Bench seat vs bucket seats

I know what you're saying. I have an '01 with a bench because like you said, why not have the room to seat a 3rd person in front if needed. But I've never used it! And I had previously told myself I wouldn't get a bench again.

The big thing I don't like is the cupholders in mine don't have anything to keep the cups from rattling, like the little rubber inserts that a center console usually has. Not only does the flip down console shake because it's mounted to the seat, but the cups also shake within the cupholder.
Storage space not a big concern with me, I don't like stuff rattling around and the more space to hold stuff, the more crap gets thrown in to rattle.

I thought maybe a DC would be right for me. I need room for my 3 kids in the back and figured a CrewCab would be best but maybe a DC would work. Went to look at them, and sat in one with a bucket seat configuration. I actually like the floor shifter. But in the back, the center seat is basically UNUSEABLE! The center console comes so far back, there is NO foot room. And the center console is so wide, you have to practically spread eagle to staddle that console when your sitting in the back center position. I really don't know what Toyota was thinking on that one.

So it seems the only option if you need to realistically seat 3 in the back, is: A DC with Bench seat or a CrewCab.
/Mike

P.S. If I got a bucket configuration, it would mainly be to stick a JL Stealth box(when/if they come out) in that center console. I should fit a 12" sub no problem.

I like the bench seat, also, but I can count the number of times I have used that seat on one hand. Probably once a year. The thing I don't like about the 07 Tundra bench is how high the cup holder is. I don't know about you but my coffee spills out of the cup holder in my Ram on a regular basis even going over a speed bump and its at knee level. I wouldn't want to go over a speed bump and have the coffee splash onto the sides and then run into my lap. If I were going to go for the bench, I would take a coffe cup with water in it and see how the cup holder behaved taking turns and driving over speed bumps at the local supermarket.

I think it might be useful if it were a real bench but, at least in my Ram, it's actually a 1/3 seat and is 2 inches higher than the other seats which makes for a God-awful way to take a nap at a rest stop.

I also felt there was a lot of wasted space under the console and it turns out that there is a fairly large compartment in there which is hidden until you remove some kind of plastic piece. I call it the TCC (Tundra Contraband Compartment) which probably could be used to hold weapons, cash, a flashlight, etc.

I'm with you all the way on the bench seat decision, brother. I've owned buckets and benches in pickups in the past and feel strongly enough about it I would turn down a truck that was perfect in every way except that it had bucket seats. If folks want to pay extra money to get boxed in and loose the extra space then let 'em go for it. The center console on the '07 Tundra bench seat has more space than the console in my '05 Silverado 2500HD had with buckets, not even including Toyota's secret compartment mentioned in earlier post. The cupholders on the fold-down seatback console are standard but the dash-mounted slide out tray (huge with bench seats) has two more with a rubber anti-rattle insert that chocks your cup nicely and can be removed when necessary.

Then again I don't like rear sliding windows like most folks do. After looking at trucks on the lot I don't think Toyota has even ordered a batch of solid rear windows for any of their '07 DCab Tundras. I'll give Toyota it's extra profit scheme on this one because unlike the bucket seats and center shifter, I could live with a slider window.

I feel a little more grounded knowing that there are others that feel strongly about it.. because for me it was a major sticking point and the reason I ended up ordering a Tundra from scratch or however they end up making with the options the person chooses.. I've got to wait a few months, but I'm excited and the time leading up is gong to be fun.

Has anyone else noticed that the individual captain type seats themselves are slightly different between bucket and the 40/20/40? If you go to Toyota.com and build a Tundra - on the interior screen you can choose your perspective that you want to view the truck from, if you choose top view and flip between them you can see the difference in shape between the 2 seats.. I didn't see this difference when I was looking at them in person but I didn't examine them too closely.


One other thing that I didnt like much was all the plastic.. some peices look like they were slapped together at the last minute and are really square vs some of the rounder peices... also, the fuel guage is like inside of a tunnel and was actually obstructed from my view by the steering wheel.

I went through the same "bench vs buckets" struggle that you did. I have a Ram Supercab with the bench and have used it often when both my kids wanted to ride up front with me. But now with my daughter getting ready to go off to college I wondered if I might enjoy the buckets or just save the money and stick with the standard bench.

I ended up ordering the buckets for a couple of reasons. As a UPS driver I have come to depend on our rear vision camera /monitors for backing up. As their safety coordinator I can tell you the decision to install those cut our backing related accidents tremendously. Since I was ordering the long bed I considered the back up camera a must. You cannot get the back up camera without ordering the bucket seats.

