ScionLife.com

Fetthunter · 03-31-2005, 08:35 PM

One of the things driving me (no pun intended) to buy an xB is that it is cheap, reliable transportation that my wife and I can use to haul around our 2 children (3 years-old and 2 weeks-old) in, not to mention all of the crap that comes along with having kids (strollers, bags, toys, etc.).

If you're in the same boat as I am, what are some (if any) of the mods you've made to make your family or kids more comfortable/happy in your xB? DVD? ICE? ? ?

I'd love some ideas! :D

Thanks!

VanillaRice · 03-31-2005, 08:54 PM

I'm with you. My son is two and I am getting ready in the next few months to add a drop down screen. Whatever you do let me know what the prices where and show some pics. I am going to be in the market soon.

grizzly_choppers · 03-31-2005, 09:02 PM

Kids love going fast! I recommend the AEM CAI for all families!

Seriously, PM IAxB, he's been toting his kids around in his BCP xB for a while now and does a lot of road trips. He'll probably have a laundry list of stuff he has/wants to do to make things better for the kids.

-Alex

manejounxa · 03-31-2005, 09:06 PM

I bought a portable dvd player to add the flipdown screen that we have in our astro.
but I will also be using the portable dvd player this car show season as I take my kids with me to the shows and this will entertain them better than the usuall running around and getting in and out of the xA the whole time we are at the show.now they will be able to watch a movie or play their PS2 or gamecube.....

got this from walmart

Fetthunter · 03-31-2005, 09:13 PM

I was thinking about a head unit I saw the other day with CD/DVD/TV and a 6-7" screen built-in. It would make it easier to operate, being up front next to me (plus my wife could watch it too), though the larger LCD screens mounted from the roof, or even a dual LCD screen setup, are good ideas too...

Any non-entertainment mods you've made to make the kiddies happy?

Thanks for the input!

manejounxa · 03-31-2005, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fetthunter

Any non-entertainment mods you've made to make the kiddies happy?

Thanks for the input!

They do like when I turn on the blue cold cathodes but that only entertains them for like a minute or two.some nice cd's that they like always helps too.

Dass · 03-31-2005, 09:38 PM

My son's 11 not really young anymore compaired to a toddler. But believe it or not doesn't care about DVD's. He did talk me into a Magnaflow exhaust and Tein S-Techs for the box. Didn't have to twist my arm much, and he did a lot of the install himself with my help ! A little off track maybe but ask your kids what they would do, might surprise ya !

Max2k · 03-31-2005, 10:24 PM

Don't put screens in the car to entertain your kids. They won't die if they're bored once in a while, it's actually good for them. This is from someone who took a lot of family road trips as a kid.

Only thing I can think of is some slightly softer suspension and sound deadening.

IAxB · 03-31-2005, 10:31 PM

I think if you do a lot of traveling a dvd system is a must, its on my wishlist, I'd like to do a headrest system but budget constraints right now prevent that.... My kids love music so we listen to a lot of that, of course for my 5 year old the gameboy advance was a must, but if I could hook up a playstation or something that would be great too....I've thought about figuring out a way to install some form of fold down table, like airplanes have, but haven't moved much beyond the thought stage on that.

Cameron · 03-31-2005, 10:52 PM

consider some pull-down side window shades that attach to the top of the window (so kids don't pull the suction cups off).

A storage sack that attaches to the back of the seat might be a good idea too. It makes items handy for you, but difficult for kids in an XB to reach.

Romanova · 04-01-2005, 12:06 AM

These cars kind of suck for kids. You will be hard pressed to haul anything else besides your family. It's hard to even get a stroller in the back. For running around with the family, it's great, but for taking the family to the groccery store... forget it.

Max · 04-01-2005, 01:12 AM

I'm with Max2k on this one. I think it's sad that parents put in mobile video to keep their kids quiet. Kids watch too much TV as it is. As a kid, my parents drove all over the place, and I looked out the window for entertainment. It is true that the kids of the country are getting dumber as the years go on. Having them use their imagination rather than watching a TV is a good thing.

Sadistic · 04-01-2005, 02:34 AM

I asked my 4 year old daughter what she wanted me to do to the scion and she said sunroof because she loves to look outside. Surprised me I was thinking TV's also.

