Car Seat Help!

I have a 2020 TRD Pro and I love it and wanted to keep it long term but we’re expecting and the car seat we have requires moving the seat up too far. My wife is only 5’2” and her knees touch once the passenger seat is moved up to not touch the rear facing car seat (Chico Keyfit - which was one of the smallest ones they had at the store we went to at least).

Anyone have any recommendations? Do they make smaller car seats that come in a kit like the Chico which clicks into the base and the stroller?

I was considering getting a 4Runner but I don’t want something that gets worse mileage than the Tacoma and I don’t want to buy something that’s being redesigned in the next year or two. If I can figure something out until I can get the next gen 4Runner that would be ideal.

 

even when the seat is in the middle?

 

I used the chico key fit. I had it in the middle.
Now using the diono

 

Not really anything you can do. Rear leg room is not ideal in a Tacoma anyway. I need to bring my seat back so the only option for me is to the car seat behind the passenger seat and move that seat up. We use my wife's Honda Pilot for basically all family travels, and I just pick up our Son occasionally from his Grandma's house.

 

I had a single car seat in my gen2 extended cab and now have two carseats in my gen 3 double cab. The trick is using the middle seat for the infant and larger seats. I use the teathers (one from each side) for the middle and then the seat belt for the passenger side. Once you get past the infant seats it's much easier. Radian makes a good narrow option after the infant.

You can do it just need to find the right seats and placement.

 

im not tellin you how to live your life but the latch attachments were not designed to take forces from those angles so if its possible i would use the latch attachments for the passenger side seat and the seatbelt for the middle

 

I asked about doing this at the police station when we had our seat inspected and they said to the same thing, to not do that.

I also asked about just putting it in the middle and using the seatbelt, they said that’s fine but they said you can’t have the seats touch the car seat so it was worse than just putting it behind the passenger because we’d have to move both seats up because of the way the top part of the front seat comes so far back.

 

Diono is the way to go.

 

It is tight but very manageable. We used the Diono (which has a very high safety rating and also appears to take up less space) in our 2005 AC. I think in a 2020 Tacoma you will be fine, OP. But I would call them and see what they recommend:

https://store.diono.com/car-seats/

I don't think you will have an issue if you put the child in a rear facing car seat in the middle of the seat. Of course, when that happens your wife (or you, depending who is driving) will want to be in the back seat anyway. You won't be able to resist.

Background info:

"A study published in Pediatrics, showed for children newborn to 3 years old and all installs being equal, sitting in the center rear seat is 43% safer than sitting on the side in the back. The rear center position will be the furthest from any impact in any type of crash."

Link:
https://saferide4kids.com/blog/where-to-put-your-car-seat/

In short, the Tacoma will be just fine. And you will enjoy the best times of your life! . Good luck to you and definitely report back what you decide.

 

Not sure if a full on infant car seat will work for your situation. When I got my truck my daughter was 1 and I had switched from a Nuna infant car seat (very compact but very expensive) and started using a Graco slim fit 3 in 1. Rear facing there was plenty of room for my 5 foot tall wife. She sat in the back seat most of the time anyway which made me put my seat 1 notch closer than normal which wasn’t a big deal, I’m 6’1 but sit fairly upright.

Once they go front facing its so much easier, I also switched to the Diono like other people have said because it’s even more compact than the Graco slim fit.

 

They grow out of that car/seat stroller combo very fast. I would get a Britax.... they are rated for 60lbs... meaning you'll spend less money buying the right car seat and stroller. Personally I would stay away from those combo kits. This comes from personal experience.
This is the one we had.
https://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-clicktight-convertible-car-seat-ashton.html

 

i did not know this. will have to do some research and reading about it.

 

after some quick googling, it is not expressly prohibited by NTSB/NHTSA or anything like that. Ultimately (from my understanding) what it comes down to is that the car seat manufacturer allows it, and the vehicle manufacturer allows it. see link: https://help.gracobaby.com/s/articl...of-the-front-vehicle-seat-in-rear-facing-mode

some car seat manufacturers prohibit the rear facing car seat from touching the seat in front of it. but not all.

 

Get a topper and put the kids in the bed, much easier to clean out all of their cracker crumbs. It's pretty safe with a bed rug, they just kind of roll around back there on sharp turns. It's kind of like a play pen.

On a serious note, look for a smaller car seat or a different car. We have two kids 18 months apart, and it even sucked in the 4Runner trying to get them in/out with two car seats. Minivan is GOAT for kids and makes everything so much easier, even now that they are out of booster seats. Just remote open the door and they get in and buckle up.