was the 3.8L V6 with a dual plane manifold that produced 200 HP- a lot more than the sports coupe that I was driving around. Guys are buying up old Windstar intakes and putting them in Mustangs for performance gains.

Sold that one when they came up with the second sliding door, then another when we moved south and wanted dual climate control. All were great vehicles and served us well. I'm happy to be rid of them though, along with car seats.
 
#47 ·
My advice is to NEVER put your family in a mini-van if you can't own one :)

My wife has a '11 Honda Odyssey. Since we bought it last July my business partner's wife and some other close friends have each purchased the same van...it just make life/family moving SO much easier.

I'm just at the research stage (haven't bought a WK2 yet) and happen to have a SUV with a third row right now. I haven't popped up the third row since we bought the van.

I'm actually only considering the WK2 (ok, more than considering - I'm just trying to figure out if I should hold out hope to find a Hemi Limited with Lux or just go ahead and get an Overland and hope for the best out of the air suspension) because I now realize that no SUV will ever be as great of a family mover as the mini-van, so I might as well just assume we will have a mini-van until the kids (The Wife will drive it daily) are gone as the primary family car.
 
#52 ·
ugly was never used in my posts if your referring to me..i actually think the odyssey is pretty nice looking..just not what i want in a vehicle..

Thanks for the specs on the 2 vehicles, glad you have nothing else to do to bring out all kinds of specs.. my seats will NEVER be folded down so that means nothing to me(once again, i have a truck so if i need long cargo area, i use the truck), and the slight difference in with all seats up cubic space is no biggy..
 
#61 · (Edited)
Actually the OP asked a question, I provided my viewpoint, and you came on here with your comment about how people "push" minivans here and that it didn't make sense since this was a Jeep forum, and then laid into me about how my viewpoint had no merit because I don't have any kids. I wasn't even the first person to suggest a minivan, and if you haven't noticed several people have posted the exact same opinion as me, and those are people who have kids. The main point of my initial post was in response to the statement that the Jeep is more "American" than a Honda or Toyota minivan and thats not true.

IMHO, I'm not the one stirring the pot here. I posted my viewpoint...and the OP and I had a discussion about it that ended. You're the one dragging this out by posting BS thats not true and continuing to assert that I don't know what I'm talking about, when I clearly do.

Clearly you don't care for me very much, which is fine the feeling's mutual. If you don't want to read what I have to say I suggest you put me on your ignore list, because I'm not going anywhere.
 
#62 ·
Actually the OP asked a question, I provided my viewpoint, and you came on here with your comment about how people "push" minivans here and that it didn't make sense since this was a Jeep forum, and then laid into me about how my viewpoint had no merit because I don't have any kids. I wasn't even the first person to say something about a minivan, and if you haven't noticed several people have posted the exact same opinion as me, and those are people who have kids. The main point of my initial post was in response to the statement that the Jeep is more "American" than a Honda or Toyota minivan and thats not true.

IMHO, I'm not the one stirring the pot here. I posted my viewpoint...and the OP and I had a discussion about it that ended. You're the one dragging this out by posting BS thats not true and continuing to assert that I don't know what I'm talking about, when I clearly do.

Clearly you don't care for me very much, which is fine the feeling's mutual. If you don't want to read what I have to say I suggest you put me on your ignore list, because I'm not going anywhere.
I don't know u so I can't decide that through an Internet forum.. I do know my opinion on using my jeep as a family vehicle is not BS.. I do know my opinion on hauling the things and humans I haul is better done in my wk2 than a van.. ICAN tell you gotta have the last word in everything when it comes to knowing it all about stuff.. And I DO KNOW you cane I here with the "your crazy to have 3 across a jeep" attitude.. I did see where you suggested that a minivan is the best way and the op mentioned Alaska.. And I do have hard time taking advice from someone who thinks try know about hauling kids..

If I fold the back seat down in a van and have 3 across then I am just driving a less stylish vehicle with more cargo area... So yes with three rows up in an odysee it has 3 cubic more but my jeep looks a hell of a lot better and that is important in my decision to buy vehicles.. And you also stated not caring for safety over looks... Last time I checked the wk2 gets good ratings in that...

Once again just having convo, I hope your not getting worked up down there in gaithersburg...
 