B2FiNiTY · 04-01-2005, 02:57 AM

I got a tray that holds food/drinks that attaches to the headrests. Pretty handy since there are no drink holders in the back.

neckbonenick · 04-01-2005, 03:05 AM

I'm in the same boat my son turned 3 weeks today. The first family friendly mod besides all the car audio I did a while back was to design and build a sub enclosure for beneath the passenger seat so I could make room for the stroller in the back. Lemme tell you dude there isn't any room left back there after the stroller goes in.

I went from this:

to this under the passenger seat:

The next mod will be the dvd and headrest monitors.

katchkillah · 04-01-2005, 03:09 AM

well as for me when my daughter came around i already had a dvd player in my honda odyssey already built in. so she was born with a screen from the beginning. i also believe kids watch too much tv, but of course i spoiled my daughter from when she was born so i couldn't handle getting into arguments everyday cause she hated the box, cause there's no tv. after a month or 2 of fighting with my daughter i gave in a put in a kenwood ddx7015 with concept adjustable screens in the headrest. the cool thing is the concept screen has multiple inputs so when she gets older and long trips and wants to play ps2, xbox, dvd player, etc... i can plug it in to the exterior inputs in the headrest and she can do her own thing while i watch my **** i mean my movies. lol.

but yeah don't get screens if your kids haven't been exposed to it yet. that tray thing sounds better, keep games and toys in there for them......

and strollers don't do to well in xb's.

Fetthunter · 04-01-2005, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katchkillah

and strollers don't do to well in xb's.

Where I am now: 1995 Thunderbird carrying 4 occupants. The trunk is half full of custom stereo equipment (subs, amp racks, and crossovers).

The amount of "stroller space" in the xB makes it look like a Suburban compared to what I have now in the 'Bird!

TREX212426 · 04-01-2005, 11:56 AM

AH GUYS! i am in the same situation as most fathers in here......our minds tell us o get all the goodies in our rides but our pockets and ladies tell us other wise

....i havea 2yr old lil girl.....i took her on a road trip to scion exposed from south fla to daytona which is roughly about 260 miles. She hung in like a champ bu towards the end she started getting restless and I put on Elmos world and she was happy as can be. its one thing to give them crap to watch than something educational

llamuh · 04-01-2005, 01:25 PM

im surprised noone has mentioned a CarPC! I plan on installing the various parts i came up with when i was going to run a carPC in my old integra. unfortunately someone had tried to steal some parts off of the teg and ended up messing up the radiator (dont ask) and i had no idea so i drove it and ended up blowing a head gasket so that put a hold on my idea. now that i may end up with the box, and i have a 4 month old, im thinking i should go ahead and do it. it consists of a regular tower based PC, but with a custom case.. a type of plexiglass enclosure. in the teg i had it designed to where it was going to sit in a fiberglassed spare tire well and have a sheet of plexi over the whole well with the fans mounted to it and neons inside. id like to do something similar with the box. due to the size of the teg it was just going to have 1 15in (PC) LCD screen, but now im thinking i will use both the 15 and the 17. id like to figure out a way to mount the 15 up front so that i can use it for GPS and mp3 type functions.. or just to load another movie for the kid. so yeah i think its a cool idea.. have way more mp3s than a CD can hold, have divx movies, a slot load DVD player, internet access while at a wireless hotspot, GPS navigation, PC games and NES/SNES etc. emulation.

superjeer · 04-01-2005, 01:37 PM

Whoo hoo, this is a thread for me.

My son loves to go fast! j/k (sorta).

My son is three, so I have the underseat sub cause I need the room.

I have a PS2 in an armrest and screen on headrest (removable) so he can entertain himself on trips and take it into hotels.

I have seat covers cause he won't keep his feet off my seat.

I also have LED cannons so he can get some light into the back seat without me having problems seeing out the windows. Kinda like the map lights he had in the Safari.

Oh, and a foot stool so he can get in and out of the seat easier ;-)

One thing I learned quick was to take the screen out if we're not on a long trip otherwise you're taking 5 minutes to turn on "Finding Nemo" for a four minute drive to Wegmans to "Find Dinner".