by Darwin Sayo | Dec 31, 2016 | Gear, Kids
Living in Arizona has been a challenge especially when it comes to the kids. Our hobby back in Northern California was to go to different parks and try them out. We must have visited three dozen parks. Even when we travel we try to take breaks at parks that are on the way. Anyway, here in our area there is one big park and it just gets too hot most of the time. So for this Christmas we brought the park to the kids. I present to you the Lifetime Geo Dome! We still don’t have a consistent name for it. I can’t believe how cheap it was. It’s super sturdy and the coating on the bars it perfect for tender hands. It was a little bit of a challenge putting it together because at a certain point in the assembly i needed an extra set of hands but i managed by propping it up on chairs. You’ll see what I mean when you attempt it on your own. Don’t over torque the black handhold pieces or they’ll crack. So no negatives and only time will tell if this dome holds up. The kids are ecstatic over. Grant in particular, in the video, doesn’t know what to do with himself. Here’s a link to it on Amazon.
by Darwin Sayo | Jan 20, 2016 | Gear
Ford Transit F150 XLT
Yup, we upgraded. It was time to get a bigger van. and our old van was on it’s last leg so it was perfect timing. Nancy hates it but I love it. She said we should have gotten a suburban or something hideous like that. I can stand up in it and not touch the roof. There was nothing worse than trying to get into the old minivan without hitting your head on the headliner and elbowing everyone in the process. I do miss the automatic doors and how you can lower those sliding door windows but those were more things to break and I was done fixing things that would eventually break. And if any of you have “many” kids you know how much you gear can pile up. I remember going on a trip for a family event and we had to bring two porta’ cribs, a double stroller, and of course our clothes. It was not pretty.
by Darwin Sayo | Dec 28, 2010 | Gear, Review
I really like it. We had a 2005 Nissan Xterra so I will be making most of my comparisons to our old SUV.
The Drive
It’s smooth. It goes from one gear to another very smoothly. It doesn’t roar to life and accelerate in an explosive way like our old Xterra but that’s not why we bought it for. I keep seeing reviews putting down it’s 197 hp but if you want more horsepower and performance then buy a car! I recently took it to San Francisco for the first time and it performed quite well. I didn’t once in frustration say “Come on go!” going up Van Ness. There’s a “manual” mode to where you can shift up or down. It gets a little getting used to but handy. It’s supposedly VW tuned so the drive is a little more responsive.
Driver
- I feel very comfortable in the drivers seat. The windshield seems so huge.
- It took a couple days to get the seat just right because there is so much play in the seat settings.
- The steering wheel seems so much bigger. I do like the leather wrapped steering wheel on this van as opposed to a non leather wrapped one. It feels very nice and smooth. I never thought I’d ever appreciate such a thing.
- All the controls are in arms reach. One small feature I truly appreciated in my old Scion TC was the Auto up AND down feature of the driver’s window. The Xterra had auto down only. The Routan has up and down on the drivers and passenger side windows.
- On the other side of the steering wheel are controls for the radio. I like this so much better because it doesn’t make you look for the buttons thus taking your eyes off the road. The Stereo is a bit far away so the buttons are very handy.
- The stereo is not bluetooth enabled, a feature I told myself I absolutely needed, so I can’t connect my phone to it but it’s a blessing in disguise because it’s become our policy to not use the phone at all if you’re driving.
Passengers
- Seats six passengers or three cars seats. Can only take one car seat in the third row with room for a passenger next to the car seat. So if you have four kids that need to be in car seats this car is not for you.
- I like that the passenger windows go down and the rear windows will slightly wedge open too for more ventilation.
- Cabin noise is so much better than our Xterra. That’s also due to the fact that it has less horsepower.
Conclusion
I’m not a great car reviewer but I really do like this van. The two things I would change if I could would have been adding the OEM entertainment system and an automatic lift gate.
Living in Arizona has been a challenge especially when it comes to the kids. Our hobby back in Northern California was to go to different parks and try them out. We must have visited three dozen parks. Even when we travel we try to take breaks at parks that are on the way. Anyway, here in our area there is one big park and it just gets too hot most of the time. So for this Christmas we brought the park to the kids. I present to you the Lifetime Geo Dome! We still don’t have a consistent name for it. I can’t believe how cheap it was. It’s super sturdy and the coating on the bars it perfect for tender hands. It was a little bit of a challenge putting it together because at a certain point in the assembly i needed an extra set of hands but i managed by propping it up on chairs. You’ll see what I mean when you attempt it on your own. Don’t over torque the black handhold pieces or they’ll crack. So no negatives and only time will tell if this dome holds up. The kids are ecstatic over. Grant in particular, in the video, doesn’t know what to do with himself. Here’s a link to it on Amazon.