Optimizing luggage storage in the minivan

Duane's trick for packing the minivan for a road trip:

Minivans are great for storage, until you have a third child and have to pull up the extra seat in the back, thus cutting your luggage space in half.  Next time you're playing jigsaw puzzle with the bags and trying to figure out how high you can go without running the risk that something with slide and bonk your oldest in the back of the head, take a moment to lift up all the headrests for each seat in that third row.  This effectively creates a wall between your child and your bags.  You can gain close to a foot of extra packing space while still protecting your little one's noggin.

I would add tie-down reinforcement when packing bags that high. Things will fly around the car if there's a crash.

Comments

[kim]

seriously... we got that $18 roof bag from BJ's and load all the clothes in it inside those flattened space bags so they are super flat and waterproofed. IT ALL FITS. then we just have kid gear in the vehicle and don't have bulky bags to worry about stuffing in.

[Duane]

I have a roofbag as well, and not everything stuffs in there nicely. I'm actually quite disappointed by how little I'm able to get on the roof. Although I do like the idea of using those flattening vacuum bags, I'll have to try that next time. Beats luggage.

[Jill in Atlanta]

Please secure anything packed in your car. To estimate the impact, multiply the weight of the object by the speed you are driving. The one pound item instantly becomes a deadly weapon at 65mph.