How Well Do Trucks Handle Car Seats?

By Jen Burklow

August 29, 2016

The ultimate utility players when it comes to vehicles, pickup trucks are proven cargo haulers. One thing families may not realize about pickups is that they also excel at carrying child-safety seats.

The certified child-safety seat technicians at sister site Cars.com check the vehicles we test-drive to see how well and how many child-safety seats a vehicle can handle. Most of the full-size pickups they’ve tested accomplish something many families need: They accommodate three child-safety seats in the rear seat. Of course, the backseats of some pickups do that better than others. Cab configuration affects how well three car seats fit in the back and the types of safety seats you own impacts car-seat installation, as well.

Midsize pickups also pull duty as family haulers and some of them can fit three child-safety seats in the rear, too.

Check out these Car Seat Checks from Cars.com to find out what our technicians liked and disliked about the way the following pickups carry child-safety seats.

Full-Size Pickups

Midsize Pickups

No matter the type of pickup, our technicians have found that trucks’ tether anchors — a critical part of a vehicle’s Latch system for connecting child-safety seats — are tricky to find and use. They created a guide for finding and using pickups’ tether anchors; read it here. And while you’re at it, discover some of the common car-seat mistakes parents and caregivers make in this video.

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