Tahoe sucks. All the bad mpg of a suburban with none of the cargo.Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahman
Wife went from sienna to Tahoe and can’t understand why it doesn’t fit cargo.
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Tahoe sucks. All the bad mpg of a suburban with none of the cargo.Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahman
Wife went from sienna to Tahoe and can’t understand why it doesn’t fit cargo.
We have 3 kids, went the route of the Yukon Denali XL, split captains chairs in the middle. May have been one of the best decisions of my life...highly recommend.
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Thanks! It's fucking terrifying! But all will be well, I'm sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahman
Re: trucks - I have an F350, so that's covered. It hauls the camper, wood, dirt, etc, so the mini van / suv mostly just needs to haul people. And the truck is also kinda the reason I'm trying to avoid a Tahoe / Suburban type thing. It feels like having multiple massive land yachts is unnecessary and becomes redundant. But the mini van definitely overlaps less with the truck.
Now the conundrum is that Siennas are hard to find and hold their value ridiculously well. So I can buy a '17 with ~40k miles for around $30k (give or take, depending on trim). Or I can wait a bit and buy a hybrid 2021 for ~$35-38k that gets way better mileage.
Purely in terms of money, it seems like $5-8k extra for substantial improvements and a full warranty is worth it. But then I'm buying a new car, which seems like a dumb idea for a vehicle that's gonna get wrecked by the kids. And the current crop of used Siennas will probably get cheaper once the new ones come out.
After having a few Toyotas, either buy brand new or used with 80,000+ miles to really see a price break that might make it worth it.
I went with an older model, but low mileage/one owner/good records for same reason. A '17 with 40k on it was about 12k more than a '13 with 50k.
Takes a long time at 2mpg diff to make up 10k in purchase price. Especially with gas the way it is right now.
Some real good discussion in here - lots of good points every direction for suv/van/pickup/etc.
We have 3 kids (9, 7, and 4) and bought a Pacifica Hybrid in 2017 due to crazy (at the time) gov't incentives, and a bit of a windfall on a VW dieselgate wagon we outgrew at the same time. I would NOT advise it for your intended use (fwd, low clearance, electronic everything, etc) but it has worked really well for us.
My point of posting is to say that just because you are having kids does not mean your vehicle needs to turn into a pig sty. We have the weather-tech mats and have had all the traumatic "kid" events - puking, pooping, milkshake upside down, etc. But with a bit of maintenance and staying on top of cleaning, our van still looks decent (and we have white (HORROR) leather seats). We bought seat covers to go under the car seats, and I am always amazed how pristine the seats look when I remove the covers to clean underneath. Point is that you don't need to turn your vehicle into a garbage dump just because you have kids :)
^^^ Good point re: nicer cars staying nice with seat covers and staying on top of things.
Although the counterpoint is that my car is pretty dirty right now, and I don't have kids yet. Maybe I could just rhino line the interior and hose it off occasionally?
My buddy had an Element, and he said he could hose it down. It was the car's only cool feature.Quote:
Originally Posted by toast2266
The argument I always hear against getting a minivan is some version of "I just don't want to drive a minivan." Pretty silly.
What "cargo"? Fits everything we need for a family of four easily on trips. Fits a dead elk. Not as unwieldy as a Suburban, much easier to drive around town with kids. Tows ~8,500 pounds with an equalizer hitch, and since toast is going to need a camper trailer now, that's going to come in handy. Chevy 350 is the most reliable engine ever built. Has 2WD, 4WD, and AWD settings (most 4Runners lack an AWD setting?! or did they fix that abomination). In 4WD the thing is a perfectly balanced beast that can get up any snowy, icy, rutted forest road. Plus third row when you need it--yes, then you lose much of your cargo, so if traveling with six people you need to borrow or buy a rocketbox. We found we actually used the third row very little though. I mean you wouldn't want to run a landscaping business out of the back of one, but for a family of four it's a great vehicle that will do everything you want.Quote:
Originally Posted by Core Shot
Its been awhile since I drove any distance in mini vans but they were pretty good for carrying stuff, front wheel drive was pretty good for traction, the long wheel base was pretty stable on ice/ snow and they were comfortable to sit in that upright seat and log a bunch of time
Had an electric rear window on a 1990 4runer and I would much rather have the 1 piece door on later modelsQuote:
Originally Posted by uglymoney
IME it didnt like dirt, it didnt like freezing so it wouldn't roll up unless I was helping pull it up ... the electric roll up window is what fucked up which didnt really induce any smiles whatso ever
Yup.Quote:
Originally Posted by plugboots
Oddly, it's almost always the wife arguing this. Probably 'cause she knows the husband will just roll his eyes and tell everyone, "Yeah, she made me buy it."
