Trd pro purchase

3

3rdGenRunnr

New member
All,
Several years ago I parted ways with my 2000 4RUNNER. I was a member of this forum at the time with substantial modifications done on my rig, it was truly an awesome vehicle. At the time I had one child, my wife and I now have 3 and I've been driving a 2012 Sequoia. Modifications I've done include:
TRD Rock Warrior 17" Rims
Nitto Terra Grappler 285/75/17's
Revtek leveling kit 2.5" up front 1.5" rear
Tundra Power Towing mirrors
CORSA Cat Back Exhaust
TRD CAI
It's a beautiful vehicle. I drive primarily in the city, shuttling my kids around these days, never off roading anymore due to time. Because we are now located in the city, I've contemplated downsizing a bit to either a Highlander or back to a 4Runner, in particular I like the TRD Pro as it takes care of the mods I'd want done, and it just plain looks best of all the trims IMO.
Questions: Will I be able to fit 3 car seats across the second row? One is a booster, two are convertible to booster seats. I've seen reviews that say it is in fact very doable but looking for any real life examples on this forum.
I'd love to hear opinions on whether or not I'm nuts thinking about giving up the vast space that the Sequoia offers (but a pathetic 11.9mpg avg right now, I get near 20 on hwy but only 9 in the city). Thanks and looking forward to any feedback.
 
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I upgraded from a double cab taco because I have 2 labs and a son on the way. Can't have labs with new born in the back nor do I want my labs on the bed. Trd pro! However, if I had 3 kids I wouldn't downgrade to smaller vehicle. I'd get a sequoia or landcruiser for sure!
 
kids in the back seat

"Questions: Will I be able to fit 3 car seats across the second row? One is a booster, two are convertible to booster seats. I've seen reviews that say it is in fact very doable but looking for any real life examples on this forum."

If you put the booster in between the 2 convertibles, then yes, it will work. It be tight, tho. I had my daughter in her carseat and friend's daughter in a booster in the backseat and that was fine, but three will be tight. My advice to you is the put both car seats in the back of any 4Runner on a lot and see how narrow that makes the space between.
 
If I were you, I'd take my wife and ALL the crumb-crunchers and ALL their paraphernalia and ALL 3 seats down to the dealership, and see how it all fits in a 4R.

If I had 3 kids, pretty sure I'd keep the Seq, or be shopping vans.
 
2012SEQUOIA said:
Questions: Will I be able to fit 3 car seats across the second row? One is a booster, two are convertible to booster seats. I've seen reviews that say it is in fact very doable but looking for any real life examples on this forum.
I'd love to hear opinions on whether or not I'm nuts thinking about giving up the vast space that the Sequoia offers (but a pathetic 11.9mpg avg right now, I get near 20 on hwy but only 9 in the city). Thanks and looking forward to any feedback.
Click to expand...

Sorry Im unable to answer the part about the child seat, but the MPG on the 4runner is about the same as your Sequoia. I don't know how others are getting more than 20MPG on HWY and 17 City. I had my runner for almost 4 years not and I cant get the stated EPA MPG. In the city (NYC) I get about 6-7 MPG, Suburbs 13-15 MPG(under 60mph), HWY 18.5MPG(72-75mph). I drive like a grandpa for the most part and I can count how many times I redline the motor. I would keep the what you have right now if you need the space.
 
I suspect you're definitely going to miss the extra space. So really you're trying to gauge the value of that space. That's going to come down to a personal opinion, of which the only ones that matter are yours and your wife's.

If it's any help, maybe try to quantify the fuel cost between the two, then frame that with what would that buy you? For example, based on the number of city miles you drive per year, a 4runner might save you X dollars. Would that be a vacation / dinner for the family / 4runner modification etc, and would you prefer having that over more space in the car?

As mentioned above, there's nothing wrong with taking everyone down to the dealership, plug everyone in for a test drive as part of the decision process.
 
2012 -

What type of carseats are you going to use? We use the Diono Radian XTSL, the company claims you can put three of these seats across in most full size autos. Although I haven't tried to put three in the back, I know you can put two of these in the back on the outboard positions and a skinny adult can still sit in the middle comfortably.

