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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: March 26 2006 at 11:56am | IP Logged
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I was wonder what y'all drive? We have an old Suburban that seats 8 passengers and a Toyota Siena that also seats 8. That only leaves us 1 more seat for any new babies the Lord might send, and we are already pushing it with knee and elbow space (we are a tall family). "She touched me" is all too commonly shouted from the back rows these days. 
I've been trying to talk dh into one of those carpool vans that seat 12 (with lots of room in the back, too!) but he is concerned about the danger of them being top heavy and the gas expense. Our suburban has a 2500 sized engine so we are lucky to get 11-12 miles to the gallon with it. I figure it can't be worse than that.
So anyway, I know several of you have more children than a Suburban or other typical "family sized" vehicles hold. What do you have and do you like it?
~Books
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Martha
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| Posted: March 26 2006 at 12:20pm | IP Logged
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We have a '04 Chevy Express 12 passenger.
They are expensive in gas, but I don't know that they are worse than your Surburban though. I do know that ours is better on gas than my fil's Durango.
As for safety, top heavy, they are just as safe as any other vehicle. What makes them dangerous is when drivers try to drive them like a sedan or SUV. Almost all the accidents you've heard about them are the from people not driving them properly. Namely, turning corners way too sharply and/or at too high a speed.
This is more true of the 15 passengers, just like any longer and larger vehicle. They cannot stop on a dime. They cannot take sharp L-corner turns at the speed of a sedan. They cannot jump into traffic like a sports car.
I would recommend staying in what you have until you need something bigger unless a financial deal happens along to make things better in that area if you switch sooner.
As for space. Yes and no. You have a small cargo area in the 12 pass. and zero cargo area in the 15 pass. the 12 passenger cargo space is about 1/2 of the "trunk" space in a mini-van. It's only about 18" - 2' deep, so we have to stack high when buying groceries and such.
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Rachel May
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| Posted: March 26 2006 at 2:54pm | IP Logged
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We have a '98 Chevy Express 15 passenger that we just bought this past summer. We love it. For now, we have taken out the first bench seat (leaving 12 seats including the driver) and use that area for moving around, bags, groceries etc. Behind the last bench there is just enough room for the double stroller.
We haven't checked out gas mileage, but the other day I was noticing online that an Express is supposed to get 14 or 15 mpg in the city. I try to slowly accelerate and brake and give myself plenty of space behind other cars. We also have a civic so when only a few people are going out, that is the car we use (no mom's car or dad's car designation  ).
When I used to be a house mother for Developmentally Distabled ladies, I drove the 8 passenger Ram with the extra cargo space or the next one longer. I feel like it was pretty similar to the Express, but the gas gauge on the Ram never worked correctly.
One other thing I like about our van is that now we have space for friends. Yesterday I was able to go pick up 3 kids to watch while their parents were doing a local move. We had 8 car seats in the van with no problem. 
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Mary G
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| Posted: March 26 2006 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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We have Moby -- our 15-passenger GMC Savanna. It's a wonderful vehicle -- rides well, insures as a "utility truck" (so less than passenger insurance) and we don't mind the gas when we look at what it would cost to fly our family to Colorado -- Moby is pretty reasonable!
We took out the very back seat -- so it seats 11 (for friends to come with). While we've been hauling stuff out to my inlaws to store, we took out another seat too and it's great for moving!
If anyone is interested in buying our Moby -- blue book is about $15K -- but MOby needs a good family
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: March 26 2006 at 6:29pm | IP Logged
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We had a 15 passenger Dodge Ram Van. While I really didn't like driving it, the space was great. Unfortunately, it was ten years old and wouldn't pass inspection this past fall.
We, too, took out the back row, so we had a ton of room and 11 seats. I wouldn't buy a Dodge again, I would really like an Express or Club Wagon.
We bought a used Excursion, which only gets between 12 and 13 mpg, compared with 11 mpg with the big van. But, now I have only 8 seats and baby #7 will be making her appearance in the next month or so. We couldn't find a van and we were in desparate need of something big enough, so we settled for the Excursion. We are still looking for a big van. Most of the time, though, I don't need something that big, only when we go to Mass or an outing for the whole family.
I have a friend who has a Dodge Sprinter (I think that is what it is called). It is a ten seater and gets like 30 mpg. It is very tall and thin, but she says it gets high safety ratings. She has plenty of cargo room, especially under the seats and it isn't carpeted, so she can just sweep it out. They are very expensive, but she found one used for a reasonable price.
By the way, Mary, how old is Moby?
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Mary G
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| Posted: March 26 2006 at 7:09pm | IP Logged
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Moby is a 2002 GMC Savana with 62,000 on it. We like the GMC (or the Chevy Express) because the wheelbase is such that it feels less top heavy than the Fords or the Dodges tht are 15 passengers.
