Anyone remotely interested in a trade? My 80, your double cab taco?
- Thread starter Sempertoy
- Start date
Elk
Observer
Sadly mine is one of those fancy hole-in-the-frame models. I've received my recall letter, and I'm waiting for the hole to get a little bigger before dropping it off at the dealer for five months waiting on a new frame. I'm in the market for a secondary rig, so if you were to sell outright, where would you value your truck?
Sempertoy
Explorer
Yeah, I'd seen that. I agree with their assessment that the factory systems are slightly lacking: they should be fully integrated into the seat belt anchors, which are designed to hold adults. I plan to address that.
My reason for wanting the system is for the ease and simplicity of installing the seat with the LATCH anchors. I spent a good 3 hours at a store testing seats with the seat belt rather than the LATCH. They all seem to want you to use the center seat with a lap belt, which is not practical in my vehicle. They all have provisions for the shoulder belts, but it is time consuming, and I wasn't sure how well the shoulder belt locks up when all flapped around the seat, with a smallish weight.
Anyway, sorry for the hijack, good luck with the vehicle trade up!
Sempertoy
Explorer
Thanks man, I will be very sad to see it go (if it does). Maybe I need to expand my trade criteria to a tundra. I sure would love that 4.7L under the hood.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
Don't do that swap for the lousy LATCH system. I have two kids 3 and 5. We had the 93 80 series also we sold it and replaced it with the Sequoia for two reasons. #1 wife didn't like the 80 ride quality and #2 we haul grandparents too the 3rd row in the 80 series with my daughter in her car seat ment her feet were sitting on grandpas shoulders when he sat in the 2nd row.
Latch system is only of any value till the kid is about 2yrs old and even then I stopped using it because its FAR FAR FAR FAR easier to get the seat strapped in tight using the seat belt through the car seat. In fact the center belt in the 80 was the easiest given you had no shoulder belt to mess with. Regarding latch its a 60lb max load thats kid and car seat! My Daugters new big jumbo kid seat no JOKE the seat weighs 25lbs!!!! Just the SEAT!!! Meaning the weight of these new seats the good ones!!! Plus your kid is going to be hitting the max LATCH weight restrictions easily with only a couple of years. Also take a install course with your local police department or the CA Highway Patrol took like 30 minutes and was well worth it.
Couple of things most mommy's don't have the weight or strength to install the seats properly! That was the first thing the CHP was very clear about! #2 and this is what I found fiddling with the latch straps and buckles with a rear facing seat tends to tear up your hands as you try to get the damn thing installed tight given you need to wedge your hands between a seat and a seat back to get to the damn straps and clips etc. Vs just running the seat belt through the seat and wrenching it down tight one strap one pull and your done! I have three vehicles two sets of seats I uninstall and install seats far far too many times!!! LATCH is a waste of time and for sure not worth making vehicle choices over. The 80 is wider and more stable than a 4runner I hand one of those too way too damn narrow and tall for highway travel. The 4dr Tacoma unless your a really short guy a rear facing kids car seat vs where you can position the drivers seat will have you chewing on the dash board and the steering wheel against your chest.
The 80 had great spacing between the rear seat and front seat no sweat with huge rear facing seats plenty of room for everyone to be happy. My every day daily family hauler is a 2010 Subaru OB the rear seat in the 2010 and newer Outbacks and Legacies are Huge! Makes for a very nice kid hauler where your not eating the dash due to spacing issues.
As for the shoulder belts in the 80 without the ratchet set up mine were that way - all car seats come with a buckle which you slip over the belts and it locks the belt in place when you set it up. Also easier than fooling with the damn LATCH thing. Who the heck even came up with the LATCH system anyway? I want to meet that guy and see what his house looks like because that system is such a joke pretty sure he did a big sales /blow job on the powers that be to get that thing pushed through.
The largest issue with car seats is the rear facing seat vs the front to back spacing you have for the front seat position. If your a big guy about 80% of the vehicles you would consider owning get tossed out the window with the rear facing kid seat crammed behind the front seats in many cases you won't even be able to get into the drivers seat let alone drive the car. If you need to beg borrow or steal an old beater big ol kids seat and install it facing backwards in any of the vehicles your tempted to get good chance it will eliminate pretty much every vehicle on the list except for one or two ;-)
As for the straps from the head restraint location rear facing they have a webbing loop you pass under the front seat slide bracket and clip to it, no big deal. For the forward facing you can rig up a hook easy enough behind the seat. The only thing that is nice with the modern cars is the ratchet mode on the new shoulder harness retractable seat belts, you run the belt through the kids seat clip it in then pull the belt all the way out to trigger the ratchet then you feed all the loose belt in and then wrench on it like it were a tie down strap on your trailer, bingo your done.
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Good info for sure. Though confused about the difficulties you were having. The ones I tried in the store, you simply push the jaw thing into the seat crack where the anchor is, and it clicks in place. As easy as buckling a seat belt. I never had to reach in and do anything. Push the little red button to release:
And, in some, it was as simple as sticking those two anchors on, pulling a strap, and done. Much easier for my wife too.
Though, for clarity, I was just posting up in the thread. I was looking to make a set of anchors for my 99 4runner, as I like to fab, rather than get a different vehicle, though the thought of a 100 series is very appealing.
That said, if I made my own, I'd build them to hold way more than 60 lbs.
And, in some, it was as simple as sticking those two anchors on, pulling a strap, and done. Much easier for my wife too.
Though, for clarity, I was just posting up in the thread. I was looking to make a set of anchors for my 99 4runner, as I like to fab, rather than get a different vehicle, though the thought of a 100 series is very appealing.
That said, if I made my own, I'd build them to hold way more than 60 lbs.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
That picture is of a seat that has not been installed yet so the picture is very misleading. Push the seat up against the back of the car seat then take a picture ;-)
Also if your seats lack LATCH don't bother trying to modify them to have LATCH you would be better off just working a few extra hours at work and spending the money on new modern seat upgrades for the truck vs trying to fool with making your own LATCH system which isn't needed and has very very limited use if any. Like I said I'd love to meet the guy that got the LATCH system addopted by all the seat makers and auto makers. I bet he could sell snow to people in Hew Hampshire right now.
Also if your seats lack LATCH don't bother trying to modify them to have LATCH you would be better off just working a few extra hours at work and spending the money on new modern seat upgrades for the truck vs trying to fool with making your own LATCH system which isn't needed and has very very limited use if any. Like I said I'd love to meet the guy that got the LATCH system addopted by all the seat makers and auto makers. I bet he could sell snow to people in Hew Hampshire right now.
p nut
butter
Honestly, you will probably have a real tough time trying to get someone with a DC Taco to trade. Mainly from financial perspective, it just doesn't line up. Not trying to say it can't be done, but it would be fairly tough. I'd think you'd have an easier time with a 4Runner (3rd gen and maybe early 4th). Good luck, though.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
I miss my 80. One thing I will say you won't like the Taco if new babies are in play vs car seats. Your better off keeping the 80 at least it has a nice seating layout for the kid factor. If your set on going pickup go for the first Gen Tundra heck you probably have a better chance of finding a cleaner adult driven unmolested Tundra than you do a Taco also. That and your seating space will fit the kid seat better.