Caravan, 3 carseats, how to set it up?

Does anyone else have this situation? Right now, one twin is up from an infant car seat to a convertible. The second twin now needs to switch, too. The dilemma is my 4-year-old sits in the back in a booster. The only way she can get in now is with the infant car seat carrier out, then I move the driver's seat all the way up, then she gets in, then I put that carseat in. The convertible on the other side runs flush with the front seat. So I am trying to figure out the logistics with the switch.

I don't believe it has LATCH in the back, or does it? I also don't know how I feel about infants in the far back, although I suppose if my daughter can be there so can an infant. Then I could just take a captain's chair out completely... but I don't want to do that with no LATCH in the back. I'm figuring some of you have the same minivan and same situation.

On another note, we have a carseat with the dial for loosening and tightening it for the convertible. In the captain's chair, I cannot budge that dial. Do any of you have captain's chairs, and have you found a convertible that is easier to adjust?

 

Does anyone else have this situation? Right now, one twin is up from an infant car seat to a convertible. The second twin now needs to switch, too. The dilemma is my 4-year-old sits in the back in a booster. The only way she can get in now is with the infant car seat carrier out, then I move the driver's seat all the way up, then she gets in, then I put that carseat in. The convertible on the other side runs flush with the front seat. So I am trying to figure out the logistics with the switch.

I don't believe it has LATCH in the back, or does it? I also don't know how I feel about infants in the far back, although I suppose if my daughter can be there so can an infant. Then I could just take a captain's chair out completely... but I don't want to do that with no LATCH in the back. I'm figuring some of you have the same minivan and same situation.

On another note, we have a carseat with the dial for loosening and tightening it for the convertible. In the captain's chair, I cannot budge that dial. Do any of you have captain's chairs, and have you found a convertible that is easier to adjust?

 

I don't really have any advice, but we have a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan and three little ones, so I'll tell you how we have it set up. My DD, who is 2 sits in the middle row captains seat on the passenger side - so I can turn and see her and get her things, take things from her, etc, fairly easily. My two boys are in the far back. Right now they are in rear facing convertible seats, but are almost one and almost 20 pounds, so their rear facing days are nearing an end (thank goodness!!). I removed the middle row captains chair on the drivers side so I can easily 'stand' inside the car and get all three kids buckled in. My big stroller stays in the back of the car, so having the captains seat out allows a lot of room for groceries and such. I have been very happy with this arrangement and think it has been working very well. However, I was also very uncomfortable putting the boys in the way back at first, so I can understand your reluctance with that. I did finally have to face the fact that one of them would have to be back there, no matter how I did things, and if one had to be back there, both boys may as well be.

BTW, for whatever it's worth, if you're wondering, all three of our car seats are Britax Marathons and they fit just fine with the configuration we're using.

 

Oops, forgot one of your questions! Our Caravan does have the Latch in the back row. I would assume any of the vehicles that have it in the middle row would also have it in the back row, but I don't know.

 

we have a sienna, but similar set up. my three year old is in the way back, and i thought it would be a problem, since i cannot get to her, but she likes it and has never complained. the twins are in the middle captain seats, but we did move one more towards the middle.
when asking about latch...per the recent news article, latch is not necessarily safer than using seatbelts...and in some instances is not safer.

 

I got on youtube.com and saw some very informative (some very sad) movies after typing in "car seat" and "booster seats"...but I am sure glad someone is out there telling "real" stories that I am sure car seat manufacturers do not want you to know!

 

quote:
Originally posted by threebecamefive:
However, I was also very uncomfortable putting the boys in the way back at first, so I can understand your reluctance with that. I did finally have to face the fact that one of them would have to be back there, no matter how I did things, and if one had to be back there, both boys may as well be.

BTW, for whatever it's worth, if you're wondering, all three of our car seats are Britax Marathons and they fit just fine with the configuration we're using.


Thanks. I figured there must be LATCH back there (and it's a 2005 also). My husband said he didn't find them, but I'll tell him to look again. I hadn't thought of both twins in the back, but that could work too.

And thanks for the carseat recommendation. We have to go buy two at once (also one for dh's car), so I probably can't afford a Britax... but I have heard good things about them.

Did you stop worrying about the twins in the back? I can even see, if it's just one twin back there, worrying about picking which twin it is! Isn't that a little nuts, but I do the same thing with dh's vehicle, which has all three kids in a row. I used to always worry about which twin we picked to be on the outside (there wasn't an option with older child, since there was only one spot on the side without a LATCH for her booster), but I did stop thinking about it after a little while.

 

quote:
We have to go buy two at once
ALWAYS ask for a twin discount when you are buying two of anything.

I used www.elitecarseats.com and they gave me free shipping and a 10% discount on at least ONE of my britax seats, but they have honored that 10% for everyone I have recommended go there (with GREAT SERVICE!)

 

quote:
Originally posted by ~* dfaut *~:
quote:
We have to go buy two at once
ALWAYS ask for a twin discount when you are buying two of anything.

I used www.elitecarseats.com and they gave me free shipping and a 10% discount on at least ONE of my britax seats, but they have honored that 10% for everyone I have recommended go there (with GREAT SERVICE!)

