Access Cab - Does it Baby?

Currently no kids, but the wife is starting to get the baby fever now that a few of her friends have babies........

We've currently got a 2015 Tacoma AC (35k miles) and a 2012 Corolla (65k miles) and have been contemplating replacing the Corolla with a newer Corolla with more options (my wife really, really likes Corollas.)

My wife has been trying to master the clutch on the Tacoma for two years and it just isn't happening, so I'm thinking maybe we'll trade it in on a double cab (automatic) and I'll take over the Corolla if/when a baby happens. Can anyone with kids comment on what it's like dealing with a baby in an Access Cab?

 

"Does it Baby?"







Beside that
Do you already feel cramped in your AC? The DC is only so much bigger. I'm 6' and it feels pretty tiny in there.
If you're planning on having a child (or two+) then I would 100% suggest going with a DC, but don't lose the MT.

 

Honestly. I think it feels pretty roomy, but I've never actually had anyone in the jump seats.

 

Let me ask you two things... How tall are you if I may ask, and have you sat in a full size truck before?

 

Standard child seats don't fit in the AC unless you stick them in the middle. Okay for one kiddo, not okay for two.

 

I'm 5'5" and my wife is 5'2"....Yes, we're leprechauns. My father in law has a full size chevy, which seems HUGE, since I've only ever owned compact cars and Wranglers.

 

Ah ok, that's what I was figuring. No offence I guess if you're planning on having a child or two, might as well for for the increased space and swap to a DC. It wouldn't hurt.

 

Times sure have changed...When I was born, in the 80's, it was perfectly acceptable for my parents to drive around with me sitting between them in the front seat of a Datsun pickup.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't feel too safe putting a car seat in the middle of an AC. Your truck is still worth quite a bit on trade - I'd find a DC with a MT and bite the bullet now. This way when the little one comes along you can get your wife her new corolla.

 

Its going to be tight in a Corolla, although I haven't seen the newer models.

The size of the car seats and the rear facing situation eats up a lot of room. I've got a rear facing and a front facing in the back of a DC and it's kinda tight even with the front seats fairly forward.

We aren't much taller than you and your wife and it's still kinda tight. Doable though. I couldn't imagine having an AC with a child. It's not just a tiny baby. It's the seat and the bag of accessories and miscellaneous BS that goes with the baby.

At this point I kinda wish I'd kept my old Tundra. MPG was shit, but interior room was never an issue.

 

Love my AC. My kids are grown and out of the house. When the kids were actually in car seats, I drove a Tahoe, Suburban, and an Avalanche. I never had too much room. The AC will not cut it with a child seat and all the crap you have to lug around with you.

If your wife doesn't already drive a stick, don't have her be a new mom and stick driver. It won't end well.

 

A very good point......

At this point it's a it's still a solid maybe and I don't want to rush into spending any money, but we will need to figure out something if/when it happens.

I'll be 33 in a few months and we've more or less decided that if it doesn't happen in the next year (or two) that we'll settle for being bad role models for her sister's kids.......At which point I'm perfectly content cramming someone else's kids into the back of an access cab for camping trips and sailing.

 

You could save enough money to buy a fleet of new trucks that way.

 

Heh, 35 for the wief is closer to the right way to look at it. Guy's age is slightly less relevant.

As for the truck, here's what our DC looked like when we were rear facing.

 

In mine, the rear facing would not fit in the back with a human in the front seat. With a front facing seat it was ok, but tight for whoever was sitting in the passenger seat, and rear legroom is an issue for a toddler. Now with a high back booster, the booster will not physically fit in the truck because the rear head rests are not removable.

TL/DR
So basically my experience was it was ok with no passenger, or for short trips with front facing. Booster was a no go.

FYI, my f-150 access cab has plenty of room.

 

I bought my access cab before I knew I was going to have children. One is 8, the other 5. So far, they still fit back there. It's alright for your average drive. I'm sure they'd be uncomfortable on a road trip though.

 

We tried with our new born son at the time in my X-Runner...yeah had to trade it in.

 

Won't work, did this exact thing and ended up with the same results... my only gripe is that they didn't offer speedway blue in the 15' model, so I settled for blue ribbon metallic. But now I can tow a camper! Which is great for the family life! (Got to look at the bright side of things!!!)

God I miss my X-Runner!

 

Car seat - absolutely not gonna happen. If the car seat doesn't fit all the way on the seat pad, it doesn't fit. The wrong cop WILL file child endangerment charges, this is not like 1986 when kids could ride safely on the dashboard. If you want to use a car seat, it's gotta go up front and the wife has to ride in the back. That said, my 3 year old's Babytrend PROtect Yumi folding booster seat fits perfectly in my access cab (and is a pretty close match to my orange accent interior), but I had to take the headrest off, as the seat kept flopping forward. 8 year old fits just fine in the other jump seat. 3 year old who lives to play with buckles and door handles can't reach the seatbelt from his booster seat or open the door with front door closed. Scotchgard is your friend, spray everything fuzzy. I used 3 cans.

 

Update: My sister in law is due in December, so she's got a seat and I've concluded that rear facing is going to be a very tight fit (with a passenger in the front seat). We've decided that we're going to target sometime between late 2018 to early 2019 for a baby. I really don't want to part with my AC and my parents always told me never, ever, ever roll debt from one vehicle to the next......

The only upside to waiting to have a kid until we are in our 30s is that we've killed off most of our debt. I initially didn't like the thought of a third car, but one of my coworkers has convinced me that our best option is to find a low mileage crossover for dedicated child transport....Then we'll have two vehicles that get reasonably good fuel economy, plus a 4x4 truck that doesn't have to be unloaded after camping/boating.

Yeop....Totally a first world problem and using strangers on the internet to justify my thought process.