How to Fit Three Car Seats Across in Almost Any Vehicle

A couple of years ago when we found out that my wife was pregnant with our third kid, we were obviously excited for the new addition to our family, but I was slightly stressed because i knew it was going to change our lives in quite a few ways. Of course there were the usual concerns like if we had enough space in our house, do we need new clothes and products (especially if we had a girl), daycare concerns, etc. The list goes on and on.

However, the one thing I didn’t realize would be a major issue was our car seat situation. I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee and my wife had a Volkswagen Jetta. I knew the backseat of the Jetta could be a concern because it was a little tight but I figured I would be fine with the Jeep since it had a big backseat.  You would assume a big SUV would have plenty of room, even if there wasn’t a third row. I quickly learned that assumption was very wrong.

After doing a little research to find the best and most affordable options, I soon realized that there really weren’t many options at all.  I’m sure a lot of you have noticed how car seats have gotten bigger and bigger over the years which is great for safety and comfort for the kids, but not so great for parents with 3 young kids that all need a seat or booster of some kind.

Laws vary slightly by state, but on average, kids need to be in a car seat or booster until the ages of about 7 or 8 or when they reach specific height and weight requirements.  

You can read more state specific laws here: 
  http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/childsafety_laws.html

This creates quite a predicament when you have a 3 year old, a 1.5 year old, and a new baby on the way.  

Sidenote: 
If you are in a similar situation, keep in mind that you are going to have about 3+ years of three car seats and boosters in the back if your kids are close in age like mine. Your car will basically become a 1 adult passenger vehicle for many years to come. Slightly depressing if you like to drive your friends around at lunch or on the weekends, but a positive if you always want an excuse for why you can't drive!

My initial concerns were how to make this work with any car seats, yet alone with a baby bucket seat. As many of you know, these things are HUGE so that was my first concern. Second, the older two boys had the large/wide Britax seats which were not going to fit next to each other in any of our vehicles.  I had no idea what I was going to do.  

There wasn’t a ton of information out there when I did my initial research (a few years ago) but more websites and brands are starting to notice that this is an issue for many parents so there are a few more resources these days.

The best site I have found so far was  BabyCenter’s blog which keeps a running and updated tally of the brands and styles that can work three across. This would be a good place to start your research and help you find the options that best fit your budget.

http://blogs.babycenter.com/products_and_prizes/02052015-13-car-seats-that-fit-3-across-in-most-vehicles/

You should probably be able to get away with most of the bucket seats out there, as long as you have thinner seats for the other two. I found that the best move was two seats next to each other with the bucket near one of the doors for easy access. I'd recommend the right side behind the passenger seat for when you need street parking. That way you can access the seat and baby from the sidewalk and not be in the middle of traffic which can be a but more dangerous. 

What worked best for me was a brand called Diono. They smartly promote the ability to fit 3 car seats across in almost any vehicle so I knew they had tested this and I shouldn’t have any issues. 

Things vary slightly by model but their RadianRXT line is the best value in my opinion. They are thin and stylish, include special features such as folding for travel and transportation (think planes, or rental cars), an easy latch system for securing the seats quickly and safely, and a few other options you can see here:

https://us.diono.com/convertible-to-booster/radianrxt

The other great thing about this brand is that a good portion of their car seats are convertibles which means you can use them for infants at Day 1, all the way up to older kids that still need a booster.  This means you don’t need to purchase new seats/boosters every few years which is a huge cost saver and value over time.

It’s a bit costly upfront if you are going to be replacing all of your old car seats at once but after that initial purchase, you shouldn’t need anything else for the rest of their childhood. I use these in all of our vehicles and it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made in terms of kid related products.

Amazon has some pretty good deals going right now which seem to be below MSRP if you are a PRIME member. If you are thinking about buying this model, click on the image below and hook a brother up with a few pennies in commission! 

Let me know in the Comments Section if you’ve had any experiences with fitting three across in your vehicle using other brands, and if you have any additional tips and tricks.

Minivans are Awesome

Yes, you heard me right.  I think minivans are AWESOME.  I never thought I would say this considering how much I used to make fun of them growing up but after a year driving one, I think it is a legit option option for families with 2+ kids.  If you have 3 or more, it's a no-brainer. 

A couple of years ago, my wife and I decided that it was time to trade in one of our cars for something a little bit bigger since we had child number 3 on the way.  We had a Jeep Grand Cherokee which sounds like it should be big enough for three car seats, but I ran into an issue. It turns out there are only a small number of car seats that can fit 3 across (more on this issue in a future post) and to complicate things, we were hiring a full time Nanny.  We wanted her to have a reliable car that was big enough for all of the kids, and not have to keep 3 car seats in her own vehicle all the time so a third vehicle was the only real option.

Owning three cars is a bit ridiculous but it's something that made the most sense for us since my wife and I were both working and we each needed a vehicle to commute to work.  I looked around for quite a bit and noticed that any of the bigger SUV's with a 3rd row ended up being a lot more expensive than the minivan option so I decided to make the minivan my focus, even though the wife was extremely reluctant to own such a "Nerd Mobile".

Along with the cost savings, I realized there were a lot of other advantages to the minivan once we finally owned it.  I ended up with a pretty loaded 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and got it for a decent price.  Although it had around 80,000 miles and was almost 7 years old, the thing was in great shape and was hooked up with all of the options you could imagine. 

We got 2 separate DVD players, 2 pull down screens, a built in Hard Drive for music and pictures, dual climate control, pull down sun visors on the back windows, fold into the floor rear seats, about a thousand cup holders, and more storage than you could ever imagine.  If you didn't know you were driving in a minivan, you would think it was a luxury SUV.

On top of the hook ups, I soon learned that it was a lot easier to get the kids in and out since the floor is lower to the ground compared to an SUV, so the older boys could actually get in on their own.  Our bigger SUV (GMC Acadia) takes more effort on our part to help them up into the car because of it's height and you also have to fold down one of the seats to get in the back and buckle the kids in. It's just a pain in the ass for someone like myself who's 6'2" and not exactly skinny enough these days to just shimmy myself into the back row.  You can also fit WAY more stuff in the back of the third row which is huge for big strollers or when going on vacation and bringing all the crap you need for 3 kids.  Since the floor goes even lower to allow the third row seats to fold into the floor, you can actually fit a ton of stuff stacked all the way to the ceiling. 

If we were only dealing with 2 cars and I could afford a brand new one, I could imagine how much more I would love the minivan since the tech, options, and styling would be even more up to date.  I would have absolutely no problem driving one as my main vehicle, especially if it is the higher end version with all of the amenities.  I've even noticed that a lot of these 3rd row SUVs are stealing the style and looks of the minivans, and the minivans are morphing more towards the SUVs.  They seem to meet somewhere in the middle and there isn't as much of a difference as everyone thinks.

I think we were all traumatized as kids with those ugly thing that "soccer moms" drove around and no kid wanted to be caught dead in.  A lot of us grew up with the awful Dodge Caravans with the wood on the side, or the Ford Aerostars that just looked and performed awful but there should be serious consideration for the newer Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravans, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Sienna, among others.  If you have a growing family and are planning 2 or more kids in the near future, you should give a minivan serious consideration.  I promise, you won't be disappointed.  You just have to own it and have confidence when you drive.

I'd recommend getting a custom license plate like me to take it to the next level and really own it.  Is this badass or what?!?!  HA!