I am in the market for a van to use for dog shows.
I haven't needed one before but my SUV is not user friendly when carting 3 dogs to shows any longer.

What are some opinions on what vans are the best?
I could do a mini van I guess. That would be better all around as it's not too big to use as an everyday vehicle as well.

I am not sure whether to go domestic or import????

I love my Chrysler Town and Country Limited. Stow and Go Seats rock! It holds 4 400 crates easily. Decent gas mileage (18 and 25).

Toni

I agree with Toni. I have a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country Touring and I love it. It is my second Town and Country. It is my every day family vehicle and I regularly change the seats for people and then stow them for dog crates. Gas mileage is pretty good as well.
Julia

Have had both minivans and full-sized vans. By far, if you are only going to need to transport 3 Labs, the minivan is the way to go both for gas mileage and maneuverability. I did use the minivans to transport 4 Labs for quite some time but simply found that didn't give me enough room for 4 dogs AND all their supplies, my luggage, a cooler, etc. So at that point, I bit the bullet and moved up to a full-sized van. Yes, the gas mileage suffered, but from a space standpoint, you can't beat it.

The minivans beat the full-sized vans as far as ventilation goes. With all the windows you can open and the slider doors on both sides, you can get nice cross breezes for the dogs. Some of the minivans even have windows that roll down in the slider doors now too. Not having rear-seat doors on the driver side of the full-sized van is one of my complaints. I have to be a lot more creative to keep the dogs cool in there than I did with the minivans.

I've had a Chryler (Grand Caravan/Town & Country)and a GM (Chevy Venture/Pontiac Montanna/Olds Silhouette). Really liked both and packed quite a few miles on them. I had 4 crates in each-24 x 36's. In the GM's, I had a few more inches of storage space between the top of the crates and the headliner. Plus, the GM vans got better gas mileage than the Chryslers.

My Dodge had the Stow N' Go seats. While it was convenient to just fold the seats into the floor rather than have to remove the seat and find someplace to store it, I wasn't happy with the stowable seats overall. If you did use those seats to sit in, they weren't as comfortable as the other kind. The ground clearance with the Dodge was shorter so I often had ground clearance issues if I had to drive off pavement. I was disappointed with those two issues in addition to having less storage space on top of the crates.

Another big advantage of the minivan--if you've only got 3 or 4 dogs to transport--is that they now all have sliding doors on both sides. Some have much better ventilation options in back than they used to have. I've put nearly 125K miles on my Chevy Venture, but have had to turn the front passenger seat into storage for the cooler, etc. I'm looking at the Honda Odyssey or the Toyota Sienna as possible replacements in addition to the Chrysler/Dodge option.

"Not having rear-seat doors on the driver side of the full-sized van is one of my complaints".

There are many full size vans at the shows now that have doors behind the driver AND on the passenger side.

I think you would be sorry if you don't get the full size van. Having the storage room and the opportunity to cart 5 full size crates/dogs when you chose to is a good thing. Having too much space is never a problem. The gas mileage isn't that much different if you have the 1/2 ton engine.

We bought a 2007 Sienna after a bunch of research. I considered the Toyota, the Odyssey, a Town and Country, and a Chevy full size cargo van.
The Town and Country was the first to go for two reasons, it is poorly rated on Consumer Reports plus I understand on the 2007 later you cannot get 2 full sized crates side by side in the back, close but they will not go.
Next I eliminated the full sized van due to gas mileage (even on the small engine I would give up 4-5 miles per gallon) and it just was not as practical as having a mini that could double has a car. I hated the space I gave up but.........
Now between the Honda and Toyota, they are both highly rated by CR, both have similar features so it just came down to price where the Sienna was about $2,000 cheaper than the Odyssey.
One feature I was not aware of was the second row seat will fold up leaving more than enough room for three crates plus the dog stuff without taking them out. Of course taking the seats out you can haul 4 easily. On the negative side of a mini-van is ground clearance, I miss my Astro for that.

I am just a few miles away from putting 100,000 miles on another Dodge Grand Caravan. I love the stow n go seats in it. I often would have to try to remove the seat in my older vans by myself. Not fun. I have traveled w/ 4 crates and gear w/o problems. I get better than 26 mpg on highways, unless I am in the mountains. The one thing I hate about this van is the drivers seat is not power and it is uncomfortable. I agree w/ the other poster that the back seats are also not very comfortable.
I once rented a Toyota Sienna that had power seats and it was VERY comfortable to drive. I wish they had stow and go seats!
I have considered getting a full size van but the gas mileage is the deal breaker. I would have to also have a small car to do my running around town.

I just bought a Kia Sedona. LOVE it.

I like a full size Chevy, V8, with doors on driver and passenger. Gas mileage for me is not that big of a deal since I only use it for dog shows. You can find used conversion full size vans with realtively low mileage for a good price vs. passenger vans.

To me, a mini van doesn't give you much more than a suburban.

Only the GM full-sized vans have the 2nd row doors on the driver's side as an option. It is VERY difficult to find one of those vans used and I couldn't afford to buy one new since this van would not be my daily driver and would pretty much only be used for dog shows. In my search for a used full-sized van, the Ford vans tend to be much less expensive than the GM vans.

