2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Baby Seat in a Club Cab?

[Midnite]

My wife and I have a baby due in late Nov. or early Dec, and I have orders to replace the old 1st gen with something that doesn't have goofy side-facing back seats so that we can put the baby seat back there.



I initially thought "okay, probably ought to limit my search to the quad cabs", but unfortunately that almost eliminates the 12` valve trucks (which is what I really want).



But if we can fit a baby seat just fine in the back of, say, a '97 club cab, then I will be a very happy camper indeed.



Thanks for any replies!

Mike

 

[Forrest]

Fits no problemo Mike. There are 3 seatbelts in the back. In our case granddaughter seat goes in the middle. Plenty room. Congratulations.



Forrest

 

[KCJackson]

My 3500 Club brought my 4th godchild home from the hospital back in 1998. Hospitals do NOT let you leave with a newborn unless an infant seat is in the vehicle - they fit very well in the back seat.

 

[BGDUMMY]

I have a rear facing seat that has a single release handle, which makes it very easy to lock the seat in and take out. Fits nice right in the middle and all I have to do is set her seat on the console and slide her back into place, which locks right in. To remove, just reach back with one hand to realese the latch and with the other hand lift the seat out. Don't get a seat that you have to realese two catches on both sides. Big pain it the A$$.

 

[SEmerson]

Both front and back facing seats will work fine. quad cab doors are nicer but I too would not buy another 24v. My 12v is MUCH more dependable. Even with twice the miles on it. Look for a 98 12v and get the best of both worlds.

 

[HeavyHauler]

Club Cab works great

Before I got my dually, I had a 96 Dodge Club Cab. I put the car seat in the middle of the back seat for my little nephew and he loved it. He looked like King Tut sittin' up back there. Also gives the kid a good view. LOL. I wouldn't mess with the quad cab unless you just really wanted one. It's easier to load the kid from the front seat anyway.



Congratulations.

 

[BV]

Club Cab rear bench seat

I agree with all of the above or your can Click Here for Dodge bench seat conversion that I which I had known about before we sold the 92 and bought a 99 just for the back seat.

 

[duaneparks]

I found this in the Reader's Rigs section as another option...



Looks like a GM rear seat in a 1st Gen. Might be cool if you didn't want to get rid of your current ride.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=2717&width=0



HTH.



Duane

 

[BNH4221]

I have an Alpha-Omega car seat on the passenger side rear of mine. Fits well. Just have to leave the front seat a little forward so the boys legs have room to move.



Life is good when I can drive my Cummins and turn and see my son sitting in the back! He loves to ride in "Big Truck".



Steve



98 QC 12V 4x4

149000 happy miles

 

[Midnite]

Cool, sounds like I can now start looking at '94 through '97 trucks as well as the quad cabs! And thanks for the congratulations!



Ideally, I would like to get a '98 12v quad cab, but I'm not holding my breath for one. If anyone knows of one for sale that's also got the following, *please* let me know (read: I'd gladly pay a finders' fee! )



2500

manual transmission

long bed

4x4



Thanks for the pointers to the rear bench in the 1st gens. Unfortunately I'm so tall that the regular bench seat is all the way back (I'm 6'4") and there just isn't enough room back there. My wife and I do a lot of camping, and sometimes just hit the road for the heck of it, so having a truck that can safely carry the little squirt is mandatory.



Thanks for all the replies!

Mike

 

[rnolen]

Midnite,

Congradulations. My wife and I are expecting our first little one in February, and I own a 97 and thought about selling it and buying a 24 valve for the same reasons. I did not want to get rid of my 97 though. We tested some car seats from friends of ours and never found one that wouldn't fit. Just by a seat for your truck and for the wife's car so you don't have to take it in and out. That is when it gets a pain with out that extra door. By a 12 valve and being comfortable with the engine and don't worry about the roor. Pleny for a baby seat.

Good Luck

Russ

 

[klenger]

Congradulations!!!!

 

[surfbeetle]

Don't let them fool ya. My sister has a 98 quad cab and while the infant seats may be fine toddlers will have a tight fit. In California, children must be in carseats until they are 60 pounds or 6 years old. When you start with an infant, they are usually in the little carriers that fit no problem. Those go up 'til the child is around 20 pounds in weight. Then they are moved up to a rear facing full size car seat, a baby's neck still cannot handle an impact if forward facing at this point. Here is where it becomes a tight fit. Your only option in a quad or club cab is to put the seat into the center of the rear seat with the front center armrest folded down. Most likely the child will not have any leg room. Once the child grows to the point that the full size carseat can be forward facing it will still have to be forward facing with their legs up front on the folded down front arm rest.



My daughter will be three years old in December, she weighs 38 pounds and is 36 inches tall. In my diesel suburban, she sits right behind the driver's seat and I constantly have to remind her to keep her feet from kicking the back of my seat, and remember, there is much more space between the front seat and back seat of a suburban than there is in a quad cab. My ram is a regular cab without a passenger airbag, so she rides in the passenger seat with a carseat with no problems.



As I also have a 5 month old baby, so with a family of 4, we can no longer tow the camper with all of us in the truck, so we have been looking at the new powerchoke and the '04 ram. So far the wife wants a pherd (a real crew cab), I want the cummins. If you are going to buy a club or quadcab truck to have your kids in, just keep in mind that while they may fit fine at first, it will soon become a very tight fit. Just my $. 02 worth. Good luck!

 

[jrobinson2]

I bought my '99 a few months before my daughter was born and it has been our main family transportation since then. We started out with a small rear facing car seat in the middle with the center console down. This worked very well, you can easily see the baby and tend to minor problems. When she was big enough we faced her forward in the center, no problem with feet clearance till somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 years, around then we moved the car seat to the passenger side, this gave our 11 year old more space and allowed us to move the passenger seat forward for foot clearance. Around 3 years we ended up getting our third car seat, this time we took a tape measure with us, sat our daughter in the seats and measured for foot clearance, we found a huge difference between seats and ended up gaining 3 or 4 inches, this car seat is still working at nearly 4 years old with the passenger seat a few inches forward. My wife at 5'9" has no problems but with me at 6'3" and lots of leg my daughter and I cant both be comfortable at the same time. If the trip is going to be very long we take my daughter's shoes off, this allows more clearance to the seat back. In Nevada I think you can switch to a booster seat at 4 years old, this creates just enough space to get you to 6 years old As for the quad cab it makes a huge difference and is well worth it if it will be used regularly with the car seat, but if the truck is mostly for weekend trips and occasional use an extended cab will do fine.

Jared



PS surfbeetle, we dont have any problems with my daughter kicking the seat back, theres not enough clearance to kick, just wiggle

 

[Midnite]

Just wanted to bring this back to the top. I'd really like to find a '98 12v quad cab, and I'm very serious about paying a finders fee!



Thanks,

Mike

 

[AKAMAC]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2437349936&category=31831

 

[Midnite]

Yeah, I saw that one. That is a sweet looking truck, but unfortunately it's 2wd and I need 4wd. There are so many trucks like that that I see that I'm just tearing my hair out!



I found one in Austin, TX at a place called Nelson Auto Group. It's silver, and looks like it might have a Ranch Hand bumper and grill guard on it.



Is anyone familiar with Nelson Auto Group?



Thanks,

Mike