Car Seats in the 3rd Row

Hi All - not an Expedition owner, but leaning strongly towards it as our big family rig. We have 5 kids ranging from 9 to 1. Currently we're in a Honda Pilot and it's a tight squeeze on everyone. My question is do any of you have experience with car seats in your Expedition? How well does it do for 3 across in the 2nd row? How about 3 across in the 3rd row? Would it be possible to put two in the 3rd row on the 60 and fold down the 40 for additional longer item storage space? Any other general thoughts/suggestions on kids in an Expedition? Thanks!

The rear 3rd only has two anchor points, one on each side so you wouldn’t be able to to do two car seats on the one side (60). And fold down the the smaller seat (40). I think that’s what you’re asking right? Other than that the expedition is a great family hauler, get a max so that you don’t have to worry about putting a seat down

Teamzambo said:

The rear 3rd only has two anchor points, one on each side so you wouldn’t be able to to do two car seats on the one side (60). And fold down the the smaller seat (40). I think that’s what you’re asking right? Other than that the expedition is a great family hauler, get a max so that you don’t have to worry about putting a seat down

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He could use the seatbelt for 3rd row center. Typically, the lower latch anchors may only be used with children less than 40 lbs.
Stephen,
There is plenty of room for 3 across in the 2nd row. The only consideration for the 2nd row is one of the outer seats should have either no car seat or one that uses the lower latch anchors. This allows the tip and slide to function giving access to the 3rd row. Im guessing a rear facing car seat would also limit the tip and slide functionality.
The 3rd row has a couple of concerns:
1. It is more narrow, so you would want to look at narrower seats or boosters. Diono radian and maxi-cosi rodifix both come to mind.
2. the outer headrest are not easily removable. It is possible to remove them, but it takes some work.

The best advice is to bring your car seats to the dealership and do a test fit.

My current setup is 3 across second row with the maxi-cosi rodifix in the middle and 2 Britax marathons in the outer positions. Sometimes when using the tip and slide, I have to nudge the shoulder bolster of the maxi-cosi to allow the outer seat to slide forward.

You might check out this thread as it might have some ideas for you:

We ran 3 across the 2nd row for 6mo and like wakeboarder mentioned you only issue could tip/slide if you want to access the 3rd row. At the time we were running Chico KeyFit 30 base on driver's side for baby, and both the others were in front facing config Britax boulevard. So access to 3rd was on baby base side because it uses anchors.

When oldest moved to Graco Turbobooster in middle seat, the seat itself fit fine, but she had a hell of a time getting herself buckled because you can't even see where it goes.

So when we went on vacation in July we moved older two back to the 3rd row and have left them since. 3yr old on passenger side so when we tip/slide we can reach in and help her. 5yr old can be trusted to buckle her own booster so in near future we can move baby to the Britax boulevard in rear facing config on driver's side 2nd row and lose tip/slide ability there.

Pro tip... Pulling headrest off 2nd row seat behind baby let's her see the older two in 3rd row and they can report on status/needs.

Thanks for the replies back everyone! Sounds like the second row has plenty of space for 3 across.
Does anyone have experience with three across in the 3rd row? In our Pilot it’s physically impossible because the belts cross paths for the drivers side and center passengers back there. Looking at pictures of the Expedition it looks like they don’t cross so there’s hope I can get three back there. Two would be on backless boosters (Diono Solana) and the other would be in a Maxi-Cosi Rodifix.
I’m really hoping this would work as then that would free up a spot in the 2nd row for my wife to crawl back there on long road trips and calm down the 1 year old. Riding in the car is not fun for him and it quickly becomes not fun for me!

How wide are the boosters? Our Graco is about 18" at widest (cupholder) and eats about 20" when centered on the seat. If we had 2 of them, I'd estimate you'd only have about 13" between them.

I have two Clek Foonfs in the 3rd row and highly doubt I can fit a 3rd. In a previous rental Expedition, we could fit 3 car seats side by side in the 2nd row with bench configuration. I HIGHLY recommend taking a look at a MAX for the extra trunk space because when you have the 3rd row up in a regular length unit, the trunk is only about 1 foot deep at the bottom and tapers down at the top since the seats are reclined to better fit the car seats.

Our biggest regrets were not choosing a bench 2nd row and also not buying a MAX model. The Tilt & Slide feature for the 2nd row is a game changer when you have car seats installed on 2nd row bench and still want easy access to 3rd row.

I'd second the max. 1wk vacation with rented max and we were too spoiled to look at anything else. Bought our own as soon as we were expecting #3. We took car seats and luggage to dealerships to test other vehicles. Very quickly ruled out older Traverses due to lack of tip/slide making 3rd row useless. Same for Tahoe/Burbans (before current generation was out). Luggage to simulate our semi regular weekend trips to in-laws (thankfully) made a minivan seem like not a great fit. Newest generation Traverse also would have been ok too, but you're 1 stroller away from being packed to max with either.

My 2004 seats 9 (bench front seat). Limited storage space with 3rd row used for seating.