Fitting 3 car seats safely

Help me find a solution.

The problem: we are about to have 3 kids under 3. To make this more universal, let's just say that we will have 3 kids in car seats for the foreseeable future.

We currently own a 2nd gen double cab Tacoma and a 5th gen 4Runner w/0 3rd row.

The objective: *safely* utilize one (or both) of our current vehicles once the 3rd child has arrived.





Both the Tacoma and the 4Runner have 2 sets of LATCH anchors to secure car seats. I have read (by searching forums) that some people have utilized the seat belts instead of using the LATCH anchors and have squeezed 3 car seats on the back bench. I'm not entirely opposed to this option, but would likely not make much sense for long distance travel. In this scenario, our oldest would have to get in the middle seat since she is almost able to buckle herself in. The middle seat would face forward and the two side seats would be rear-facing...at least for now.


We've also looked at some bigger (used) SUVs like the Sequoia, Land Cruiser/LX 570, etc. The 3rd row is a nice feature, but I'm still not sure it makes sense. To access the 3rd row, one of the seats in the 2nd row needs to slide/fold forward. This means that we still wouldn't be able to have 2 car seats on the second row since one would likely prevent the access to the 3rd row. The advantage to one of these, they have 3 sets of LATCH anchors on the second row. This means that they are designed to hold 3 car seats. This might work well for shorter distances around town. The downside is that each kid is still relatively cramped and right up on the other. My daughter is very well behaved, but I'd hate to stick her next to a screaming infant and tell her to deal with it. I wouldn't want someone to do that to me....

Another potential with the bigger SUVs is to get one with captains chairs in the middle row. This would allow easier access to the 3rd row, but might require the removal of a center console.

We've thought about another 4Runner with the 3rd row, but that still presents the problems with access to the 3rd row. We've thought about finding a donor vehicle and swapping the rear cargo area with one that has a 3rd row, or purchasing the 3rd row new. (I kind of hate to get rid of the Trail Edition) However, that presents other obstacles....the second row doesn't slide to allow easier access. I don't believe there are side curtain airbags in the rear cargo area, etc.

The popular suggestion is to get a minivan....this is what we are trying to avoid.


Thoughts?

 

Daughter and SIL had the exact situation. It's not just the seats but diaper bags, strollers, and everything else you need.
They hated it but the only thing that worked was a minivan.

 

That's not what I wanted to hear, but thank you for the input.

 

i have 3 kids. 1 - 13 yr old. 1 - 10 yr old. 1 - 1.5 yr old.

I put the car seat in the middle rear facing for now, the older two sit on the outside. when the youngest is 2 i'll turn his seat around to front facing. This is for the tacoma.

wife has a highlander as well. car seat on the passenger side captain chair. the oldest sits in the other captain chair and the 10 yr old in the 3rd row.

depending on your kids' age will determine the car seat situation. if you have 2 kids under 2, you need rear facing and that makes captains chairs for a second row of a 3 row suv complicated. i forget which brand but one minivan i saw has side to side sliding captains chairs. I think it was the odyssey.

honestly, in your situation, i'd go honda odyssey and just drive it. it's far more practical then any 3 row suv. if your little ones will be able to use a front facing car seat sooner rather than later, your options open up a lot more.

 

Our oldest is nearing 3 and is already front facing. We just moved our son from the baby carrier to a dedicated car seat, but he will be rear facing for a while.