Baby Car Seats in Tacomas

I have a dbl cab and use a Britax Marathon car seat, I have it rear-facing at the moment behind the passenger seat. Works great, a solid car seat!

 

I had a Graco rear facing and not front facing convertible seat in my DC behind the driver seat and there arent any space issues. both seats and kid fit just fine behind the driver seat for me. The biggest pain is hooking up the tether that goes over the top of the rear seat and hooks on with the front facing convertible seat otherwise I have no issues.

 

I let my youngest (5 year old) sit behind me in a Graco booster. The only issue I have is his continued stretching and putting his feet into the seatback...which goes directly into my back. Other than that, he rode behind me just fine - and I'm 6 feet tall.

Heck, I put my family in my DC Off Road and drove them from Nashville to Washington, DC and return. Three kids in the back - oldest in the middle (very big 9 year old, no car seat), my 7 year old daughter on a BubbleBum behind me, and my 5 year behind the wife. They did great, for the most part. No comfort issues, too.

The rear-facing seat's a pain, but you can make it work. It's not forever...

 

No joke, I have a britax cradle system and it is rear facing. Fit's my AC perfectly! No compromise on the front seat at all. It seems the way it sits on the rear ( a little lower than most rear seats) the top of the baby seat does not protrude far enough to affect the front seat.

 

Ran the whole gambit of child seats in my DC - we are now down to just one booster seat for my son.
In all honesty I feel safer with my family in my truck than in our Minivan (Nissan Quest)
It's tighter quarters but there is something to be said about being surrounded by aftermarket steel products.

 

Especially when homer j simpson is driving.

 

Do you have a picture of your setup. Our rear facing takes up so much room we ended up putting it up front with the airbag off and my wife behind the passenger seat. Took off the headrest so she could see our baby.

 

Sure, I will take a pic. Here is the system we have:

http://www.britaxusa.com/travel-systems/b-agile-travel-system

My wife was very surprised it fit in our rear seat at all on our AC. But it did ,and is very comfortable. the front passenger seat didn't need to be moved all the way forward.

 

Thank you, we have another on the way so I might need to get a new car seat that fits behind the passenger seat.

Btw your screen name looks familiar. You ride motorcycles too right? SBR?

 

Yes! that's me! I bought my taco to haul motorcycles after a one year pause on riding. The tacoma has been perfect!

Anyways, here's a pic:

 

Nice, not sure how it will fit in mine. I have a 2009 with the different rear seats that suck IMO.

 

That's right, from what I remember, the '09 rear AC seats don't really fold down all the way or something like that.

 

Be careful using the LATCH system in the middle cause if the owners manual says its only for the left and right passenger seats and if you get in an accident and your child gets hurt in the middle using LATCH......the insurance company might not take care of the claim cause its technically "misusing" vehicle equipment. I'm a certified child seat technician and the rear middle seat is always the safest cause what goes first on side-impact vehicle accidents?....thats right the doors. So from the doors then straight to the child seat so middle is always safest.

 

DeeKay21... you might be a little over paranoid. I dont think the insurance company would read your owners manual if you get in an accident. Car seats are supposed to go in the middle of the backseat anyways because it is the safest place in cars. It the first thing they tell you when you get ready to leave the hospital, and in TN they check to make sure you put the car seat in the middle before you leave.

If you put the rear facing car seat in the middle of the back seat on a double cab, you will have no issues with space. You can still have 4 large adults along with your baby. I can post a pic of mine later today.

 

If it came down to a lawsuit, guess what that lawyer would be reading out loud in the court room... On the other hand it is safest to be in middle. So it'd be up to judge or jury to decide I guess.

Anyway, I had the rear facing lift out seat when my son was younger in the middle with no issues. I wondered why they say not to use middle, the latches are probably at the most an inch or two farther apart, if that. I never measured. But I could strap it down just as good as if I had it on either side, and I was comfortable with it.

 

Yes I know car seats are safest in the middle and I always encourage parents to do that when I'm doing an install but ultimately its up to the parents where they want their child placed. As for leaving the hospital the seat doesnt have to be in the middle.....they just check that it is properly installed and fit the newborn correctly before letting the parents leave. About the insurance/lawyer part of it I'm just saying what I learned in my child safety seat technician class and its right in the owners manual where you are allowed and not allowed to place a car seat with LATCH. But just because the middle wasnt intended for LATCH, you can still use the seat belt to hold the seat down. A lot of parents think LATCH is safer but its not, its just an easier way for parents to install a car seat and the top teather helps out a bit too.

I noticed over the years a lot of vehicles that only had the LATCH made for the left or right seat instead of the middle was if you did want to install the seat in the middle, the brackets were to far apart meaning even if you have the seat cinched down tightly there is always a chance for it to move left or right in a collision.

Also for the new parents out there, these days they arent really going by age anymore whether the child is rear-facing or forward facing but its mostly on weight and height cause so may children these days are different sizes and shapes even at the same age. Easiest way to check is the stickers on the side of the child seats. Rear-facing is also proven to be the safest so I tell parents to go as long as they can rear-facing until they must go forward facing.

 

I know they say the seatbelt is acceptable, but if you're talking about side to side play? That seatbelt sucks IMO. I'm not comfortable at all using seatbelts vs. the latch system. Middle included.

 

I've gotten my son's seat just as tight in the middle seat, with a seatbelt, as it is in my wife's car w/ LATCH (and a solid top tether). No significant side to side play at all.

 

I know what you mean. It honestly just varies from vehicle to vehicle cause most people think that since LATCH is the latest and greatest its better then a seat belt but I have installed car seats with just the good old seat belt cause I could get it in tighter.

Sounds like you did a good install. Scares the heck out of me cause literally 80% of parents that come to see me, their child seats are all installed incorrectly.

 

Yeah, I'm amazed by how many people don't use car seats correctly. I help out at the Tribal Family Service office. They give out free brand new car seats once a month. I install up to 20 seats some days. I get them installed and adjusted correctly to the seat but the parents have a hard time getting the straps tightened correctly to the child.

And Britax rules. I was able to get a Tacoma because the seat fit in the back without having to move the passenger seat too far forward for my wife.