Please help - minivan or large SUV?
 

We are a family of 6 people, 4 adults and 2 children 10 and 12 traveling from Northern CA to Yellowstone next month. I rented a minivan thinking it would be large enough but didn't realize the rental companies don't have vans with luggage racks, nor are you allowed to attach one. I don't believe we'll have enough room for all of our luggage. Would a large (Suburban) SUV be a better choice? Renting a small RV is not really an option for us. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Are you going camping? Is that why you have so much luggage?

A quick Google search showed the two to have the same "cargo volume".

Well, it all comes down to how much luggage you have. I recently rented a mini-van for 6 people and we had plenty of room for our luggage. If you and your travel companions “pack light” you should be fine. If however, you all feel the need to bring along a lot of extraneous “stuff” then all bets are off.

Renting a Suburban or similar size large SUV may not give you much extra luggage room, especially if you configure the car for 3 rows of seats.

We'll have 6 suitcases total - one for each of us so we're not over packing....but they are all larger than a carry-on for sure. We are not camping. We are staying at one of the parks hotels. It just seems with the third seat we'll need in the minivan...it really cuts down any luggage space.

You can pull up "specs" for any model vehicle online to compare. As above, and I'm no expert, but the SUV did not appear to give more storage room than a mini van.

Well - seems there is always a lot of debate on specifications between minivans and large SUVs and likely you will be squeezed on cargo space in either scenario with 6 suitcases so it's not a clear cut decision. However, in similar situations we always go with a large SUV (Suburban or the like) versus a minivan because the cargo space, albeit not that different in total, is easier for us to pack tightly in a Suburban (more squared off and horizontal space) than in a typical minivan (more tilted and vertical space which we find harder to stack suitcases or similar square objects). But be warned there is a trade-off with ease of entry/exit for the 3rd row passengers as a minivan is often more comfortable for those in the 3rd row plus in our experience a suburban is usually more expensive to rent (but that may not be true originating in Northern CA)...

We own a Honda Odyssey for hauling around our kids and it's generally great and super convenient but the cargo space is a bit annoying when three rows in use since you have to stack everything. We fly several times a year to our vacation home near Yellowstone and if we think we will be hauling extra people around, we always rent a Suburban as easier to put in coolers/bins/suitcases and access them when going to lakes, etc. In either case with 6 people you might be able to fold down one of the 3rd row seats for more cargo space.

Good luck and be prepared for a pretty boring drive on I-80 across Nevada if you haven't done it before .... :)

I would go with the Chevy Suburban. Even with the 3rd row seat, you will still have a reasonable amount of cargo space - enough for 6 reasonably-sized suitcases. With a mini-van, you really do lose a lot of the cargo space with the 3rd row seat up. You can do a google image search and see what the cargo areas of these vehicles look like to get an idea.

If you want to shop price you might shop for a 15 passenger van vs suburban which can sometimes get a premium price.
How long is your trip.
I will say that on a 6 week trip with our family of 5 (some teens) we packed in soft duffels which can "deflate" as clothes get dirty and the dirty clothes duffel "inflates". AND we were camping but had sort of built a place to store camping equipment when needed--this was a custom van.
But choosing the packing type of duffel/suitcase can make for more room.

>>We'll have 6 suitcases total - one for each of us so we're not over packing....but they are all larger than a carry-on for sure. <<

Why do you need six full sized suitcases? It will simplify your life no end to pack light. 19 or 21 inch roll aboards and/or carry on sized duffels should fit in either type vehicle.

Just curious—do you ever fly anywhere? If so, do you check luggage or use carryons?

It depends on the minivan. I check a local rental agency which offers a Dodge Grand Caravan 7 passenger and also a Toyota Sienna 8 passenger. When we owned minivans there was a big difference in the amount of cargo space between a regular Caravan and the Grand Caravan. But a 7 passenger has a gap between the middle two seats for third row access. Suspect the Sienna requires folding back a middle row seat to get to the third row. Might be ok for kids. Four of us do a weekend trip in a friend's minivan and there is enough luggage space. We each bring a suitcase plus bags of other stuff like a small cooler. But I would not rent a basic Caravan if it didn't have the larger cargo space. I would not rent the Sienna because of more difficult access to third row. The Suburban might be ideal but also more expensive for gas.

