Double cab owners with children

Get the Tundra and park it outside. Two car seats is the deal breaker here.

 

I have two kids, a 4 year old in a forward facing car seat and a 1.5 year old in a rear facing seat. I'm 6'3" tall and I won't lie, my 4 year old (43" tall) has very little leg room behind me and I've moved my seat as far forward as I can while still being in a comfortable driving position for longer trips. This shouldn't be a problem once she weighs enough to sit in a booster seat but with the full size car seat, things are a bit tight. I know because I get kicked in the back constantly... My wife is rather short at 5'2" and with the front passenger seat positioned for her to have a comfortable amount of leg room and space for her purse and a diaper bag, the rear facing car seat is still just barely touching her headrest. We've taken the truck on multiple 1-2 hour drives as well as a few longer 5-7 hour trips and everything went fine. Yeah, it's a bit cramped and outside of what little space is available in the floor in the back seat there is no room to store anything while travelling, but it's not hard to make it work (especially with a tonneau cover on the bed to keep luggage and equipment dry and out of sight). I wouldn't dream of putting a third adult in the back between the car seats though. We've done it a few times on shorter trips with my sister but thankfully she's rail thin and can squeeze in there between the car seats (there is no way on earth my fat ass would fit back there).

Anyway, with all of that said, I've accepted that with two car seats in the back of my double cab, things are always going to feel a bit cramped. However, compared to what my old Volkswagen sedan felt like with two car seats in the back, it's not much different. The benefit for me (being somewhat tall) is that at least in the Tacoma I get to put the kids straight (or even lift them slightly) into their car seats and I no longer have to bend over to buckle them in. That was actually one of the biggest factors in my decision to get a truck in the first place as my back couldn't handle getting the kids in and out of my old Jetta. Regardless, as long as you accept the fact that your driving a double cab truck (and not a full size SUV or minivan) and that you'll have about the same amount of space as a mid to full size sedan in the back seat you'll be just fine. To give you a comparison my wife used to drive a Ford Escape and with two car seats in the back, things were equally (if not more) cramped than they are in the back of my double cab Tacoma. I've attached a picture of my back seat below for reference. Also, FWIW, installing a rear facing car seat in a Tacoma sucks something horrible... The angle of the rear seat bottom makes it almost impossible to install the car seat tight enough while keeping the car seat level with the ground. I used the LATCH connectors to install mine and even with a large towel rolled up under it, once it's tightened enough to limit movement to less than an inch there's just no way to get the seat level with the ground...

 

Couple funny things, I have the exact same car seats for my 3 and 1 year olds, in the same configuration. I always had the same issue with the angle too.

 

@Jamart5
@Overkill07
Ya'll gots chiren

 

Haha, nice! We have four Recaro car seats in total (the same two are in my wife's Odyssey) and we absolutely love them. And not to take this thread too far off topic, I will tell you that as much as I opposed my wife's decision to get her minivan, installing both car seats in that van took significantly less time and effort. For as much as people love to knock them, minivans are where it's at when it comes to convenience with kids. Not only do we have significantly more room in the van than we do in my truck they've made it ridiculously easy to install and uninstall car seats. I was shocked (although in hindsight I really shouldn't have been).

Also, to the OP, I was in the same boat as you when I bought my Tacoma. Our second child had just arrived and after I decided to get a truck I was debating between a full sized Tundra and the double cab Tacoma. One of the main reasons I ended up going with the Tacoma was because it fits in my garage whereas the Tundra would not.

 

Not going to lie to ya, the Tacoma is tight when compared to other full size vehicles. Especially with two car seats. Pack smart.

 

Haha that's funny, we also have duplicates of both seats for my wife's Highlander, redundancy makes it so much easier!

I hear you on the minivan, can't argue with that. I think we'll make the move into one if we have a 3rd kid.

 

Yeah, we made the jump purely out of convenience. The Odyssey has a Rear Entertainment System and since we have family in North Carolina and make that drive several times per year, the minivan just made the most sense. And to keep this on topic, we've made that 7 hour drive in my Tacoma a few times and it wasn't too bad. We had an iPad strapped to my head rest to keep our oldest daughter enetertained and my wife only had to squeeze into the middle seat a few times to calm the baby. I don't know if I'd drive my truck much further than that but for medium distance trips, it's been just fine.

And we test drove a new Highlander before we bought the Odyssey and if I weren't so freakin big we would have bought one in a heartbeat. We found the third row in the Highlander to be just a bit too small and uncomfortable for a large adult and given how often we travel, the van met our needs a little better than the SUV. And I don't even want to think about a third kid... Because even when our oldest is in a booster seat, I don't know if I'd be able to squeeze two car seats and a booster seat in the back of the Tacoma. I'm sure it's been done before but I don't think I'd be willing to do it. I'd almost have to upgrade to a full size truck if we end up having another kid anytime soon.

