Well, I my wife is expecting twins. Holy crap. I tried to fit a car seat behind my seat in the patriot the other day and it would not even come close to fitting. I am 6'2" and have to have my drivers seat all the way back.

I am trying to think about how I can make having two car seats work in the patriot.

The patriot isn't wide enough to have one car seat on the passenger side and one in the middle. And I don't want to put one car seat up front. It looks like I might need a new car.

Anyone have any ideas how I can make this work? Otherwise it's bye bye patriot!

You can't put the car seat in the front, kids up to the age of i think 6 aren't even supposed to be in the front. its unsafe, the backseats are the safest place for a child seat.I know your asking for ideas if there are other ways to make it work and honestly if it won't fit then i would recommend you get something larger...i can't tell if i sound snarky but honestly im not trying to be. Why not get a grand cherokee even?

EDIT: i forgot to add CONGRATULATIONS MAN, THAT IS SOME AMAZING NEWS!!!!!!!

 

Why not get a grand cherokee even?

The Grand Cherokees look great and I imagine they would have enough room. But they are expensive and I like the mileage of small SUV's.

kid seats come in very differing sizes

STRONGLY suggest trying out different brands

you WILL struggle with a rear facing seat behind you, but maybe bring your seat forward a couple of notches

I went to a local baby store and they were great. They let me bring the car seats out to the patriot to try them. I tried about 5 different models. No luck fitting behind me. Putting the seat forward really isn't an option. I am already a little cramped.

Congrats!

I am able to put two car seats and a wife in the back of our Patriot (one front facing one rear), and we have fit 3 across (front facing in the middle, rear facing on either side) what car seats are you using, and do you have the bases installed? I have to admit that I am shorter than you at 5'10", but I drive in a very laid back manner, and have long legs. we do NOT use the bases for rear facing seats as they do not fit, we just use the seat belts. And we stopped using a car seat for son that was basically a lazy boy and got him a cheaper and Much smaller seat. He doesn't seem to notice the difference, and it has the same safety ratings.

And short of a minivan, or full sized sedan, you're going to have this issue... its easier and cheaper to get a car seat that fits, than it is to get a new car.

Wow! You can use car seats without their bases? I didn't realize that. I just figured that the base is where the seat belt would hook. That might make it work. The problem is that the back of the seats, at the top, jets out. That is right were the car seat hits (for rear facing). If I can install the car seat without the base, then the car seat might fit below where the seat protrudes. I don't have car seats yet. I will have to try to fit some in again.

 

Congrats!

I am able to put two car seats and a wife in the back of our Patriot (one front facing one rear), and we have fit 3 across (front facing in the middle, rear facing on either side) what car seats are you using, and do you have the bases installed? I have to admit that I am shorter than you at 5'10", but I drive in a very laid back manner, and have long legs. we do NOT use the bases for rear facing seats as they do not fit, we just use the seat belts. And we stopped using a car seat for son that was basically a lazy boy and got him a cheaper and Much smaller seat. He doesn't seem to notice the difference, and it has the same safety ratings.

And short of a minivan, or full sized sedan, you're going to have this issue... its easier and cheaper to get a car seat that fits, than it is to get a new car.

 

kid seats come in very differing sizes

STRONGLY suggest trying out different brands

you WILL struggle with a rear facing seat behind you, but maybe bring your seat forward a couple of notches

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_PxVHOcnL0

There is a guide on how to install with just the seatbelt. that takes a long time, but once you do it a few times you get pretty quick at installing them correctly and safely.

How tall is your wife? shorter than you? Like I said, we roll with the car seats next to each other. One behind the passenger seat, and one in the middle, rear facing usually in the middle (out of ease, it is easier to use the middle seatbelt from the driver's side of the car, and install it.) but the rear facing also sits on either side just fine, Maybe you can figure out how to get them installed next to each other, one in the middle, one behind the passenger? Maybe the one in the middle on the base, so its an easy click in, and the one on the passenger you use the seat belt?

Also, I strongly recommend putting a towel down on the seats, under the car seats. They do a number on the cloth/leather, sliding them in and out, and when you push hard on them to get them in tight... We bought two really big beach towels, and folded them a few times to cover the seats. Now I'm looking for seat covers to go over that to kinda hold them in place better.

 

Thanks aroundincircles. My wife is short. The challenge is that both seats have to be rear facing. I will have to double check tho make sure that I can't get one car seat in the passenger side and one in the middle. But from eye balling how much space the one car seat took up the other day, I don't think two would fit.
I like the towel idea!


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Good Luck! Try out several car seats, that is a big kicker, They come in all shapes and sizes.

I can't imagine having twins, We have two (3years and 7 months), and wife would like a third, and I'm not sure I was ready for the first one!

 

heh...all of my boys were twins...two sets.
Both identical too.

The first set are 36 now, married or hooked up and doing well, the last two are 20 and just out of the house.

A single daughter in between.

Its why I still work despite all my friends wondering why...5 kids through college or university will make you do funny things.

Like buy a K car station wagon to fit them all in. What the hell was I thinking?

