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graciefaith
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| Posted: Jan 06 2009 at 3:13pm | IP Logged
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We have an 8 seater Sienna. I think 6 kids would be fine depending on if you have carseats. My older 2 dd's sit in a high back booster seat and in the 3rd row. It leaves little room for someone to sit in between them. The baby sits in a marathon on the middle 2nd row. The 2 outer seats are fine, with still plenty of room. The 3 of them could fit in the second row but not in the 3rd row.
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Blessed wife and mom of 3 girls, Sept. '01, Dec. '02 and Oct. '07
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SarahA
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| Posted: Jan 07 2009 at 12:09am | IP Logged
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Not to sound ignorant, but since I am (on this  )...what is the difference between a conversion van and a 12 or 15 passenger? Are they interchangeable or not?
I found this thread and am intrigued because we're a family of 7 (all 5 kids in carseats or boosters) in an Odyssey and will have to switch with the next kid. Just wanting to get a jump start on research before there's another bun in the oven...
My sister has 6 and they have a 12 passenger. They've been hit twice, and have been very pleased with how little damage was done to the van's structure, and therefore none to the passengers. I'm glad to hear no one was injured in your accident, either.
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Sarah
Army wife, Mama to (so far...) 2 boys, 1 girl, then 2 more boys
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1floridamom
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| Posted: Jan 08 2009 at 9:07am | IP Logged
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Well, I came just in time! We've had several vans, so I can tell you a lot.  A conversion van may or may not have a taller ceiling, but they usually have some captain's chairs instead of the bench in the middle. There is more cabin room.
We have a Sprinter (07) with a high roof. We started with a low roof (06), but it had some quirky issues with the extra a/c. Since we live in Florida, that was no good. Our new one is awesome! Two words - plastic floors! Carpet is a ridiculous thing to put in a van with kids! My husband will either drag out the shop vac and then mop the floor or the blower, if he's doing lawn work anyway. Seriously, that alone is the greatest thing since sliced bread. The fact that we have head clearance to about 6 ft is a bonus. It is so great to be able to get to kids easily, change diapers in the van when necessary, hold a little potty for the trainers, keep necessities, etc. They are not cheap. We have a diesel, though, and I get about 23 mpg in the winter and 19 mpg in the summer (running the extra a/c).
They are actually a Mercedes product with the Dodge (or Freightliner) badge put on at assembly in South Carolina. The only issue we've had is finding a really good, knowledgeable diesel mechanic. Now that we've found one, we couldn't be happier. Ours is a 10-passenger; they now offer a 12-passenger. The seats are a little tighter with the 12 option.
Blessings,
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Monica in FL
dh Steve, Sean (14), Ethan (13), Emily (10), Kylie (6), Ashley (5) and Lindsay (2)!
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juststartn
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| Posted: Jan 08 2009 at 9:15am | IP Logged
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Good to know--we're about to outgrow our 7 seater Odyssey--had things gone well, we'd be replacing it with our tax refund this spring, but God willing, someday we'll need the extra seats...
Anyway, DH and I had already talked about "upgrading", just because the dc aren't getting any smaller...they need more leg room, etc. Of course, we don't drive every where (and honestly, we'll likely end up getting two vehicles--a smaller, less gas guzzling one for DH to take to work, and a van for family trips (church, co-op).
Of course, DH wants a truck...not very fuel efficient, but very very handy being out here in fly over country....
Rachel
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Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
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John 5/7/07
David 5/7/07
Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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cfa83
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 12:31am | IP Logged
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LeeAnn,
Why does your husband not care for conversion vans? Is it a safety factor considering you mentioned he will not let you drive one?
I did call the dealer mentioned in an earlier post. He too does not care for conversion vans but did not mention why.
I love the safety the Sienna and Odessey clearly have. We will test drive Suburbans. The conversion vans with captain chairs that seat 9 (were a family of 8) look sooo apealing to us.
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Linda
Married to an incredible man, mother to 6 precious (and I mean precious) children: Grace, Michael, John, Faith, Hope and Andrew
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cfa83
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 12:34am | IP Logged
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Lisa,
Are there larger Suburbans than others? We did drive one and the last bench seemed cramped as far a leg room.
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Linda
Married to an incredible man, mother to 6 precious (and I mean precious) children: Grace, Michael, John, Faith, Hope and Andrew
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cfa83
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 12:42am | IP Logged
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Please tell me more about a Sprinter. I got that it is a Dodge from an earlier post. Is it a minivan or conversion van? Does it only come in diesel?
