Super Doody
Explorer
I had a question about the infant seat solution. I use the word solution delicately because unless your partner is somewhat short and tough enough to put up with a bit less leg room than previously, it is not a total solution. BUT, short of buying a different truck, it is a pretty solid fix.
If you pull off the back panel you can remove one of the seat cushions to make a bit more space for the base to slide back. Takes about 30 minutes with basic tools.
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I use the shoulder belt through the hoops because the truck doesn't have factory lower anchor points, only the upper.
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With the baby seat in place, the passenger seat can be in a fair recline spot and one or two clicks back from the front most position. It works for my wife, but may not work for all. Try it out, could be a very good money saver, or at least a short term solution.
We use the Chico Keyfit 30. I looked at the Keyfit 22 thinking it would be smaller, IT IS NOT. Buy the 30 which is good for up to 30lb baby. The frame is the same size for both units. In Ca once the kid hits 22-ish LBs they can go in a front facing seat...that will probably go better in an access cab Tacoma than the rear...we shall see.
I had the same issue with my 03 tacoma and my 1 yr old daugther. The other options (although not ideal esp for long trips) is to have your wife sit in the jumper seat and your baby in the passenger seat with the air bag turned off. Good on you for removing backrest to get more room for the baby seat. The unfortunate thing is that as your baby exceed the height limit on the infant seat (30" on the chico keyfit, we had the same seat. Most babies will exceed the height limit before the weight limit) , the convertible car seats are much bigger and they require a certain amount of recline. I searched all over for a solution and finally gave up and bought 2006 double cab tundra.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the kids stay rear facing till 2 but we intent to keep our daughter in the rear facing direction as long as possible
. This article describes the physiological reasons on rear facings seats:
http://csftl.org/why-rear-facing-the-science-junkies-guide/
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