Vehicles for the large or growing family can be tricky. Seats are not the only consideration; you need room for carseats, groceries, diaper bags, the occasional stroller, etc. As needs change, the vehicle that served well last year may be entirely unsuitable next year.
Long ago, we drove a compact hatchback car. It was perfect for us. It had room for 3 children (2 of them in carseats), 2 parents, and lot of groceries. It got 40 miles/gallon, and it was cheap. We could drive the whole family from Ohio to Texas for $40 in gas. Life was beautiful.
Nothing could ever take the place of our beloved Colt. Well, nothing except the nearly identical Colt we bought to replace it.
Then we learned we were expecting a 4th child, and I panicked. We needed something bigger! We bought our first mini-van. It’s a long and sordid tale, and I have written it all up in 4 drafts. It ranks right up there with The Great Poop Flood. How bad do you want to know the story? We owned that van for about 5 painful months, and never had 3 consecutive starts.
Maybe it didn't look exactly like this, but that's how it made us feel every single day we owned it.
We owned another 7-seater for a few years until I was expecting our 6th child and again we were forced to upsize. This time we chose an older Suburban with a bench seat in the front, giving us a total of 9 seats. We were good for a few more years. We didn’t like going down to 17 miles/gallon, but gas was still cheap back then so it wasn’t as painful as it could have been.
I loved driving a Suburban. I felt cool in a country sort of way, not like a stereotypical soccer mom. With a family our size, I was in no danger of fitting that particular stereotype, but I liked looking different as much as I like being different. I was on top of the world in my big Texas-style truck. It was comfortable and even though it was old and rusty, it handled like a dream. It was like driving around on my sofa with a couple of kids sitting next to me. It’s no longer roadworthy, but that old beast still sits in the circle down the hill, watching us come and go. Every now and then we air up the tires, jump start it and rumble over the hill to my parents’ old house. The kids even camp in it once in a while.
My faithful old beast, retired now.
But years ago, we had to upgrade again. We were expecting #8 and again we outgrew our big-family vehicle. What would we drive next? The 2 obvious options were the 12 passenger van or the 15 passenger van. We went with the bigger van for several reasons:
- Marginal differences in cost. We never buy brand new. 15 passenger vans probably cost a little more new but seem more plentiful on the used market, so prices were very comparable for us.
- Marginal difference in gas mileage. Gas efficiency does vary from year to year and model to model, but depends more on the engine than the body of the van and a 15 passenger van does not typically have a bigger engine than a 12 passenger van.
- No cargo space in 12 passenger vans. How would I haul groceries or even a stroller? If I pulled a bench out of a 12 passenger van to make room for cargo, we would be back down to 8 or 9 seats – not enough for our family. The 15 doesn’t have cargo space either but we could keep one bench out, giving us lots of cargo space and still plenty of seating.
- More room to grow. With a 12 passenger van, we would probably need to upgrade again within a few years. With a 15, we are good for many years.
Our decision was made, and Perry found a great deal on a 15 passenger van on Ebay. Some might think that Ebay is a dangerous way to make a major purchase like this, but we felt it was safer than going to a dealer. Unless an issue goes all the way to the BBB, it can be hard to gauge customer satisfaction with a local dealer. However, with a bit of research, it’s easy to find an Ebay dealer with a sparkling reputation, and he’s going to be eager to keep that sparkle.
The Big One, retired from service in the YMCA to an even harder life hauling our wild crew.
Next? If our family continues to grow faster than it shrinks – not something we can freely assume at this stage in life, though it certainly could happen – we might someday want or need something even bigger. Hubby thinks an airport shuttle would be cool. With multiple drivers coming of age, we could also plan to go everywhere in more than one vehicle. Personally, I think nothing will ever fill the void left by my old Suburban.
The other moms:
- Smockity Frocks, who is styling a 15-alpaca van,
- Raising Olives, who offers advice on travel rules and seating policies, and
- Common Room, who understands that it’s not as easy as just choosing the vehicle that catches your fancy.
Upcoming topics for 4 Moms:
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- December 1 - Teaching writing (composition)
- December 8 – Favorite holiday recipes {linky}
- December 15 - Tithing and saving for retirement/college on one income
- December 22 – Q&A
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- November 10 - 4 Moms: Large Family Food Storage
- November 3 - 4 Moms: Getting started on homeschooling
- October 27 - 4 Moms: Big family Q&A
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We recently traded in our 2002 Suburban for a Honda Odyssey. I really miss my big ol’ suburban but I love how much gas we are saving….well anyway, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway. =/
Yes, I realize I put too many ‘anyways’ in that last sentence.
We started out with a Subaru Legacy, which worked out for 2 kids. When we found out we were expecting #3, we had just moved cross-country from all our family and knew we’d have a couple trips a year with lots of cargo, so we bought a minivan. Four years later, when we were expecting #5, we decided it didn’t work anymore. It was one that had 3 seats in the middle and 2 in the back, so as it filled up, kids were always climbing over the seat. Also, without any free back seat available, we’d have issues with cargo space twice a year visiting family.
We briefly debated a 12-passenger van vs. 15-passenger. But, we knew we’d want to take out the back seat for cargo, which meant carrying 8 vs. 12. Given that in a few months, we’d have 7 passengers, and I was in my 20s and probably having more children, we went straight to the 15-passenger.