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Linda
Married to an incredible man, mother to 6 precious (and I mean precious) children: Grace, Michael, John, Faith, Hope and Andrew
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ALmom
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 4:56am | IP Logged
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Ok, there are 8 of us with children ranging in age from 6 to 21. We drove a 12 passanger club wagon until it started dying on us at random, without warning even while we were driving highway speeds. I had gotten to the point that every time it was supposedly fixed I was afraid to drive it for fear I would not be able to turn or stop when it failed again and died on me. We replaced it with a Toyota Seinna. And thankfully sold the dying Club Wagon (admittedly at the same price we could get from the junk yard for it) where we bought the Sienna so we never had to fill the tank on that poor vehicle again 
Is the Seinna tight? Yes very much so. We have not taken a long trip in it yet and that may be when we really feel it. The taller boys have trouble with leg room in the very back and there are times when there is more of the elbow on my side type of thing. It is not unbearable. It does have reasonable back trunk type space so that isn't really bad. A lot would depend on how long you expect the crowding to last. For us it was just plain more cost effective to put up with the crowding for a couple of years at which time we'll have folks not here all the time. We are quickly getting used to it and some of the crowding is a trade off for additional comfort - every seat has the neck/head support, belts that do not cross the neck (the old van always did that to me in the front passenger seat). I was a bit concerned about the fact that we have 3 benches which mean you have to fold down the one seat for folks to climb in the back. It is a very easy operation - one pull and fold. Every child including the 6 yo can do it easily. I have not yet attempted it. This has surprisingly not been an inconvenience at all. It actually prevents the boys shoving each other out the door since they have to wait for the front row to exit before folding the seat and exiting.
The other negative about the Seinna is that around here they are so immensely popular and due to gas prices at the time, they were in extra high demand and very, very pricey. We drove to a "big city" where parking bigger vehicles makes them less desirable and more affordable. We got a used one at a very good price (mostly because of the Korean food smell which our children thought was new car smell ) At the time we probably could have gotten another club wagon for next to nothing.
A couple of considerations that pushed us in the Sienna direction:
1) We have to drive everywhere and this is the vehicle we'd have to drive and with gas prices hitting $4 and more a gallon at the time, it just seemed a better investment to get a vehicle with better gas mileage. The gas mileage we get from the Seina is as good as our small, commuter car dh drives.
2) While space would be realistically crowded, this would be short term. Our older children are now hitting college age and in 2 more years are most likely going to be away at college for most of the year. When we buy a car, we drive it to the ground. I looked at the big picture and knew that when I only had 3 children riding with me, I didn't want a big club wagon. I also knew we would still be driving the same car 20 years from now and well, I could picture myself as gramma in the Seinna much better than in the club wagon - plus it is easier for me to drive another considerations seeing as I am experiencing aging eyes, slowing reflexes, etc.
3) The car drives very easily and my husband has found this beneficial on some business trips he had to drive. He needed this car to carry test equipment. He likes the ease of handling and nice features. The numerous cup holders didn't hurt either.
Ok here are a few of the more humorous things we've had to get used to: (You must understand that previously our newest car was a 1987 vehicle. That also explains why Korean Kimchee smelled like new car smell to the children - oh and we knew about the smell when we bought it and it honestly doesn't bother us, we liked the negotiating power it gave us and know it will not be a factor in resale because when we get rid of it, we'll be selling it to the junk yard 20 or more years from now).
It has funky keys that cost an arm and a leg because of some sort of computer chip and you cannot go just anywhere and make extra copies and expect them to start your engine. Those are only good for opening the door if you lock yourself out. Oh and there is some sort of master key you guard with your life. It is the only key that will unlock the glove compartment and you have to have this key to make new ones unless you want to pay even more for some sort of total reprogramming.
It doesn't have a tape deck so we don't have anything to play in the car. (Well now we do - and have since learned that we can feed in up to 6 (now are those things CDs or DVDS ?) at a time.
It has so many buttons and gizmos and ways to set them that I had trouble figuring out how to open and close the window and the car doesn't start unless you close the door. I was just trying to test the key at the service station - not drive- and thought the key didn't work. I know the service folks laughed at that really dumb lady for weeks after I left.
I still forget the fancy buttons for the defrosters - It even has one for the back. I always have my oldest son in the front seat with me when I drive so that if I need the defroster, I can get him to turn it on for me.