The issue you are likely to have is not so much the volume, but rather the shape of the luggage. Six pieces of luggage shapes won't just fit anywhere in the vehicle. A trick we've used in the past is to either

a) make one or 2 of the pieces a duffel bag that can squish and fit next to passengers on a spare seat, on the floor, or stuffed against the rear window
b) bring along some heavy duty/contractor trash bags and put clothes/soft items into bags when you get the car. You can stack nest several of the suitcases together - smaller one (still full) inside one of the larger, now empty ones to save space.

b is not elegant, but works.

Remember, you are not guaranteed any particular model when you rent a car -- a "suburban" may just as likelly be a large Dodge or Ford SUV.
Personally, for 6 people, I like the idea of a 10 person full sized van.

IMHO the minivan is more user friendly and comfortable, assuming there are "captains" chairs in the 2nd row. Let the kids squeeze into the 3rd row. plenty of storage behind and maybe under the third row depending on the model.

>>Remember, you are not guaranteed any particular model when you rent a car -- a "suburban" may just as likelly be a large Dodge or Ford SUV.<<

That is the big problem. One is never guaranteed a specific vehicle. There will be a " . . . or similar" note on any rental booking. So either rent a larger vehicle class like a 10 passenger van, or pack as light as you can so you can cope with whatever they give you.

Keep the minivan... seating for 7 or eight means plenty of room on extra seat, floor, and behind third row...

If you look on the car rental agency websites they should tell you how many pieces of luggage their vehicles hold. You can try calling the location you're using and ask which vehicle you are likely to get.

Alamo does the Dodge Grand Caravan as their 7-passenger minivan which they distinguish from their 8-passanger minvan (Toyota Sienna). Of course there is always the qualifier "or similar".

I agree that the children at least should probably pack in duffles and not hard sided cases.

While we own an SUV up here in snow country our last two vacations with six adults (us, two sons and their wives) we've rented minivans. Cargo space is about a wash, but getting in and out of the minivan with the power sliding doors is so much easier especially with frequent sightseeing stops. Better gas mileage doesn't hurt either.

My family used a Toyota Sienna for a vacation trip (Hawaii). We were only 5 adults but there was tons of room. Nice vehicle.

I think you will be okay unless like us you have one person that brings enough for 3 even with the ! bag limit.

I drove several vans and things stack well in back and kids can have stuff at feet.

HOw can children need "larger than a carryon". And how long will you be gone on this trip? "WAY too much luggage.

You do realize it's possible to do laundry at least once during a 6 week trip? So you don't need to bring 42 outfits?

Thank you all for your help. I think we'll stick with the mini van and use duffel bags for the kids. :)

Duffel bags are a great idea (honesly, for everyone). We recently bought completely soft-sided (read: crushable) Eagle Creek bags that open like a suitcase but also have backpack and regular straps, and handles, no wheels so they are light as a feather. They are so easy to handle, and can be stuffed into much smaller spaces than a regular suitcase (like an airplane overhead - they're so light I have no trouble lifting them over my head either)

I'd recommend a collapsible cooler bag also..easier to pack than a hardsided one (although doesn't keep food cold for quite as long). May a small igloo too keep a few things in the back seat, in addition to a soft one in the trunk space.

An even better style duffel we have used is one with a compartment in the bottom. We were on a European trip and needed "dressier" clothes for a couple of occasions and could leave these undisturbed in the bottom.
I am still wondering how long this trip is and why the adults need "larger than carryons". Coolers are a good idea. The kids will want a backpack something to keep their media needs together and organized.

They said 6 weeks.

Why did I think it was 6 weeks?