Tacoma owners with kids...

If your lifestyle doesnt need a pickup, dont buy one. The double cab tacoma works IF you have a topper for lockable storage and a bed mat so the kids things don't slide forward making you climb into the bed to wrangle junk up.. The 4 runner is the more sensible,plusher, albeit more expensive choice. I put 2 youngins in my double cab and the room is sufficient. When the honda crv goes though hello 4 runner!

 

I have a 2, 9 and 11 year old.

My TACOMA works perfect with the kids. Enough room for car seats and whatnot and all 3 of them have taken long trips and they love it.

A canopy in winter would be amazing.

Without a canopy, I put the stroller in a huge 60 gallon liner to keep it dry. A canopy would be ideal for groceries and the kids stuff for winter time. Then in summertime, remove the canopy and store it.

Other than that I wouldn't trade this truck for anything.

 

I have a 2012 4runner and a 2013 Tacoma double cab. The 4runner is a lot better for the family thing. You can stick a stroller in the back, etc.

I have the third row seats, which are nice for kids--but take up all of the space in the back when they're used.

The Tacoma double cab is ok for kids---but like others have said, back facing car seats will be a problem.

the 4runner gets used for all of our outings.

I am very pleased withthe 4runner--and that says a lot coming from me!

 

We have a 13 double cab Tacoma and a 06 4 runner. The 4runner has more room in the back seat, so we usually take that. My 3 year old has less room than my 7 year old because of her car seat. It pushes her legs to close to the passenger front seat. I don't like riding shoot gun in my truck when my daughter is in the back. My 7 year old has plenty of room, so he sits behind the driver seat.

 

Double cab long bad with ARE cap makes great camper. We used on our way to OBX few times. Also awesome for the beach. Toss all the toys and boards on the back with out worrying about cleaning up the sand.
In winter back is perfect to toss all the snow encrusted sleds. I think even if Toyota tried they would not make that truck more fun for kids.that should be their next commercial.

 

I used to pull a 16' trailer with two quads using a minivan, it did it very easily. We also camped out of it; with all the seats down we could fit a queen size air mattress back there. When taking trips there was always plenty of room and even more so than my sisters full size SUV.

Honestly there was not a whole lot that minivan couldn't do and for this reason I 100% agree with the statement above and tell all the new young families I meet that they should consider one. To me it’s the most practical unselfish family vehicle you can buy and boy did it make lugging all that baby shit around so much easier.

 

We do longer trips in our 09' Honda minivan. Shorter trips in the Tacoma. Like others said, if it's an exclusive vehicle get the SUV. If it's a second vehicle get the Tacoma.

 

I had an Odyssey Touring and loved it. That was one helluva minivan. I got it initially because we had plans for more children. When plans changed I sold it (went quickly btw) and ordered the Tacoma I have now. It's great for our needs (with 1 child). The bed cover is a must to keep things out of sight and dry. The bed extender doubles as a divider of sort and keeps groceries, stroller, etc from sliding around. There's plenty of space in the back with the carseat. When it was rear facing we still had the Ody so I don't have input on rear facing in the Tacoma but I can see how it would be tight.

 

You can get by with a Tacoma but, the minivan is without a doubt the best tool for the job. Like some of the others here, we rock a Tacoma and a Sienna.

 

If you would be happiest in a truck, get the truck. Even if it turns out not to be the perfect child transporter, it is more than sufficient. Kids dig pickup trucks and will be excited to ride in it. It's cheaper than the suv so tell your wife that the money you will save now will go into a limited edition 4runner for her in a few years once the kids get bigger.

 

Yeah my wife has already said absolutely no minivan. She wants a sequoia but I'm not keen on dropping $50,000+ on a vehicle. We may just have to swing by a dealer and check out the difference between the SUVs and tacomas. Online research seems to indicate I can get the same features in an SUV from Kia for muuuuuch less than the 4runner. I wouldn't make this sacrifice for a different truck bc I want to know it'll work when needed but my wife isn't near as demanding on vehicles. Maybe I'll find a super good deal on something used.

Fantastic feedback from everyone... Thanks and keep it coming. I love the looks of soft toppers but it seems from people here that they don't seem to keep all the weather out. It obviously isn't as secure but I can't think of many times I would be leaving stuff in it while I was out.

 

I have a Sienna and am thinking about getting a Tacoma double cab, but after driving one this weekend, Im worried the short bed may not be enough space for camping trips.

I think OP mentioned he had both. Do you take both cars camping and drive the Tacoma when you are at your destination, or use the Tacoma exclusively? With all the crap my wife likes to pack, I dont think a Tacoma would work on its own (unless I get a trailer).

 

We have a 2005 DCLB with a canopy, and a 2008 Subaru Forester.
With a two year old and a six month old both vehicles are perfect for daily around town driving. The truck starts to get better in a hurry once you add the dog, stroller, groceries, and gear for a weekend trip..

 

Wife has a pilot. If she didnt have the pilot, lugging the kids around in my DC tacoma would suck. The rear seats of the double cab are tight to begin with, add in two car seats and its extremely uncomfortable for all involved. Rear facing car seats dont even get me started, they barely fit even with the passenger seat ALL the way forward. But, once the car seats are gone, the tacoma will be great, but with car seats, it's quite impractical. Another poster said its roomy with car seats, zero chance of that. Its tight! Can't see how the truck is anywhere near as good as say a true suv, or station wagon. kids+ car seats +tacoma= NO THANKS.

Minivans are the best of both words, but some people either love them or hate them. I personally grew up with them and love em, my wife, not so much, hence the pilot, which is awesome.

 

True story right here. We bought a 12 tacoma hoping ours would work which it did until we were expecting. Well we threw in a rear facing seat in the back and let me tell you that there is little to no room for comfort and you are taking major risks for safety.

We tried it in the middle with no success so our last option was the passenger side where my wife sits. She is much shorter than I and even then with the passenger seat placed as far rearward "into" the car seat, my wife was left maybe 2 inches of space between her knees and the dash. There was no way in hell the truck was worth it in the event of a crash. All I could think about was that airbag deploying and seriously injuring my wife.

So we traded it in on a 13 RAV4. It had way more room in the backseat and having the suv was really practical. I sold that rav not to long ago due to it being one of the worst products I have ever seen Toyota put on the streets.

If I were you... look into a highlander if the minivans don't do it for ya. Bottom line though, if you really want a comfortable, safe, and practical way to transport a family around, the tacoma is not the way. Once those seats get turned around then you should consider a Tacoma. I'm 5'11 and the wife is about 5'3" with a 4 year old at the time.

We are tight on space with an 04 Ford F-150 Supercrew if that helps put things in prospective...

 

2012 tacoma



2013 RAV4 with the seat adjusted to my height and comfortable for all passengers.

 

This is very useful to actually see the difference.

 

I don't currently have an SUV. Just a access cab Tacoma for now. Hoping this thread will help with the decision.

 

I have an 8 month old girl, and so far the double cab has been great. But carseats are troublesome. Mine will only fit in the center of the back row. If behind driver or passenger, the seat has to be crammed forward.

Once you switch to a front facing seat they fit just fine.

 

They are ok at best. My 4 year old in the forward facing kicked the crap outta the seat all the time and for the most part this is very little room between their feet and the back of the seat. Don't get me wrong. It is doable in this vehicle but would serve better for older families that are finished with the little additions.

If you think rear facing seats are big now, wait until you throw a rear facing convertible in there.... good luck with that. I never experienced that but I know we had to move our new one to the middle of our F-150 to make it fit.

My .02, Just wait 5 years from now and you will be able to pick up a brand new 2019 2nd generation tacoma.