Infant car seat in 2001 ext. cab Tacoma

Hello TacomaWorld,

I have read most of the threads on the site for infant car seats. I unfortunately have not had my question answered yet.

I have a 2001 Ext. Tacoma. Is it possible to fit a rear facing infant seat in the back of a extended cab???

Does anyone by chance have pictures? I do not live that close to a baby store where I can try them out in my truck. I almost have to order offline and just hope it fits. Even if anyone has a rear facing seat model they would recommend?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Baby is due May 19th so I still have some time

Thank you!

 

I have a 2004 extended cab and posed this question months ago as our baby is due any day now. In the end, I've found at least 3 that fit by actually testing them. The Graco Snugride Classic 22, Chicco Keyfit 22, and the BabyTrend Flex-Loc.

If your back seat has the fold down seats that are anchored in the rear of the cab, you can remove it to give yourself an extra inch or two. Also, you have to be sure you have the fold-out cupholder up too or the infant seat will not have the required 80% of the base on the seat area. One big problem with the Chicco was that I was unable to get it level because the way most carseats are made. They are assuming you are using them in a back seat of a car, which are angled slightly. The Graco seemed to be fine with leveling. I did not test the angle of the BabyTrend, just the fit.

Lastly, all 3 seats require the passenger seat to be all the way forward, which will be a tight fit for anyone riding in that seat. Graco is the most snug of the three. Chicco and BabyTrend allowed a couple inches of freedom. Also, if your truck doesn't have LATCH (doubt it does), and you use the seatbelt, you have to use the locking clip. If not, the car seat will move too much.

There is always the option to the put the baby up front and turn off the airbag. We are wary of doing this so its either in the backseat or nothing.

 

I'm just going to copy and paste from before:

 

I used one years ago when my daughter was born, but it was forward facing. As mentioned, I had to use the cup holder fold out to get it to work properly.

 

What do you mean by "if your truck doesnt have a latch"?? And the locking clip?? I know my tacoma has the fold out "cup holder" ...

Thanks for your help!

 

Most newer cars have an easier system to strap in the car seat called LATCH. Our extended cabs don't in the back so you have to use use the seat belt. My 04 has LATCH hooks in the front seat but that's a moot point for me. The locking clip comes with the infant seat in most cases (our Graco did). It hooks onto the seatbelt about 1/2" from where it buckles and helps prevent slippage and tipping of the car seat when using a seatbelt.

 

Just wanted to add another data point here. We have a Chicco Keyfit 30 in our 99 extended cab and have been using it for 8 months. The fit is tight, and as mentioned, it takes a bit of adjustment to get the seat level. I was skeptical about the flip out cup holder thing at first, but we haven't had any trouble with it.

We have the stroller base for the seat, so it goes in and out of the back quite a bit, and it can be kind of awkward getting it through the tight space to the back.

The seat does eat up most of your passenger space, and I am 6'3", but we have been on several road trips and I've ridden in the passenger seat. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but it's maybe like being in an airplane seat with the seat in front of you reclined. I'd love to have a double cab, but the prices for a first gen double cab are ridiculous (2-3 times what we paid for the extended cab).

 

How did you get it level? We originally bought a Chicco Keyfit but it wouldnt level in the back so we returned it for a Graco Snugride.

 

Subd...

 

Someone previously mentioned installing a car seat in the front because the car seat did not fit in the back. The hospital may not release the child to you if your car seat is improperly installed or installed in the front seat. I have spoken to my local PD about car seats and they say to never install a rear facing car seat in the front.

Regarding the infant car seat, in my 2nd gen access cab, the car seat that fit the best was the baby trend. I went to Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby to test fit a lot of carseats and the baby trend was the smallest and allowed me to push the front seat back the furthest. I really liked the Baby Trend because it fit in the tacoma the best, but my girl friend really hated the car seat because it was not luxurious enough.

This may not be the same for the 1st gen, but I would go to some stores to see what fits.

 

Also, something else to take into consideration, Graco just recalled a bunch of their car seats due to buckling issues

 

In a 1st Gen extra Tacoma we can shut off the air bag and it is completely fine and legal to put a rear facing seat in the front. That's where my son rides as well as every other 1st gen Extra cab owner.

 

They are not buckling issues they seats are still safe they recalled them due to the buckle becoming hard to unlatch after food/ Milk got into the buckle. To anyone that has a seat from Graco with that harness you can contact them and they will send you a new harness.

 

In Maryland, if the airbag is off, the child is allowed to ride in the front, rear-facing. Each state is different with their laws I believe. Certain countries in Europe (I think Sweden in particular) have done studies showing that kids are actually safer in the front than in the back with the data to prove it. Just a little tidbit, not relevant to the US.

 

Basically sliding it around until it was ok, then tightening it down. It's still not perfect, but the level bubble is within the lines, so according to the manual we should be safe. To be honest, the base feels more secure than ones I have felt in cars, I think because of the minimal padding on the Tacoma's seat.

 

Exactly. I tried to test fit a bunch of infant seats in the back of mine and it just really doesn't work. If you read the owners manual it says if the car seat won't fit in the back the best place for it is the passenger seat with the airbag off.

If you weren't allowed legally to transport a child in the passenger seat with airbags off all reg cab truck owners would be SOL or have to get a new vehicle

 

This is also how my son rode in my 1st ten. No problems whatsoever. Put the ignition key in the seatbelt switch in the dash and turn it off.

Also when using the seatbelt to secure the seat in pull it all the way out to latch it then let it retract and pull it tight on the carseat. This locks the seatbelt where it won't move out like the drivers side does when we are driving and lean forward to look out the window.

I used an Eddie Bauer carseat in mine. It was the combo that came with the stroller.

 

I tried for hours with the Keyfit 22 to get the bubble within the two lines and couldnt do it. It needed to actually be tilting the opposite way of where the put the adjustment, so I gave up and we got the Graco.

 

For my daughter, I always put her in the front with the airbags turned off. When she was old enough to switch to forward facing, I installed my own LATCH system in the back to make it easier to switch between my truck and the car. I had a few engineering friends help me and I believe it was stronger than any factory system (although I do not recommend doing it yourself).

 

We have a 2 yr old and almost 4 year old. The 4 year old sits in the back facing forward and the 2 year old rear facing in front with air bag off. We have 2 large seats and both can fit, we use a Sunshine 80 XL and Diono R100.
The rear facing in front works well as long as the air bag is off.
The front facing in the back needs the cup holder to help support the bottom and I do some reinforcing. I use a ratchet strap on the bottom to keep it secure even though the seat belt is through the back of it. I hook the teather on the back to the bracket that holds the jack in the storage area. It's an L bracket that the bungee cord attaches to so I have it secure in 3 spots. The seat doesn't move and we are really cautious because I work for an insurance company and deal with hurt people all the time.