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New Mom and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

12K views 50 replies 35 participants last post by  ivantate 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone,

My husband and I are expecting our first child. We have both wanted a Jeep for a while but never owned one. Right now I have a large SUV that has plenty of room for camping, costco runs etc.

We are strongly considering the 2016 Wrangler Unlimited but my concern is the lack of room for stroller, camping gear, etc. We are very active people and love to have fun. Our baby will be coming everywhere with us.

I'm just curious as to experiences other parents have had when it comes to that. Maybe suggestions on how to make more room. I've seen some Jeeps that have the cargo basket on top of the car and some that have that trailer hitch basket.

How does the Jeep do for comfort, long drives, etc. This Jeep would be our main family car.

Thank you for any and all advice.
 
#2 ·
I suspect that by posting on a wrangler forum, the response is going to be pretty pro-wrangler. As for me, my kids have grown up in my Wranglers and I have no regrets. You can't pack as much stuff in them as a suburban, but they have plenty of room for the normal kid claptrap.

If space is an issue, you can certainly add a rooftop rack or a hitch carrier, both are readily available aftermarket.

Having said that, no Wrangler is ever going be as comfortable on a road trip as most SUV's. Whenever we take a long road trip, we typically take my wife's SUV. It's quieter and has slightly better road manners, plus it gets close to 10 MPG better mileage.

You can't beat the Wrangler for the fun factor, but have realistic expectations no matter what you decide.
 
#44 ·
I installed that stuff myself in the back when I 1st got my JKU in 2009. No one uses it now because you can pick up a 10in Android tablet for less than $100 and load it with movies, music and games where the kids have their own personal device that will keep them entertained for hours at a time. The teens are on their cell phones snap chatting, facebooking, netflixing, texting and tweeting. The days of built in rear seat entertainment systems are dead. Wifi hot spot is the trend now, so the rear seat passengers can access the net with their tablets.
 
#5 ·
What model/make is your current SUV?

Best advice is to go test drive one. It's easy to visualize how much room you'll have just by looking. But I'm sure the Wrangler Unlimited will be louder and not as smooth of a ride as what you have now. But it makes up for it when the top/doors are off.
 
#6 ·
Prior to my son being born, I had to trade in my current vehicle due to our outdoorsy lifestyle. I needed something that has a lot of room, easy accessibility, and gets over 300 per tank. I looked at the current offerings at the time, and nitpicked each vehicle. Although I was tempted to trade in my jeep a few weeks ago, I can't picture my life without a jeep. Its fun to drive, family oriented, comfortable on long camping trips with room to spare for my dogs, rugged, easy to clean (I spend less time cleaning my jeep than my other vehicles), and will get you anywhere you need to go on/offroad.
 
#7 ·
I would go to the dealership with a car seat and see how it is placing a car seat properly (Properly is the key word) in a jku/jkur.
 
#8 ·
How tall are you and your husband? With a rear facing car seat, the passenger or driver seat is going to be slid way forward, leaving almost no legroom. I'm 6'3 and my wife and I drove tons of different cars before my son was born trying out which had the most legroom for the front passengers when the car seat was in. The only vehicle that was acceptable to us in the Jeep family was the grand Cherokee which was way more car than my wife wanted both with regards to cost and size.

Unfortunately, when you come to a Jeep forum you are going to get 90% of the people telling you how unbelievable and great it is. If it's too good to be true, it probably is. (Previous posters have actually surprised me with their comments, way to go group!)

I would not recommend a JKU to anyone with children in rear facing car seats. Once they go to forward, they are fine, but until then, I would wait. Also, their onroad manners are horrible compared to equally priced suvs.

I have a JK that my 2.5 year old loves to ride in, but unless this is going to be a weekend vehicle, I'd avoid it.
 
#9 ·
^I agree with the rear facing car seat. It does limit the front passenger comfort. Prior to my son getting the front facing car seat, my wife would sit in the back with him on long trips and we use the front passenger as a dedicated storage area when we go camping. Short trips, she sits in the front.
 
#11 ·
Ah, I remember those times too.

I could not use the Mustang until the kid was old enough to switch to a front facing carseat. However, the rear facing seat worked in the (smaller) Civic because the Civic had a center seatbelt position in the rear, and using that, the carseat would fit between the two front seat backs (overhanging the console area).
 
#12 ·
So I have 5 kids (14, 12, 10, 8, 1.5 yrs). I recently installed 3rd row seating in my JKU. I bought a trailer for our stuff from these guys Small Cargo Trailers - small trailers, small travel trailers, trailer for sale. there are a lot of them out there. I can tell you we run with the doors and top off all the time. The baby loves it. You WILL want to get a mesh top at least for topless runs. it is amazing how quickly your head will burn.

