Third Row / Storage Options?? Save me from Minivan hell...

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I feel for you. Our 2nd turned into twins, so what can I say, we got a honda last year. I hated minivans till I got it & took the family to the beach. It is the wifes dd & she usually hauls the kids home each day. The 80 holds us all for short trips using the middle row for the kids. I also have a subaru, no way 3 car seats fit in the back of it.
 
The single guy .02. Take two cruisers. Tundra tow the cruiser. Sequoia tow the cruiser. Ford and GM both make 4wd Vans . DONT SHOOT!!! . Just another reason N. America needs the troop carriers like the foreign markets have had for decades!!! Hey Mr T how bout a 2011 Troopy in N. America
 
FYI, all three of my kids fit straight across the second row. When I take the jumpseats out of the back of the 80 it's more cavernous than the our Honda Odyssey.
 
FYI, all three of my kids fit straight across the second row. When I take the jumpseats out of the back of the 80 it's more cavernous than the our Honda Odyssey.

Ya I can currently fit all three car seats in the 2nd row, I'm just planning ahead for when friends (ours or theirs) are riding along. I like having a few ideas in place so that a year form now I'll have slowly built up what I need instead of feeling like I have to go buy another rig.
 
Ya I can currently fit all three car seats in the 2nd row, I'm just planning ahead for when friends (ours or theirs) are riding along. I like having a few ideas in place so that a year form now I'll have slowly built up what I need instead of feeling like I have to go buy another rig.

Sounds like a good plan. As others have already said, the best world is having the man van as I call it and the cruiser.

After re-reading my post above it sounds like I was drunk. :p
 
I still want to drop our Sienna body onto an 80 series chassis, would be perfect :)

So, I'm not the only who's thought about this? Only I'm thinking Odyses (however you speel that).

We have a '05 Touring, DVD, NAV, leather but warmers, ect. and hate the lable mini-van as much as I do, the dang thing drives nice and is a dream for 1500 mile family visits with 2 kids.
 
roof rack or trailer

With the 3rd row in and in use, roof racks or trailers are the only options. When we go camping I can really load up the roof. I don't have any pics of it loaded. I picked up this rack for $80 on craigslist and it easily holds a few hundred lbs of stuff.
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I particularly like the 2nd pic. :D
 
With the 3rd row in and in use, roof racks or trailers are the only options. When we go camping I can really load up the roof. I don't have any pics of it loaded. I picked up this rack for $80 on craigslist and it easily holds a few hundred lbs of stuff........I particularly like the 2nd pic. :D

Nice rack. What's the weight rating for it? Looks like its got good distribution with four clamps per side.

Good time to mention to the OP about heeding mfrs weight rating on roof racks. My Yakima Load Warrior with 2 bars and 2 clamps per side recommends 140 lbs max. Also, it's best to carry lighter, bulkier stuff on top and carry the heavier stuff inside or at least lower. If you overload the roof rack, you might be stressing the mounts/gutters, possibly raising the COG unnecessarily and lastly, it makes it easier on you loading and unloading to reserve the rack for the lighter stuff.

You can get a water-proof bag to put your gear in for the open rack type that you can tie or lash to it. I've got 2 bags, 1 that's water proof, and another cheaper one for stuff that doesn't matter. Here's an older pic of the water-proof bag in my rack. If you zoom in on the bag, you can see the tie straps and the flap that covers the zipper. It unzips sides and rear. The front side has no joint to aid in keeping moisture out. This was on the Flint Trail in Utah, but I've used the bag in both rain and snow and it keeps the contents dry from the weather. Although, condensation can create some moisture inside when you have wide temperature shifts.
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this is what I have in terms of shelving behind the third row (the cruiser is a mess right now and im working on a swingout tire carrier)


in the bottom left is sockets and wrenches, above in the cardboard is air and fuel filters, beside serpentine belts, funnel, wire brush, battery charger and hand cleaner. At the very top is a drawer tool box bolted to the shelves. the shelving is bolted to the floor using the holes for the cargo hooks in the back.

In the left corner is a maglite, some rope and an extra shelf (its good for putting your food on when in the fold out chair, and the other side is good for parts)

on the right bottom is a black first aid kit, cummins manuals, above is wrenches in cloth roll ups, rubber gloves and parts, above is a pull strap (small size for smaller cars), a gold pan(havent used it yet but plan too) and extra tubing(airbag lines)

and top shelf is some diesel, my drill and electric cooler (there is a 12VDC plug for it behind the too little extinguisher)

far right, the extinguisher an air hose(for filling tires etc.), jumper cables and a pull strap.

This may not be the best use of the shelving but it may give an idea as to what you can do...

Cheers.
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finally some rear storage pics! I like the placement of your mag-lite and extinguisher
 
Build an expedition trailer, put all your gear in it... Much cheaper than buying a van..

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Oops, just say the ATV's on the trailer..
 
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Dude, I look at it like this. I have three wild boys, and another on the way; 5 penises + 1 vag puts my $50K 4 door Duramax at about useless on the scale. I actually bought my K294 to fit all six of us + gear. I plan on yanking one of the third row seats and pack it like a time capsule. Then I'll get tubes and get a hitch mounted rack like my man was saying i little ways up. It's the only 7 passenger rig that can go anywhere other than the shoe store.

Bro, You've spent years building your dream rig, you better get god damn creative. Later.
 
To echo what some others have said, an 80 will do fine with 3+ kiddos. I like the Cargo box on top, but prefer another approach. The cargo box works fine, but doesn't allow you to stow gear up there for an off road trip--it is too bulky and not sturdy enough to deal with low hanging branches and whatnot. I prefer a lower profile roof rack with a cargo bag, but for on road trips you could mount a cargo box too.

Add to that a hitch mounted carrier like Doug said, but strap a rubbermaid container too it so everything stays safe and dry--you can carry more than enough stuff.

The pic below is the morning after a 1900 mile jaunt the first week of January 08. The only issue I had was maintaining 75 mph across Montana with a 35mph headwind. You have the turbo though, so no issues there. Everything in the bag stayed dry (if a little frozen) and there was room for the 3 kids and all of our stuff +Christmas presents....... There is also room on the rack for the sled (purple) and other stuff if I wanted more up there.
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:steer:dude i just drove 12 hours to Red River NM with spare on the back, all the luggage and gas cans on top. and 6 people inside with food and games..... we had a blast and alot of cloths, it was in the single digits every morning...
 
I am in the same boat, I need storage drawers and I want to keep one 3rd row seat installed (4 kids). Has anyone made a 1/2 drawer setup and placed it in their 80? I know AT makes a pretty nice prefabbed unit, does anyone know if it will fit a 3rd row seat down with one drawer installed
 
Wow, thread revival!

I dont know the vendor your talking about, but there are alot of great vendors on here that Im sure you could find on t to tackle a "one-off" or design something new for the third row crowd. Have a look throw the vendor section or marketplace in the classifieds. Ive seen a few vendors in there and a few custom drawer threads in the 80 section that mention custom work availible.


Good luck!
 

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