Oh and the air conditioner has seperate controls in each row. Honestly, in the deep south in the summer after driving our club wagon whose air had long since died, this did not take any getting used to. We basked in the coolness of staying cool. And, it really works not just in the front seat. The one thing we always said about the club wagon is that whoever designed and tested the air didn't test it in the south. The air never ever adequately reached the back seat. Oh the delight of efficiently running A/C. The children have finally gotten over the novelty of turning it on and off and adjusting fan speeds and they are no longer fighting over who gets to sit in reach of A/C controls.
I still drive us all out of our skin by hitting the radio button (which is on the steering wheel) accidently. I just discovered that you can turn it off again with the same button. And wonder of wonders, you can even change channels with the same button. Not that we've ever used the car radio - but gee if you did, that is rather a clever way to do it.
While carpet in a car is a pain with spills and other such disasters that require heavy cleaning, they are wonderful sound absorbers. It is much quiter in the Seina - something that does a lot to improve my concentration and peace while driving. It also mean you are not scalded when you sit down on a summers day. I don't have echoing kid noises and I don't have loud engine noises. Oh the silence it is delightful and far than makes up for the crowding.
I don't know a thing about any of the other vehicles mentioned. Hope this helps or at least gives you a laugh or two. Enjoy whichever vehicle you end up with and glad you are all safe and sound.
Janet
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LisaR
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 10:35am | IP Logged
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cfa83 wrote:
Lisa,
Are there larger Suburbans than others? We did drive one and the last bench seemed cramped as far a leg room. |
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not sure, but I know I did months of research, and we were only looking for the one that had 9 seat belts. there were all kinds of configurations, but only the base models seated 9.
also, I've heard the newer burbs are a bit smaller/narrower?
I only wanted a 2002.
at the time (2005) it wsa the one with the highest reliability and safety record.
yikes! those sprinters are 47,000-50,000.
they look interesting.
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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1floridamom
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 10:53am | IP Logged
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ALmom wrote:
I looked at the big picture and knew that when I only had 3 children riding with me, I didn't want a big club wagon. I also knew we would still be driving the same car 20 years from now and well, I could picture myself as gramma in the Seinna much better than in the club wagon - plus it is easier for me to drive another considerations seeing as I am experiencing aging eyes, slowing reflexes, etc...
It has so many buttons and gizmos and ways to set them that I had trouble figuring out how to open and close the window and the car doesn't start unless you close the door...
I still forget the fancy buttons for the defrosters - It even has one for the back. I always have my oldest son in the front seat with me when I drive so that if I need the defroster, I can get him to turn it on for me.
I don't know a thing about any of the other vehicles mentioned. Hope this helps or at least gives you a laugh or two. Enjoy whichever vehicle you end up with and glad you are all safe and sound. |
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These are really good points, Janet. There are eight of us ranging (currently) from 4 mos to 12yo plus me and dh. We are going to be hauling many for some time. We had a Sienna as our first minivan and loved it! There are so many bells and whistles. Obviously, we outgrew it, especially needing space for carseats. It is a luxurious van, though. 
The 2008 Sprinters started being offered with either diesel or gas. There is no comparison in my mind, but when we first bought ours diesel was less than gas.  You can see them at the Dodge website. They are expensive, but it's possible to find them used. I trust the engine more, because these vans have been used commercially in Europe for many years. They are used by Federal Express here and many other companies due to reliability.
For aesthetics, I like that the seat belts originate in each seat's shoulder as opposed to the suspended shoulder belts in the large vans. (See the website for interior pics.) I am a fan; dh has a cargo version for his work which started the Sprinter love here. We kid about turning it into a camper once the kids are gone and moving into it. You never know...
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Monica in FL
dh Steve, Sean (14), Ethan (13), Emily (10), Kylie (6), Ashley (5) and Lindsay (2)!
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LisaR
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 11:26am | IP Logged
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ALmom wrote:
2) While space would be realistically crowded, this would be short term. Our older children are now hitting college age and in 2 more years are most likely going to be away at college for most of the year. When we buy a car, we drive it to the ground. |
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ditto. the kids don;t seem to be coming as quickly as we'd thought, and already our 15 1/2 y/o is not with us all the time as he used to be.
We did have some moments during the 4.00 gas where we thought maybe we should have gone right to the honda or toyota minivan.
Our suburban was about 800.00 more than the full size van, but not nearly as much as we thought it would be- and now you can get them for a song!!
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: van totaled,need advice
