rweddy Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I recently found out we have baby number three on the way. I have been a loyal subaru guy for years, and want to stick with a subaru legacy wagon; I have not interest in the Tribeca. Anybody out there have a 05+ legacy and have you been able to fit 3 child seats in the back seat? I looked at a few Volvo XC70 cross countries but after reading this I am afraid of them maintenance wise. I love the rear seat and built in child seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 How wide is 1 child seat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I recently found out we have baby number three on the way. I have been a loyal subaru guy for years, and want to stick with a subaru legacy wagon; I have not interest in the Tribeca. Anybody out there have a 05+ legacy and have you been able to fit 3 child seats in the back seat? I looked at a few Volvo XC70 cross countries but after reading this I am afraid of them maintenance wise. I love the rear seat and built in child seats. first you have to figure out what cause the 'growing family syndrome'. congrats on the 3RD!!! but it sounds like mini van time. what are the ages, how long before one upgrades to a regular seat.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I recently found out we have baby number three on the way. I have been a loyal subaru guy for years, and want to stick with a subaru legacy wagon; I have not interest in the Tribeca. Anybody out there have a 05+ legacy and have you been able to fit 3 child seats in the back seat? I looked at a few Volvo XC70 cross countries but after reading this I am afraid of them maintenance wise. I love the rear seat and built in child seats. We just got an 06 Outback from our next-door neighbor (to replace the '00 that was totalled. One of the reasons they sold it was that a baby carrier would NOT fit behind the drivers seat. The PAX seat had to be all the way forward and the back almost vertical to install the seat. It sounds like width isn't even an issue, depth isn't sufficient. I dunno for a foct tho ... our kids are thirty-four and thirty-five ... congrats on the new addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaulick Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I can't speak to the newer models, but I've been carrying three kids in my '01 Outback with no special trouble. If yours won't fit it's probably cheaper to get smaller carseats than it is to replace the car. If all your kids are still too small to buckle themselves in, a minivan can actually be more annoying because you have to reach into the way-back seat to buckle whoever's back there. I have two kids in backless booster seats (ages 4 and 6) and one in a giant front-facing seat (age 2). All three fit across with no trouble and don't interfere with shutting the doors. Buckling the seatbelts on the booster seats is something of a pain; I need to put the baby in the middle because his carseat lifts higher over a narrow base, this gives me more space for my arm to reach in and find the seatbelt latch. (I'm going to try velcroing the seatbelt latches on to the sides of the booster seats when I get around to it.) If you're using seats with their own harness this will only be a problem when you move the seats in and out of the car. If your existing kids are still in the giant single-piece molded tub on tilt-base style infant-40 pound reversible front- or rear-facing carseat like my two-year-old, you'll probably want to buy them one of the narrower no-infants-allowed seats. In general it seems the narrower the size-range of kid the carseat is built for, the less space it takes. As far as rear-facing infant seats, choose your carseat carefully. Some of them are so big they won't fit in anything short of a Hummer. Especially the bassinet-style ones with a detachable base. The detachable base is convenient, but the swinging arm on top wants to come WAY forward, and the hinges on the sides stick out too far. If you must have one of those, find one where the swinging arm/bassinet handle is just a handle and doesn't double as a release lever for detaching the base, so that you can leave it up while driving. I had a Graco like that that could squeeze into my '80s (small, pre-Mazda) Ford Escort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 first you have to figure out what cause the 'growing family syndrome'. congrats on the 3RD!!! but it sounds like mini van time. what are the ages, how long before one upgrades to a regular seat.? I think we found the cause of the syndrome, but that will be another post. We actually have a great mini van, a 06 Honda Odyssey, great mini van but we need another vehicle that can hold three. And my wife wants me to get something newer and safer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I think we found the cause of the syndrome, but that will be another post. As long as your the cause it's all good. Mabe see if you could go to a baby supply store and play mix and match with the car seats. Mabe get two that face backward and one that faces forward or whatnot. Something so that you could fit 3 in. I "dealer installed" a car seat into an accord that had a separate base that the kid basket clipped into, seemed pretty compact. Mabe one of those in the middle, and a couple normal ones on the sides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailhard Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 When the oldest one is 4 or so, they can use a "booster" seat that takes up less room, the baby can be in the "bucket holder" and the middle one in a "baby seat". Then hopefully in a few years you'll just have 1 or 2 booster seats and a baby seat. I think 3 full size baby seats would fit, but they would be hitting the doors for sure. It can be done in an legacy ( at least in a '96 L), but they are within easy reach to hit/grab each other each other and commence screaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daehttub2000 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 LOL, Great point about "hitting range." Unfortunately, kids don't need to be within striking distance on each other to start a ruckus in the back seat. At least in a Legacy, the back seat kids are within arms reach of either parent so there is a deterrent factor. Ever had a kid in the 3rd row of a minivan mouth off to you when you were driving? Unfortunately, the large Volvo wagons do have a bit more width but my sister got stranded on the interstate in the middle of summer with her kids in a new V70 due to engine failure. No air conditioning, screaming kids, big (multiple) repair bills for a car with a huge monthly payment. It’s been a nightmare for them. As much as I’d hate to admit it, Minivans are really quite nice if you have three kids. Now only if Subaru didn’t make the Tribeca so ugly… Brighton model Tribeca anybody? Good luck shoehorning 3 baby seats into a Subaru back seat. I have put 2 baby seats in back with a very tight middle spot open for baby stuff. It didn’t look promising for a 3rd car seat. If you did get in a 3rd seat, where do you put all the other kid stuff and keep it within arms length (wipes, sippy cups, snacks, diaper kits, toys, valium…)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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