access cab for family

I don't have any kids but i think you would be better of with a double cab.

 

access cab is not good for passengers

 

Access cab... Dog = yes, kids = no

 

My 12 year old doesn't complain on short trips but asks why they put hard plastic at the back instead of a cusion on longer trips. Why we take the Prius on long trips. Great for tools, pets and kids(for 15 minute trips).

 

I have a 7 year old and a 1 year old. The AC is perfect for us. I won't drive cross country with them in the back but we use it frequently and it works great. We had to have the long bed and a long bed double cab doesn't fit in my garage.
I suppose it depends what you're using it for.

 

Got the same car seats for the taco. Fit great. Very compact compared the britax in my wifes pilot. Granted the britax are much nicer, but both serve the same purpose.

 

Keep in mind your boys are at the right ages for some big growth spurts.

You need to ask yourself some questions. Why am I looking at an AC? Because its cheaper? Because of the look?

I was initially planning on buying an AC SR5 2.7 5 speed. That's what I wanted. I love the look and loved the longer bed, plus it was cheaper actually about 5k cheaper in the end. It fit my bill perfectly. Ended up leaving with a 4.0 SR5 DCSB. After putting the 4 year old in the back in her car seat, she had NO room and she is a little thing, then I put the rear facing seat in and my wife had no room on her side.

Now keep in mind my kids rarely ride in the truck. 9 times out of 10 we take my wife's Journey to do family type stuff. But just a few weeks ago we needed the truck. Went to Sears bought a grill, went to walmart bought a patio furniture set, then went to lowes and picked up bags of mulch and flowers. Would of been a major pain to stuff everyone in an AC and even more of a pain(and a waste of cash) to drive two vehicles around.

My suggestion is if you have a family buy the DC. In the long run it just works better. I work out of town through the week, I love the extra space in the back for my supplies I need during the week, and I normally keep my boat down here and it's nice to be able to load 4 adults in my truck and go fishing instead of taking more than one vehicle.

Not saying Extend cab trucks or Regular cab trucks are useless. When I was single I had an Extend cab Ranger, got married, bought a Ram quad cab, and then this Tacoma DCSB. I know people do it all the time with an AC truck, but at this point in my life I'd rather just have the room than fight with stuffing the kids in the back of a small truck. Plus I just think its safer to have the full sized seating in the back. I still have a regular cab Ranger 2x4 short box that me and the little girl(she is always with me for home chores) take to go to the dump and to pick up larger building supplies(4x8 sheets of material fit better and I don't give a darn about beating it up the truck) I remember being a kid and my dad ALWAYS bought regular cab work trucks. I remember when I was older sitting in the middle I had to shift because there was no room for dad to reach the gear shift.

 

I went double and it is tight with kids... 8mos, and 3.5 years old. Car seats (rear facing) swallowed up the entire truck. I know that your kids are out of seats, but for others it is important. It did help me to justify my topper that I really love. If I was to do it all over, I would have done a 1 1/2 cab tundra. Money was the same and with the 4.6 the mileage is very close. The resale of the tacos is what put me in the dcsb trd sport. Looks like in 7yrs at 110,000 the taco will be worth more ($3000) and be more desirable. I know that we should buy what we want, but when these trucks are $30k, you have to look at the numbers harder now than ever!!

 

I love my AC, but my kids are all grown and out of the house. I like the extra room, without the extra length of a DC. However, you need a DC. Unless you are a midget, the AC rear seat isn't very comfortable

 

Thanks for the replies, just have to keep looking for the right one now, hard to find a used tacoma with under 60k kilometers for under $31,000. I was almost looking at the dreaded"frontier" lol just because of the price difference is incredible. I know if the gas mileage is better and the resale is better on the tacoma it would make sense to spend the extra 5 or 6k in the long run.

 

Make it a double