We’ve had our 15-passenger for 3 years now. Bought it used in a big city 6 hours away after finding it on autotrader.com. We were willing to drive the distance to get the price we wanted and the color, as I did NOT want white (I got a very pretty deep blue). We are expecting baby #7, so will soon move from using the first two bench seats back into the 3rd. If we keep having babies like we have been (I’m now 29), we’ll have to put the backseat in in 5-7 years, but we live back near family now and will have at least one child near driving age by then, so it should be manageable….
I only have one child and am unable to have more. but I had to comment on the naming of vehicles. My Brother in law is in construction and his work truck is old beat up and every time we think it is about to die it keeps going. Nothing seems to be able to stop it. We call it Truck Norris.
Loved the post, brought back childhood memories. I grew up in a family of 4 kids, which at that time I thought we were this odd huge family (are you giggling now). We were the family that didn’t have a cute compact car but the beast of a van, and later a minivan. Anyway, the post gave me a smile this morning.
I can’t wait until Boone gets our other Suburban running again. I LOVE my Suburbans!
Love that old suburban. We have a 15 passenger van . It is diesel . We get 18-20 miles to the gallon. When we first got it it felt soooo big. In just two years it has surely shrunk . We took out the last bench seat leaving us with just 11 seats. There are nine of us . The + of diesel is you can hardly hear the cries of weary travelers in the back. And my husband and I can have semi private conversations due to the loud engine . But costs of fixing this size of a vehicle can seem to be double. As I was idling in front of a library once a seemingly friendly old man stopped by to inform me how I was destroying the earth. Oh well ,we had a good laugh . And since he lived across from the library , the JR. High girl that is stuck in me would sit and idle just for fun .
I don’t have a large family, nor do I ever foresee myself having one, but I TOTALLY feel you on the mini-van aversion. My husband and I are committed to sharing one vehicle, and only driving it when necessary (we live in a big city with great public transportation, so we rarely have to), and a few years back, I agreed to a mini van after my husband found a great deal on one. I hated every second I spent in that thing–I told the husband it “felt like giving up,” and swore off mini vans for life once we traded the thing in for an 87′ Bonneville that *sometimes* ran (quite literally on a wing and a prayer) but gosh, did that it lift my spirits like a mini-van never could. Now we have an 86′ BMW that is SUPER cool…even if it does need a jump…often. If we ever have a kid, I’ll probably want to buy something that’s, you know, reliable, but NEVER a mini-van
Years ago I did not want to ever drive a 15 passenger van, they were just too big. I was afraid to drive something that big. Back then we had 4 in car seats so We really were not going to be able to fit more kids into the mini-van for quite some time so I figured we were “done” that and DH saying we were.
Well, God changed our hearts and that 15 passenger van became my dream car. LOL! I still love driving it. I love that I have plenty of room for a major grocery run, our luggage for trips, extra friends or family and most of all…. room to grow!
I share you pining over an old Suburban.*sigh of longing* I owned one once, too, and we called it the Monster(made enough noise you could hear us coming two blocks away!). I only have three kids so far, but my sister had 5(lucky duck!) and she allowed me to take her kids to church on Sundays. In a sense, that car was also a evangalize vehicle. I was able to do a lot of unexpected(by me) ministry work in that vehicle. Still trying to get another one(even though I really can’t afford the gas on it), I miss and love those older Suburbans. If you ever decide to get rid of yours, please let me know..LOL!
I love our Suburban! We ‘only’ have 6 kids, so with an 8 seater, we max it out, but I love it just the same. I learned to drive in one, so it feels comfortable to me. If we were ever given the opportunity to upgrade, we’d love to have a 15 passenger van for the same reasons you outlined above… but so far the Lord seems to feel that our Suburban is just fine. And, really, we’ve never had a car payment, so for that reason alone, I’m content with what we have!
We purchased our 15 passenger online at a GSA auction. It has been wonderful! (although I must admit, I told my husband I wanted anything BUT white…ended up with maroon
– no offense to your lovely Big One!)
Amy,
I don’t remember where you live, but in south Texas a white vehicle isn’t such a bad thing. It soaks up a little less heat and stays a little more comfortable than a darker color, especially when your a/c isn’t great to begin with!
Good a/c in southern Texas . Is that an oxymoron ? This was our first southern Texas summer. On those 115 degree days my husband would say”this a/c isn’t working right”. It seems to work splendid on these 80 degree days in November though?
We’re a couple states north and I must admit, when we first got it, it didn’t have tinted windows (it was a government van)…that was the first thing we did! Kept it a lot cooler and kept people from staring…as much. Or rather, they couldn’t really see the kiddos in the van so mama was a little more comfortable w/ the stares.
We lost our minivan…somewhere between WV and Oh it died. We didn’t fit anyway, cramming two per seat belt in the back. We LOVED our Ford crew cab, but we didn’t fit that anymore either. So after the van died, we sold the Ford F350 Duley, Powerstroke, Crewcab etc. and paid cash for a Ford Expedition. We fit, but oh, my, the gas it drinks kills us, but it keeps us home and quiet…and that’s ok.
I had a suburban. I liked the ride, room , etc. It had this annoying little problem of not starting and stranding me. Never when my husband was around. That vehicle was the recipient of many murmerings by me… Now we have a durango because we “only” have 5 children
and we love it. 