There is so much gear you can buy for the JKU that you can make it fit anything. That being said. What you can do..list out what it important in your vehicle. Comfort, MPG, offroad capability, etc etc. The Wrangler is fun, it can get you places a minivan wont, running top down it really fun, but you wont get the entertainment system, you wont get the creature comforts, you wont get the poshness of a modern SUV. I have had the minivan with the entertainment system, we have a Trailblazer, and a Expedition as well. We have done long drives in them and they have a lot to offer.

I prefer the Jeep, and my kids love it because of the experience. It is distinct. it is fun. You can buy customizations to make the thing do anything you want (I would not be surprised to see one that makes it fly). When you get into the woods without the doors and the top down you are part of the surroundings...of course when you are downtown with the door off and top down in traffic with panhandlers and construction you are also part of the surroundings, lol.

We have a read facing car seat for the baby. We put it in the middle of the bench so it tilts between the driver and passenger seat and anchor it out to the latches on the inside of the left and right seat. We can move our seats up front easily and it is a little cramped for the 14 and 12 yr old but they manage.
 
#14 ·
the-ox nailed it. We have our grand daughter 2 days a week and she just turned 1yo. We fought the rear facing car seat for that year and gave up and got rid of the JKU for something else. Most people here will say you'll be fine but reality is it wasn't for us. Take a car seat with you and try it out. You can always get a jeep once the kids are out of the car seats.
 
#15 ·
I have 3 daughters. Car seat wise you will have to put the front facing car seat in the middle for a few months till your kid is rear facing and can go in one of the corners seats.

My recommendation is get a base sahara that has side steps. I have a jku sport s that did not have any so my daughters when they where younger had issues getting in and out. Get a hard top or dual top. Stroller will be a PITA to get in and out of the back with the soft top.
 
#16 ·
Most state laws mandate children under 12 months be in a rear facing car seat, so you are going to be in this position for more than a few months. I'm not going to tell you how to parent but your infant is safer in a rear facing than forward facing. Most pediatricians will tell you to keep rear facing as long as possible. For my wife and I, that was at 14 months because my son is so tall. For a coworker, it was at 24 months. Regardless, I'm going to assume that the safety of the OPs child is more important than their desire for a specific vehicle.

Great thread so far though, this has to be the most anti Wrangler thread I've ever read on here. Really impressed that the fanboys haven't come out to play.
 
#20 ·
A dissenting Opinion

Couple of things: Define your use case:
Is this a daily driver or long distance adventure/mutli-sport vehicle?

We have a mildly built 2007 Jeep Rubicon 4door...

1. Rear facing seats will need to be put in the middle...unless you want to be in the dashboard. If you are taller than 5' troll, the rear facing seat will not allow front seats to be slide back & be titled properly. I'm 6' and have a large frame, wife is 5'8" with longer legs/arms than me...she's a competitive figure skater & recreational runner and I have lots of sports injuries - we need to have the ability to stretch/move otherwise we are both miserably (me: back, hips, knees, neck; her: hips). We both love mtn, road biking, hiking & kayaking...

My 10 mo is >100% for height & weight. He grew out of his Briax seat at 4.5 months (length) and has been now in a Clek Fllo for quite a while. We tried all the various seats and cant imaging having a convertible car seat (while still rear facing) behind one of the front seats.

2. We travel...a lot...on really long trips.
We traveled from CA to ME (and back) with a 2.5mo (our on), our 90# St Bernard mix, and was full of outdoor gear (all backpacking style). We travel light and are minimalist. It was still very tight. We took a Fridge/Freezer to stockpile breastmilk & save money while traveling. I put a rack in the back (above the cargo area) to maximize space.

PM if you want more details. We were on the road for 7wks and 11k miles...in the heart of winter. We would do it again in a heartbeat....but honestly would prefer a larger vehicle to do it again. (See Number 5)

3. We now use a small offroad/jeep trailer when we Jeep camp...not that we need to, but it is infinitely more comfortable - less stress of trying to make sure the dog has enough room, our son, etc.

3.5 A large hitch rack has been a life saver for short trips when traveling with the dog, a Bob stroller, and misc gear. Again - not cause we need it, but because it makes it easier to get access to all the various gear. I have gear appropriate crates (which gets used a lot) to store on the rack...and will strap bikes to it as well. But most times, we opt for the small trailer - more space, more comfort for everyone. (NOT more crap...)

