Does a car seat fit in a 1st gen Access Cab (Asking for a friend)

I'm wondering if anyone with an access cab has had any trouble putting a current car seat in the truck? Apparently, the size of the seats, and the attachment keeps getting changed and so I'm not sure if they work?

 

Rear or forward facing? how far along is your “friend” from having the baby, or did your “friend” meet a lady with a rug rat?
forward facing would probably be fine, but rear facing car seats take up a huge amount of room! I can’t wait till we only have boosters to deal with

 

It'll probably have to fit both. I'm guessing they start rear facing when infants and then go forward facing when older?
My "friends" wife is still early in her pregnancy so he is trying to figure out if he needs to sell his truck for something that will fit a car seat. It looks like the only anchor is in the middle seat which should give enough room for both, but want to be sure.

 

Rear facing is a no go in an access cab. Unless no one is sitting in the front seat and you disable the airbag and lean the seat back forward. Not a hard rule, but most will not fit and allow 2 passengers to be up front.

 

Congrats to your friend!!!

 

Infant rear facing will fit, i would advise throwing it in the middle because if you put it on the passenger or driver side it might limit the room up front. Once little ones are still rear facing but out of the infant car seat it still does fit but in the middle. if they plan to have two kids in car seats then that would be the time to get something with more room. that is my situation which is why I got the double cab. I have two buddies with an access cab and one little one with no issues. Also, CHP advised us to not use the anchors and that using the seatbelt is sufficient and safer if done properly. their local CHP office should be able to show them how to install properly. it was super helpful

 

I can confirm all of this. Also with the way we spaced our kids out (have 3 now) they’re all forward facing and fit comfortably and safely.

 

With the car seat in the middle, it’s hard to “have access” to the infant in it. And they do not benefit from the protection of having the seatback in front of them.

 

I have a toddler graco car seat in the middle of the back seat. Back when my kiddo was an infant the rear facing seat also fit in the middle. I always just threw the center lap belt through the car seat to hold it down tight. Never gave me any problems

 

We always had our kids in the middle unless both were in the car at the same time. no access issues. CHP advised the middle to protect the child from any accidents where you are hit from the side. the base and car seat are designed to rock in a way that protects kids from front and rear impact so its is ok if the front seat is there, but i understand what you are trying to say. the center is the safest spot and I am more concerned about that then access issues.

 

Has anyone put in 2 car seats? I have another baby on the way. Haven’t messed around with trying to fit a infant seat with a toddler seat yet. thank god my 4 year old is almost heavy enough to use just the booster seat.

 

I could not drive my truck with the car seat behind me. With the car seat behind the passenger, the seat is so far forward I would be concerned about safety for the passenger with the airbag so close. If your model fits in the middle, that may work, the arm rests in mine narrow the space for some models to fit. There is no optimum place in these trucks for a rear facing seat. But hey, we all stood up on the front bench seat in the 70’s, we just know better now.

 

aint that the truth. i think it depends on your size too...im not a very big dude so easier for me to fit the car seat

 

You also have a double cab

 

Thanks @805Tundra thats good to know. Luckily, the truck isn’t for long road trips, just around town or getting to the areas where you need 4WD and clearance. Which I imagine those excursions will be less frequent with said kiddo.

 

Thanks. …I’ll be sure to pass that along

 

that is true but i didn't get the double cab until baby number two

 

No problem with toddler/booster seats at least. My kids are both basically double-digit ages now, so ... thankfully we're past that stage. Else you'd see me in the inferior DC truck instead of my AC, the king of the 1st Gen universe.

 

That might be a tough one. Looking at my truck, I don't think there's enough room on the two back seats on the side.

 

One other point worth mention. The rear seats in the AC are higher up, or the belt is lower down, I'm not sure which. It's not a traditional bucket.

Why do I bother? When my son was 5-6, he was still needing a booster in my wife's Highlander, whose 2nd row has buckets. In the AC rear seat, no booster required, seat belt crossed right where it should with nothing extra. By the time my wife was able to remove the booster, he didn't even need a booster anymore in the AC.

So just know, with the toddler+ age ranges, there are some extra considerations which may not be true with the DC, which has seating more like the Highlander 2nd row.

 

yeah when I get a chance I’ll play around with the fit.
If it doesn’t fit I’ll have to buy a different car. My wife will be pleased

 

I bought my Tundra and sold my 93 toyota pickup specifically because I had a kid. Infant cradle thing went in the center, then front facing, in the back, now she is seven and just uses a booster in the back. That is when I have an adult passenger. Otherwise she was always in the front.

Thats about all I will say. I cut dead people out of wrecked cars for a living and most discussions about carseats drives me utterly up the wall. You can't even get people to wear seatbelts consistently but as a society we have gone bugnuts about the minutiae of car seat placement.

 

Here is some pictures of my current set up

 

Looks about right. Not sure how you’re supposed to see the kid or give the kid his/her pacifier back. Can it be done? Yes. Far from ideal. Back seat is tight in the AC.

 

I think it’s easier to be done in an AC than say a sedan or any other car. With mine I was able to reach my hard right there and hand my kid whatever it needed. Plus they make mirrors that strap to head rests in the back that adjust so you can see them through your rear view mirror

 

If the seats that you have don’t fit, you might wanna look for alternate car seats before you replace the truck.

My tundra is new to me (only about two weeks old). Before the Tundra, I had a 3rd Gen Tacoma. Had it for 5 years. Our oldest is now 11, youngest is 7, but our kids are tiny so still in car seats. Anyway, my point is that we were able to safely accommodate all three of our kids in the smaller Tacoma, so shouldn’t be a problem for the Tundra especially if you have the right seats.

 

My assumption was that newer car seats were bigger and more uniform size-wise. So if one wouldn't work, then none would. But it doesn't sound like that's the case, and the pic above from @typhoon shows that a seat will fit. Might be tight, but the truck isn't used as much as the other car.

 

This was my logic also when getting it. DC wouldn't fit in my garage, a couple inches too long and I didn't want an SUV with a bed anyway ... I've always owned RC or AC trucks.

But 90% - 95% of driving with the kids is done in the Highlander. So as long as putting the kids into the AC was feasible in the event of an emergency or a one-off road trip here or there, it's a done deal.

 

PS - my reco to you would be this - get one of those car seats with a break-away base. Chicco made a good one, that's what we used.

That way you can have the base pre-mounted in the middle position, and just snap the infant in/out when needed.

 

This exactly