Baby be coming...all we need is a truck.

It’s a bit much for a diaper change...If we’re doing it why not set up a high pressure complete delousing station

 

The seat support belt really makes it lean in towards the back too, so whenever our young daughter fell asleep, her face would be down in a very steep angle and we couldn’t see her. It was bad.We ended up putting a wedge out of a dense foam cushion in the back part of the seat to help tilt the chair for her. We made sure the seat was secure, too.

 

Not enough of an angle, Taco rear seats really lean back and even the fronts, too. That’s why people are putting in spacers.

 

Ones that have a separate base tend to be better. That’s my experience. The base goes up and down depending on the angle of the seat it’s installed on.

 

We had an evenflo and britax (sp?) that could do it, maybe they are better now. OP should bring seats and really try everything out, belts and all, while shopping.

 

Some great points, I might have to do that. Bring the car seat and test it out. Thanks everyone, I think I will keep the Tacoma as a option. Just out of curiosity, has anyone taken a really long road trip in the tacoma with their families?

 

Once.

 

Dude..
I've had 3 car seats in the back of a 2nd Gen 4runner....
You'll be fine with the taco

 

How long is long? lots of times! Extended camping trips every long vacation we could find. There are creative ways to make up for not having an extended cab that a 4-runner has, like putting the cooler and extra clothes bags on a platform within reach near the slider window in the shell so you can reach it while driving if necessary, using floorspace behind the front seats for storage until the kids’ legs were longer and they needed more room, using a soft cooler (not a hard one to be safer) between the kids in back, and my favorite - grab bar and seat belt mod up on the cabrack for noisy whiners

Don’t get me wrong, a taco is totally doable for a family, we’ve had some of the best trips in ours. It’s just that there has been times when we missed the 4runner. We actually thought about another one, but the towing capacity of a taco is more than a 4runner and we also have a travel trailer now.

Here I am packed up for a long trip with my daughter who is now a teenager, we had the best time exploring Washington and eastern Oregon, and are planning to do a similar 10-day trip again together in July!

 

How exciting! I love visiting Washington and Oregon! Where did you go that was the most memorable?
Which travel trailer are you using?

 

I’m very happy with my Tacoma. Have a 4 year-old and new baby. Yes, a little tight because of car seats, but worth it. We even squeezed grandma in the back between the car seats today. My oldest always wants to ride in the truck and loves climbing in. I find that the truck—in of itself—creates opportunities for memories. Such as climbing through the back window rather than using the door, eating cheeseburgers in the bed, going over “big bumps,” camping in the tent up above, and so much more. Our Corolla has a little more back row room, but the it isn’t as fun (according to my four year-old).

The truck has plenty of cargo room as well, although, I do have a softopper—which has done quite well in typical PNW Portland/Seattle weather.

We’re planning a road trip with the two kids in a few weeks to Colorado. It will be much more fun in the truck than our Corolla. At this point, I wouldn’t trade my truck for anything else.

 

There are a couple companies that make 0 degree sliders with or without fill plates that are meant to also be used as steps. You might take a look at those, they look nice.

 

We got a Jayco 175 RD Baja edition, its 21’ long and sleeps 4. Their “Baja” editions have flipped axles, larger water and holding tanks, and are covered underneath to make them more suitable for nicely graded dirt roads and winterized. I also put solar on it and extra batteries to be self contained. Its funny though, we use our Smittybuilt RTT more than the trailer!

On my last trip with my daughter (my wife missed out due to work) we started out in Winthrop and drove west to the Olympic coast, then down 101 and around Olympic NP for a while, headed to Portland and east to Malheur. We camped there up on Steens Mtn (Wow!) and headed east off of the backside down into the desert below and went south into Nevada, Great Basin NP, and back to California after that. It was all amazing!

We brought the bikes in the photo above, along with the doggy trailer, and we also brought our 18’ double sea kayak - its a Folbot folding kayak which I stored in the bed. Yup, along with our camping gear and all we were really loaded!

Man, can’t beat an RTT for family camping, it goes up anywhere in 5 minutes, comes down in 10, and kids can’t get it dirty! . Well, ok, at least not that much!

 

Great times for sure. But, it has everything to do with family and nothing to do with the vehicle lol.
Some of my best memories were going to tournaments and vacations. Kids had a blast and we did too. The vehicle? A boring Sienna. The memories of the family unit last forever, the vehicle? Not so much.
One of the best vehicle stories involved 3500 miles in seven days going to six tournaments. The vehicle was a 4Runner but the memories were the kids.

 

Two kids in a double cab here. Get a tonneau cover or camper shell for sure and it’ll work just fine. A full size crew cab would be better if my truck was the full time family truckster I guess but I prefer driving a vehicle the size of my Tacoma better. It’ll be easier when they’re both front facing for sure.

As far as bringing stuff, jeez just bring less maybe? Wipers, diapers, and a couple changes of clothes plus snacks in a shoulder bag, plus a stroller or two in the bed under the cover has you covered for most any day trip.

 

Regarding the posts about tilted seats and foam wedges. If you get a good seat the base is adjustable. All seats are tilted except maybe the fold down bench seats in the back of access cabs. On our Chico Keyfit30 and Chico next seats they have a leveling bubble. You adjust the base to where the seat is at the correct angle. The Tacoma rear seat is less tilted then my wife’s Outback.

 

Whatever car seat you get, make sure it has a base that stays in the truck and that it uses the seat belt style attachments. Put it in the middle seat and you’re good to go.

I have the Chicco Fit2 with a base for each vehicle. Extremely easy to get car seat in and out. And it’s adjustable with a level indicator @Thegenerik1

I put the ARE Overland camper shell out back to fit/keep the dogs and/or all the baby stuff dry.

 

Wow tell us how you really feel. Two kids. I have a tonneau cover and have experienced literally no problem with the Tacoma. Even though my wife has a more spacious suv, we almost always drive the Tacoma... even 8+ hour trips to Florida... (one reason being that my older son loves it and we like the option to pull off a highway onto a beach for an adventure).

When we had a second kid on the way, we considered the 4runner but liked the Tacoma more.

It’s all a matter of preference. I didn’t get the tundra for the same reason I think the Tacoma is perfect for my family.... because I prefer the tacoma and don’t need/want anything bigger. My friend has a van and hates it because there is no storage and he was just constantly putting the rear seats down.

My only concern was the rear facing car seat for a newborn. But it wasn’t a problem at all in the middle seat (which is where doctors recommend they go nowadays for safety).

Different strokes for different folks. This is subjective. There is no “correct” answer here. And I’m not trying to justify anything. I prefer the Tacoma which is why I knowingly bought one... with one kid and another on the way.

 

We have three car seats in the back. I have a 1,2,and 3 year old. If you have three in car seats I suggest going with diono. The fit perfectly! I love driving my Tacoma and so it became the family “minivan.”

 

You can make anything work, but a Tacoma (even the now commonplace doublecab) is still a square peg for a round hole. It’s not for family carting. And unless the next gen looks like this

...Which is totally possible considering the direction...


It never will be a family vehicle.

Choose a life path.