The “Chevy” Chevrolet Suburban is easily the most popular “extended length” SUV available in the United States. It competes with other extra-long SUVs like the Ford Expedition EL and its badge twin the GMC Yukon XL, as well as with shorter but still quite large SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Durango, GMC Yukon, Nissan Armada, Toyota Sequoia, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Ford Expedition.
Of these vehicles, besides the Yukon XL, the Tahoe and regular Yukon are the closest twins of the Suburban; they’re basically the same vehicle but around 20 inches shorter. The extra length provides a usable storage space behind the 3rd row seats, but it doesn’t change any of the possibilities when it comes to 3 across installations. People interested in vehicles with 9-passenger seating don’t have many vehicles to choose from that aren’t either full-sized vans (e.g., the Nissan NV or Ford Transit 12-passenger vans) or small school buses, which is part of what makes the Suburban so desirable for some parents, social groups, or small businesses.
That said, I still wanted to make sure the Suburban was as car-seat friendly when it came to 3 across installations as the other SUVs with which it’s frequently cross-shopped. The good news is that ye, you can fit just about any combination of car seats you’re interested in inside a Suburban, with very few exceptions. Before going into some of the easier and more difficult installations, here are some general tips on when to use which kinds of car seats.
First of all, I suggest rear-facing from day one until you can’t anymore. Rear-facing is the way to go even if it takes you through the preschool years (ideally until 4!). Once you can’t fit your child in a rear-facing seat anymore, forward-face him or her in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once your children outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The overriding goal is safety, which comes from using certain kinds of seats at certain times.
With all that out of the way, here are some of the combinations of car seats you’re likely to get to fit well inside your Suburban, although the exact fits will naturally vary with your model year, the seats you’re using, and of course, the installation method.
The list isn’t complete, but it’s my goal to make it as complete as possible over time. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.
You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images here are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2015 Chevrolet Suburban (GMT K2YC/G)
Guaranteed 3 across installations
(2nd or 3rd row unless noted):
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Chevrolet Suburban is 224 inches long and more than 80 inches wide, which means you’re going to have very little trouble fitting 3 car seats of any kind across the interior. That said, to have additional space, you’re still going to want to consider using your seat belts instead of the LATCH system, especially if you’re dealing with wider seats, such as 3 Rainiers or Britax Advocates.
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Chevrolet Suburban (GMT900)
Guaranteed 3 across installations
(2nd or 3rd row unless noted):
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Tips and Tricks:
The 2007-2014 generation of the Chevrolet Suburban is 222 inches long and more than 79 inches wide, which again means you’re going to have very little trouble fitting 3 car seats of any kind across the interior. That said, to have additional space, you’re still going to want to consider using your seat belts instead of the LATCH system, especially if you’re dealing with wider seats, such as 3 Rainiers or Britax Advocates.
You can fit up to 6 car seats across the 2nd and 3rd rows of this generation of the Suburban if you buy the LS trim level. If you invest in the LT2 or LT3 models, you can choose between the ability to install 4, 5, or 6 car seats. You can technically fit car seats in the 1st row as well, but with all the room in the rear rows, I’d try to stay away from the 1st row if at all possible, due to the additional protection sitting in the back seats offers from frontal collisions, which are the most common.
Keep in mind that the 3rd row only includes one top tether anchor and lower anchors aren’t available. There are only two LATCH anchors in the 2nd row (on the center and right spots) with the 60/40 seat
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Chevrolet Suburban (GMT800)
Guaranteed 3 across installations
(2nd or 3rd row unless noted):
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Diono Radian / RXT, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30, Graco TurboBooster.
Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT, Graco TurboBooster.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Marathon G4.1, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Britax Pavilion G4, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier G1.1.
Tips and Tricks:
The 2000-2006 generation of the Chevrolet Suburban is 219 inches long and 79-80 inches wide, which again means you’re going to have very little trouble fitting 3 car seats of any kind across the interior. That said, to have additional space, you’re still going to want to consider using your seat belts instead of the LATCH system, especially if you’re dealing with wider seats, such as 3 Rainiers or Britax Advocates.
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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.