Love my full-sized van for how many dogs and how much "stuff" it can haul. Am not thrilled about the gas mileage but it's as good as can be expected. It can be awkward to drive around town if it needs to be your "daily driver" though due to its size. The full-sized vans don't alway fit into parking structures or even some parking spaces!

Ah yes, forgot about that--part of my decision to switch to a full-sized van. The way the plastic trim comes down in the rear hatch area, one can no longer fit standard sized 24" x 36" x 25" crates in there. I think only with the narrower Midwest Side-by-Side crates that you can get two crates in the back now while still also having two full-sized crates in the middle row. I wasn't about to sacrifice the size of the crates for my dogs as I want them to be able to stretch out on those long road trips to specialties.

And because of the way the trim goes in the rear hatch area not allowing you to position those back crates right up againt the tailgate, you also can't push the crates in the 2nd row as far back as with the older vans so therefore can't position the driver's seat way far back. You might be in trouble if you are a tall driver and need to haul four Labs in the Chrysler.

My 2007 T&C Limited fits two 400 Vari-Kennel crates beautifully in the back.

Toni

Honda Odyssey all the way! Love it!

Wow, you have all given me some great information!!
I am going to go out and test drive and see what I like from whats been suggested.
One question.
Other than the 2077 and later Chyrslers, can you fit two 36" crates in the rest of the mini vans mentioned?
Honda is one that caught my eye and well as the Kia.
Thanks!!!!

You certainly can on both the Honda and Toyota with some room to spare, on the Kia I don't know. Just personally I have a problem with the cars from Korea as they only allow 5,000 US made in their country. Maybe once they start making their cars here I will feel differently.

Bonnie, just a note, the back seats in both the Toyota and Honda stow and go which will then hold two crates. At least on the Toyota, you just pull a lever and the middle row will fold forward up next to the front seats giving room for another crate plus a bunch of other junk. Of course if you take the middle row completely out, you have room for a 4th crate.

we love our Ford Windstar. It has 139,000 miles and still going strong. I'd buy another one as soon as this one dies. Its 10 years old. Great ventilation system, evenly cooled. Can fit 5-6 400 vari-kennels if bungi corded.

I've got a 2006 and I love my Honda. It's my second Odyssey. Handles terrific in all types of weather and gets decent gas mileage too.

Does the Honda have a tow pkg? I'd like to be able to tow my 3500lb camper.

Buy American!

It's hard to buy American when Ford and GM no longer even build a minivan. They only offer full-sized vans to my knowledge. I think Chrysler/Dodge is the only so called American car company still producing a minivan and even that is narrower in the back than the previous version making it difficult to fit full-sized metal crates in the third row.

If a car company doesn't make the product that suits your needs, you find one that does. For the most part, the other vehicles (save the full-sized vans/Sprinters) GM, Ford, and Chrysler make don't come close to meeting the needs of dog show folks.

I have a Chevy Venture that we got because it can carry 3 passengers in the middle and still dogs in the back. We can get a 500 series and a 400 series next to each other in the back. Or a 400 series, and 2 300 series all with the middle seats in yet.
With seats out I've fit 5 400 series in there as well as much more (folded wire crates on top, gear, food, ect.) We get great gas milage on this van.
My parents bought a new Toyota Sienna and I've used that a few times. I LOVE the fact that the rear seats fold flat into the floor but aren't as flimsy as the stow and go seats (we have friends with them). If I'd had the money to get a Toyota with the 3 middle seats I'd have done this. We measured and have about 4 more inches lengthwise in the Chevy and 2-3 inches more width wise. Both are nice to drive.
Both have tow packages too.

To address the poster who (rightfully) suggested to buy american. What is american these days.

Is a dodge built in canada american, what about the fords built in mexico? I believe the toyotas are made in kentucky and the hondas in ohio.

What is better for our economy? It makes sense to buy american, but if the honda oddessy is putting american workers to work and the chevy is putting mexicans to work - who benefits.?

I am thinking about the Honda myself.
I have looked at Toyota, Kia, Honda and Chrysler and like the Honda best so far.
I have a T&C now but if i want anything newer than a 2006 (which I do) I can't use a Chrysler as my crates will not fit across the back
Also, I love the sliding rear door windows that roll down in the Honda, Toyota and Kia.
Chrysler does not have that.

I know it isn't a minivan, but I must say I am very happy with my full sized Chevy truck. I bought it last summer because I needed a bigger rig to haul the horses, the Suburban just didn't feel safe. Of course at that time they were practically giving trucks away, they still are. I have a canopy and can easily fit four crates and all my x-pens, etc. in the back and still have the whole front, which will fit five people. Or I can fold the back seat flat and put two more crates in there, or let the older girls ride loose. Some people don't like the climbing in and out of the back, and it is a big rig when it comes to parking and MPG, but it suits my needs well, is a very nice rig (leather, DVD player, etc), and has plenty of room for dog shows. I always felt like the full sized vans were a little unstable, I certainly wouldn't want to haul a trailer with one.

it has 85% domestic content. More than most GM vehicles.

I can get 5 - 400 crates in my Odyssey and I have a large Tule box on top for stowage if I'm really full.

Love my 2003 Odyssey. Had a Dodge G. Caravan Sport previous and wouldn't go back...very bad engine. Odyssey has much better road stability too.

Becky,
How do you keep it cool in the back of the truck?