I have been doing a lot of research on this topic as well and here is where I am at. I am 61 years old and don't really like to deck height of a pick up or SUV because I have been using my full size van to move machines for years and it is so easy loading them by just tilting them then sliding them in. I always fee sooooooooooo sorry for people who have to lift machines to get them into their vehicle.

Anyway after looking at dozens of vehicles in person and doing a ton of research I have decided on a Kia Sedona. Even though it is a mini van it looks more like an SUV. Has low deck height for easy loading and with 3rd row fold down seats and second row seats all the way forward there is plenty of room for pretty much any pinball in it without really doing anything other than sliding seats forward. But the best part is the safety rating of this vehicle. It blows pretty much all other mini vans and SUVs away as far as overall safety rating.

Even though it is a mini van it actually has more of an SUV look than a mini van look and price is much better than most SUV's I looked at. I was a pick up truck guy for years but never looked back after buying my first full size van (hated the look but love the fact stuff was safe & dry in the back). What a difference when it comes to ease of loading & unloading a van and what ever you have in the back is locked up safe & sound and out of the weather. There is nothing better that a full size van for moving pins but now we are looking for something smaller and the Kia seems like the best fit. I'll be picking up my 2016 this week.

I know you said you wife wouldn't want a mini van but if you have the chance get her to give the Sedona a look in person. It seems to have it all - great safety rating, plush interior, decent fuel mileage, nice look, low deck height, decent towing for up to a 3500 pound trailer, plenty of leg room (I am 6'6" tall), and one pin fits great without removing any seats. I'll likely use a trailer when picking up more than one pin but I think two will fit fine removing second row seats.

I also looked at the Honda Odyssey because that got a little better fuel mileage than the Sedona and had the same great safety rating but that thing is a mini van for sure. The Kia seemed to have it all - looked more like an SUV and was priced cheaper than the Honda so I am sold on the Kia.

Don't get hung up on looks and buy another pick up. If you go in the direction of a van or mini van you might not feel as cool but you will feel a lot smarter when moving a pin or other bigger stuff in the rain! And if you need open vehicle for some purposes you can buy a decent open trailer for under $1000 than has those needs covered. Now that you are getting a little older think smart not showy and give the Sedona or Odyssey a good hard look.

Good luck with your first child! From experience there is nothing better than having a couple kids to make you life full!

Just my 2 cents on the "best vehicle to move machines topic"

Forgot to add the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty is hard to beat!

I was seriously considering the Chrysler / Dodge mini vans till I looked a videos of crash test and now that I have done some research on them Now I will not even consider riding in one let alone owning one. Honda & Kia are the only two mini vans that have good crash test results but the Kia seems much nicer than the Honda and looks better also in my opinion.

I think Honda has a great overall name and I love their generators & other power equipment as well as their vehicles but when I looked at both the Kia just seemed nicer and the 100,000 warranty is hard to beat. Plus I have had several friends that have owned Kia's in the past 10 or 12 years and they all seem to love them. Up until Thursday when my wife talked me into looking at the Kia I would have never thought Kia would be my first choice when it comes to a vehicle but once we test drove one I have to say I was very impressed.

To make things even better our local Kia dealer offers double the factory warranty 10 years or 200,000 miles to original owner. 200,000 mile power train warranty is just insane!

Give me a few months and I'll let you know if I still feel the same way but for now I am 100% sold on the Kia as far as the best bang for the buck

We are looking at a new 2016 Kia. I just couldn't get past the POOR crash Test rating for partial frontal crash on the T&C or Dodge and I really don't like the look of the Honda for some reason. A buddy of mine all but lost his leg in a Dodge Caravan wreck a few years back and they still have not improved the design on that so T&C or Dodge just isn't in the cards for me.

Laugh all you want but when I pass you in my mini van with my machines in out of the weather and your nice pinball machine is sitting under a tarp on the back of your pick up truck in the rain I'll surely be think "that guy is the smart one - ain't he cool"!

I've owned muscle cars, big 4x4 pick up trucks, dump trucks, and just about anything else on the planet with wheels on it including national record holding drag cars and a Class 8 motorhome with a trailer big enough to put you bad ass pick up inside of it and I have yet to find a better way to move pinball machines than a van. I have owned full size (mostly 1 ton) vans for over 30 years but now I am thinking smaller so I am buying a new Kia Senoda this week. Laugh at Kia all you want but it is hard to beat 10 year 100,000 mile warranty and our local dealer doubles that to 200,000 miles.

I'll still keep my full size van to tow some of my bigger trailers but 25 MPG compared to my 13.7 MPG really sounds pretty good right now for when I don't need a one ton van.

At least your smart enough to own a van. But I still don't quite understand judging someone by what they drive but to each his own.

What I don't get is the guys using pick up trucks & tarps to move machines just to think they are something special driving their big bad pick up truck. Why use an open truck to move something worth thousands of dollars when there is a smarter way? When I had my big bad 4x4 pick up I found people loved using the bed for a dumpster when I parked it. I can't tell you how many times I found trash tossed into the bed of my truck.

I'll be a mini van driver starting next week. Not really my first choice in vehicles but even at $2 a gallon I am getting tired of 13.7 MPG and $100 a week fuel bill with my 3500 series Chevy 1 ton van. And I think I am going to be able to get over driving the little girls vehicle very quickly while I am enjoying heated seats, heated steering wheel, lumbar support, cooler in console, and all the other neat stuff the Kia offers next time I am taking a 10 or 12 hour drive to pick up another toy which seems to be happening every couple weeks these days.

Anyway back to the OP who has not had much to say lately. Best of luck with the addition to your family - as long as you have a happy wife & a healthy child that is all the really matters. Best of luck getting the vehicle thing figured out!

We looked at the Durango but the safety rating and deck height both pushed me away. I am 61 years old this year and prefer lower deck height of a van when moving machines - that way I can just tilt them and slide them in instead of lifting machines. Most weeks I am moving at least two or three machines so the last thing I really feel like doing after dragging one out of someones basement is lifting it into the back of a high vehicle.

As far as the "man card" at this point I am getting to old to give a dam anyway but I really never worried about being a real man. I have yet to meet a "real man" that can do half of what I do in a week so I have never really cared all that much about driving manly vehicles. I have always been a college educated rough & tough red neck that never backs down and never wears a suit. To me the "real girls" of the bunch are men that get all prettied up and wear fancy jewelry and smell pretty.