Secondly, I was thinking of resale value. I think the buckets with the console shift give the Tundra a sportier, maybe even more luxurious look.

Obviously, each person needs to consider their individual needs and decide.

Hope this helps.

Since I was ordering the long bed I considered the back up camera a must. You cannot get the back up camera without ordering the bucket seats.

Click to expand...

Au contraire. Depending on what region your dealer is in this is very doable.

If you are in a more western region (wonderful wide-open country controlled by God and the "real" Toyota) they use the "letter" code vehicle options. So you could get whatever package you want (such as G with bench seats). Then you merely add accessory option 5J (backup camera) and bada bing, you have it.

If you are in the independent distributor region controlled by "the family" such as South East States or Gulf States Region then you are in a whole world of hurt altogether. To see what I mean go to the toyota.com site and build your truck with two different zip codes. Why not use 88005 for one and 79901 for the other (first is NM and second is in TX and they are 40 miles distance apart but separated by an "iron curtain" and can't talk to each other). You will see that the 88005 gives you all the real good stuff as Toyota intended and things are fairly logical without a lot of fluff. You will see that 79901 gives you something that looks like a completely different web site with completely different vehicle options. That's because 79901 is in a region that Toyota lets an independent syndicate control -- many of the options offered are aftermarket and presented as factory (like the rear-seat DVD system and "extra mile" wheels and unfamiliar security systems). This same 79901 zip code build will force you think you have to buy the NAV radio and pinstripes in order to get a backup camera, all the while not without mentioning the 5J camera accessory option as offered by Toyota. The more I visit the build site and compare regions the more ridiculous the whole thing seems.

If you are in one of these iron-curtain Toyota regions and your salesman told you that you couldn't get backup camera without bucket seats he's probably working within the constraints of what his distributor will allow him to do and not necessarily within what Toyota's offerings truly are. To allow you all things possilbe would get him a set of concrete sneakers and a nice place at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico with the fishies.

Here's what you can do in this case. You add the backup camera to your vehicle yourself ($270 complete kit from tundrapartsstore.com). It includes a whole new tailgate handle mechanism and bezel. If you have Nav you are good to go. If you don't have Nav you also need to add the rearview monitor that snaps into the overhead console in place of the sunglasses holder behind the rearview mirror ($301.50). If you can turn a screwdriver (righty tighty, lefty loosey) it will take you about an hour of time and two beers. I know this works on an SR-5 and I don't know if DX models are pre-wired for everything like the SR-5.

Here is how you add your backup camera kit to your Tundra:

Remove the tailgate access cover (#30 Torx if I remember right). Locate the push/pull rods leading from the handle mechanism to the tailgate side latches. Remove the plastic rod end clips from the rods and the rods from the handle mechanism. Remove the two screws holding the tailgate handle assembly to the tailgate. Repeat these steps in reverse replacing the original tailgate handle mechanism/bezel with the new complete assembly included in the kit. Route the new camera wire loom through the tailgate and out a grommet in the bottom of the tailgate, then through a kit-included plastic wire loom tiedown and another grommet in the bottom of the bed just to the right and above the hole for the spare tire drop-down mechanism. Then plug the camera's wire loom into the factory-ready connector located behind the spare tire, replace the tailgate access cover and you're good to go. Future tailgate removal requires the disconnection of the connector and one grommet and you're back to standard procedure. As previously mentioned, if you have the factory JBL NAV radio up front you're done.

If you don't have the factory Nav radio to display the rearview output upon, then you will have the next step of installing the rearview monitor in the overhead console. This is fairly straightforward and entails removal of the sunglasses door in the console immediately behind the rearview mirror. Then the rearview monitor wire connector is plugged into the Toyota factory plug inside the console and the new monitor with color-matched bezel is snapped into place where the sunglass holder was.



I won't let any dealer or distributor tell me what "available" options I can or can't have and neither should you. As a further example I installed OEM fog lights even though two dealers and a Toyota parts supplier told me it was impossible and a safety issue from Toyota's standpoint. More likely they want to make the maximum profit off the installation of such items and use "safety" as an excuse to leave those two black holes in your bumper to remind the world you were too pinche to play their game and should have paid them for a package of other crap just to get them.

Aye caramba! What was this thread about again? Asientos, right?