1st baby right around the corner. Is there anything I can do to make my Gladiator safer?

[arskemp]

When my wife and I had kids we swapped a Miata and a 400 hp STi for 2 Volvos. We did this knowing that in a short amount of time we would be able to have fun cars again. We tried for a while with 1 Volvo and the Miata the parent doing drop off and pick up driving the Volvo that day. But that failed because things come up. We needed 2 vehicles that worked with a rear facing car seat.


Its not. Rear facing seats are huge. Its counterintuitive, but as the kids get older, you can get a smaller car because the car seats get smaller until there aren't any.

Funny enough, My kid is almost one and we just purchased the Gladiator as a BETTER child transporter than her previous sedan. My wife will be daily driving the Jeep and I'll still be dailying my Miata (its a 2010 and has a child latch system in the front passenger seat designed for car seats). To me I don't expect this to be an issue unless we end up having a second one (not necessarily out of the world of possibilities).

As of right now, our somewhat large rear facing seat has no issues being behind the driver (she is 5' 1", I am 5'10). Both of us can sit relatively comfortably and not have the driver's seat back touch the car seat.

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[dcmdon]

Funny enough, My kid is almost one and we just purchased the Gladiator as a BETTER child transporter than her previous sedan. My wife will be daily driving the Jeep and I'll still be dailying my Miata (its a 2010 and has a child latch system in the front passenger seat designed for car seats). To me I don't expect this to be an issue unless we end up having a second one (not necessarily out of the world of possibilities).

As of right now, our somewhat large rear facing seat has no issues being behind the driver (she is 5' 1", I am 5'10). Both of us can sit relatively comfortably and not have the driver's seat back touch the car seat.

If you have to put the baby in the Miata, don't forget to turn off the passenger side airbag. Our Miata had a key hole on the side of the dash to turn off the bag.

 

[NachoRuby]

Another move is to have another kid. Then you need to use both rear seat. That middle space will be important. They'll need a no mans land to keep their hands to themselves. Hahaha.

Yes, we had two pretty young at the same time, so the putting the car seat in the middle thing never even occured to me. Never heard of it. My stepson was in a booster seat when my daughter was in a rear facing car seat. Would have been impossible.
I also don't like that when the car seat is in the middle, you can't see behind you in the rearview mirror. Those things are huge and tall.

 

[arskemp]

If you have to put the baby in the Miata, don't forget to turn off the passenger side airbag. Our Miata had a key hole on the side of the dash to turn off the bag.

Yep, I got it turned off. My kid is pretty much my only passenger in it now.

 

[RealTruck]

In my opinion, from a dad's standpoint, a few items id look into
Seat covers
Nerf bars/running boards
Extra storage
All-weather floor mats
Portable vacuum
Most importantly obvious is a very high rated crash-tested car seat as you mentioned with no side curtains

 

[DocMike]

This. I have four kids. My 9 year olds now love doors off. You got this.

Just became a dad a couple of months ago. My best advice would be to find a car seat that fits in the middle rear (safest location) that will also still allow you to keep your front seats in a comfortable position. The car seat we purchased is pretty long when used with its base so it will not fit in the middle.

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