:D
Meanwhile, my fiance loves to point out I'm the one who has bought 3 mini-vans in the past 10 years.
This is fairly on the nose.Quote:
Originally Posted by skaredshtles
That's because they're awesome. And you know what else is awesome?Quote:
Originally Posted by doebedoe
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....v4ZEL._AC_.jpg
We had a minivan at the start of the kid thing, but sold it and never missed it. Might work for some families, but I needed something that would double as a hunting rig and had more towing capacity and clearance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpuZkZd7D7g
the wife is so done with being a mini van mother she wants to distance hereself which is the only reason they invented the SUVQuote:
Originally Posted by skaredshtles
I am surprised there isn't any mention of the Nissan Pathfinder. I drove both the Pilot and CX-9 and I preferred the Nissan. We wanted a vehicle that we would not be too upset about when it got trashed over time. I picked up a platinum edition 2014 loaded with everything, it was a Nissan corporate vehicle that has 10k miles on it. I have been very pleased and at 100k we have had very few issues even with the new style gearbox. I have boys ages 7 and 10 as well as a dog. In the winter we travel with the dog(female St Bernard) and her fold up kennel in the 3rd row. A ski box on top and space behind the 3rd row provide enough storage for all our ski gear. It has performed very well with snows on during the winter months. I also do some towing of my 22ft boat in the summer. I have gotten about 18mpg over the life of the vehicle according to the computer. If you chose a smaller motor you would be getting much better mpg. Lots of highway time between Boston and VT and wouldn't hesitate to get another one, although I suspect with kids getting bigger I may have to get the next size up. The 3rd row gets a lot of use with kids and their friends. In the summer we put boards on the roof and kids kayaks inside the car so all 4 of us can paddle. Hitch mounted bike rack makes life easy.
Congrats on the twins. Its going to be crazy ride.
Just get the Sienna man.
Thinking about this 2" lift for ours.
https://traxda.com/toyota/sienna/906025.html
Im hoping if I install that I can go another day or two without clearing the driveway...
Get what the wife wants :-). And yes, having her in back with young kids is needed for a road trip.
I was leaning toward 3rd row suv despite not liking how the few large unibody suv I have driven, drive, maybe new ones are better. But wife is anti third row suv and wanting a minivan. I really liked the sienna evdog and I rented for a mountain bike road trip. Toyota announcing the hybrid awd sienna has us sold. Other rig is a 4 door Taco, it works well for 2 kids in car seats, but would not want two rear facing car seats at the same time. Unless you already have a truck, might be worth looking at a 4 door f-150...not sure about carseat space.
2 words:
Automatic hudge sliding doors.
The auto door mechanism was great with the littles. The auto sliding door of my sienna eventually broke. It’s a known problem of that older generation. I removed the cable. It’s manual now.
Just checking in here with a word of caution. Kids car seats should generally not be used with a cover under. YMMV. I chose not to.Quote:
Originally Posted by aragon
Another vote for minivan.
We have a Kia Sedona and, basically, we can fit our house inside. We went to VT for a week with 3 kids (14, 7, and 1), 4 suitcases, two gear bags, three pairs of skis, a big cooler, and still had a small area for for the dog and his blanket.
The back has been used to hold a crib while we tailgated, a breastfeeding station, a changing table, and everything else.
The high ceiling and low floor make for a great combo. When the kids (and wife) grow out of it, I'm gonna keep it for my bike camping vehicle.
Oh yeah...like other have said: we got leather...b/c: sponges work well on leather.
rest of the post seems ok but this is insanity. what were you thinking bro?Quote:
Originally Posted by smartyiak
No shit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Norseman
got a chuckle out of me this morning, thank youQuote:
Originally Posted by plugboots
edit: Never had a mini van but sales rep I work with, late 60's years old, ex cop swears by them. He speeds all over NY state in his minivan. Cops do not see silver minivans.
