How well does your 3rd gen work with kids?

You all rock, thanks so much for the input! I think I likely will get a Taco, especially because it seems like they hardly lose value if I do decide I need a Tundra later on

 

I have a 2.5 year old. Her seat faces forward and HAS to be in the middle or else she has no room for her legs. Its tight in the Tacoma. Go with the Tundra.

 

It fits decently for one infant car seat placed in the middle. The rear facing infant seat also works fine in the middle.

It kinda seems tight but its actually better than some common compact cars out there. Alex on Auto's does some reviews on how car seats fit in cars.. some cars its pretty surprising how poorly they fit.

Now for 2 seats in the back, like one infant and one rear facing or two rear facing... I'm not sure I can see this happening very comfortably. Frankly the front seat would have to be pushed all the way forward ..

Also one example.... GM's double cab Silverado for 2019(not crew cab) is actually bigger than the tacoma's crew cab for comparison...

 

its so so very small but you can do it. I have one forward and rear facing with slimfit gracos.

 

I've got an 8month old and it's really tight with the rear facing car seat. I'm on the fence of dumping the Taco and getting a 4 runner. The back seat space in the 4runner is huge compared to the taco. My kids only gonna get bigger and that's going to make things even tighter down the road. I love my Taco but it seems I've out grown it.

 

I have 2 kids, 5 & 2.5. Have had a Tacoma since before they came around. Had the option of getting a Tundra or 4Runner a few months ago and stuck with a Tacoma. I added a Tonneau cover to throw the strollers and stuff in the bed and that helps. My kids love the truck over or car. It’s a little tight but it’s been manageable. Definitely was better when they went to booster or forward facing seats. Some manufacturers make more compact seats for vehicles with less rear seat space. Worth taking the time to find those and if it doesn’t fit return the seat and try another.

 

I have two boys. Both in boosters so it makes it a lot easier. It's not the family hauler so no issues with how I use it.

I can see space being a problem with rear facing seats. Also take into account all the crap you have to haul along with younger kids like strollers...etc. All that stuff takes up a lot of room.

 

It actually will get better as your kid starts to grow. Maybe if they're super tall in their teenage years, it will be a problem. But your kid will go from rear to front facing. Then booster. To nothing. All of which will increase the room for them.

I harken back to the cars I grew up with. Extended cab Rangers, Civics, Tempo's. All of which had less room than the Tacoma.

 

I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old. One forward facing, one rear facing. I'm 5'11". They fit no worries. You'll be fine.

 

A large rear-facing seat limits the front passenger seat a fair bit. My wife isn't super tall, so it's not a show-stopper for us. It should be a lot better once I can turn the thing around and do forward-facing in a couple months.

 

I have two kids (7 & 5) and they're just fine.

Here's the thing, Americans (USA) are obsessed with overly large vehicles. We're the super size country. Everyone thinks you need all of this extra space, but you don't. I had so many friends tell me that I needed bigger vehicles when my first was on her way. They all got bigger vehicles when they were going through that time in their lives. Anyways, I didn't get a larger vehicle and we were just fine. In fact, all of those people got smaller vehicles since then. You'll be just fine with the Tacoma, just be smart about it.

We chose the most compact and safe infant car seat when we brought our kids home from the hospital. For us it was the Britax B-Agile that we mounted in the middle. We kept our kids in that seat for as long as possible and then went front facing (Recaro Pro Sport).

Don't get a convertible car seat... they are the biggest things in the world. They take up a lot of space when rear facing and then a lot when front facing. You may think you're saving money by getting one seat but you're not. You'll end up buying a bigger car that you don't really need.

Anyways, we have my Tacoma and a Subaru Impreza hatch. Before the Tacoma, I had a MK4 GTI. We all fit just fine in all of these vehicles.

 

The Tacoma interior is about the size of the Corolla :-/ it’s manageable but not ideal when it comes to kids and baby seats.

 

Absolutely, I do plan on getting a cap or at least a tonneau cover for the bed so that I can still utilize the bed space for all the crap even when it rains. Leaning towards tonneau for easy removal during hunting season

 

Pardon the mess but you know kids...

2 Dionos for my 3 and 1.25 year olds fit fine. We had a Graco click connect base in the middle first and it worked just fine too, but now my son is too heavy to carry in it so he got his own Diono.

 

I have a rear facing seat behind the driver seat with no issues in my 3rd gen DCSB. I am 5'10" and also sit closer to the steering wheel (years of high performance vehicles in autocross/track day scenarios changed my driving position for the better IMO) so depending on your height and how you sit in the truck will dictate whether your results will be similar. Also, you can just put the car seat behind the passenger seat and let them deal with potentially not being comfortable.

 

I'm in the same boat. 3 kids, under 5. 2 full sized car seats (eg: not a booster) and 1 rear facing. The 2 car seats fit behind the driver & passenger with the rear facing in the middle. To hook the seats in, the easiest is to start with the rear facing first. If you wait to do that last, you'll struggle with the clamps/hooks/anchors.

For what it's worth, the 2nd Gen is able to do the same configuration. It was a deciding factor for me on not getting a 1st gen since it was too small to fit 3. My father-in-law has a 2nd gen which is how I know it'll work. He's the one to normally take the kids to/from daycare.

 

Honestly I would go back and get a Tundra if I could. I love this truck but it's very very tight with one front facing carseat, one rear facing carseat and one booster. I can have mu driver seat all the way back but the front passenger has a lot less leg room.

 

Well really it comes down to preference. My mother-in-law has a 2016 F150 and there is a lot more room in the cab but it’s a much bigger truck overall. My truck is easier to drive and park, hers fits 4 adults (grandpa, grandma, me and the wife) and the two car seats just fine.

 

Got the truck for family life & 4x4 adventures right when our little boy was born.

Car seat is rear facing in the middle and the front seat can come back enough to have no issues for me (5'10"). The baby car seat is a bit narrow, so it allows it to squeeze a bit between the 2 front seats if they need to come back more. I can even recline the driver seat all the way flat back and play with the little turd while he is strapped in (park obviously). All his baby bags and toys fit easily at the back foot wells which are plenty deep. You can even dangle his stuffed animals and shit on the rear ceiling hooks so he feels right at home. The only down side of the tacos back seat is they are not very long so a baby-seats "base" might over hang a bit too far. The front of our baby seat base is also strapped down by ratchet-straps in addition to the factory rear latches between the seat cushions (a support at each 4 corners).

One thing that would be nice is rock sliders so mom can step up easy while she straps him in the seat.

We were going to get the 4 runner because it was supposedly more family friendly but did not cuz that shit is a ripoff (33k vs 45k). An unforeseen benefit of the truck is the bed doubles as a play pen. So if you are tail-gating or just crushing fast food in a parking lot the kid can play around in that plastic tub while you watch. Another cool thing about the bed is a stroller can be tossed back there no problem. You can access it either at the tail-gate or from the side of the bed as opposed to a 4runner which is only accessible at the back hatch (sucks in garages or if hauling a trailer). Also the tacos rear doors open up super wide almost 90* and they are not too long (vs a 4runner) which helps in tight parking spots.

Also the taco is a truck vs a lame ass van or SUV... and a child instantly recognizes this as way more bad ass.

 

I just got the radian 2 xt . Haven't installed it just yet. How are you liking them? The metal frame and low profile is what sold me.