Thanks for the tip, and the site recommendation. I still don't think I could get Britax, since the cheapest would still be $400 for both even with discount. The Marathon would be almost $500. I know Babies 'R Us does a discount, too.

Does anyone have a less expensive model they like? I don't want to get the Gracos we have, since I haven't been able to adjust them at all with the side dial while installed in the captain's chair. You also can barely get to it and move the dial in my husband's car, where it's in a bench seat.

 

I have a Sienna and my middle row has captains chairs. The passenger one is able to be moved to the middle or to the far right side, so the aisle can either be in the middle or on the right. We had the aisle in the middle, but like you my oldest in the the back row in a booster and had to crawl under one of them with the infant carriers in, which wasn't fun dropping her off at school. We have since moved the passenger captain's chair to the middle so the aisle is now to the right and she can easily get in and out of the van without having to crawl under a baby. Both of mine are still in the infant carriers for the car, we will switch them at a year and I'm hoping this arrangement will work with them being rear facing. I'm thinking it will be tight with the front seats as well. It will be nice when they are able to be forward facing and we don't have this problem. Sorry no advice to give you just wanted to let you know we are in the same boat.

 

quote:
Originally posted by summerfun:
Both of mine are still in the infant carriers for the car, we will switch them at a year and I'm hoping this arrangement will work with them being rear facing. I'm thinking it will be tight with the front seats as well. It will be nice when they are able to be forward facing and we don't have this problem. Sorry no advice to give you just wanted to let you know we are in the same boat.


I just thought I would let you know that at one year (as long as they are also at the minimum weight), you don't do rear facing. Yours are still in infant carriers? One of my twins outgrew his a few months ago, and the second is about to. Just be sure that your twins in infant seats never get to the point where the top of the strap is below the top of their shoulders (like wrapping around and down behind them to the point where it comes out of the car seat). Then it's time to switch to convertible. It would definitely be nice if we could have waited for 1 year and just gotten forward facing car seats, but that hasn't happened. I hope you can! It's much easier and cheaper.

 

expectingtwo-
My twins are a bit on the small side since they were born 3 months early. They are only 16 lbs. and 18 lbs. 4oz. as of last week. I do know that when they are one year and 20 lbs. they can be forward facing, but not sure if they, well I know my DD won't since she is only 16 lbs. now, be at 20 lbs. then. So I am thinking we will have to be rearfacing for awhile. As of 9 months they were still within the heigh limits for the infant carriers too. So they are within the limits. I do have 2 convertible seats already, one from oldest DD, and one from my sister that I will use for them to be rearfacing, that way when they can face forward I can buy them new seats for that. You are right it is expensive to have to buy both, that is why I am keeping them in their infant carriers for as long as possible, but they are still within the limits since they were preemies. Thanks for checking though.

 

quote:
Originally posted by summerfun:
expectingtwo-
My twins are a bit on the small side since they were born 3 months early.

I realized right after I posted when your twins came, so I hope I didn't offend you!! Really, I just know so many people are not so knowledgable about car seats... and I wanted to be sure you weren't still in seats that would be unsafe. I wish they would give all new parents a little brochure with important info like that. Who can stand to read a manual??? Clearly, lack of knowledge isn't the case for you! Hehehe.

Yeah, our daughter is smaller than our son, which bought us some time. We don't have a leftover convertible from my daughter because we moved overseas and sold all the big stuff like that. I wish I had it back now! Buying one would be much easier.

Our twins were six weeks early, but werre pretty big for preemie twins at birth (5lb. 6oz. and 6 lb. 8 oz.). My daughter is just barely starting to chub out, but the boy is very big. I have a huynch both will be forward facing by one year, or at least the boy. The one nice thing when they flip around is I have the built-in DVD player in the caravan... and then all three can watch it.

 

quote:
Originally posted by expectingtwo:
Just be sure that your twins in infant seats never get to the point where the top of the strap is below the top of their shoulders (like wrapping around and down behind them to the point where it comes out of the car seat).

If I’m reading that right, this info is backwards. The slots where the straps enter the car seat should always be at or LOWER than the shoulders rear facing. When they turn forward facing, it should always at or above.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Cake:

If I’m reading that right, this info is backwards. The slots where the straps enter the car seat should always be at or LOWER than the shoulders rear facing. When they turn forward facing, it should always at or above.


That is interesting. I thought it was at or above at both stages. Thanks for the info!

 

I too have a Caravan. My 3 year old sits in the back on the side. He climbs in and buckles himself. The button to get him out is difficult to press, so I just reach back from the outside of the van and press it and he can get out. The twins are in their carseats in the captain seats. Works pretty well so far.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Gilbert_Mommy:
I too have a Caravan. My 3 year old sits in the back on the side. He climbs in and buckles himself. The button to get him out is difficult to press, so I just reach back from the outside of the van and press it and he can get out. The twins are in their carseats in the captain seats. Works pretty well so far.


Do you have the twins in carriers or convertibles? The issue I'm concerned about is that when both are in convertibles, my daughter won't be able to get in through the sliding doors. She also doesn't know how to buckle herself in, so I'd have to duck down and climb back to do it. But the main thing is she wouldn't have a way to get into the van.