Where do I start!!??

[twindaddy]

Hi all
I am living up to my PCForum username as my wife and I have had news yesterday that we are expecting Twins, AGAIN!! We already have a 5yr son and twin girls who are 3yrs and thought we'd make it an even number! How wrong were we!! lol I don't know anyone who has had 2 sets of twins (without IVF etc of course) so thought the risk was low of having another set naturally!!!

It brings few questions which someone may be able to answer.
Firstly - The car we will need!! We currently have a 7 seater VW Touran but we wouldn't get our current twin pushchiar behind the back seats when all 7 seats are in use so we need a new 7 seater which had a bit more room behind the rear most seat BUT, the vehicle needs to be a good tow vehicle also as we will no longer all fit into my Defender as only has 5seats so the familt car will become the tow car. (Wife will not entertain van/light commercial type people carriers like VW Caravelle as I have already asked) lol
Which leads me nicely onto the caravan - Since knowing we were expecting we had started to nose around online at 6 berth vans and while the children are young I don't want to have anything to plush so will limit my spend to about 5-6k. Want as big as possible, we had singled out the Avondale Argente 650 due to it's door being at the lounger end and the huge back bedroom having 4 bunks. Would anyone like to recommend any other options for a large young family. This time next year when we go on our first outing, we will have a 6yr old, 2x 4yr olds and 2x 6month babies (Babies will share a travel cot at this age still)

So there you have it - Car needs to change, caravan needs to change and the house went on the market Friday!
Thanks in advance for any recommendations
'Twin'daddy x2 soon

 

[Mel]

Heartiest congratulations, the predisposition to having twins is genetic (they "run in families"

) so 2 lots is less unusual than you thought. Can't really help with the questions, except that the family across the road who have similarly larger numbers of children (as singletons, not twins) have a VW Transporter. Looks very nice, but they don't tow with it, so couldn't say if it will. Vans with triple bunks and a dinette may work for you. Oldest three in bunks, babies on the double with a cot side?
best wishes
mel

 

[twindaddy]

Heartiest congratulations, the predisposition to having twins is genetic (they "run in families"

) so 2 lots is less unusual than you thought. Can't really help with the questions, except that the family across the road who have similarly larger numbers of children (as singletons, not twins) have a VW Transporter. Looks very nice, but they don't tow with it, so couldn't say if it will. Vans with triple bunks and a dinette may work for you. Oldest three in bunks, babies on the double with a cot side?
best wishes
mel

Thanks Mel - My Wife's grandmother is indeed have two sets herself but she did have 9 pregnancies so we didn't think we would get caught out in just 3!! LOL.
Out of all those triple bunk vans, do any of the side dinette than accompny the triple bunks in the rear bedroom convert to a bed larger than a single? - I always assumed, and possibly wrongly, that they the side bed would always be a small single.
TD

 

[Sproket]

Back in the real world.........
You don't want a MPV with what you have got due you need one of these

Plenty of seating & load capacity with space for prams ect: it also has a good towing capacity of 2000kg

 

[twindaddy]

Back in the real world.........
You don't want a MPV with what you have got due you need one of these

Plenty of seating & load capacity with space for prams ect: it also has a good towing capacity of 2000kg

I can't persuade her! I was thinking VW transporter/caravelle but no go!

 

[Gagakev]

Out of all those triple bunk vans, do any of the side dinette than accompny the triple bunks in the rear bedroom convert to a bed larger than a single? - I always assumed, and possibly wrongly, that they the side bed would always be a small single.
TD

Hi Twin Twin Daddy Daddy, congratulations.
On the dinette subject we have one in our van with a bunk bed above, away last weekend and grandson wanted to sleep in the top bunk for the first time, with this the daughter couldnt be bothered to make up the front double so said she would try the bottom bunk of the dinette, she said it was more comfortable than the double!! and slept there for three nights and she's a full grown 30 year old adult, so dont think they are as small as you may think.

 

[Sproket]

The Avondale Argente 650 has a MTPLM of 1700kg ........
Good luck in you search for a new tug........

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Twintwindaddy!

Congratulations I hope next nine months go smoothly and safely and are long enough to get everything ready.

Your wife must have her reasons for discounting the like of the VW Caravelle and the MB Viano, which is a shame as they would probably be very good for your needs, and that's the point, you need a vehicle to meet your needs not your whim's, however---

Seven seat cars/mpv's with lots of luggage room is not impossible:- diesels are the obvious choice

I currently have a W plate phase 3 Renault Grande Espace, 2.2 DT (115bhp) 1700Kg Towed weight limit which certainly provides 7 good (reclining) seats, and the 30cm extra length over the standard model is all in the rear space behind the last row of seats. I think it would be big enough for the double buggy and other paraphernalia but is is certainly bigger than the Ford/VW/SEAT, or the Fiat/Citroen/Peugeot equivalents.

I think the later models have ISOfix points on all the 5 rear seats which may be of interest for carrying a brood of young children.

