Rear facing car seat in access cab!

I have seen the treads talking about fitting car seats in DC tacomas, but I could never find information about fitting one into a Access Cab. So i did a little test and here are the results. Below the seat position is in the same place in all three images. I have a 1 year old girl who is just about out grown her infant car seat. In my wife's car we already put her in the Britax.

Has any one survived parent hood with an access cab? I am considering getting a 2015 DCSB. Is the DCSB really better for hulling kids around?


1. It is possible to fit a rear facing car seat in an access cab



2. But there is not much room left for the passenger. Basically zero. my dog barely fits



3. infant car seat



My 2008 tacoma access cab

 

Tried it, sold my AC and bought a DC. Even the DC is cramped with a rear facing seat.

 

My daughter is going on 4 years old and I have made it work. Wife is 5'5" and she fits. We have done 7hr road trips ( we do stop every so often). I even have a subwoofer next to car seat.

 

I bought an access cab to prevent me from having a kid.... Or a girlfriend..... I've got a dog though!

 

That is why you let the ol lady drive the kids around in her car.
Duh.

 

Here is an update

Diono Radian:

This car seat will NOT fit with out the extra foam pad they sell. It does fit just just BARELY. I can not even lock the seat into place. The Britax seat was definitely a better fit.



Also note that the seat belt that goes to the anchor barely fits. It might be hard to tell but the anchor point to where the seat belt starts is so long that it is almost the same height as the channel the seat belt goes through. This makes it difficult / almost impossible to tighten. I had to remove the foam pad that goes under the seat. Tighten the seat belt a lot. Then use my shoulder to lift the car seat and force/silde the foam pad back in.




This set up is far from ideal. I am hoping that when she can do forward facing this car seat will be a better fit. Rear facing it is a poor fit for the access cab.

 

Which Britax Car Seat is the one you used? Are you still using it today? I am in need of moving my daughter into the bigger seat and looking for suggestions.

 

I'm still using the Marathon Britax in the first picture (in a DCSB)- very convenient to move between cars when needed. Very secure with the car's lapbelt/shoulder belt, and you don't even need to use the anchor system. My wife has the Advocate version with the side 'air boxes' and nicer upholstery. Daughter still fits it perfectly with room to grow. Only complaint is that its bulky for rear passengers, but all the good child seats are going to be bulky. I'll be sticking the Britax when its time for the level 3 seat.

 

Honestly I'd never want to put a child in a truck, trucks ride like shit, with the body roll and stiff ride. If you're taking the kiddo around take the wifes car (assuming you guys have 2 cars) and plan your days around that. Say you're off and shes gone to work, she can take the truck and leave you with the car with the seat etc. Cars ride much smoother and are much better for having kids in (this is purly speculation and word of mouth as i dont have a kid lol)

Edit: I should note i mean for rear facing, front facing shouldnt be an issue once they're a bit older.

 

this is exactly why i bought the DCSB.

 

Go long bed or go home

 

This is exactly my dilemma. Bought an access cab and less than a month later found out my girlfriend and I were expecting a daughter.

Her car is not the issue so it's not like a car seat fitting in the truck is a make or break thing, but if it can be done safely that would definitely make things easier.

 

Ride wise I would agree, but from a safety standpoint it would seem like a truck would be a much better option than a lot of small or mid-sized cars. Theres a whole lot more metal and crumple zone between whatever you hit or hits you and the child.

 

I disagree, bigger isnt better here (unless its a beefy suv) the only time crumple matters is on a tbone, and its the same regardless of what you're driving. Plus suicide doors with a tiny area in the back screams danger to me, as if the cab were to crumple at all, well the metal has to go somewhere. Trucks also have a higher risk of roll over etc etc. Years ago trucks were not a family vehicle, and i personally think they still arent, regardless how hard automakers and most consumers are trying to push that.

 

At that age kids don’t care one bit. With that said get a DC and ditch the access. Makes life so much easier. Had to do same thing but in my case ditched a Nissan Craptier for a Tacoma.

 

Bringing back an old thread because I just put a rear facing carseat in my 2014 AC Tacoma. I needed an especially narrow carseat due to my subwoofer box in the middle of the jumpseat. I'm glad to report that the Diono Radian 3RTX fits width wise perfectly (it needed to be less than 17"W to fit my needs). However, a front passenger would be a no-go. My wife and I have another vehicle (Lexus NX) that is our typical baby hauler but I wanted a carseat for the Tacoma in case of emergencies... my wife sometimes needs to head out for work meetings, etc. and doesn't prefer driving my truck.

The Diono is super easy to get in/out... it uses the shoulder strap seatbelt and slides through the bottom of the carseat. Just need to make sure you pull the seatbelt out all the way so it ratchets back. Anyways, for anyone wondering, yes its possible with the caveat your front passenger seat is useless.

 

Do you have any pics of the clearance? Curious how it looks with the updated 2nd gen access cab.

 

I’ll snap some pics tomorrow.

 

Alright @CaTaco101 , heres the Diono in an Access Cab. As mentioned in my original post... renders the passenger front seat useless, lol.

 

Thank you!!

I am showing this to the wife asap. Lol.