car seat in an extended cab pick up truck

[tbone_kneegrabber]

We are getting a hand-me-down truck from dp's parents.  We need to get it from 400+ miles away.  It is 1995 Toyota Tacoma.  It has an extended cab (but the little kind, not the new kind where there are 4 doors). The back "jump seats" face forward (not to the side like our current truck).  Can we put a car seat on those jump seats? We wouldn't be using the truck as our main (or even usual) transportation (we also have another vehicle), but we would like to combine getting the truck with visiting the grandparents.  

DS is 4 (well he'll be 4 on Tuesday, where did the time go?!?!?) and rides in a harnessed Britax Frontier. He's a large kid (over 42inches over 43 lbs).  I'm just trying to figure out if we can ride back in the truck with ds or if we'll have to figure out another method of getting the truck back home.

TIA

[chickabiddy]

80% of the carseat must be on the vehicle seat.  The Frontier is a deep seat and my best guess is that there will be more than 20% of the Frontier hanging off the vehicle seat.

I assume there is no passenger airbag?  You could install the Frontier in front and adult passenger rides in back, or you could look at a shallower carseat for your son.

[Adaline'sMama]

How are you getting to the truck? Plane, bus, grandparents picking you up?

For a one time six hour trip with a four year old, Id probably do it. If it didnt feel safe after you installed it, I would move it to the front seat and sit in the back myself. However, we have a Toyota T100 and our back seat is pretty deep. I dont know how deep the jump seats are though, as we have a bench.

[Maedze]

Keep in mind that *you* also need a lap shoulder belt and head rest support to the tops of your ears.  A 95 is unlikely to have head rests in the rear seat, and may even have only lap belts.  

It might be wiser to arrange for a sitter while you obtain this truck, and then you can examine all of your transportation options when you are at home.

A 1995 vehicle will not have top tethers installed and ideally, no forward facing restraint should be used without top tethers. 

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by Maedze 

Keep in mind that *you* also need a lap shoulder belt and head rest support to the tops of your ears.  A 95 is unlikely to have head rests in the rear seat, and may even have only lap belts.  

It might be wiser to arrange for a sitter while you obtain this truck, and then you can examine all of your transportation options when you are at home.

A 1995 vehicle will not have top tethers installed and ideally, no forward facing restraint should be used without top tethers. 

I own three pickup trucks
1997 Toytoa T100
1999 Ford F150
2000 For F150

and none of them have head rests in the back seat. They are all benches that have two shoulder straps and a lap belt in the middle with a back rest that comes up to most people necks. There is no way the drive could see out of the back window if there were headrest. But, are you saying that no adult should ride in the backseat of these vehicles because they dont have head rests that go to the top of your ears?

[chickabiddy]

Yes.  Better an adult than a child, because adults have stronger skeletons (and are able to make a choice about the risk involved), but it is not safe for anyone to ride without vehicle support to the tops of the ears.

[Maedze]

Correct.  Minimal safe restraint for any adult in a passenger vehicle is a lap-shoulder belt and vehicle back or head rest support to a bare minimum of the tops of the ears.   I'm sure you all ready know this, but a lap belt should never be used for anything other than installing a harnessed child restraint.

As an aside, it's more important that people have proper support than the driver be able to see through the back.   As someone who drove an ambulance for a number of years I can attest to the fact that it's not necessary to be able to see through the rear view mirror to drive safely 

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 



I own three pickup trucks
1997 Toytoa T100
1999 Ford F150
2000 For F150

and none of them have head rests in the back seat. They are all benches that have two shoulder straps and a lap belt in the middle with a back rest that comes up to most people necks. There is no way the drive could see out of the back window if there were headrest. But, are you saying that no adult should ride in the backseat of these vehicles because they dont have head rests that go to the top of your ears?

[tbone_kneegrabber]

It does have lap/shoulder belts. I don't remember about a headrest. We also have a triumph advance which seems like a smaller base.

We'd be taking the train down there, staying a few days-week then driving back (we'd install the seat in a different car, most likely a forester for driving while visiting).