Vehicle Big Enough for Family and Carpool

I don't think you have many options. I'm pretty sure any full size SUV only has 8 seatbelts, and you should only have one child per seatbelt. I think if you need more than that, you are going to have to go to a big van. I'm surprised other parents are ok with you double-buckling, that isn't safe at all. In reality, at your kids's ages all but the 8 year old (and even that is dependent on his/her weight and height) should still be in some sort of car seat, at least that is the law here. Double buckling should never be an option, no matter what their size is. If you don't have room for more than one extra child in a carpool, don't take more than one extra. If I knew that someone my kids were riding with was double buckleing them, they would not be allowed to ride with that person anymore. Also, if you got pulled over if your state has a seat belt law, you would be ticketed.
So like I said, I think your only option for more than 8 seats is going to a full size van.

1 mom found this helpful

Shauna -
Chevy 15pax is the only way to go!! we have 4 and then did foster care for 6yrs - so usually had 8+kids. We have had both Ford and Chevy and the Chevy 15pax was AWESOME! We sold it this summer to a special needs school - due to NO more foster care! phew.......... but boy do we miss our "Daisy!" It was comfy! the kids can spread out! great for long road trips! perfect for 6-8 kids! We always had the back seat out for grocery, bikes, etc... Have your hubby go test drive one. Look around at the rental car agencies - they sell them very inexpensive! or ebay autos. And I always felt SAFE hauling everyone - I was big - everyone got out of the way. HAHA
now we have a Dodge 7px van - we enjoy it but feel squished - and I miss not being able to haul all their friends around!
Good Luck
blessings
K.

I just purchased a 8 passanger Toyota Sienna. I have six kids. I didn't like the Suburban because I would have to put car seats in back and climb to the back to lock kids in their seats or move seats form the middle to let kids in the back. I have seen kids of other families just jump over the seats. How long will that last as the get bigger, my 12 yr old is 5'10. I don't think he would appreciate having to climb over the seat to get to the back. I was a little nervous about the 12-15 passanger vans because of what I read about rollovers. They do make it easier to get in and out of to get kids in their seatbelts/carseats. I also do see many parents put their kids car seats in the front so they don't have to climb in the back. I believe this is against the law, also. Most times when we have a friend with us, my husband is not with us, so we all fit. If we can not bring another kid along safely, we just don't do it or we take to cars. About the Toyota, only dealers do rentals from what I understand, so check with a local dealer and you can possible get a deal on purchasing a rental. You can also rent one for a day and see how it will work for you.
When you go look for a car, I suggest you take car seat and boaster seats with you and put them in the car. Check out how hard or easy it is to get the kids in and out. Remember they will grow.

I love my 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan.
With gas prices the way they are, I am sorry but you really have to be insane to buy a Suburban. Not to mention vilified by environmentalists.

Hi Shauna,
Hey, I have an Expedition and love it! Lots of room, great ride and super comfortable. With the 3rd seat it easily seats 8. We go river rafting and we had 4 adults and 4 kids in the car and no one even had to touch another person. Something to consider.
T.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with a family your size (mine too) the only vehicles that you can have are a suburban or a 15 passenger van. If you are really serious about carpooling, then it would be the van that you should get, otherwise I would recommed a suburban. I have 6 kids and own a suburban. There are times where I don't have enough space for all the little ones that have come over to play, so I have to rotate play days. I rotate which child can have friends over, so that we can all still fit and go to the park or something like that. We are actually looking at the fact that if we have another child our only option is to have a 15 passenger van. My husband always teases me that from now on the only color our vehicle will come in is yellow (meaning a school bus). Good luck in your search. I know that this probably wasn't very helpful, but then again the car manufacturers and society aren't very helpful when it comes to a large family either. Most everything is oriented to a smaller family of 4.

I have a really good friend who just had her sixth kid. At that point they had outgrown the van so they bought a Honda Pilot. It seemed small at first, but it seats 8, and is very comfortable for all her kids. It is small enought to handle better than a suburban and 15 passenger van (another friend has a suburband and it is huge, and another has the 15 passenger van, which is also difficult) I would recommend checking out the Honda Pilot. It may just work for your family.

My mother in law also has a Linclon Navigator. We rode in it on our last visit and were able to seat 4 adults and 2 kids in car seats in the back with a lot of room to spare. It is expensive, but has a lot of space.

Shauna~
I currently am driving my parents Pontiac Montana. It seats 8 comfortably and has a TON of storage room in the back (it's the extended version). If you are interested in buying right now, my parents are actually selling the Montana currently. If you have other questions, just email me back. I will gladly answer them. BTW, I'm in Ogden, Utah.

We bought a 2007 Honda Pilot EX and absolutely love it! It has room (comfortable) for 8. The seats in the back are easy to fold down for space. The SUV drives extremely nice. You should check it out. Great in the winter w/ ice, snow, etc. We opted to not get the leather but got the best fabric which is really tough and nice. We had a DVD put in after market which makes trips and driving to and from Boise great for our daughter.

