1st kid and in need of a new Truck, What shall it be??

[JCMatthews]

I find that the only vehicles that rear facing infant carriers fit are minivans. Pretty much everything else results in "breaking the rules" of installation/safety. Most notably placing the carrying handle in the forward/down position, with a few inches clearance to the seat in front. Pffft! Yeah right!

I have to disagree. Rear facing car seats worked perfectly in both our '93, and '97 Cherokees. We can fit three kids in the back seat for all day trips in Moab, and have been doing so for three years now. Before that we had two and we have been hauling at least one kid back there for eight years. I would think that any four door truck the Taco, Frontier or even the Dakota would work great.

 

[mcm4090]

I have a Frontier and the time I went car shopping I took my two boys with me because I wanted to make sure there was plenty of room in the back for them.
At the time they were 5 and 10 and I knew I was going to have truck for a few so I also road in the back to see an adult would be comfortable in the back seat. After a few test drives at different dealers the whole family was in love with the Frontier. the Kids like the room and Me and the wife the ride of the Frontier.
The wife like the Frontier as a family vehicle so much that 5 months later we traded her Rodeo in on a brand new Frontier so we now have to.:smiley_drive:

 

[CoastalDefender]

My son is 18mo old. It was real tight with him in the rear facing infant carrier. Moreso in my wife's Xterra then my Frontier. But it was doable. Just don't try to stick a 6'4" tall man in the front passenger seat for more than a few hours...

Now that he's older, we have room to spare. The bigger they get, the smaller the car seats get...

 

[exploreFL]

Well I have my eyes set on a 06 Double Cab Tundra 4x4 with 30k on the clock or my wifey wants to go look at a Subaru! I am contemplating the subaru manly because of mpg, without loss of too much capability. Plus it has a fair amount of room on the inside for the kid and everything that comes with a child! We will see, I would like to find a different option for a roof rack though.... It seems as though the giant plastic thing does nothing for me, functionality wise or looks!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I have to disagree. Rear facing car seats worked perfectly in both our '93, and '97 Cherokees. We can fit three kids in the back seat for all day trips in Moab, and have been doing so for three years now. Before that we had two and we have been hauling at least one kid back there for eight years. I would think that any four door truck the Taco, Frontier or even the Dakota would work great.

I'd love to see pictures. I did state *properly* installed. Most particularly, leaning back at the correct angle, handle folded forward, and a gap between the front of the carseat and the front seatback.

 

[eugene]

I'd love to see pictures. I did state *properly* installed. Most particularly, leaning back at the correct angle, handle folded forward, and a gap between the front of the carseat and the front seatback.

I second JCMatthews, mine fit properly and was at the correct angle, handles forward, etc. I think it depends on how you sit in the vehicle, do you sit in a normal seating position or do you lean the seats back gansta' style?

 

[exploreFL]

Got it!

Thanks for all the helpful information guys, I pulled the trigger yesterday and got a 2006 Double Cab Tundra 4x4 XSP with get this.... only 36000 miles! I go pick it up tomorrow, had to give the stealorship time to detail and get it up to snuff!! I will post picks later. Super excited! :wings:

 

[CoastalDefender]

Thanks for all the helpful information guys, I pulled the trigger yesterday and got a 2006 Double Cab Tundra 4x4 XSP with get this.... only 36000 miles! I go pick it up tomorrow, had to give the stealorship time to detail and get it up to snuff!! I will post picks later. Super excited! :wings:

Not a bad ride. A co-worker has one, I found it to be too big for my uses, but if it fits you well, FANTASTIC! :wings:

 

[JohnMcD348]

I'll add my 2cents here. Most Qudacabs just don't have enough real back seat space for baby seats. To really get the back seat space you need, you should look into a Crossover or full size SUV type vehicle. Even many of the crossovers may be too small. When I wanted a vehicle that was large enough to fit in the back seat I ordered my Dodge Ram MegaCab. Unfortunately, they do not make them in the 1500 anymore, only in the 25-3500 chassis. Even my 1500 actually sits on the 2500 chassis, minus 1 rear overload spring and it drives like one and gets the fuel economy of one. But my BIL and I can both fit comfortably in the back seat with our legs crossed and the front seats pushed fully to the rear. He's 6'5" 250lbs and I'm 6'3" and 270lbs. If that may be something that interests you, you could look for an 06-08 1500 Ram MegaCab and also perhaps the 09 1500 Crew Cab is said to have more space than a regular Quad Cab but I've not looked at them.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I second JCMatthews, mine fit properly and was at the correct angle, handles forward, etc. I think it depends on how you sit in the vehicle, do you sit in a normal seating position or do you lean the seats back gansta' style?

Nope. I've done a lot of time in performance cars and on track. I sit quite upright, often about as upright as the seat will adjust. My wife has the passenger seat pushed forward so her knees are almost touching the glovebox (she's only 5'5"), and cannot rest comfortably with the seatback the way it is. And that's still not good enough, technically.

 

[eugene]

maybe an odd seat. Both ours were graco, trucks were a 2004 silverado and 2004 dodge, both extended cab not the bigger quad cab and they fit fine.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I just happened to have a peek at an infant carrier installed in a little Kia truck yesterday. Absolutely improperly installed.

I should get a picture of mine, you'd be surprised what it looks like while still being not installed at the correct angle. But it was nowhere near as bad as the Kia.

 

[James86004]

Gee, I thought car seats were supposed to have gotten better since we needed one in 2001. The only place our seat would fit then was the center rear seat of our 89 Range Rover. I remember pushing down on the base with my shoulders on the ceiling while my wife cinched the seat belt. It was in nice and secure after that, but it was kind of a pain to get the carrier in and out since it was in the middle.

Arizona passed a law saying all kids less than 9 years old have to be in booster seats, it went into effect 3 weeks before my daughter turned 9. She has not been able to fit comfortably into a booster seat since she was 7.

 

[exploreFL]

I can say that inside space will probably be pretty tight! But with all that bed space to make up for it I am not too concerned! We have had it now for a couple of days and have the rear facing graco seat in the back center. My general impression is that it fits well, it has the seat clips at the base and I have also run the seatbelt through it as well. The seat does not seem to come too far forward, even with my seat all the way back and reclined to pimp :costumed-smiley-007 mode, I still have shoulder room!!! I love it so far!:wings:

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Gee, I thought car seats were supposed to have gotten better since we needed one in 2001. The only place our seat would fit then was the center rear seat of our 89 Range Rover. I remember pushing down on the base with my shoulders on the ceiling while my wife cinched the seat belt. It was in nice and secure after that, but it was kind of a pain to get the carrier in and out since it was in the middle.

Arizona passed a law saying all kids less than 9 years old have to be in booster seats, it went into effect 3 weeks before my daughter turned 9. She has not been able to fit comfortably into a booster seat since she was 7.

I use the "jump on it while yanking" technique. I don't think car seats have gotten better at all, they have just gotten bigger. My parents were ahead of the curve, they had us in car seats in the late 70's. The seats were steel framed, and I think he said they were chained down. I showed him the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite installed backwards for my daughter, and how loose it was, and he said "I wouldn't put my kid in that".

I had all the seats out of the van this week because I needed to use it for a pickup, and I was putting them all back in last night. I ended up putting Elise's front facing. It's so much more secure, but I dunno.

I understand why... ideally rear facing is safer. But I just can't get the damn seat secured well enough, and at the right angle.