Truck rear seat question

Ali

New member
My car will need replacing in the next few years and since I have never gotten to choose my own car (not intentional, just what happened) I am thinking I want a truck. I know, I'm weird, but I've always wanted a truck :p) DD is and will continue to be an only, so we only need to fit one carseat into the vehicle I choose.

DH has a Corolla. I am looking at the Nissan Frontier or the Toyota Tacoma. Both have "extended cab" options which don't have traditional doors. The rear seats also look odd. They are forward facing seats that can fold up or down depending on need. Are these rear seats safe?

http://www.nissanusa.com/frontier/index.html

http://www.toyota.com/tacoma/interior.html

We are fine with going with the the 4 door cab option if that is safer, I'm just curious about the smaller backseats.

DD is in FF MAs in both cars, but we would be willing to buy a new seat if necessary.
 
ADS

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
I love trucks, so I can relate!

I'm not sure about those seats, though. The ones in the Nissan looked deeper, plus they had headrests.

Just commenting based on the photos; I've yet to install carseats in either of them. :twocents:
 

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor
I don't know about that version of the Frontier, but my dad drives the 4dr version. I LOVE it for carseat installs. The Marathon and Scenera install very nicely in all positions RF or FF with LATCH (outboard) and seatbelt. It does not seem like a huge truck either, but has lots of space.
Renee
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
When I saw you say you were a truck girl I was like "YES". Well you are wanting a compact truck. I am a truck TRUCK girl aka manly big trucks. My last vehicle was a Chevy Silverado 2500HD crewcab longbed diesel truck. I LOVED it but dh wanted it so I am now in a Tahoe which I LOVE and works perfectly for all the kids (dds friends) I haul around

I have installed a Marathon in a Tacoma and while it fit good it was close to the roof line. So, Which ever you choice just make sure you take your seats with you and test it out in there along with your child.
 

scatterbunny

New member
I, personally, am not okay with my child riding in the extended cab trucks, as much as I want to be. There isn't as much room for head excursion, there isn't as much crush room. I just don't like it.

I am also a truck girl, believe it or not. I :love: driving dh's full-size longbed (Ford F150), and I would also love a crew cab so it could be my primary vehicle. The main reason we haven't gone forward with that is gas mileage.
 

popsicle

New member
I don't know about the Frontier or Tacoma, but we had a GMC Canyon with the extended cab and while it did have latch in the back seat, I was not comfortable with a car seat in it. I had to a few times and I was able to get our scenera in there acceptably, but it had to be competely upright, so DS would slump if he fell asleep. Also the front passenger seat had to be so far forward that I had to put my knees to the side. And I'm only 5'3. I would not reccomend an extended cab, or probably even 4-door compact pickup to anyone with kids. We replaced ours with an extended cab F-150 and seats install great in there.

ETA: I just looked at the interior pics. The Tacoma looks kind of like what the Canyon rear seats were like. Wouldn't reccomend. The Frontier seats do look more substantial. It might be ok but I would defenitley take your seats with you to test drive.
 

Ali

New member
Thanks everyone! I thought the rear seats in the Tacoma were a joke. How would anyone be comfortable or safe on them, let alone a carseat installed there!

We'll probably opt for the full size cab. I don't want it to be too big. I'd love for it to still fit in our garage! I guess I should go measure that!
 

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor
My dad's 4dr Frontier fits lengthwise in our garage similarly to our Toyota Sienna. Its somewhat wider than the van though.
Renee
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
Thanks everyone! I thought the rear seats in the Tacoma were a joke. How would anyone be comfortable or safe on them, let alone a carseat installed there!

We'll probably opt for the full size cab. I don't want it to be too big. I'd love for it to still fit in our garage! I guess I should go measure that!

Look at the GM full size trucks. Their big push is to make them so they still fit in standard size garages. I can easily get 3 across our Silverado crewcab and it is very spacious in the 2nd row. Ours is a longbed and it does fit in our garage but we also have an oversized 3rd car garage that was designed to fit our truck or our race trailer. Our old GMC Sierra fit in our old garage which was a standard size.
 

ShoeHo

New member
DH is a faithful Nissan Frontier owner. He just purchased his fifth one; 3rd one for which we have had children to put in the back. They have definitely gotten roomier over the years. SUCH a major difference between his first one in 2000 and his new one (we have the crew cab - 4 doors).

For a medium sized truck, there is a LOT of room - especially in the backseat. We have no problem whatsoever with carseat installations. DD has a Roundabout installed beautifully now (FF, but RF was no issue either), with DS in a high back booster. We've also had a RF Evenflo Triumph at one time. With two convertible sized carseats, there's even plenty of room for an adult in the middle, or on either side (depending on how the seats are).

Great truck, and pretty decent gas mileage too!
 

Guest

New member
Do any car seat manufacturers say it's ok to put a car seat in the little seat in an extended cab?

I'd just go with a crew cab and get the real doors in back and the room to have a real seat.

We went through the same dilemna along with some friends of ours about a year ago. We all quickly ruled out extended cabs and looked at the crew cab versions. We ended up concluding the Tacoma was better for us and they liked the Frontier better. They're pretty close.

We ended up getting a Honda Ridgeline. They got a Nissan Pathfinder. From a safety of our kid standpoint (along with just pure space in general), I can honestly laugh at both the Toyota and the Nissan (we fit a 50 inch plasma, in the box, from Costco in the rear seat area). The only real disadvantage of the Ridgeline is it only has a 5 ft bed or pure offroading (I mean real rock crawling, cuz you can lock all 4 wheels on a Ridgeline). That wasn't a big deal to us. We just tool around town and use the bed for Home Depot or Costco runs. Like what most non-full sized trucks and SUVs are used for. In that regards, the Honda totally kicks the ass of the Taco or Frontier. It's not that easy finding those trucks with side air bags while AWD (better for bad weather than 4wd) and side/curtain airbags are standard on the Honda.

Oh, but the Honda is butt ugly. It's growing on us, but we freely admit it's an ugly truck. The Taco is freaking gorgeous IMO.
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
Do any car seat manufacturers say it's ok to put a car seat in the little seat in an extended cab?

As long as the seat (vehicle seat) is forward-facing (not side-facing) and if there is no more than 20% overhang of the base of the carseat, it's okay.
 

heathernick06

New member
Do any car seat manufacturers say it's ok to put a car seat in the little seat in an extended cab?

I just wanted to add to what Debbie said and say that not all extended cabs are the same. I've seen some that are tiny, but our Chevy Silverado has plenty of room for installing seats. I can even fit a Regent, although I'm not comfortable with the amount of leg room it leaves my son. The Radian fits great though.

IMG_1829.jpg
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,898
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top