This is our only vehicle as dh is less than 10 minutes to work and most days I don't need the van anyway.
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Jeanne
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| Posted: March 26 2006 at 8:57pm | IP Logged
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Molly and Mary,
You both said that you have taken a seat out of your van, is it very easy to put it back in if needed?
We have an 8 passenger right now and are looking into buying a 12 passenger extended(same length as a 15) so we would have the extra cargo room, but these are a lot harder to come by.
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Mary G
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| Posted: March 27 2006 at 7:06am | IP Logged
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Jeanne,
It's really easy to take the seats in and out of the van (just ask my husband  ). Seriously, I think becuaes it's a cargo van with seats, it's pretty easy....
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MaryG
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my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: March 27 2006 at 10:01am | IP Logged
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Thanks so much for sharing, everyone! I am glad to know that the big vans are not too dangerous. I love the idea of having room to pick up other people's children, too.
~Books
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MichelleM
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| Posted: March 27 2006 at 2:01pm | IP Logged
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What a timely thread. Dh and I have been discussing 12+ passenger vans as our Mini-Van is packed to its limit.
Do any of these larger vans have shoulder belts for all the passengers or just lap belts?
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Lisbet
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| Posted: March 27 2006 at 2:07pm | IP Logged
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We drive a '99 15 passenger Ford. I LOVE it!! We've had it for 4 years now. We also take the back seat out for more cargo room, and just put it back as we need it. (I'm suprised just how much we've needed it!!) It's not hard at all. Michelle, in our van all the seats have shoulder belts except for the 4 right down the middle.
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Molly Smith
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| Posted: March 27 2006 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
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Just thought I'd chime in that we have an Express 15 passenger and love it. We, too, take that back seat out for oodles of room in the back. It is wonderful to always have room for friends. We never put that back seat in, so I can't say how hard/easy it is. But I will say that if you really needed that back seat in, there wouldn't be any room behind it for storage.
Oh, and we get about 13/14 mpg.
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Alcat
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| Posted: March 29 2006 at 2:53pm | IP Logged
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I love this conversation! I need your opinion... right now I drive a minivan and have 4dc. Let's face it all my dc are spaced 2yrs apart and the "baby" is now 18mos If and when we have another we will have to put my almost 8yr old up in the front seat due to all the car seats
I had a friend tell me that, in her opinion, going to a suburban after her family outgrew the minivan was a "latteral" move I would love a BIG van but dh (who is VERY open to more children  ) wants to go the suburban route. What is your opinion if you had 5dc?
Alison
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: March 29 2006 at 2:59pm | IP Logged
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I don't recommend a suburban. We have a 1990 suburban, which is bigger than the newer ones. We have 5 children (12-1yr old, one in a car seat and one in a booster) in it and there isn't a lot of room for extras when we go on vacation or even when we go to Sam's Club for a stock up! We practically have food on people's heads!
A suburban is just a minivan with a smidge more elbow room. If you are going for a new vehicle, then *definitely* get a big van.
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: March 29 2006 at 6:31pm | IP Logged
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Alison
I would recommend an Excursion, not a Suburban. It is roomier, more comfortable and more reliable. They are also easy to get a good deal on now because of the gas prices. With "only" five kids, it would be a good vehicle. Of course, if you want to plan ahead, you might want to go the 15-pass. route. I have an Excursion and am about to have baby #7.
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Molly
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Christine
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| Posted: Oct 14 2006 at 1:33pm | IP Logged
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I know this is an old thread, but the information is pertinent. My husband and I are trying to decide between a 12 seater Chevy Express and a 12 seater Dodge Ram. Both have very low mileage and the latter is a little bit older, but the price varies by about $8000. Usually, I can make decisions fairly easily, but not this time.
Any advice on which one you would buy and why would be appreciated.
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cvbmom
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Christine,
I don't know much about the Dodge Ram, but we recently bought a 15 passenger Chevy Express and I really like it a lot. We've only had it for a month now, but I can't complain at all about it.
Hope this helps some.
Christine
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Oct 17 2006 at 1:23am | IP Logged
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For us, the decision about going to the 15 pass. (we also use it with the rearmost seat removed for cargo space so it's an 11 pass.) was partly financial.. we won't outgrow it before it's paid off.
The instability is no worse than the majority of the SUV's AS LONG AS you don't put roof racks on them.. many, many, MANY of the accidents involved vans with roof racks.. and being that they were used for fire crews, heavy cargo on the roof rack.
We have a 2000 ford E350 and it gets between 13 and 17 mpg depending on how and what you're driving (obviously less in mountains and city and more on long distance freeway)
For extra cargo it easily has the power to pull a trailer or there are the smaller cargo holders that attach to the hitch.
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Big vehicles for big families
