Why I Ditched the Double Stroller for a Wagon (And Now Haul My Craft Booth In It Too)
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This page may also contain other affiliate links. If you buy something through a link here, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we've researched and believe are genuinely useful. See our privacy policy for details.
I take my two kids out alone a lot. I used to do it with a double stroller. Now I do it with a wagon, and I’m not going back.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about double strollers: every stop means unbuckling one kid, or both, or neither and just praying. Every start means the reverse. With two kids and one adult, that’s a lot of buckle math for a five-minute park visit.
Why a Wagon Wins for Solo Outings
A wagon has no straps a toddler can’t manage alone. That’s the whole trick.
My younger one sits in the Radio Flyer Off-Road Wagon while my older one climbs in and out on her own, whenever she wants. No unbuckling. No waiting on me. She gets in and out at her own pace, and I never stop walking for more than a few seconds.
Try that with a double stroller. You can’t half-buckle a kid “just in case.” It’s all or nothing, and nothing usually means a kid bolting toward the parking lot while you’re still wrestling a five-point harness on the other one.
A few other things that make solo outings easier:
- One hand steers it. The wagon pulls with one arm free, which matters when that arm is also holding a leash, a coffee, or a diaper bag.
- Wider turning space isn’t an issue. Wagons go where strollers get stuck: grass, gravel, sand at the edge of a playground.
- Kids can face each other. They can actually see each other instead of staring at the back of a stroller seat.
The Canopy Actually Works
The UV canopy on this one isn’t decorative, it blocks real sun. It swivels and adjusts, so you can angle it against wherever the sun’s coming from instead of just straight overhead. That matters more than it sounds like it would, since the sun moves and your walk route doesn’t.
The Bonus Use I Didn’t See Coming
I do leatherwork and embroidery on the side, and I sell at craft fairs a few weekends a year. The same wagon that hauls my kids also hauls my gear to those events, the frame that handles two kids climbing all over it doesn’t blink at tools and inventory either.
If you’re weighing whether a wagon is “worth it” beyond the kid years, this is my answer: yes, if you have any reason at all to haul heavy, awkward stuff somewhere that isn’t paved parking-lot-to-front-door distance.
For the Money Conscious
This is already the budget-friendly move compared to most double strollers, which routinely run $400-$800 for anything with real off-road wheels and a decent canopy. The Radio Flyer Off-Road Wagon costs meaningfully less than that and does more jobs.
If you’re deciding between upgrading your double stroller or switching to a wagon, I’d put the wagon money toward it first. You’ll use it for the kid years, and then for a decade of yard work, farmers markets, and hauling stuff you haven’t thought of yet.
Who Should Skip It
A wagon isn’t great for infants who can’t sit up yet, it doesn’t recline the way a stroller seat does. If you’ve got a newborn and a toddler, you’ll still want a stroller for the baby for a while.
Once both kids can sit up unsupported, though, the wagon takes over. It’s my first pick every time we head out the door alone.