Baby on the way, Access Cab

I’d recommend that you find something else. No room in the back and a lot of safety concerns with baby in the front seat.

 

I sincerely appreciate your input but "something else" is not an option.

My friend owns a 2014 SR5 DCSB. He claims that his wife can't fit in the front passenger seat when his kid is in the car seat in the back.

 

I also have an access cab.

My daughter who is now 13 rides in the back, first in a booster seat and now without, nothing unusual.

However, I am 6’-4” and have ridden in the back seat of my truck from time to time when my wife was driving and while not comfortable, certainly doable.

If the passenger seat is moved all the way forward, there will be sufficient room to install whatever child seat you have behind it, I am almost certain.

If it was me, I would make it work putting the seat in the back, never in the front.

There is a reason it’s called an “accident”.

One of a parents main duties is protecting their children until they are capable of protecting themselves. Don’t shirk your duty.

My $.02.

 

I think this gets into our desire to be able to lounge when in a vehicle. I fit a car seat and booster n the back of my access cab for years. In fact went from Jeep Cherokee sport to a 95 yota pick up. Then went to the 09 access cab. Till my son was almost 13, then there wasn’t enough room.

 

Amen.

I want to try and make the back seat work first as there are tie downs back there. Seems more secure. There were front seat tie downs in my 2011 SR5 but none in the 2017, perhaps due to lessons learned.

 

You're probably right. My friend is 6'3" and I'm 6 ft. He always has the seat as far back as he can. I on the other hand always put the seat as far forward as I can because that's how I learned to drive.

 

Ya, I’m 6’2” and have to give a click or two when my son sits behind me.

 

Just my .2, we also have a child about the same age as yours (beautiful gift from God) and I was thinking if at all possible to ask your wife to have her seat moved forward as much as possible and try get a car seat mounted in the rear. I know it would be tight and not sure if there is any hardware for the car seat but you can make do.

 

I understand. Taco’s just really aren’t made for baby seats. That’s why a lot of people jump to a fullsized. There are some car seats that fit well in the DC. There’s a couple of threads on it. However most are really bulky. And an AC has pretty much no room. I wouldn’t ever trust a baby in a front seat. But if that’s your only resort, make sure it’s Latched down. I would resort to the car seats owners manual and make sure it follows their specs. Also I would stop and get one of those safety checks that the state police usually do (here in NY anyway) better to be safe than sorry. Last thing you want is your child dying in a crash.

 

I had a 09 AC when my daughter was born. I too was stubborn and wanted to make it work. We used Chicco Keyfit30 and mounted it rear facing on the passengers side. We could barely get the front seat to lock in at its farthest forward position. My wife was crammed and not safe if the airbag went off. I moved it to the middle of backseats. I had to fill in the small gap between the two rear seats for it to work. I used the latch systems from each side to click into. It made more room and we could at least take the truck if needed. Shortly after we found out our second was on its way. My kids are 1 year and 1 day apart. No way were 2 rear facing seats going to fit so I sold the AC and bought a DC. Even with a DC it was cramped having two full size car seats in the back. They are now 5 & 6 in booster seats and we have decent room. If you plan of having more then 1 kid, bite the bullet and get a DC now. If you think 1 kid is expensive, wait for 2.
Congratulations on becoming a Dad. Enjoy

 

I'm 62, raised 2 kids and have 5 grandkids. If I could do it over again I'd have bought a full size crew cab truck when my kids were young and just kept it running until they got out of the house. I have a BIL who did that in 1999 and is still driving his 1999 F250 crew cab with 400,000 miles on it. His youngest is still in college. He will buy a new truck when she graduates.

I'd have spent a lot less money if I'd done the same. The mistake I made was trying to make smaller stuff work. You might get by with what you have for a short time, but you'll eventually need to upgrade. Buy once, cry once.