4. Be careful on the sizes of the stroller - look for the more compact strollers. We kept things small/light and are happier for it (except for the Bob ... we like the big tires for fire road/gravel hikes). My wife can visit her folks on the east coast with just a carryon (for her & the baby).

5. We love the Jeep - but are looking for a full size 4x4 van (e350 or sprinter) to replace the Jeep as our primary fun trip vehicle...The Jeep will continue to be our short trip/my DD - but the van will ultimately replace the Jeep as a our adventure vehicle. The jeep is just too small for our long distance/multi-sport/multi-season adventures. We travel any time of year, in any weather, for long periods at a time.

We are planning on a 2nd child and will be adding another dog too. Jeep is just too small to be comfortable with all those car seats & dogs - and travel comfortably. There are few places I will take my family where a Jeep is the only vehicle that can traverse a trail - most places, a built e350 will be fine. A 4x4 Sprinter will get into fewer places, but at the moment, I'd rather be happy for 99% of the trip than the 1% where only a Jeep can go.
 
#21 ·
Father of three teenagers here - 18, 15 and 15 (twins). We traveled a lot when the oldest was in her first two years of life. And most of it was driving. By the time we celebrated her first birthday, she'd been to 9 major league baseball parks, spanning the country: Boston, NY, Kansas City, Minneapoilis, Oakland, SF, LA, Cincinnati and Tampa.

I was absolutely stunned with the amount of crap we took/needed on road trips. We completely filled the trunk of a fullsized four door sedan (Dodge Intrepid) for a weeklong trip - stroller, bassinet, diapers, luggage, etc.

Honestly don't see it in a Wrangler. Besides the constant PITA of having to put the baby in the center of the rear bench seat. SUV or minivan is a much better choice, especially if you're planning on more than one. For most of the kids' lives, our two vehicles were a minivan and a Suburban. Now that they're older, we've gotten rid of the minivan and bought the two Jeeps in just the last 10 months. The Suburban is still the primary family vacation/road trip vehicle. In future vacations, we'll likely take the two Jeeps, but one just wouldn't be sufficient.
 
#24 ·
I was absolutely stunned with the amount of crap we took/needed on road trips. We completely filled the trunk of a fullsized four door sedan (Dodge Intrepid) for a weeklong trip - stroller, bassinet, diapers, luggage, etc.
Isn't that the truth. You take a diaper bag, stroller, Pack 'N Play, plus whatever else is needed for a day at the in-laws, and your compact SUV looks like you've taken up refugee status.

The earlier comment to make this Wrangler decision after the baby is born is sage advice.

You'll discover new must-have requirements that never would have crossed your mind before. Better to figure that out before you've signed on the dotted line...
 
#22 ·
Put the granddaughter in a rear facing seat in the middle. Had put blocks under the front supports of the rear seat to angle them a but to make it more comfortable for the little one and also for adults. Have put 3 adults, forward facing seat and rear facing seat in all at once. If you get the proper seats it works. You need to have narrow seats. And for the rear facing need to get the shortest one you can find. Cargo area is cargo area. I found there is enough space for the daily stuff. As some have mentioned a small trailer for the long trips is a great idea. Go with the hard top for noise reasons. As for entertainment, yes there are no rear entertainment systems for the rear as a factory option. There are always aftermarket headrest with built in screens or portable players or tablets.

Is the Wrangler an ideal vehicle for a family with small kids ( infant) , no. But it is very doable if you are willing to live within the constraints and make the necessary adjustments.
 
#23 ·
I have to admit, I'm slightly surprised that people think a JK Unlimited isn't big enough for a baby. How much stuff are you guys dragging around with you? I had an Audi A4 when my daughter was born and that was half the size of a Jeep. I've never had to put a rear facing seat in our Jeep but there is plenty of space back there for the kid seats we get here. I'm guessing US child seats must have different regulations. Do you use the Isofix system over there?
My advice would be to pick the child seat and take it to the dealer to see if it fits.
 
#25 ·
I don't think it's a cargo space issue, If I had a JKU already, I'd just keep it. But if I had a baby coming and was purchasing a vehicle, it wouldn't be a JKU. A major reason I purchased a Jeep was for option of taking the top doors off. With a newborn, I just wouldn't do it. Convertible cars already reach 85-95 db on the highway, I would think a jeep would be worse. The back seat angle is an issue that can be fixed. Plenty of cargo space (for me) for one kid. But if wasn't going to be taking the top or doors off for a while, I'd probably just get an SUV that had higher safety ratings, more space (if you need it) and more comfort features. Some things are just more important than jeeps and a newborn is one of them.
 
