Any Single Dads rolling in a Regular Cab?

Hi folks,

Spent a decade behind the wheel of an '81 Toyota pickup, then a Reg. Cab 2010 Tacoma, then a 4Runner when marriage and my son came along, then a 2010 4x4 Ford E350 as a campervan. Now divorce struck and the 5 year old kiddo is with me half time, the van is my DD at 10mpg, and I'm trying to minimize by selling the van, putting a chunk of change in savings, and buying a different vehicle outright. A nice looking 2007 reg. cab with low mileage popped up locally and all the used Double Cabs and 4Runners aren't worth selling the van for - cheaper to keep the van.

Any single dads out there with just one kid in a reg. cab? I'd get one with a bench seat in case I needed belts for 3. Is it working out? Or are you always wishing you had more doors?

Thanks!

 

No kids here, but my concern would be the airbag. You may be able to shut the passenger airbag off on that year, but I am not sure about that.

 

My regularly cab has the bench seat. It has a weight sensor for the airbag, though some older ones had a switch on the dash.

 

I don't have any kids but you may want to consider at least an ext cab. Unless you plan on some storage, canopy, tonneau cover or something to keep things. I have a regular cab nissan and with 2 people there's no room for anything.

 

Good point. I remember my '10 Reg. Cab with bench seat had the switch to turn off the airbag. I'll have to make sure that exists if I end up picking one up.

 

Yeah, I'd have a camper shell on it for sure to store things and have a spot for the dog.

 

Then a single cab would be fine.

 

married, no kids access cab works when grocery shopping or holding golf clubs..........they can always go in the bed but wifey hates it when the bags tip over. lol

 

Kid needs a booster seat until 4'10" tall

 

Thanks for the replies, folks. I understand the airbag and child seat regulations, I'm just mostly wondering about daily life with 2 doors and another regular passenger.

 

I don't find it bad at all. There's actually quite a bit of room behind the bench seat for stuff, it just requires some creativity in organization. A cooler in the bed is great for groceries. It's my daily driver with a regular passenger as well.

 

I bought a regular cab for my daughter to drive. Didn't want her to have room for a slew of passengers. Truck has bucket seats. No turnoff for the passenger airbag. Weight sensor in the seat.

 

Since when did divorced parents = single parents. Big difference. One has zero help the other still has just as many parents doing the work.

 

But now he's got one, single, parent, parenting him at a time...and I'm not regularly driving around with his mom in the vehicle anymore, and I need something cheap and affordable to get me through a tough time in my life. This is about vehicles, not semantics, Connor. Thanks for the empathy.

 

I just think people aren't respecting the difference anymore.

Unless you need a truck. Upgrade to a more economical van with modern day safety features. Safer for junior and more practical.

 

I see both sides of the argument here @FarmerFrederico and @PackCon .

Technically you are single now, and a parent. Therefore a single parent. On the other hand "single parent" genuinely means the other person left the equation entirely and you are taking care of the kid 100% of the time.

I think adding a poll to this thread would be helpful to solve this once and for all.

 

From "can I get by with a 3 seater," to "you're not a single parent," in 14 posts flat. Nice job TW.

@FarmerFrederico I'd wait for a bit and try to get an access cab for the kid. In Canada what you are trying to do is actually illegal. Yes, I realize you are in the USA but it's illegal up here for a reason. Those automatic airbag off switches can and do fail to detect the proper weight difference. Even if there is a cutoff switch there have been cases where the airbag triggered anyways. I would never stick my 3 year old in the front seat of any vehicle, period. How would you feel if, during this tough time, you killed your kid as well. I know, that's dark, but you do have to think of things like that. Trust me I've been divorced, it's a tough situation when you're handing away money to someone else that you need but, cut corners where it doesn't effect your kids.

Odds are the regular cab you found for cheap is cheap because it's a 5 lug truck and it maybe has something wrong with it. The access cab 5 lug trucks are usually the same price as 5 lug regular cab trucks so wait it out for one of those. That's my 2 cents, best of luck.

 

I don't want to also pick up a torch but he said 'single dad' not 'single parent'; semantics ensued but technically he [OP] isn't wrong in what he said.

Now for my $.02 on the regular cab question.
- I would not run a mid-sized truck regular cab with a young child regularly.

What I am inferring from your current van choice you use your vehicle for more than just your 'daily' commute because an E350 4x4 is not a common vehicle choice. I'd keep a lookout for a 4x4 extended cab or possibly consider owning two vehicles that more suit your 'dad' roles of outdoor wheeling fun and commuting.

 

Thanks for the support guys.

I'd really appreciate a truck, as I've built my life around one over the years and have overland items I can transfer to it - solar, fridge, OBA. Van became my DD after the divorce as before we shared the other car she now has or biked to work and there are days I have to drive to get kiddo around.

I hear you on cutting corners where it doesn't affect the kiddo. The airbag stuff on a regular cab is too freaky as I look into it. Thanks for talking me out of it.

Either I wait for an access cab that fits the bill or go the Subaru route...I really need to sell the van to put $$$ back into savings as I'm super cash poor now after buying her out on the house.

 

You could look into an outback... there are certain years that burn oil so watch for those if you're buying almost new. We have a 2017 and it is much more comfortable than the Tacoma for 99% of our uses. Tacoma vs Outback of the same vintage you will save a lot of money and gain options by going with the Outback. IMHO