 

We have two kids, 7 and 10. For short trips, less than 2 hours, it can be done in the Taco. Otherwise we take the wife's Durango. It's got the DVD entertainment action going on.

 

Get rear seat covers, I let my friend put his daughter carseat in my 3rd gen and she wiped her boogers all over my backseat bro

 

Lol

 

I have a 6 month old and 3 year old. The Tacoma does the job. Although we haven't really taken a long road trip yet with our 6 month old. She's a diva compared to my first one who took a 8 hour road trip at 3.5 months pretty good. But we take the Tacoma when going out on weekends and stuff. I think it's definitely more than enough for us. The camper shell definitely helps in just tossing stuff in there with out having to play Tetris when I had a bed cover. Set up is below. Although we just upgraded the 3 year old seat to a booster.

 

It's tight if you're taller. I'm 6'3 and wife is 5'4 with a 2.5 yr old and 6 month old. If my wife was any taller it wouldn't work. No room in back seats for anything really except for in between seats. Get a tonneau or shell so you can keep the stroller and other stuff back there. Changing a 6 month old in a parking lot on the passenger seat sucks!! Moving to Long Island next month from South Florida so this will be the longest trip we've had. Luckily my wife will be driving her Runner also. If I wasn't in the process of buying a new house I'd probably sell mine to get a Tundra or another 4Runner. Time to see how my PreRunner does up north .

 

Had a access cab with a 10 and 12 year old, this year was the last with that as it was just too dam tight, got the double cab, kids happy as a clam. How happy is a clam really?

 

The Taco should be tight when compared to any full size. Again mid size compared to full size. Apples and grapes

 

I have no kids but neices and nephews I lug around from time to time. The Tacoma is not a family vehicle, not unless you like driving around a truck with a trashed interior from little kids kicking the damn seat all the time.

The kids can deal with the lack of space but my sanity cannot. Also as a road trip vehicle the Taco sucks for the driver let alone those in the backseat. I limit my trips to 3 hours in the Taco because of front seat comfort. Not sure how you do.

If I had kids I'm going a new full size for space and safety features. If you have kids make sure you buy a model new enough to have curtain airbags.

My advice is an F150 (with a 6.5' bed) and buy a new house with a real mans garage . And do it quickly once the kids come your freedom ends!! Haha

Also, totally serious note here, whats wrong with a mini van? They have tons of room. More than a DCSB and it works out great for kids. Plus fuel economy is better than a Taco. They fit in a garage tooo.
A white Honda Odessey with tinted windows and a black roof rack would look bomb too. Just sayin.

 

I'm here to tell you guys, the day you get rid of those car seats is the day the Taco will have enough room. It's a night and day difference.

We gave our carseats away immediately! It was a great day!

Edit: I cannot recommend the Highlander enough for a family of 4! Excellent machine for growing families.

 

I got lucky in that when i bought my Tacoma my then 4 yr old was transitioning into a booster seat. He's 5 now and has plenty of room as well as the front passenger. Our 16 year old daughter is pretty short and she has plenty of room sitting behind the driver too. The bed has plenty of room for a couple tents and the rest of our camping gear for camping trips. I recommend big packer box of some sort for the bed on long trips as there is no room for suitcases and such in the cab.

 

Two kids here, 1 booster, 1 rear-facing. I'm 6', my wife 5'1". Space is acceptable and will only improve when they're both in boosters, and later, no booster at all. I sit upright in my seat and don't slouch. We tuck things between driver seat and rear-facing for overnight trips. Wife keeps purse by her feet. We put kid's travel blankets and toys between them.

I got some KB Voodoo bars and a basket to keep camping and hunting gear high and dry in the back. I can bungy a tarp over our gear and keep bed space for firewood, kayaks, etc.

 

We have a 5 year old and a 3 year old riding in the back seats of our 2005 DCLB, They love it.

Bought it when our son was 1 as my daily; went from one center backwards carseat - to one backwards, one forwards - to one booster and one forwards.. soon to be two boosters. plenty of room for their books and a bucket* of toys between them. Canopy out back means there is always room for stuff.

From daily in and out trips, to our 11hr annual trek to the grandparents house, the Tacoma is hard to beat.
I'm not going to drive a 40 ft long Tundra CrewCab just because of the kids..

My wife drives an SG Forester and it does a great job for daily trips or longer highway/freeway rides when it's just the four of us. If we're camping, travelling in winter, exploring, or taking our dog we're always in the Tacoma.

*My son has tossed his cookies twice in the Subaru, not once in the Tacoma. I think he sees better out of the windows in the truck, and I drive it less like a rallycar..