Tacomas, 4 Runners and Car Seats

[Beeftaco]

I'm expecting my first kid in about 6 months and also planning to get a new rig. I'm a longtime Toyota truck person but I've heard dealing with car seats in trucks is a nightmare so I'm looking at Tacomas and 4runners now. Safety between the 2 seems to be comparable so I'm weighing the loss of the convenience of having a truck bed with the extra room for car seats. If anyone has any insights on Tacomas vs 4runners in relation to overlanding or having children or both I would love the feedback.

 

[OtherOrb]

The Taco back seat is good for a year or two, but once the kids' legs are long enough to go beyond the carseat, they'll be kicking you in the back. The 4Runner has more space for carseats even though the measurements provided by Toyota don't indicate a lot more. The Tundra has even more space. The F150 has all the space plus room for changing the kid on the backseat floor.

None of them are convenient for access. Trying to gently and quietly remove a sleeping, 25-pound kid and carseat from a truck is an exercise in frustration. For everyone. Trying to change the kid in a Toyota truck is also frustrating for everyone. The tailgate really doesn't work well with a squirmy 9-mo-old.

A minivan is convenient for putting kids and all their crap into the vehicle and still having space and access. We went a couple of years with a minivan for camping/overlanding. Could do forest service roads. Could do long, multi-state trips. Could bring everything we needed. Could put the kid in a safe spot to change them. It's not a truck or truck-like vehicle, though.

 

[JoelIII]

I've got an 8 year old and 6 year old in booster seats riding in my 04 Tacoma 4 door and leg room isn't an issue for us. Didn't have this truck when they were babies and I'd say it probably would be a hassle. When both mine were babies my wife and I both had cars, and putting the car seats in weren't a problem for us.

 

[SgtMac]

I'd say the the tricky part will be early on, with a rear facing car seat. I have an 8 year old in my 2nd gen Tacoma with a booster seat and seems to be plenty of room (me and my wife aren't that tall). So a bulky rear facing seat seems like the biggest challenge. We had a large Britax seat before the booster seat, it was tall, but worked.

 

[Lindenwood]

Unless the front passengers are under 5', the only place to put a Carseat is in the center of a 4Runner (I can confirm this with either 5th or 3rd gens).

I briefly had an F250, which shares the same cab dimensions as the F150. As mentioned above, the carseat could go in any rear location, and still have enough room for two adults next to it haha. Of course, I have a sour taste in my mouth from Ford's reliability, so I'd probably go with a Tundra which should probably be close if you really need an offroady vehicle.

To be fair, it was a struggle for my wife to get him in and out of his carseat, though I didn't have too much trouble with that or changing him in the back seat.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

A minivan is convenient for putting kids and all their crap into the vehicle and still having space and access. We went a couple of years with a minivan for camping/overlanding. Could do forest service roads. Could do long, multi-state trips. Could bring everything we needed. Could put the kid in a safe spot to change them. It's not a truck or truck-like vehicle, though.

My wife got a minivan when we had the kid. I kept my truck.

She (or me) never understood the hate for minivans. We drove that Dodge all over the Country, it would haul more than you could imagine, was the most dependable vehicle we EVER owned and they were designed for raising kids.

The kid's in college now and the wife is back in a Jeep, but we never regret those minivan days.

 

[Codebeagle]

3rd gen 4Runner here. My wife and I have tried a few arrangements, but settled on having backwards facing seats on the passenger side and forward facing on driver side. We currently have two forward facing seats and leave the middle open to help prevent kicking matches.

As others said, it’s a little hard no matter what. Keep plenty of games on hand and make frequent stops to get out the energy.

Congratulations on the little one, BTW!

 

[OtherOrb]

My wife got a minivan when we had the kid. I kept my truck.

She (or me) never understood the hate for minivans. We drove that Dodge all over the Country, it would haul more than you could imagine, was the most dependable vehicle we EVER owned and they were designed for raising kids.

The kid's in college now and the wife is back in a Jeep, but we never regret those minivan days.

Our spawn is about to go to college and we just bought a used minivan. We still love it. All the people, the dog, the stuff, and more. Best road trip vehicle ever. Took it to Death Valley this past winter. Fit five adult-sized people, our camera gear, and all the day trip stuff. And still had room for the spawn to sleep in the third row.

 

[The other Sean]

I've got a Frontier, but, I'd suggest you go to a Toyota dealer with your car seat and try it out in both vehicles. what I find the main issue in my truck is the roof height and getting my dude in and out of the seat.

 

[Whiskey Hill]

We have a 2019 4Runner, I am 6'2" and our 7th month old spawncho rides behind me. I have lots of leg room (normal driving position) and there is still over 6 inches between my seat and his. We also have a Tundra, and there is a mile back there between seats. Our nieces and nephew (3-8 yrs old) are hard pressed to kick the back of our seats.

I have changed my son on the seat or tailgate of my Tundra, on the back tailgate of the 4Runner, really anywhere safely and comfortably. I think that just depends on you.

As stated above get a car seat or borrow one and take it to the dealership and try it out. Get what you like and will use. If there is a will there is a way and everything else will work out.

 

[Thomas B]

I'd say the the tricky part will be early on, with a rear facing car seat. I have an 8 year old in my 2nd gen Tacoma with a booster seat and seems to be plenty of room (me and my wife aren't that tall). So a bulky rear facing seat seems like the biggest challenge. We had a large Britax seat before the booster seat, it was tall, but worked.

Exact same for me. I have two kids (3 and 5) with a 2nd gen 4-door Tacoma. Their forward-facing car seats and booster seats work fine. No way to fit two REAR-FACING seats (at least the Britax models I used). You may be able to fit one rear-facing seat in the center, but it would be tight. As others recommended, try buying the car seat you're going to use and take it to a dealership to see how it fits.

 

[Beeftaco]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! After hearing everyone’s stories and knowing a little more about what to look for I test drove the new tacos and 4runners. The 4Runner is clearly going to be much easier with kids. Looks like I won’t be driving a truck for the first time in 15 years.