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Old 06-21-2017, 01:23 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,923,137 times
Reputation: 14935

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk View Post
That's not a bad configuration anyway, and we use it when we're travelling with our dog.
It may not be, but it sort of miffed me that if I had a 3rd child while I owned that vehicle that I would not have been able to use the seating configuration as it was designed. By the time we actually did have a 3rd child we already owned our SUV and for our use and purposes found it to be a far more practical vehicle than the van.
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Old 06-21-2017, 03:36 PM
 
9,613 posts, read 6,848,210 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowftbll View Post
Not really. In fact, the minivan we had wouldn't have been suitable once we upgraded from 2 to 3 kids. We'd have had to remove one of the middle seats and put our older 2 in the third row. And they were at an age they couldn't buckle themselves in so it wouldn't have been the easiest chore to do. We had no problem at all getting them into the middle row of our Sequioa though.

I know a lot of people want to assume people drive full size SUVs for egotistical reasons but remember 2 things 1) No matter what the subject, if it's a discussion of what people do some are doing it for egotistical reasons (even driving a minivan) and 2) not everyone chooses to upgrade from minivan to SUV for egotistical reasons. We had very practical reasons when we made the switch.

To be fair, I'll gladly admit that I don't like minivans for style reasons, but as I said: it was practical reasons for making the switch to an SUV. I don't begrudge anyone's opinion here, but I definitely think it's high time some people show a little honesty and come right out and admit they just don't like full size SUVs!
I don't get this. So assuming all 3 kids are in car seats, the second row of a minivan should be able to handle them shouldn't? 2 kids in car seats and one in booster should be even easier in the 2nd row, and 2 in car seats and one full grown adult in middle row should even be easier. That's basically a typical airplane coach class configuration.

I know a full size pick up can handle three adults in the 2nd row easy peasy. I can't park a full size anything in a downtown parking garage however so that's not an option for me.
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Old 06-21-2017, 03:45 PM
 
28,563 posts, read 18,566,859 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy100 View Post
I don't get this. So assuming all 3 kids are in car seats, the second row of a minivan should be able to handle them shouldn't? 2 kids in car seats and one in booster should be even easier in the 2nd row, and 2 in car seats and one full grown adult in middle row should even be easier. That's basically a typical airplane coach class configuration.

I know a full size pick up can handle three adults in the 2nd row easy peasy. I can't park a full size anything in a downtown parking garage however so that's not an option for me.
Second row in a modern minivan is usually split--just two seats with a narrow aisle between them.


When we're traveling with my dog (when my daughter still lived with us), I remove the 2nd row seat behind the driver and put the dog on the floor there. My daughter took the 2nd row seat behind the front passenger.


I think if I had three children, I'd still drive a minivan using the same seat arrangement: One behind the passenger, the other two in the 3rd row with the seat behind the driver removed. That would, for instance, enable me to get completely inside the vehicle to buckle everyone in during inclement weather.
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Old 06-21-2017, 04:43 PM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,701 posts, read 79,347,054 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowftbll View Post
. The sliding door . . .
There is the rub. I would never get a van of any kind with only one door in the back. e learned that early on.

With 5 kids a minivan was just too mini. They have very little storage space if they are full of people. We rented them sometimes on vacation trips, but we were often stacking suitcases on top of children. Squeezing five kids and two giant dogs and some luggage was nearly impossible. Even Grand Caravan did not have enough room and the storage space in the regular caravan was a joke.

With fewer people or shorter trips they are really well designed. The Chrysler/dodge vans are one of a very few vehicles designed to allow you to easily carry standard plywood or drywall sheets. Many of the big SUVs it is just nor practical without unbolting and removing a seat or two. Sometimes, it is just not going to fit at all.
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Old 06-21-2017, 05:12 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,923,137 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy100 View Post
I don't get this. So assuming all 3 kids are in car seats, the second row of a minivan should be able to handle them shouldn't? 2 kids in car seats and one in booster should be even easier in the 2nd row, and 2 in car seats and one full grown adult in middle row should even be easier. That's basically a typical airplane coach class configuration.
Clearly. But Ralph Kirk addressed it, as well as I mentioned it already that the van didn't have a row but two seats.