One thing to note, I've had a hell of time trying to get the carseat tight enough using the latch system or belt on the passenger side. It could be the car seat design, because it works fine on the drivers side. Not sure what is going on, but I'm going to try a different seat to see if it is the car seat and not the design of the rear bench.

Also, if I had three kids, I'd probably look for something bigger.
 
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All of the above responses are EXACTLY why I miss this forum. There is not a forum dedicated to the Sequoia like there is the 4Runner. It's just simply amazing.
I agree it would be tight. On any given day I take the 2 older kids and my wife has the youngest kid as his school is close to her office. Therefore I would have a booster and a Britax convertible to booster seat in the outboard positions. The third and middle seat would be used only when needed, certainly not day to day.
We have a 2015 Sienna which I just upgraded to from our 2012. Huge improvements interior wise.

My options are quite simple:
1) Keep the Sequoia and deal with the slight annoyance of driving a behemoth that goes thru anything and at 30k miles is just getting warmed up.
2) Jump ship to a TRD Pro 4Runner
3) Head over to mommy land and buy a HL for the simple pleasure of a lexus ride. I have driven one and they are quite smooth.
My gut is telling me that full size third row in the SQ is going to come in very handy in a couple yrs when carpools begin. I've attached a pic of my Sequoia as I think only 4Runner folks will appreciate the mods.
Maybe just slapping a T4R.ORG sticker on my window will make me feel at home again
 

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I have 4 kids and you can fit 3 cars seats in the 2nd row. It's a ***** to buckle them though.

Is this your primary kid hauler or secondary? My wife has an odyssey that we us 95% of the time if we are all in one car.

If the 4Runner would be your primary rig it would NOT be my first choise. Like others have said I would keep what you have or look to a van.
 
Like the others have said, it's possible for 3 child seats in the back, but it's a huge pain to buckle everyone in. We have had 3 car seats (2 convertibles and 1 booster) in the back of ours for a few trips, but I would hate to deal with it on a daily basis.
 
All, thank you very much for all of the quick feedback. In about a year and a half the sequoia will undoubtably be my primary kid hauler as all three will be at the same school. Unless I want to drive the sienna day in and day out, the SQ will be with me for many many years. Luckily there is room for a few more mods. Thank you again!
 
I had two brothers growing up, it was hard enough being comfortable in a minivan with my siblings. I would have been miserable crammed into the back seat with two other people all the time.

Once you go over 2 kids, 3rd row is a must, if you want fuel economy then you need a minivan
 
You would be FU#^n nuts to down size to any 4r ! They'd be killing each other n 1 more yr ! WOW IMO you have the rig you need for all of them .
 
2012... I'm glad you posted a pic. BP with TRD wheels! Sweet. I really like that Sequoia - I have many time wished I needed one, but I don't even need a 4R. You'd be effin crazy to get rid of that .... gas mileage pffft!
 
If the gas mileage is becoming more than an annoyance, then it's probably time for a minivan.

If the gas mileage isn't hurting your budget then I would keep what you have.

In no situation would a 4Runner be better for you based on what you described.
 
I'm late to this party to but thought I'd add my $0.02...

My T4R is a "Daddy Wagon" too, though I only have 2 kids and it gets packed up quickly. I've actually considered a Sequoia after seeing one locally with a setup very similar to yours. It isn't so much the car seats that are just tight (we do often bring my daughters friends along so we do pack it up to 3 wide in the back), but all their $hit. I thought my wife was a big packer, but damn - the kid stuff is just ridiculous.

Thinking about about it, when we first got our G35 Sedan, I was near kicking myself that we didn't get the Coupe (we were planning on a family at that point, but nothing in the oven for a few months). Then, when my daughter was born, suddenly the Sedan was too small. By the time the second kiddo came around, I thought I was going to need to buy a U-haul mini-trailer to drag behind me.

My opinion too is to keep the Sequoia. Since you're not hitting the trails hard, your setup looks great and is still road/family/wife friendly. Enjoy the space :)
 
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