Does anyone have issues putting a front facing car seat behind the drivers seat?

I have a new kid on the way and one that is about 16mo. I'm 6'2, and know that the rear facing car seat simply cannot go behind my seat. My older one will be a few months from 2 when the new one is born, so she should be close to switching to front facing. If it doesn't fit it looks like I'll have to get rid of the Tacoma. Any answers would help, thanks!

Edit: well boys, looks like I’m selling my ‘11 Taco and getting a 4Runner. I tried a few different car seats and they didn’t fit in the Taco at all.

 

My kids were grown before I bought my Tacoma. In my opinion a Tacoma just isn't big enough for a family. I always knew they were good trucks, but would never work with my family until my youngest moved out. You'll be OK for a few years, but eventually you'll need something bigger with 2 kids and all the stuff they need. Especially when one of them wants to bring a friend.

I've used my Tacoma with car seats with my grandkids. It worked fine. But the fact that my grandkids are growing prompted me to buy a supercab F-150 and keep the Tacoma as a 3rd vehicle. They are now 10,8,5, and 6 weeks old. If only one of them is riding with my wife and I the DC Tacoma is fine. But putting the 3 in the back seat of the Tacoma is just cruel.

 

You should keep your kid rear facing as long as you can. Mine is 2.5 and I just changed her to forward facing recently, but is still rear facing in my wife's car.

I'll be in a similar situation soon. I have a second baby due in 3 weeks. I am 6'2” also, so fitting them both back there will be tight. I imagine I'll have to scoot my seat forward more than I'll like.

 

I don't have a dog in this hunt, but I did see on some news program that kids in ANY type of seat behind the driver or passenger if you have an adult in the passenger seat is not a good idea as if you are in an accident I believe from behind, the backs of the front seats can break backwards and go right into the seat behind you and have caused very serious injury to the kids in car seats

 

Well there MIGHT be an option to put the rear facing seat in the front passenger seat with the AIR BAG OFF! and then the other baby in the rear passenger and then mom (Sexist assumption) behind you so she can tend to the newborn as you drive....Sell it that way

 

Get a minivan.

I second the Tacoma is not a safe family vehicle.

My husband wouldn’t even allow it. Truck is too small for us half the time let a lone anyone else. He’s not cramming his ass in that truck with kids.

 

Im 6'0" and had to pick up my sons little sister from daycare one day. She was still in a rear facing and i put it behind the drivers seat because my sons seat was on the passenger side. That was a bad idea because i had to move my seat so far forward my knees kept hitting the dash. Its not safe for the driver therfore not safe for anyone in the truck.

 

I have 3 kids now, when I got the Tacoma (access cab), I had 0 kids.
For the rear facing seat, currently occupied by 5 month old daughter, I built a platform between the two back seats that holds it on the correct angle, and fabricated a steel "latch" bracket that is bolted into the seat belt mounts.
The front facing seat I have behind the driver's seat, currently occupied by my 2.5 year old son.
My almost 5 year old son sits straight on the seat now, as he is over the lap belt threshold.

Now here is the thing about these seats: You have to be very selective in the seats you purchase, because there are some that will fit, and there are more that will *not* fit. Our rear-facing seat is very compact. Some of the bulkier ones won't work well even between the seats as we have it mounted. The front facing seat is steel framed and looks like a military jet ejector seat, and I can tell you from experience, that this one works: http://www.motherhooddefined.com/diono-rainier-review/
* Note that the pictures in that review have it REAR facing, because technically it is a so-called "convertible", but I can promise you that even with a full passenger vehicle, you CANNOT rear face that seat because the back is really REALLY tall, so it won't fit in the space between the rear and front seats (we tried on wife's suv -- nope). But, when it is front-facing upright, it is very shallow front-to-back, so when front facing, it fits even in a Tacoma access cab.

The biggest difficulty you will find in installing a front facing seat in a Tacoma, is in the upper strap. In passenger vehicles, the upper strap is routed over the seat to a connector either on the seat back or on the floor. That isn't an option in a Tacoma, which has its upper mount at the top of the seat. It is not possible to tighten that strap correctly if you connect the hook to that upper mount. What you need to do is relay that strap past the upper mount and hook it to a lower mount. If its a single strap upper, you may be able to feed it through the upper mount, but if its a double, then you'll probably need to add a small shackle.

Also, with that diono seat in a Tacoma, they include a removable bracket for setting it in a rear-facing position. That bracket is actually in a perfect position to fit over the edge of the back seat in the access cap in order to hold the base of the seat out a bit. Normally for this, it is recommended to stuff the gap behind the seat with stuff like swimming noodles or rolled up towels.

 

He's actually asking about putting the FRONT FACING seat behind the driver.

 

I have mine set up exactly how you are planning. I will say this, I am 5'10" and have no issues with the front facing behind the driver. I also have pretty good posture, so no gangsta lean. I have room, but with my son being 2 1/2 now he is tall enough that his feet are on the back of the seat. If you do it, definitely get a seat cover or a seat back cover. All you can do it try it out. I'm not uncomfortable, but you also have a couple more inches on me.

 

We tried that on a second trip and it wasnt much better.

 

And that is why I wrote so much about the subject of picking a compatible front facing seat instead of the bulkiest piece of plastic you can find, because with a compatible front facing seat and a 2.5 year old boy in it in an ACCESS CAB, it does not interfere with the driver's seat being positioned safely and comfortably.

 

I've got a bit of skin in the game and some knowledge of this. I have the Access Cab not the dual. Not sure what you have. Wife is quite short and we tried the car seat front facing securd to the latch system with our three year old. She's big enough etc according to all the literature out there.

Needless to say between the comfort of short ass wife and safety of electrical kiddo we don't use the taco much when kiddo and mom needs to be transported. We use the wife's suv for family trips.

Kiddos feet and legs are right against the seat back for any level of basic comfort for the wife. I move the passenger seat basically all the way forward when I have her in the truck by myself.

 

No clue what the inside of an ACCESS CAB even looks like. I thought the OP meant a double cab and was giving my input on that. I bow out now and leave yall to discuss.

 

Access cab is smaller than double cab. The cab is 12 inches shorter. Anything that fits in an access cab will fit in a double cab.

 

i have a near 4-yr old in a front facing behind me, and he's tall for his age at 43 1/4". I'm 6' myself, and i drive in the appropriate upright position.

his feet are touching the backseat, so i would recommend a backseat cover. But we dont have a problem, and i have one of the larger convertible 3 in 1 child seats

but you're 6'2" so that might make a difference

 

My comments were for DC as well.

 

You did a great write-up dude. I had a seat before the Taco. If I hadn't I'd have looked for something that fit better. In my case it's a non-issue since we already have an SUV and generally use that when all 3 of us go somewhere anyways .

 

So the wife complains when I spend on mods and shit. Is a 250-300 car seat a mod? . That Rainier looks sweet. Beats the purple flowers thing in my taco right now.

 

Pick the right sear... it will work.