cataphora

Bought my CPO 08 gx a few years back when I had my second baby and I absolutely love this truck. Wife and I in the front, 2 baby seats in the 2nd row and if I wanted to fit 10 midgets in the back, the GX would have accommodated.

My wife and I are expecting our 3rd baby and though it is indeed a blessing, it was also not planned .

Reaching out to all the families of 5 out there and wanted to hear your stories/experiences.

My initial thoughts were that 3 baby seats will not work in the 2nd row so perhaps I will utilize 1/2 of the third row and putting a baby seat back there, picking up either, a Yakima or Thule cargo box to make up for the lost space and avoid going the minivan route.

Tell me your thoughts guys

rominl

iTrader: (4)

first of all congrats

personally i would really suggest against having car seat in the 3rd row. i think it's really unsafe consider how close it is from the tail gate and if something hits from behind...

we have 2 kids and the gx is perfect. but if we have 3, i think i would have given in and get a van too.

how old is your 2 kids now? if they are forward facing, maybe you can get small car seats and have the little one rear facing. and maybe by the time the little one is forward facing the two is about time for booster? again i don't know how old your two kids are now

micah360

We have 3 kids and ditched the mini-van for the GX. BUT, our kids are older now (8, 10 and 13). So they are able to get themselves in and out of the GX and we have boosters only for the two youngest. I think it would absolutely suck to have a car seat in the GX's third row. Plus yeah... it's not the safest area back there.

cataphora

My children are 3 and 1. Both face forward. I took a look online at the sienna as well as the odyssey, assuming that you utilize the 2 captains chair in the 2nd row with baby seats, the 3rd baby seat will have to go in the 3rd row and that also is pretty close to the tailgate as well. Or am I mistaken.

Thanks again guys

cataphora

And thank you btw! Still in shock.lol.

burtoncr

Look at Diono car seats. You can fit 3 across. Well engineered seats that go from 5lbs - 120lbs and have metal frames.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

sienna has more room in the back. even with a seat in the 3rd row, there are still more space behind it compared to the gx.

or if you can swing it, consider the lx. it is wider and you have more hope in fitting 3 seats across.

chiph9

A coworker has the Odyssey, and surprisingly, it doesn't suck to drive or ride in.

The image is worse than the reality.

Fiat Chrysler is changing the Town & Country next year. It's a new design, and they've renamed it the Pacifica. They'll also be offering it in a Hybrid, which makes amazing sense for a vehicle that will primarily be used in town.

Chip H.

roemer7

We traded in our 2011 Sienna for our 2006 GX in the fall of 2013 when our three kids were 3, 5, and 7. I've never regretted it.

At the time we had two booster seats and a 5-point harness child's seat all in the second row. It's no tighter than fitting three seats in the back seat of an Accord or Camry. It was not at all uncommon for my two oldest (both boys) to climb over into the third row or ask to climb into the back via the barn door.

For our two week vacation trips to Florida we keep the third row open for one child while the other two get the second row. We can fit all our personal bags behind the third row and all the extras in our 16 cu. ft. Thule cargo box.

Here we are all loaded up and ready to roll.



Florida trip 2015

cataphora

Roemer7, that's a cool set up. I'm leaning towards that with the idea of also caving into the minivan down the road. One of my good friends has the Sienna and has nothing but great things to say.

In regards to your Thule, does it fit on the factory roof rack. By the pic it looks like it does but wanted to double check. Also how easy is it to take on and off? I park the GX in the garage but my garage door opener unit sits right above the car with about a foot and a half clearance. I'm thinking about bringing the garage door unit further into the garage (just getting a longer chain) so it'll free up that space or just putting the cargo box on when needed. Hence the question

Many thanks

cataphora

Thanks burton. I'll look into those car seats.

chitown40

We have a 2008 Odyssey and a 2009 GX. The Odyssey drives great, has tons more room than the GX, and it inexpensive to own and maintain. It also has almost as many goodies inside as a Lexus.

micah360

our Yakima sunglasses case uses the factory Lexus roof rack crossbars. I think I maybe had to drill some extra holes in the case to adjust... but can't remember as this case has been on top about 7 cars to date.

chiph9

The only real complaint about the Oddy is road noise. But all Hondas are like that.

Chip H.

roemer7

We really liked the space and newness of our Sienna. We bought our 2011 Sienna LE new in August of 2011. The deal we got was too hard to pass up. The space and ease of entry made it a perfect family hauling vehicle for kids and all the stuff. Knowing that, I've always been drawn to Toyota trucks. I have and always will be in search of the right Land Cruiser. When I came across the GX it was a 2006 with 100k miles, 70k more than the Sienna. The practical side of me said "no way, stupid move", while my gut said "go for it". We did and we've never looked back.

The Thule topper attaches right onto the factory cross bars. I have Thule cross bars too that I use when I attach both the topper and the ski carrier. They sit side by side perfectly on top of the GX. The Thule bars are more sturdy than the factory bars. The factory bars bounce just a little going down the road, but that can be minimized with properly packing the topper.

I attach the topper by myself with no tools in less than five minutes. I cannot pull into our garage with the topper on the car. I store it in a loft I built in my outdoor storage shed.