Baby Trend Triple Stroller Doesn’t Steer

This stroller, also known as “The Stroller That Set Us Free,” was the purchase which finally allowed us to go somewhere with our 20 month old and newborn twins. We had looked around and found that almost all of the triple stroller options that existed were simply way over-priced, at least for our budget.

But as luck would have it, the mother of triplets in my local Twins Club was selling one. In nearly pristine condition with all of the paperwork, instructions and after a quick demonstration in the driveway on how to use it, I picked up this behemoth and took it home.

At 6 feet long and very heavy (46.8 pounds shipping weight), this thing was made like a tank. The two front seats recline to one position and the back seat will recline completely for naps. This is a little frustrating because we had two little ones who really needed to recline, not one. We took it out to museums, to the 4th of July on Clearwater Beach and on walks everywhere. At least for a very short time we did.

There are two problems with this stroller and probably with any triple stroller. First, your heaviest child needs to go into the back. Basic physics are working against you if you put the heaviest child in the front, but our oldest child didn’t want to sit all the way in the back where he couldn’t see. He wanted to sit up front. So at first it worked nicely, while the twins were newborns and were very small babies. As they began to put on weight and the biggest boy grew, I realized why the triplet mom had chucked it although her triplets were just a few months older than my twins.

Secondly, it became nearly impossible to steer. My husband had trouble getting it to turn by the time my twins were one, simply because of the weight of our children in it. Now you might imagine that the sturdy construction would make it more amenable to hauling a brute squad of kids, and I suppose from the stand point of holding up it was indeed great. It never became weak or wobbly, but it also wouldn’t turn.

I’d pan it completely except that for a time, it was a really useful addition to our lives, but overall I would not recommend it. The price of this stroller new compared to it’s value is really out of whack. If you do need a triple stroller, I’d recommend scouring consignment shops or your local multiples clubs. When shopping for triple strollers be sure to read the details. There is a very expensive brand out there which shall remain nameless, that sells a triple stroller and none of it’s wheels turn. None. How do your turn it? I am told, by someone who owns one, that you really don’t. You pray you never have to turn it.

A triple stroller is something that seemed like a good idea, but we really ended up using a double and a single to accomplish the same goal as we grew more frustrated with the bulk, weight and overall manageability of the triple one. Knowing what I know now, I’d probably pass on one of these next time around.