1st time Tacoma owner

I just finalized a deal to buy my first Tacoma- 2001 SR5 V6, manual, 4x4 154k . I hope it gives me many years of trouble free use. Hauling motorcycles, exploring forest roads,mountain bike shuttling,etc

My 1 st biggest concern is going to be putting a child seat in the extra cab area...I searched and came up with access cab 2nd gen questions. Is anybody running a car sear in their 1st gen?

Thank you

p.s Pictures will come-picking up wednesday

 

Sweet truck! any pics?
There's a section in the manual about hooking up car seats I'm pretty sure but I've never done it. Should be able to download it pdf through toyota website

And Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome.
1st gen, best gen.

 

Prepare your wallet for the forthcoming mods

 

I believe you should have a key-operated switch on the dash to turn the passenger airbag off. You can then put a child seat up front.

1st gen extracabs aren't that big, and even a little kid back there isn't going to have much, if any leg room, lol...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/baby-seat-in-an-xtra-cab.426292/

 

If you figure out the answer to this you will be a god among men...or at least those of us that also have tiny extra cabs with a baby on the way, and fearing for our beloved truck's future.

I have the ability to turn my front passenger air bag off, but I wasn't sure if that made it okay to put a child seat up front still? I wasn't sure if the back seat only rule still applied or not.

Of course no matter what I'm still going to be looking at getting a 2nd vehicle, even if I can legally put a car seat up front I still don't think my 1st gen is the safest option to cart a newborn around in. In fact I know it's not lol. I'm mostly only hoping its possible for the odd family trip we might take, even though my wife would be miserable in the back jump seat (good thing she's pretty small).

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome aboard!

 

yeah, the only reason that switch is there is for the little crumb snatchers and their car seats.

And actually, for an extracab, it's really not that bad if you're the only adult back there. You just sit to the side and you have all the leg room you could want. I did a mountain bike road trip in my old 5 lug (97 extracab) with 4 people. The two dudes in the back just crossed their legs with each other. Not the most heterosexual thing in the world, but they said it actually was pretty comfortable given the alternative, lol.

It may depends on what state you're in, but I'm pretty sure the back seat rule is the whole "if available" thing, and it's just for the vehicles with airbags. Backwards facing, there's no way a car seat would fit in the back so they have to go up front anyway.

I'm really just lucky I ended up with a doublecab. When I bought mine (in 2005), I didn't really care if it was a 2 or 4 door. First one that met my criteria happened to be a 4 door, which, when we started having kids ended up being a bonus. Really makes family wheeling trips easier. When it's just me and my boy (he's 10 now), he gets to sit up front when we hit the trail.

 

Yeah she's sat in the back of the extra cab before, when I had both her and her brother with me on a trail. It's doable but she hated it lol. I don't blame her, that back "seat" is no place for a grown human being. But it works if you need it to.

I sometimes wish I had opted for a 2nd gen so I could've gotten a DC 4x4 w/manual trans but it wasn't in the financial cards at the time when I got this truck. And 1st gens will always be nearer and dearer to my heart. I'll have to do some more research on the laws but if it turns out I can put a car seat up front with the airbag off, then that will alleviate some of my worry right now lol.

 

heresy!

If you have the switch, you absolutely can; that's what it is there for.

It's illegal to put a rear facing seat where there's an airbag, actually. I don't think it's illegal, but certainly not recommended to have an airbag for a front facing seat, either.

I don't have the switch in my doublecab.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/airbag3.htm

 

Don’t feel bad about the AC can, Even a double cab is super tight with a rear facing baby seat.
4 runner is the choice of comfy kids

 

I have my 2 year olds seat front facing in the back. I was running him in the front with the airbag off rear facing, but he got too big. Though it is recommended to have your child rear facing for as long as possible, he very much prefers the back with the passenger headrest off the seat as he can see right out the windshield. My wife and I spent a lot of time searching for a good quality low profile car seat. We were searching for one with the shortest seat from front to rear so a passenger could still sit in the vehicle without being in the dash. Attaching the car seat is the hard part. There are no modern restraining points, and the seatbelt alone left the car seat wobbly from side to side. We basically used a ratchet strap hooked to the seatbelt attachment points to supplement the seatbelt and hooks and straps that came with the seat and now it's immovable. That being said if you take this route installing and removing it is a huge pain in the ass, so plan on it being semi-permanent.

 

so i suppose its frowned upon making everybody get into the bed in back
i was generous once at a gas station to three teens and their dog that were looking for a ride north of KCMO
3 hours through the rain on I-29 and they got to find a new transporter, i can't remember if they had fun back there or not, it was kinda cold and windy out (and rainy)

 

there is a restraint system in the rear passenger area. The pic shows the "cup holder" flip up tray. This the bottom platform for where the child seat goes. The little plastic above the backrest pops off for a belt. then use the regular seat belt thru the child seat.

 

https://www.toyotanation.com/forum/...ed-cab-rear-seat-questions-2.html#post2517139

 

Unfortunately I don't have the plastic cover and mounting location by the window. It must have been added after the production of my vehicle.

 

hmm, maybe it was an 01-04 thing

 

I'm pretty sure that was added late in the 1st gen run, probably not till 2001 or maybe even later.

It's pretty much a joke to think you'll get a child seat back there anyway, but I think it was a federal regulation that they had to follow.