#27 ·
We have had a Jeep JKU since my son was 6 months old. It is our third vehicle my wifes main vehicle being a 2012 Ford Edge. I would say the room in the jeep is comparable to the edge, or any other mid size SUV. As far as a car seat goes my son is still in a rear facing he sits in the middle of the back seat and clipped to the anchors on both sides I have had 2 rear facing and one booster all in the back at the same time its cramped but not too bad. The only vehicle that set up is not cramped in is in my F250. On a side note still not sure why theres no anchors in the middle seat of vehicles. It is easier to put a car seat in the middle of the jeep that it is in my mother-in-laws 14 Explorer, it is a huge PITA.

A stock JKU drives just like any other 4X4 SUV IMO, go drive one. My wife drives the Jeep more that her edge even though now that its lifted its harder to get my son in and out of and rides a bit rougher with the mud tires it has on it.

I thought that was the main reason for Jeep building the JKU was to appeal more to families and cover more of the market.
 
#28 ·
Slow internet double post
 
#29 · (Edited)
I can't understand why people believe they need a Tahoe or a Suburban the moment they have a child.

If you cannot fit a child seat, a stroller and a diaper bag in the back of a Wrangler Unlimited, either clean out some of the cr*p you keep back there or go to REI and get some clever stuff that takes up less space.
 
#31 ·
If you cannot fit a child seat, a stroller and a diaper bag in the back of a Wrangler Unlimited, either clean out some of the cr*p you keep back there or go to REI and get some clever stuff that takes up less space.
It's the rear facing seats. They are a bitch to fit between the rear seat back and front seat back.
 
#30 ·
Rear facing was real tight in my A4. I'm 5'8" and was able to move the front seat up a little.
We found the Chicco KeyFit 30 was known as one of the more compact seats and that worked for us.
Was nice to finally flip it around though. They say two years now but we didn't go that long.
 
#34 ·
I only have one kid, three years old--we have another on the way, but I do not have any experience with rear facing car seats.

As for the luggage capacity, I can comment on that. If you know how to pack, you can get a lot of crap in the back of a JKU. We took a two week trip to Florida last year, and while I tried to pack light, the wife and kiddo did not. We had a large suitcase, two carry on size suit cases, two or three backpacks, two large beach totes full of crap, water inflatables, my mirrors, a stroller, 2 decent size kids boxes full of more beach clothes and toys, a diaper bag, a diaper back pack, and a full size aid bag that I always leave in my Jeep--plus a bunch of other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting. The rear compartment was full up, and I could barely see out the back window, but I was surprised how much stuff I could fit in there. It was all about using ALL of the space (between the roll bars and back of the hard top, over the rear wheel well, etc).

Rightline Gear offers some Jeep specific bags that will help you get the most out of your storage space too--I don't find them necessary, but if you stink at packing, then this could help maximize your storage space.
 
#35 ·
Current parent here with a 1 year old and a 3 year old. The Jeep is my wife's DD but she doesn't travel far to do her daily stuff unless she wants to go somewhere. She averages around 16-17mpg with her driving style.

She's 5ft, I'm 6'1 and with the rear facing full car seat I can sit in both front seats no problem. My Daughter's front facer is even better with plenty of room.

We've had our JKU for almost a month now and have yet to have an issue with anything other than the doors closing on us when loading/unloading kids (not a big deal, they make hinges to fix that if it was). She does miss the sliding doors of her van but the coolness factor/top off experience with the kids overrides that on a daily basis.

The back area has more than enough space for the kids stuff/strollers, bags, misc junk you need when out all day with two toddlers etc. I bought a seat cover to go on the back that's water proof/dog proof and the rest of it has been pretty easy to keep clean. Kids will make a mess with ANYTHING so for me, being able to clean it out easily is a huge plus with the jeep. I've already had to take the rear carpet out and it was cool that I could do so.

Overall we're still very happy with the purchase, we don't expect that to wear off and as the kids grow they'll get to have a unique experience with what would otherwise be boring transportation.
 
#39 ·
My wife drives our JKU with a 2.5" Lift and 33.5" tires. We have a Graco Click Connect (unsure of exact model) rear facing that is in the middle of the bench seat. My wife is 5' 2" and is able to install the seat without issue. I will say that the rear seat in the JKU is bare minimum for a car seat, IMO. But, it's a jeep, not a minivan. Also keep in mind that only the passenger and driver side of the rear seat has anchors. If you install in the middle you will need to use the belt to secure the seat.
 
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