It drives and tows well for its size and weight, surprisingly quiet inside. Children of all sizes love it for the airy cabin, and the views out, Some people reckon it may a little be short on power, but it has always been ample for UK road and site conditions, and I tow caravans and large box trailers up to 1700Kg actual weight.

Be warned Renault do have a habit of quoting their cars towing limit as Gross Train Weight - Mass in Running order = Max towed weight. This means as you load the car you have to reduce the towed weight limit by the same amount. So you have to be careful with your loading! Good second hand examples can be found well within your budget, its just a shame they don't have a particularly good reliability record, though mine has been reasonable.

Later phase three and phase four Espace's are rated to tow up to 2000kG, but do check the weight limits. All the DCI engines have more bhp than my 2.2DT and better fuel economy.

The other large MPV's worth looking at is the Kia Sedona, and possibly the Chrysler Voager which despite its American origins, in European guise it has a rather small towed weight limit of only 1600kG.

 

[DeliDave_]

We have a Hyundai i800 and an 04 Ford Galaxy 7 seater and in the galaxy with 7 seats used there is very little luggage space behind the seats.Also if the children cant buckle themselves in,it is very cramped folding the seats forward and leaning in to secure them.In the Hyundai 8 seater there is room for luggage behind the seats and there is a lot more room for access.You could remove the single seat as I have done which would allow one person to secure the children in the back row of 3 seats while one person did the two children in the dual middle row seat.Also in the unfortunate event of a rear end collision there is more of a crumple zone.Good luck with your decision

Edited for spelling

 

[NigelDonnelly]

Wow! Congratulations!

Choice of car and van presents some pretty unique challenges! A VW Caravelle is a good suggestion despite protests - certainly quite car-like compared to most other van-derived buses and they can have quite plush interiors. If not though, Peugeot 807 is actually an eight-seater, so might offer options to stow a single seat to free up some interior space. We have tested one too - Peugeot 807 review - Good mechanically too.

In terms of the van, would a Bailey Ranger 620/6 cope? It has a fixed rear bed but a travel cot may fit between the front bench seats, and leave you two benches either side for two more little 'uns. Your six year old could occupy the side bunk.The layout is broadly the same as the current Olympus 620/6 if you want to compare.

Another option could be an Abbey Vogue 600 - this has fixed bunks in the centre of the van but the bottom ones lifts out of the way. This would leave huge space for a travel cot, but would end up with one pair of twins on the put-up bunks and the six year old on the top fixed bunk. Not ideal.

Will keep thinking though!

 

[emmerson]

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Twin Daddy! We always wanted twins, but as we're now in our seventies, I suppose its too late!

I can't offer advice on your caravan choice, but I can throw the Chrysler Grand Voyager into the pot. Never owned one, but hired, and it carried six people and luggage for week, and two wheelchairs, in superb comfort, with acres of room. There were allsorts of boxes and hidey holes under the seats and the floor, and it went like stink. Around mid twenties on fuel, as I remember, but I did drive it hard. I didn't tow with it, but it did have a towball, so I presume someone must have done.

 

[twindaddy]

Many thanks for all your words of congratulations and all your recommendations..

I done a bit of research over the past 2 evenings and I am hoping either the 2007-on Galaxy or 2008-on Grand Voyager will be suitable. I plan to go and take a look at one of each and try our 2 baby car seats with isofix bases actually in the car. My concern is that although the galaxy will take the car seats with ease, I won't be able to tilt the side seats forward to get 2 children in the rearmost seats. With regards to the Grand Voyager - the seating issue won't be a problem here with its 2-2-3 configuration but I am concerned on its reliability and am dissppointed with its 1600kg towing limit. The caravans I have been looking at are around 1600kg!!!
The best answer is still the caravelle type vehicles so I may have to work harder on Mrs TD. (5 years ago she was concerned about driving anything bigger than her A-class when we bought the VW Touran, so a van size vehicle may be a step to far!) although the Grand voyager and Galaxy can't be much different in overall size to a van.

We plan to use the caravan a 3or4 times, with a long stay on a THS in the school summer holidays and then sell it and take a fresh look at what is available after Christmas, by which time the babies will be here and we would have hopefully moved house too!
TD

 

[hortimech]

cannot understand this, the Ford Galaxy is virually the same vehicle as a Volkswagen sharan & the Seat Alhambra, really only the badges have been changed to protect the innocent.

So if Mrs TD is willing to drive one of these, why not one of its ever so slightly bigger brothers, the caravelle? I cannot speak for driving the caravelle, but I have driven thousands of miles in its commercial brother, a TD van, they are comfortable, easy to drive, fairly quiet and not bad on fuel, they will also tow around 2000kg.

I think that if you were to get Mrs TD to sit in one, she might change her mind, she would find that they are as easy to drive as a car and with being sat higher up, visibilty is better i.e. you can see over hedges & fences etc.