How do you like the 3rd row models

[2012sr5]

I love and use my 3rd row all the time. We have three boys, aged 1, 3, and 5. They can fit in their car seats across the second row, but they do better spread out. My 5 year old loves having the 3rd row all to himself. We split the 2nd row with the middle part down so he can climb over that way. Sometimes, he likes to go in through the liftgate as well.

The 3rd row does eat up about 5" of vertical space in the back, but I can't think of anything that I'd need to haul in the cargo area that I can't haul because of that very small loss of cargo height. If I need more space, I'll grab my 5x8 trailer or my wife's Suburban (the main kid hauler).

The one thing I wasn't excited about is the very slight downward slope of the cargo area toward the liftgate in 3rd row models. But since I don't haul loose wine bottles or anything else that might fall out when I open the liftgate, I decided to wait for a 3rd row model when I started my search.

If you think at all that you might use the 3rd row, you may as well be patient and find the right 4Runner with one. You'll have it when you need it (which'll be more often than you think), and when it's folded up, you don't even know it's there.

 

[mrblah]

I like them about as much as the ones in the first two rows :heh:

I quoted you, because I couldn't hit the like button x4...lol....

In all seriously, the 3rd row is pretty useful if you have a need for it, such as children old enough to not need child seats, but small enough to fit back there. I went on a 800 mile road trip in my buddy's limited w/ 3rd row, and I am glad I never had to sit back there, but the children didn't mind at all. As we all know, happy wife (and children) equals happy life.

 

[DOODS]

I love and use my 3rd row all the time. We have three boys, aged 1, 3, and 5. They can fit in their car seats across the second row, but they do better spread out. My 5 year old loves having the 3rd row all to himself. We split the 2nd row with the middle part down so he can climb over that way. Sometimes, he likes to go in through the liftgate as well.

The 3rd row does eat up about 5" of vertical space in the back, but I can't think of anything that I'd need to haul in the cargo area that I can't haul because of that very small loss of cargo height. If I need more space, I'll grab my 5x8 trailer or my wife's Suburban (the main kid hauler).

The one thing I wasn't excited about is the very slight downward slope of the cargo area toward the liftgate in 3rd row models. But since I don't haul loose wine bottles or anything else that might fall out when I open the liftgate, I decided to wait for a 3rd row model when I started my search.

i just got a new 3rd row model and it sure is slope down, but will see

 

[2012sr5]

i just got a new 3rd row model and it sure is slope down, but will see

Yeah, but as long as you're not hauling loose wine bottles or watermelons or something that rolls freely, it should be fine. My kid's soccer ball falls out when parked on level ground, so I just keep that in the second row on the floor, or I put one of the 3rd row seats up when we head to practice.

 

[WilikLimbs]

I don't have any pictures of the stroller directly on my rack (Frontrunner 3/4) but it would be super easy to throw up and bungee it down. You could easily imagine putting them up on the rack similar to how I have my sport tube tied down in the pictures below. Usually when I know I'm going to use the 3rd row (i.e. Grandparents in town) I'll throw on my Yakima skybox 16 to toss stuff in. I like this option because it is lockable, weatherproof, and can easily hold a couple of folding (umbrella strollers) and snap-n-go's as well as any other stuff that won't fit behind the 3rd row. If we needed our Bob or bike trailer dually I would not hesitate to throw it right on the rack. The other thing about the skybox is that it is compatible with Thule crossbars, Yakima crossbars, OEM crossbars or as you can see below the Feontrunner.

I don't think a roof rack matters much here if the stroller in question is a foldable one. Like the only reason why you would put a stroller on your car rack is because it won't fit into your car. But if it's foldable, why won't it fit in? I don't know if you get what I'm saying. That's why I'd say it's not a matter of rack but a matter of stroller. There was even this stroller I recently got; I can say it's one of the best if not the best stroller for city living. There were many on the website tho, but I chose the one that made much more sense to me.