When I got married I was driving a regular cab truck. It worked fine until kid #2 came along and I traded for a full size extended cab. Which worked OK until the kids got bigger. And wanted to bring along friends. I tried a SUV. Which was OK, but I still needed a truck at times so that meant a SUV and an older truck. I finally said, "screw it" and bought a crew cab F150. I kept that truck until my youngest moved out and bought the Tacoma in 2007 after I no longer needed a big truck.

But by 2016 we had enough grandkids that I found myself looking for something bigger and I'm back in a crew cab F150. We kept the Tacoma and it is now my wife's daily driver. It still works for the grandkids, but when they get a little older even a DC Tacoma isn't going to be enough.

 

Here are my hang-ups on getting a DCSB:

1. Money. My access cab is nearly paid off. My wife has a 2014 Fusion with 110,000 miles. It's paid off but it isn't worth a nickel and I will need to replace it long before the Tacoma. We're just about to finish building a new house, the wife is considering staying home full time, and I'm not about to take on more debt.

2. Transmission. I drive a stick and don't like how the automatic drives or tows. A DCSB Sport with a manual is super hard to find around here. Off Road DCSB manuals are easier to find, but the suspension is too spongy for my taste.

3. Function. The truck is not used as a family vehicle and we're not "outdoorsy." My truck goes to the lumber yard, not the lake. No need to load the family up in the pickup.

4. TSS. Not a fan of nanny stuff.

5. Space. As I said before if I HAD to upgrade I might as well go full-size, which would be a tight squeeze in the garage.

 

I do find it funny that my mom had a 1967 VW Squareback and a 1968 Mercury Cougar back in the day and managed to survive with two kids, but today's families need a Canyonero

 

Oh amen to this! My grandfather moved 6 kids from Denver to DC in a Ford Fairlane in the late 60s. Man we've gotten soft.

 

There is not much more room in a DC. The bed is 13in shorter, but the seat backs are much thicker with storage compartments big enough for a slim subwoofer enclosure.

I'm 6ft with a long torso. I fit nicely in the back of my AC but have not ridden back there even though I want to try it out. I sat in the back of a DC and laughed. A scosche more knee room, but with the thicker seat bottom, my head was riding the headliner a lot more.


I remember that back in the day, a family had three young kids and a Hummer H1A at my wife's school. They somehow attached one of the car seats to the center tunnel.


Back when our first was born, our sedan didn't have LATCH yet. So, I was a little worried about how well the car seat was installed. I took it to the local FD that was offering safety checks. They were impressed. That made me happy. LATCH or not, car seats can be installed very securely. LATCH makes it easier, but I have seen low rent car seats that cannot be properly installed with LATCH. The car seat side anchoring is not designed properly.

Just in case, the secret is to preload the seat base to get a bit of crush on the vehicle seat foam. This ensures that there is minimal play in a collision.


The final thing to remember is that there have been too many collision threads posted around here. A lot at highway speeds with only one or two talking about a serious injury. The Tacos have the safety thing down, esp the 3rd Gen with improved cab structure. There is comfort in that.

 

Yeah, felt the same about not using my truck since my wife has a Honda Pilot. For some reason or another we ended up using my truck more and more. Thought about a full size, but just couldn't justify the need for one so I stayed with a Tacoma.

 

If it is all yours, then you are doing GREAT!!!! Usually trying to attain the "nicest stuff in the world" gets in the way of the most important stuff in the world! CONGRATS ON THE BABY!!!!!!!!!

 

CDC and other information regarding airbag deaths does not apply when you have passenger seat front airbag off. 3rd gens have an occupant classification system that automatically turns off front airbag when passenger weight is low, side curtain still functions, check the indicator lights to make sure.

Check your owners manual for your 2017. It should read like this or similar:
http://www.ttguide.net/front_passenger_
occupant_classification_system-46.html
And:
http://www.ttguide.net/child_restraint_systems-47.html
Also see:
https://howtoadult.com/child-seat-belt-laws-pickup-truck-16582.html
and:
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/857
Don’t trust us in the forum with your new baby lol

 

Just needing suggestions!

 

Hoping someone who has done it posts here. I am in the same boat as you OP.