Good luck to you, hope you figure out a way to make them fit into your Patriot...my thoughts are move your damn seat forward, ya wuss.

 

Congratz.


Sorry but it looks like bye bye patriot.

I have two car seat in the back, I am 5'9" tho, and it is a bit snug ;(

We have shop for a second car as well.....for suv/cuv size and comfort and mpg we have narrowed the list down to the cx-5.

Good luck and have fun....and get all the sleep u can NOW

 

Congrats on twins!! That's amazing!

I would try different car seats as well. If you are wanting similar gas mileage and more room, check out a 2008+ Scion xB. I loved that car, it was similar shape to the Patriot inside, got 30 mpg all day long in the 5 speed, and the back seat has more room than most suvs

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It's good to know that there is some space issues for car seats. I'm 6'0, but I have little short stubby legs. Since my wife are dealing with infertility issues, twins, or even triplets, is a huge possibility for us. Now I know what to expect...kinda. I hope this works out for your riot. And congrats!


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Test drove the Chevy equinox today. Tons of legroom in drivers seat and back seat. Tried the car seat in the back and had plenty of room. Also drove the Subaru outback, but haven't tried a car seat in it yet. These are my top two choices so far.


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Decided to get something else? and i highly recommend the equinox for your needs because the rear legroom is class leading.

 

The equinox are great. We just upgraded to one from my moms Durango. The gas mileage is great, and the ride is beautiful.

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My dad is looking at buying a loaded 2010 equinox, i'll let him know that the ride is really good.

 

Hmm I have a daughter not coming very very soon. I haven't tried to put the car seat in the Jeep but I guess I should try.

Best of luck to you.. As a twin myself I'm sure your going to be in for some long sleepless nights. It'll be worth it though I'm sure.


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I don't have kids but have friends who do and I make it work behind me. I find it hard to believe that you absolutely can not move up just an extra notch. I am 6'3" and I am actually MORE comfortable up an extra inch or so from full back.


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Congrats!
I had a Jeep Grand before and there was plenty of space and ride was smooth. I bought mine used (was a 1997) and did not give me any trouble. If you cannot find a way to fit car seats I recommend finding a used low mileage grand, you would love it. Also, those cars can handle lots of mileage, a friend of mine put 250K on his 1997 grand. Good luck!

 

Cousin has a loaded awd equinox...likes it for the two boys, one still in car seat, but is not getting the advertised mpg.

Then again who does?

 

hahahh you can say that again, rarely are real world mpg's the same as advertized and 1 in every 50 cars gets better than advertized.

 

I have one kid that's 3 yrs old and I put the seat in the center section. I am not sure of the space but maybe you can fit one in the middle and the other car seat behind the passenger side.

 

I am able to put two car seats and a wife in the back of our Patriot (one front facing one rear), and we have fit 3 across (front facing in the middle, rear facing on either side) what car seats are you using, and do you have the bases installed?

Well, I wanted to double check one last time and try to get two car seats to fit in the patriot.

I went by a local baby store (Baby Phases) that has been super helpful. I had their certified car seat installer come out to the patriot and try to get two car seats in the patriot.

I thought about trying to install the seats without the bases, but she said that the new car seats aren't supposed to be installed with out their bases. I thought I might be able to save a little space sans base, but that didn't work out.

Next I put my seat all the way forward and installed the car seat. I slid the driver seat back and tried to fit behind the wheel. I had about an inch clearance between my knees and the bolster/dash. After hearing the car seat installers story of her emt boyfriend responding to an accident that involved the victims femurs going through the dash I quickly ruled out this option.

Finally, I tried to install one car seat in the middle and the other behind the passenger seat. This fit, but was really tight. The car seats were touching and were canted at a slight angle. She then gave me the 'as a certified car installer I can tell you that that they can't touch each other and they need to be straight, but as a parent you have to do what you think is best...." Basically she was saying that it wasn't real safe but better then throwing the kids on a blanket in the back.

It was too "squished" (wife's term) and not safe enough in my opinion. So I opted to buy a different car.

It's good to know that there is some space issues for car seats. I'm 6'0, but I have little short stubby legs. Since my wife are dealing with infertility issues, twins, or even triplets, is a huge possibility for us. Now I know what to expect...kinda. I hope this works out for your riot.

My wife and I have fertility issues and conceived with the help of some fertility treatments. It took three year but finally happened!

 

Here is a photo with two car seats in the back.

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Good luck with the new car and good luck with the new twins. I told my wife about your predicament, and she told me that she wants twins next (we already have the two) and I about fainted...

 

Good luck with that.

 

we have twins on both sides of the family... but back a couple of generations. But she's the only girl in her family to have actually gotten married and have kids so we don't know about our generation... so there is a chance....

 

Congratulations!
I've got 2 boys, 2 & 4 years old. They both face forward in their seats now with no issues at all, but the rear facing stage was tough for the Pat - I had to scoot the passenger seat nearly all the way up - luckily they were 2 years apart so I only had one rear facing at a time. I even had this issue in my Commander. Car seats are a P.I.T.A. Good luck.