Why we picked a Toyota Sienna for our Ski Van

We were looking for a vehicle we could sleep in with our whole family on weekend ski trips in order to cut down on lodging costs. In the winter we usually ski at least two weekends a month and the hotels have a minimum of two nights stays on the weekends. We considered renting a place for the winter or buying a place, but both options cost more and involve more maintenance time.

When we started researching ski vans for families we didn’t find a lot of information easily available so it took a while to figure out what would work for us. In order to make sleeping in the Toyota Sienna work we had to come up with a DIY solution, which I’ll explain separately. Here is a summary of what we were looking for, what options we found, and then why we picked the one we did.

What we were looking for in a family-friendly ski van:

• Fits 4 people: while sleeping and while driving
• Vehicle safety rating: we wanted something that was rated for safety in an accident
• AWD: California requires chains when there is snow on the road, so if you don't have AWD you end up spending a lot of time putting chains on
• Seats with Latch System attachments: when we got the van we had a small 4 year old
• Multi-purpose or fold away seats: so when we're in sleeping mode we can put away the seats and have more room for sleeping
• Stealth: a nice to have feature- no one suspects people sleep in a minivan!
• Gas mileage: since we would be driving it 350 miles round trip every time we go to ski
• Versatility for everyday use: we needed it as our backup/second car for occasional commuting
• Expansion potential: possibility of adding extra storage with a trailer hitch or roof top box
• Cost: couldn’t break the bank with something super fancy/custom​

What we weren’t looking for:

• Kitchen: our plan was to eat cold breakfast or lunch, unless we could get hot water from a ski resort, and go out to dinner (or cook on a camping stove if we wanted to)
• Bathroom: we park near places with bathrooms (like Sno-Parks or ski resorts) or use a restaurant bathroom before parking and have a small setup in case of urgent need

Here are the vehicle types we looked at to decide on the Toyota Sienna:

​So for us the one that fit all of the criteria we were looking for was the Toyota Sienna. We just had to design a sleeping system so we could fit in it, which I explain here.