We are flying to FL for vacation in March and will be renting a minivan. Our kids are 6,4 and 1. We don't need the carseats for the flight but will need them once we get there for the minivan. Do you recommend that we rent them thru the car rental service? Or is it better for us to just take ours with us and check them at the airport? We would have 2 boosters and then a forward facing toddler seat.
I would take my own. My friends rented seats and she said never again. Said they looked outdated and were dirty. Yuck!
And just a side note-the little one should still be rear-facing until age 2 as they are safest that way. Sorry, car seats and placement is my brand of mommy crazy lol.
If you can stand to travel with them, bring your own. We rented one when our daughter was 8 months old and the guys set the seat on the ground while we were trying to organize and they walked away. It was a bucket! She couldn't see anything and by that time, she was old enough to want to see what is going on in a car ride. It had soda and otherwise spilled on it. It was so late we didn't want to bother with it. I had to clean it with wet wipes. The next time I traveled, I brought our own. I found that the airlines will check baby gear free of charge.
The ones at the rent a car company are typically disgusting - bring your own, use them on the plane. I know that you say that you don't need to - but why not what is it going to hurt. Did you really want to pay the fees there and back to check them? You will be glad you did!
Are you a member of AAA? We get ours free w/membership...check w/the car rentals. They have been clean and wrapped when we've received them at the rental place.
If you use the backless boosters, take them with you as carryon. They will fit under the seat in front of you. (i was SO happy when I realized that because then i wasn't taking up space in the overhead). You can place your kids carryon bag on top of that under the seat.
For the toddler seat, I would rent, or if your boosters aren't backless. It was an extra $10. I can't remember if that was for the whole rental or per day. Check with your company and then decided money wise which is the better deal.
Rent them... seriously. They won't be "fancy", but can you imagine navigating an airport, parking, checking-in etc with three kids, luggage and three carseats... my head hurts just thinking about it!
My sister works for Enterprise and we have always used their carseats when we travel- no issues and much much easier! **The rental companies have incredibly strict guidelines regarding the carseats- I was surprised and they were completely fine with me asking questions. They are checked and re-installed after each "use", which is probably more dilligent than most parents!
I would just be fearful as to whether or not the rental companies are dilligent enough with the care of the carseats. If the carseat was ever in an accident it comprimises the strength of it, also I am a total germaphob and would be hesitant to put my child in the carseat. I think I would take my own carseat for the baby and if the older two are in boosters that those should be fine to rent.
Make sure you check with the rental company. I traveled with my daughter last year and we ended up bringing her car seat with us because the car rental company was going to charge us $10 per day for to use one of their car seats.
We rented some in Florida...... They were NOT that great. But given that we only used them from the airport to the cruise ship, I would rent again.... IF you will be using them a lot, BRING YOUR OWN!
