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saintanneshs
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 3:52pm | IP Logged
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Oh, thank you everyone for sharing! We've maxed out the seats in our minivan and dh is having "homeschool bus" anxiety.
I've heard about buying vans that were previously rentals or communter vans. This is a dumb question, I know, but are these the vans you see at used car lots or the dealers or do you actually need to check out the van rental places to see what they're trying to get rid of?
I'm just wondering where to start looking since I'm not going to get any "cheerful assistance" from dh when it comes to looking around at what's out there. If I want to upgrade I'd better get to work finding a deal. I've never really shopped for a car before so I have no idea what makes a bigger van a good deal. I'm hoping that if I find one before we absolutely need it, dh might not be so opposed to it, and not feel pressured into it. I sure don't want to be driving 2 vehicles everywhere we go (although I've heard of moms doing that too).
(As a side note: Don't ya' just love cruising into the parking lot at homeschool conferences and seeing all the giant vans with pro-life bumper stickers? I remember the first time I scanned through a sea of "homeschool buses" and told my father, "There are my people."  )
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Kristine
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Lara Sauer
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 4:34pm | IP Logged
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We moved from a minivan to a 12 passenger van because dear friends of our whose kids are older were actually about to "downsize" back to a "loaded" minivan! We affectionately refer to our Dodge Ram as: "The Beast" or "The Behemoth" or "Big Red!" When I drive other friends somewhere, I semi-jokingly invite them to "mount the tallion!" Climbing into this vehicle is indeed a challenge for me, especially when I am 8+ months pregnant, as I was only given 1/2 inch over 5 feet! However, there is NO interior cargo space in the 12 passenger van, so I would probably recommend getting the 15 passenger and removing one of the seats. If I was able to pick out the car of my choice, I might go with the Dodge Sprinter, since it is sort of funky looking in a European way, has a lot of head room and seats 10, I believe. However, we currently have 7 children, so our next car will probably be the 15 passenger van. Get ready to make a statement whereever you go!!
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Rachel May
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| Posted: July 31 2007 at 7:52pm | IP Logged
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Our friends just bought a Sprinter, and would you believe we were immediately confronted with a situation where we needed a bigger van? It is lovely and slim and tall, but the height rules out all parking structures and many drive throughs. I can still fit into a Metro structure in my van. Theirs is diesel and gets good gas milage my friend said.
Kristine, Bill did go to rental places when he looked for our van. Also, sometimes the government sells their used vans so keep your antennae out for that. (We have tons here on post, and I'm always checking out the tags to see if they belong to "our people.") And this time of year is PCS time. People are selling off their big vans before they move overseas. We bought ours from a family of 8 moving to Columbia from here.
I don't know what makes one a good deal. For us it was the right price at the right time. I love our 15 passenger. We've had 9 carseats and 3 adults in it with one of the benches out so there was also room for double strollers and diaper bags. I would love to have the rubber-type floor because that would be so easy to clean. Just some random thoughts....
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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insegnante
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| Posted: Aug 03 2007 at 2:32pm | IP Logged
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Have you ladies seen all the safety advisories for users of 15-passenger vans? Here's a link to the government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration talking about what to look out for: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/studies/15PassVans/15Pass CustomerAdvisory.htm
I would love to need more seats someday, but with only 2 kids there is still plenty of room in our 7-passenger minivan!
Theresa
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KackyK
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| Posted: Aug 03 2007 at 6:16pm | IP Logged
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This sounds very conspiracy theory-ist of me...but I think it is a shame that the only vehicle that can hold over 9 people has to have special warnings. To me it's another strike against people having large families. Personally I think it stinks that a large family can't have access to a vehicle that doesn't have to have special warnings with it. [Can you tell I have had several large family discrimination incidents this summer!!!??  ]
There is no motivation to the industry to create something better. Anyways...I get their warning...makes sense. Actually, I don't know about you other 15 passenger drivers, but I think I have to watch how I drive more when I'm not in my van. Every other car (including my husband's 8 person van) literally feels like a sports car to me when I'm driving!! My husband worries more about my driving out of the big van!
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
Beginning With the Assumption
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Aug 04 2007 at 8:11am | IP Logged
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It's an interesting article, but it's 2 years old now and they said that rollovers are already decreasing. Also, it talked about not loading the roof of the van, and making sure that passengers are wearing seatbelts; it sounds like the majority of large van drivers are workmen or adults who don't buckle up. I think  we large families are probably not the biggest users of big vans.
I'm with Kacky on feeling like all other cars are sports cars. I do try to drive right at the speed limit, watch offramp speed limits, and leave lots of space to break because people drive quite stupidly around big vans. I'm always getting cut off. 
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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insegnante
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| Posted: Aug 04 2007 at 2:22pm | IP Logged
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It looks like the top highlighted point on the advisory page is about reducing the already generally heightened rollover risk of 15-passenger vehicles by checking once a week that tires are properly inflated to the manufacturer's recommended pressure levels, in addition to the precautions Rachel mentioned. I know so little about cars, I don't know how often responsible drivers of typical vehicles check their tires since my husband does all the car stuff in this family  so I'm not sure whether this is really a special recommendation for 15-passenger vans! I just remembered reading a similar warning in the past that stuck in my mind for some reason.
In fact, I just asked my husband if our minivan tires are properly inflated, just in case.
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missionfamily
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| Posted: Aug 04 2007 at 11:37pm | IP Logged
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We are going to an auction Thursday to try to get our van! Thanks for all the info on this thread, ladies...and pray to Our Lady of ??big vans???highways and byways???I don't know, whichever one will bend our Lord's ear to keep all other bidders away from MY van!
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Colleen
dh Greg
mom to Quinn,Gabriel, Brendan,Evan, Kolbe, and sweet St. Bryce
Footprints on the Fridge
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Vehicle question