#63 ·
Not worked up at all, I find you quite amusing.

ICAN tell you gotta have the last word in everything when it comes to knowing it all about stuff.
*I'm* the one who has to have the last word? LOL...I challenge you not to respond to this post.

So yes with three rows up in an odysee it has 3 cubic more but my jeep looks a hell of a lot better and that is important in my decision to buy vehicles..
Right...a vanity decison.
 
#66 ·
I recently went on our first camping trip with our 4 month old. I instantly missed my f150. Granted we brought a lot of stuff as it was car camping and we probably over packed for the baby but it became very tight. I can't imagine once we have our 2nd. The plan now is either to buy back my f150 from my father who I sold it to or the wife is going to trade her 4runner in for a suburban. I'm not a big fan of the Durango's looks and the suburban is rated pretty well on mpg for a vehicle of that size.

Jeep all packed up for camping:
 
#68 ·
Sweet jeep! Now that's "rugged"... You must take Alotta Shiite camping lol... We found that te more kids you have the less you start taking cause you realize u didn't use half the shit anyway hahah... I remember our first vaca with just one. Man we took WAY too much stuff.. Swings, pack n plays, wagons, strollers.....
 
#73 · (Edited)
I just think its funny how u write books on disagreeing on what is more American and have percentages to prove it
Its funny that I know what I'm talking about and have sources to back up what I say? It would be more acceptable if I just posted a bunch of stuff I really don't know anything about? I don't have an "always right" mentality, I just don't post information when I don't know that its accurate. If I don't know I'm right...I don't post. This is a discussion forum, and when someone posts something its up for discussion. If they say something that I know is wrong...I'm going to tell them they're wrong and show them why.

The statement that a Jeep is more "American" than a Toyota minivan is false. The Jeep is made by a foreign company (Fiat), same as the Toyota and has a LOWER % of domestically produced and sourced components. Those are facts. Look it up for yourself, I did to be sure I was right before I posted it. Its not hard, just Google. Your persistence that somehow I have "lots of free time" and am a "know it all" because I take the time to research something before I make a statement is ridiculous. If you would do the same thing, you'd sound a lot smarter. If you want to challenge what I have to say, you better know your shit because I know mine.

I feel for your wife....
LOL, you can keep trying to personally insult me all you want but its not going to work.
 
#84 ·
Its funny that I know what I'm talking about and have sources to back up what I say? It would be more acceptable if I just posted a bunch of stuff I really don't know anything about? I don't have an "always right" mentality, I just don't post information when I don't know that its accurate. If I don't know I'm right...I don't post. This is a discussion forum, and when someone posts something its up for discussion. If they say something that I know is wrong...I'm going to tell them they're wrong and show them why.

The statement that a Jeep is more "American" than a Toyota minivan is false. The Jeep is made by a foreign company (Fiat), same as the Toyota and has a LOWER % of domestically produced and sourced components. Those are facts. Look it up for yourself, I did to be sure I was right before I posted it. Its not hard, just Google. Your persistence that somehow I have "lots of free time" and am a "know it all" because I take the time to research something before I make a statement is ridiculous. If you would do the same thing, you'd sound a lot smarter. If you want to challenge what I have to say, you better know your shit because I know mine.



LOL, you can keep trying to personally insult me all you want but its not going to work.
ROTFLMAO! :lol::lol::lol:
 
#74 ·
I have a 2011 Grand Caravan R/T (yes the "Man Van") and LOVE it! It is sooo easy to get three kids in and out of and not bad looking for a minivan as well. We have a 1, 3 and 6 year old.

I looked at the Ford Explorer and the Durango. Came down to the minivan was just soooo much easier due to push button opening of the side doors and rear hatch. Also, the stow and go system is fantastic! Fitting ply wood sheets in the back with the hatch shut is no problem. Also, the Explorer was way under powered. BUT, with the new 2012 Explorer Sport coming out with the Eccoboost V6, you might want to wait a bit and check it out. Just my $0.02.
 
#78 ·
We drove a rental from AZ to MT roundtrip with 3 tall boys + me and the wife. That thing is rooooomy and so easy to load/unload stuff. Anyways, the OP's needs are a little different because of the environmental factor but again, if they can make it work then a JGC it is! When one gets older, tow an igloo! <jk> :D
 
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