We have a Ford Explorer that has a 3rd seat. So, 2 adults in front, 2-3 kids in middle, and 2 kids in back. But it sounds like a Suburban is a good idea for your situation. Schools use Suburbans. Other than that it's a van. Good luck.

The Dodge Caravan is nice - doors open on both sides and there are six or seven seatbelts in the back two seats. Along with room behind the last seat for bags, coolers, groceries, etc... The size of it is not huge, smaller than the huge cadillac cars out there! Honda Pilot is nice too, but I like to stay American whenever possible!

As for double-belting! Huge no-no. There is a safety issue among the small kiddies too!

Shauna, As hard as it may be to hear I don't think that you or your family members, should ever put more than one child in a single seatbelt. If I knew that you were doing that with my children I would never let you drive them again! I would hope that you would do that with me as well. It is dangerous and against the law.

That said, I was thinking about this very subject today. Unfortunatly there isn't a good-looking or gas savy vehicle out there to move the masses.

I have the cadillac SUV and I love it and I have had suburbans as well I have never seenone that will hold 12 to 15 unless they are just sitting on laps and all they they have between 7 and 9 seat belts. I think the only car you could fing that holds more is a passenger fan.... I love my car and I will alway drive a cadillac now that I have for about a year... Cause it is better then the denali, suburban infenati, chevy pickup. I think it is the BEST.. But they are very pricie!!!!! Good luck drive them all and put the car seats in them all and see where you fit the best... Good luck!!!!

There are too many kids in your family for you to even consider carpooling with someone else.
I have a volvo xc90 and it seats five kids (I only have 3 kids)- but with all those kids you probably have a lot of stuff - you need a suburban whether you like the idea or not. It has room for all the kid stuff that 5 kids come with and you can seat the kids. You wouldn't expect someone to drive around all of your kids - why would anyone in their right mind expect you to drive theirs around? You have your hands full. Big Family = Big car. I tell it like I see it.

Plus double buckling is almost as bad as not buckling at all. If you are in a collision - the kids weight will multiply beyond your wildest dreams and create hundreds of lbs of pressure against the other kid in the same seatbelt and crush their internal organs. Never mind the head bumping some other person wrote about - that can happen with separate seat belts. If you are worried about heads - get helmets. Common sense is important in child rearing.

I just have to say that I would never allow my children to get in a car that didn't have enough seat belts for everyone. The fact that your sister-in-law is double buckling is truly troublesome. Is she doing that with her own kids or someone else's? I would be furious if I found out that someone I trusted to drive my child would double buckle them.

If you don't have enough seat belts then you can't drive around with that many people. So suck it up, spend the money on the vehicle that fits your family and realize that you probably won't be able to carpool. End of discussion.

I have had a suburban and loved it, they are getting better gas mileage so you might still want to check it out. Please don't double buckle kids, find someone else to drive an extra car. I was told by one of the car techs that install baby seats that double buckling slams kids heads together in accidents. May want to double check with police or someone else that helps with car seats.
Good luck,
S. M

Chevrolet has come out with a Hybrid version of the Suburban. Check it out.

We just bought a later model Honda Pilot. It has third row seating. We got a great deal though. If you can find a wholesale dealer like we did ( as oppose to a regular car dealer ). We were able to purchase a 2004 with only 42,000 miles for under 18,000. It has dvd player and leather seats. It gets average 18-19 miles/gallon. good luck on your search

We're currently in the market for a similar vehicle, so I don't have any great suggestions. But if you're looking at saving money on gas, you might try checking out the CNG vehicles. In Utah is one of the cheapest states in the country for natural gas, and Ogden (I think) is the cheapest city. They have a lot of options for converted cars and bi-fuel (CNG/Gasoline) including vans and SUVs. Just a suggestion.

When I opened up a daycare I ran into the same issue of needing a bigger vehicle. My husband picked out a suburban for me and I didn't like the idea of having one. But after driving it for a while, it really grew on me. There is a ton of room for all the kids plus groceries and bags and a double stroller. I love it now!!!!!!! Maybe just look at them. They are cheap to buy right now. and I don't drive to much(school and the library) so the gas isn't too bad.

A Honda Pilot will hold 8 and is economical on gas. It is expensive to buy, but they are nice. We own a 15 passenger Chevy Express Van. I love it. I use it for work, but it is nice when we haul all the grandkids and parents. I drove it to Washington in Jan with all the nasty weather in the mountains, and it did as good as my all wheel drive mini van. I was impressed. I get about 15 mpg. It is comfortable riding.The seats come out easily so if you need room for luggage, etc, you can take a seat out and still have plenty of room. Good luck. They aren't too expensive. We got a 2005. They are around $16-17000. Check with Auto Brokers on lst Ave No. in Billings. They carry lots of big vans.

Don't know how many seatbelts you need. We have a chevy Venture minivan. It has 8 seatbelts--we have teens and they do fine.