Advice on a new vehicle? (to augment or replace the LR3)

[nwoods]

I hate those little tow behind trailers, but those may be an option. Think I'll look at a hitch mounted tray first, though.

This works for me when I travel heavy:

 

[toddjb122]

This works for me when I travel heavy:

Okay, that one's nice! Is that custom? (that's the box I have, though)

 

[nwoods]

Okay, that one's nice! Is that custom? (that's the box I have, though)

It is a home built design (not by me), that I snagged a few months ago. I'm still getting used to it, and debating on how I want to optimize it for our needs. Fortunately, I have no more money, so I have the benefit of time to decide before taking any missteps in that regard

A similar (and nicer) unit is made by Adventure Trailers:
http://www.adventuretrailers.com/chaser.html

We did a weekend camping trip to Big Bear recently and just for fun, I put everything in the trailer except the cooler. It was amazing having an empty truck on a camping trip! A few weeks ago we took 4 adults, two kids, a dog, three bikes, two guitars, 6 sleeping bags, 6 pillows, 6 sleeping mats, two tents, 7 chairs, two tables, a large ARB fridge, and all the usual camping gear, and it all fit in the Armada without any crowding at all (with the trailer and a 21cft roof box). I came to the immediate conclusion that having the trailer was pretty convenient.

 

[Skid]

Haulin stuff in the LR3

Guy's I've got a 11 and 13 yr old. We all mt bike and rock climb. My answer has been a set of Thule racks which have a foot that fit right into the tracks on the roof. I normally roll with a 5 bike setup but when I need a little more room I pull the middle bike carrier and use a Sherpak Go! roof bag from REI. http://www.rei.com/product/677675 This is a fantastic bag, huge, put all the gear I won't need until I get there on top and were good to go!

For me, 18"s Zeon LTZs and Johnson Rods next week so I can further the places to haul my brood.

 

[toddjb122]

Hmmm, good news bad news....get in the vehicle with the family this weekend (2 year old, 1 month old, dog, wife, me) and the wife says, "I hate to say it, but you have to get a bigger truck. I can't take car trips not being able to put my seat back because of the baby seat behind me.)

So, the good news is she said "new truck," and not "minivan." The bad news is the rover may not cut it. That would be a disappointment because I like my LR3 and more importantly, a bigger truck won't fit in my garage!!!

I forgot about that aspect of the LR3. Other than putting one seat in the center location, which I do, the other one is behind the passenger seat and that severely limits how far a tall person can put back that seat.

Hmmmm....LR needs to make a bigger truck!

 

[Houm_WA]

Dude how tall is your wife? Try putting the non-infant car seat behind her so that the profile allows the seat to come back a bit further...or make sure it's behind your seat and not hers and just suck it up (the leg room I mean).

I have kids in the same age range PLUS a 15 year old son who is as big as an adult. We make do, but it does get cramped, I'll admit.

I just don't see it as an argument for getting a bigger truck. In days past everyone would've just sucked it up for the greater good.

 

[gtc]

I forgot about that aspect of the LR3. Other than putting one seat in the center location, which I do, the other one is behind the passenger seat and that severely limits how far a tall person can put back that seat.

Why not put the rear facing seat in the middle? Then you recline as much as you want....
If the seat doesn't fit, go out and buy a new car seat that's narrower - even if it's only used for road trips, the $200-$300 for a good quality narrow seat is much cheaper then any move involving the acquistion of a new vehicle! ;-)

I'm a big fan of Sunshine Kids Radian car seats - easy three across in the second row with space between all of them; or two in the back row, and no impediment to flipping forward the 2nd row for access to the third. During the week when we're not playing or travelling, I usually turn the poor LR3 into a minivan with seating for 3 adults/4 kids (wife is on mat leave, and most of the neighbours are of the 2 child variety - the LR3 is always the go-to vehicle amoung the parents!).

 

[crewcabrob]

Thank God I am past the child seat stage!

I have three teens: 16,16 and 14. My two girls love to bring the largest suitcases they can on vacation; you just can't have to many clthes or shoes... Even after shopping, and additional coolers, we hardley ever run out of space for the 5 of us.

I have a hitch mounted carrier too for longer trips or when we do need extra space.

My brothers Tahoe offers no more room than our LR4 even though it is wider and towers over the LR4 in height.

Goodluck!

Rob

 

[toddjb122]

Why not put the rear facing seat in the middle? Then you recline as much as you want....
If the seat doesn't fit, go out and buy a new car seat that's narrower - even if it's only used for road trips, the $200-$300 for a good quality narrow seat is much cheaper then any move involving the acquistion of a new vehicle! ;-)

I do swap around the two seats, but there's still issues. The passenger seat can only go back so far before it crowds the legs of my son's forward facing seat, if that is there. If we put a rear facing seat there, it's even worse. Maybe the brits are just short people and didn't factor this into the design.

...
I have a hitch mounted carrier too for longer trips or when we do need extra space.

My brothers Tahoe offers no more room than our LR4 even though it is wider and towers over the LR4 in height.

Rob

That's good info, thanks! (cuz I do like the Tahoes. No doubt a suburban would do the trick, but that's a lot of truck...)

 

[kingfishgrapeja]

You'll be past the rear facing stage before you know it. as for the forward facing ones being crowded, they wouldn't be if they were the Radians as mentioned before. A lot of the seats out there are way oversized. Radians are very compact and well constructed. You may just have the wrong child seats.

I had a sequoia as a loner...it was big in all the wrong places and miserable to drive. 3 kids 7,3,2 and a 90 lb dog as well. I use the thule bars and a sears cargo xtreme roofbox on trips. We have plenty of room with a week of stuff packed, but that is not camping gear as well, probably would need a hitch mount for that.