3rd row - Up or down?
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If you're not using the 3rd row? Put it down for more storage, plus you won't have to worry about the seat getting damaged. I have a 2002 Odyssey, the tray does not interfere. Look in your owners manual, if you need verification?
I like to keep the 3rd-row seats up so it will be readily available to passengers, and because I like to use the seat well for groceries, etc. I purchased a thin flat high-quality rubber mat to leave in the seat well to prevent damage from spills. You may consider using the back hatch of the van as much as possible. Although the van is relatively sturdy, you don't want to open the side doors more than necessary. The switches, door rails, and related parts such as the steel cable tend to break, bind, stop working, or cause problems if the door is opened frequently. Check other posts on this site and you will find that the doors do have problems if used frequently. My van is 15 years old and I’ve never had problems with the sliding doors because I use them so infrequently. Plus, the flat rubber car mat does not interfere with the seats when I need to drop them down into the seat well.
3rd row stays up for passengers. We figure that's why its a van. But, we have the smaller cargo tray. Fits well and doesn't interfere for the few times we have decided to fold down the seats. Most often if we need that much cargo space, we use the truck bed. 
Actually, we do have the Honda roof rack so that is possible. Glad they put that spare tire where they did. Nice cubby hole for more storage.move your spare to your roof box if you have one, and you have additional space behind first row
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My 2015 EX-L uses the trunk well OEM liner (from my old 2004 EX-L) and the WeatherTechs in the front and middle sections. My standard configuration is middle seats always out and wrapped up in the shed and 3rd row up. When using the van on surf trips where I have a number of boards, surfing gear, cooler(s) and regular luggage, the 3rd seat is recessed. I usually have a couple of empty spacer boxes (beer/wine boxes) to keep things from sliding around but that usually isn't an issue.
On big camper van road trips, I turn the 3rd row seatbacks down, cover up with a tarp and use them as back supports for a platform bed and two sturdy plastic shelf units as the forward supports. That arrangement gives me a lot of storage space underneath the bed platform and makes use of the trunk well for a cooler, camp boxes, coleman stove, etc.
On big camper van road trips, I turn the 3rd row seatbacks down, cover up with a tarp and use them as back supports for a platform bed and two sturdy plastic shelf units as the forward supports. That arrangement gives me a lot of storage space underneath the bed platform and makes use of the trunk well for a cooler, camp boxes, coleman stove, etc.
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44 Posts
Cool!
What kind of fridge is it?
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My 3rd row is down all the time. I feel the van has more utility that way since I use the van for trips to home improvement stores and such. We don't need the 3rd row for passengers very much, maybe once a year.
I don't have a 5th gen Ody, but I do have an Ody, so I figured I'd chime in
I keep my 3rd row up even though it's almost never sat in unless I'm hauling a ton of stuff on a long trip or I'm hauling something big. I also carry 20+ 1 gallon plastic water jugs to and from the store to get filled, and the cargo area with the 3rd row up happens to fit all of them perfectly.
I keep my 3rd row up even though it's almost never sat in unless I'm hauling a ton of stuff on a long trip or I'm hauling something big. I also carry 20+ 1 gallon plastic water jugs to and from the store to get filled, and the cargo area with the 3rd row up happens to fit all of them perfectly.
Dometic CFX3 35 operates with a VMSO3 variable speed compressor. It can freeze down to -7f, but we run it around 36 to37f. Will hold 50 cans of Soda. with room to spare. Great for long trips.
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Wow! That is so cool! I’ve been eagerly
Awaiting your response lol.
The website mentions all of the power supply options, but is very vague beyond that.
how do you power yours? Off an inverter?
thanks!
Just plug it in, 12VDC or 110VDC. They give you two cords, one for each. You switch cord depending on your power source. The 12 vdc has a voltage sensing circuit devise that senses your vehicles voltages and turn off the frig if your battery is getting low, insuring that you will be able to start your vehicle. I plug it into the rear 12 power.
They make several different sizes, 13 Can/10.5L Capacity up to 144 Can/106L Capacity. Natually price goes up as the size goes up. Dometic Powered Coolers: Never Use Ice Again . There are several RV parts dealers that discount the coolers. Make sure you search around on line to get a good price, cause the well known places don't give you any breaks on price. I have a older model. Think I paid around $600 for mine. I store my insulin in it along with soda, water, sandwiches, etc. Mine is plugged in all the time. Fits perfectly between the two middle seats. Also use it for hauling the frozen stuff home from grocery store trips. When were are traveling and the motel room doesn't have a frig, it goes into the room with us.
Uh, what difference does it make? The weight is still in the van.
For those who like to keep the third row stowed, it's wise to check the area under that row for water, periodically. There have been several complaints about water leaking in and going unnoticed for a while until the rug molds. I keep mine stowed all the time but I have also removed the center row seats and installed a sheet of plywood on the floor because I often haul cargo.
True but there are three less passengers
. There's the weight difference.
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But just because the third row is up doesn't mean you're carrying passengers.True but there are three less passengers
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We kept ours up, sometimes the seat backs were folded down, but we found much more use for the well than a flat floor. Our close friends transport two mobility scooters daily and their third row has been used twice since purchase (early 2018 MY).
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