My wife is expecting. (We are expecting? Not sure. Wasn’t an English major.).

I like my F150 regular cab. All it was for was trips to the cigar lounge, work, get plants, etc.

Has anyone tried a car seat and a wife in a regular cab?

Im going to look at a Maverick - crew cab F150s get very hard to park in Charleston but I guess we will probably only go into downtown in her car.

In a single cab, not gonna happen.

Your wife will forever be uncomfortable, car seats tend to be wider than a single seat by an inch or two. She will always be climbing in and out on your side. Around a steering wheel, with a bag for the child squeezing it from the floorboard under the car seat where her leg was just bent down into. You get the idea.

Time to upgrade.

I’ve also always heard that you don’t put car seats in the front for safety reasons though I assume that is if you have a choice between front and rear. Assuming also that your front passenger airbags are off.

We had a new ‘92 Toyota single cab pickup with a manual transmission. Our first daughter’s legs and feet were in the way when I shifted, but we managed.

All trucks are larger now, but if I was a new dad now, I wouldn’t have a child seat in the front. Those days have passed.

quote:

Originally posted by ftttu:
We had a new ‘92 Toyota single cab pickup with a manual transmission. Our first daughter’s legs and feet were in the way when I shifted, but we managed.

All trucks are larger now, but if I was a new dad now, I wouldn’t have a child seat in the front. Those days have passed.

Also, first year will have the baby rear facing, which most likely eliminates putting the baby in the middle. But I also agree that these days it's not a good option, given the amount of options.

Having been involved in a wreck where airbags deployed, I'm not sure you can avoid the airbag hitting a middle-positioned carseat. Maybe, but I wouldn't chance it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OttoSig,

If your regular cab is a long bed, the supercrew cab with the 5.5’ bed is only 4” longer. Thinkng long term, how many kids do you plan on having? Getting a dog?

More than one kid, now’s the time for an SUV or the much maligned minivan. Once they are out of car seats, three and a 75lb dog will fit in the back of a crew cab pickup even with booster seats. Then you get a 350/3500 and go camping.

I see a mini van in your future,
A stow and go Chrysler.

It will be a used one but in good condition

I thought it--Bendable said it.....
Minivan/SUV

Time for a crew cab

I switched from an extended cab (small rear suicide doors) Z71 to a crew cab. Best move ever. No way I'd try it with a regular cab both for space and safety purposes.

when the 3rd one was on the way I looked in the back seat of that Camaro, not enough space
yep, you guessed it ---- mini-van, baby, yeah...

Who says you can’t bolt on a couple hundred horsepower onto the minivan?

If you want a truck you will definitely need a crew cab. A single cab is an absolute no go. I tried it and it definitely doesn't work.

I see where you mentioned possibly getting a Maverick. I would suggest that you bring a rear facing car seat with you and install it and see how much room the front seats have left.
My son has a Gladiator and even then it’s a tight fit…

Maybe a crew cab F-150 with a short bed might be the ticket…

Congrats. I’m guessing this is your first kid? You will he miserable with a car seat between you. Also depending on your size and height you’re going to be even more miserable in a maverick. Suck it up your getting a yuppy truck with 4 full doors.

You just need to plan ahead where your going and what vehicle to take.

If your wife already has a car that will carry 2 people and a car seat why not just take her car when you both need to travel with the child? The reg cab F150 is just fine for when you need to travel with just the child. In the rare even you need a truck and your wife has to also travel the same path then take two cars. If you get another child then you will need to rethink, but it is doable for now, with what you likley have without too much trouble. Thats how I did my first child so many years ago. Unless you just want to get a new truck now, then get a new supercrew f-150.

I've heard those ford crew cabs are very roomy in the back. Like stand between the front and rear seats to buckle the kid into their carseat roomy.

I would walk before I owned a minivan. I would look into something like a volvo wagon if you need minivan space. Still have the utility without having the minivan ugly. Only thing missing is third row seating.

It’s our first kid. I’m 6’4”, 280#.

My wife’s car will hold a car seat and us, but it might be a bit tight for her. (She’s quite lithe, but fairly tall.)

Maybe a Tahoe with one of those carriers? I don’t mind putting plants inside, but fertilizer etc is another matter.

So just adding a third vehicle and keeping the pickup is not an option?

At 6’4” and 280 I will be very surprised if you find the Maverick comfortable for anything other than very short trips. I’m an inch or so shorter than you and felt very confined in a Maverick I tested.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:

Maybe a Tahoe with one of those carriers? I don’t mind putting plants inside, but fertilizer etc is another matter.

If you don’t regularly need to carry large and dirty things in the bed of a pickup, you’ll be very happy with an SUV. You’ll have no problem putting 20 bags of fertilizer or mulch in the back of a Tahoe, with middle seats still usable. A LOT more if you lay down the middle seat.

I kept a Weathertech mat in the back, and if I needed to carry a lot of something dirty I’d throw an old sheet over the laid down seats. They make all sorts of cargo area liners now.


If you’re talking about bulk fertilizer filling the truck bed then that’s a different story.