Quote:
I know a full size pick up can handle three adults in the 2nd row easy peasy. I can't park a full size anything in a downtown parking garage however so that's not an option for me.
Now this I don't get. I've driven and parked my Sequioa in downtown San Francisco. San Fran-freakin-Cisco! It's a dense city where full size SUVs are frowned upon on a level that this thread can't compete with! I had no issue parking in garages there. I frequently drive in D.C. now, another dense city that is a challenging place to drive. Again, no issues parking in/around downtown.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
There is the rub. I would never get a van of any kind with only one door in the back. e learned that early on.
Ours had sliding doors on both sides. I can only be on one side at a time, hence I used the singular.
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Old 06-21-2017, 07:13 PM
 
9,613 posts, read 6,848,210 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowftbll View Post
Clearly. But Ralph Kirk addressed it, as well as I mentioned it already that the van didn't have a row but two seats.



Now this I don't get. I've driven and parked my Sequioa in downtown San Francisco. San Fran-freakin-Cisco! It's a dense city where full size SUVs are frowned upon on a level that this thread can't compete with! I had no issue parking in garages there. I frequently drive in D.C. now, another dense city that is a challenging place to drive. Again, no issues parking in/around downtown.



Ours had sliding doors on both sides. I can only be on one side at a time, hence I used the singular.
Perhaps San Fransisco doesn't implement compact car parking on 90% of their parking spots in their parking garages. Sure anybody can park in a compact car spot, but if every Tahoe and Suburban did that you'd be getting your kids out through the sunroof.
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Old 06-22-2017, 06:26 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,923,137 times
Reputation: 14935
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy100 View Post
Perhaps San Fransisco doesn't implement compact car parking on 90% of their parking spots in their parking garages. Sure anybody can park in a compact car spot, but if every Tahoe and Suburban did that you'd be getting your kids out through the sunroof.
On that same note if the parking garages in your city reserve most of the spaces for compact cars then a minivan is also not the right vehicle to drive. Just as inappropriate as an SUV even.
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Old 06-22-2017, 09:51 AM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,395 posts, read 25,634,879 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowftbll View Post
The car was a 2008 Chevy Uplander, a very poorly designed vehicle all around. Ours had the two chairs in the middle instead of a row. The sliding door wasn't large enough to reach behind, and it was too far to reach the 3rd row. So if we'd had our 3rd child while we still owned that vehicle we would have had to remove one of the seats to allow easier access to the 3rd row.

That's just the seating configuration. I could go on forever about the poor design and all around horrible usability of that make/model. I've never owned a Sierra or Odyssey but I imagine they have better functionality than what we had. Still, neiher of those would have sufficed to meet other lifestyle requirements we need from our vehicle and were not viable options.
That explains it. The Uplander isn't a real minivan in m my opinion. It is not the same as a Grand Caravan, a Sienna, or an Odyssey. I think of that vehicle more as an attempt to cross a minivan with a CUV. They sucked. We rented one once, during a trip, and it was obvious it was nothing like our minivan. That said, I understand your preference for the big SUV.
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Old 06-22-2017, 10:20 AM
 
Location: Paranoid State
13,044 posts, read 13,782,298 times
Reputation: 15837
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
Many of the big SUVs it is just nor practical without unbolting and removing a seat or two. Sometimes, it is just not going to fit at all.
^^^ +1 ^^^ This.

It is nuts that a sheet of plywood doesn't fit inside most large SUVs even when the seats are flat or removed -- the interior width has been restricted in modern SUVs, taking the "utility" out of SUV. Most manufacturers understand that most SUVs are largely soccer mom vehicles.
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Old 06-22-2017, 10:27 AM
 
Location: Pikesville, MD
2,983 posts, read 3,048,758 times
Reputation: 4552
That's why I like my Suburban. Has no problem swallowing up 4x8 sheets of whatever as well as towing 12,000 lbs.
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