Mine too. $38 part and YouTube and done. Because there are so many minivans out there, they're easy and cheap to fix, (another plus).Quote:
The auto sliding door of my sienna eventually broke.
Just getting into the whole kid thing (ours is a month old today), but the rear seat of a crew-cab F-150 is great as far as space goes. Our rear-facing carseat fits with enough room to spare that I didn't have to remove the plastic trashcan already hanging off the back of the passenger's seat.Quote:
Originally Posted by 406
The downside is that, depending on your height and how tall the carseat base is, you may be lifting the carseat up to chest height (or higher) to get it in and out. Remembering this when parking (i.e. don't face that side downhill if parking on a slope) is helpful.
The wife's car (Subaru XV) is next up for replacement. I'd like to wait until it's got at least 100-120k on it, but If we decide the first kid should have a sibling, size is a real issue. A hybrid Sienna is the obvious answer, especially given her very short commute, but she's anti-minivan. I used to drive a Suburban, and it's a good solution in terms of space for four people with gear (and would still have room for the dog), but the damn things are ludicrously expensive and we already have one dreadnought-class vehicle.
hehQuote:
Originally Posted by anotherVTskibum
This would be an extremely poor decision.Quote:
Originally Posted by anotherVTskibum
Don't ask me how I know.
:mad:
Interesting. I took a look on Google and could not find any hits, including Transport Canada's relatively thorough coverage regarding child seats ... Lots of information on other issues with 3rd party parts, but nothing on seat covers. Do you have a reference?Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliBrit
Get the Toyota Sienna
Thanks. I’ll look into that more. For mine, it was the motor and the cable. Yours, too?Quote:
Originally Posted by plugboots
It was the roller glide thing that the cables attach to. The rollers had corroded away. A couple years ago it was acting up, and it was causing a parasitic draw that caused it to run the battery down so I had a mechanic put a switch to disconnect the battery when we leave it for more than a week. Probably now we don’t need the switch any more. Anyway I bet you could’ve bought the motor and cable and look up the YouTube and fix it pretty easily. If you wanted to. My friend with the Triumph uses parts geek all the time.
https://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts...RoCdzEQAvD_BwE
Only for the first year. Then, as compared to parents of kids two different ages, you're stylin'. They're on the same page, have a playmate, same grade level, etc., etc., etc. Only problem is no hand-me-downs from big sis/bro. Holler if you need twin help -- get a Double Bob stroller; always feed them at the same time; best of luck to you and spouse. I got nothing on large vehicles, but will be in the market myself in the fall.Quote:
Originally Posted by toast2266
- Dad of 7 year old fraternal twin girl rippers.
I’m pacing Toast at about a year ahead. Our boys are 10mo next week and we’ve been holding out on making the SUV upgrade. Currently rolling with an Alltrack with 23k and a ‘05 Outback with 198k and leaking gaskets.
We’re pretty firmly in the non-Sienna camp and I don’t think our life/lifestyle aligns with the upsides it gives. At this point our larger vehicle would be driven 2-3k miles per year around town and another 2-3k for camping/road trips, etc. Our biggest desire right now is capability and cargo space; something that can take the family and our gear to any reasonable trailhead/campsite. I don’t think we’re looking for the same day-to-day versatility and efficiency as most people.
I’ve been very intruiged by a used Lexus GX for the bang for the buck; my wife is set on wanting a used 4Runner. The more I dig into GX research, it’s pretty clear there are cargo space comprises compared to the straightforward layout of the 2-row 4Runner. I’m very interested in a LC 120, despite the MPG or potentially a Tahoe, but my wife’s pegged them as “too big”. Need to get her in a LC and 4R to feel the quality/comfort difference.
Always curious to hear people’s experience staying this route, beyond the need to lift a kid in/out.
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So you are replacing the outback?
Not sure which version 4runner or LC you're considering, but they are only a few inches longer/wider
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Hertz is unloading inventory, good no haggle deals https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3182105001
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TRD 4R from Hertz.
https://www.hertzcarsales.com/certif...77de7713a8.htm
Yeah Outback will go in the next year unless it dies first. Probably a newerish 5th gen 4Runner or a later 120series LC. Some good well kept, lower mileage ones around here from mansionsQuote:
Originally Posted by bodywhomper
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