Need a new truck- no clue what direction

[Brooks]

I have a 22 Tacoma. It’s a nice little truck but at 6’2” tall it is a small and tight to get in the seat I also have a F350 crew cab with a 6.7 Powerstroke now that’s a truck.

 

[BCSojourner]

Toyotas last forever and hold their value. I would snag a 2021 Tundra with the 5.7 and the extended cab, full size bed. It will last forever.

That's what I'm hoping as well. Had a 2018 Taco but a buddy told me to check the payload and it was a wake-up call. Payload was not much more than my wife's Honda CRV and I tow a 14' llama trailer with 4 llamas and payload includes 8 loaded llama panniers. Absolutely love the 21 Tundra with one of the last V8's. Gas mileage is ok and not as bad as I thought that it would be, about 19 in the summer and 17 in the winter. It is very steady and has plenty of power. A lot more room and the back seat area is cavernous.

 

[black dawg]

You are not alone. I’m fed up with the constant uptick in techy crap added to trucks to appease the younger techy generation. Bluetooth, touch screen radios, sensors literally everywhere in the truck, back up cameras, side cameras, drive themselves, micro chips all over the place. None of it does anything other than continue to increase the price, further eliminate the ability to self repair (not that the current generation does that sorta thing), and add to the frustration level of ownership as these techy things constantly put out codes, errors and malfunction.

My son is going to grow up and get an engineering job with Ford. His sole mission is to design and bring to market the Ford F-150 Classic. It will have zero microchips in it, no sensors, no garbage ABS module, a radio with knobs and a CD player and no touch screen, navigation or bluetooth, roll up windows, a 6.5 ft bed, etc. Easentially a 1970/80s era truck but brand new. All this truck nirvana for $25K or less. I’ll give you a heads up when it is coming down the pipe.

People always say they want a truck like that, but it is crazy how many people in the almost 50 range that have never driven anything with a carburetor....and the mechanics that know how to work on them will all be gone by then.

 

[Titan_Bow]

https://roadstershop.com/galleries/legend-series-1973-c10/


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[Marble]

@Jesse Jaymes

If i were in your spot, I would just wait until something really stood out as to what i liked the most, and my needs became really clear. I feel the same about trucks and the cost of them as you do. It's just stupid expensive.

When i have decisions like this that are not time sensitive, but are needed to be made, I just wait. If i have thought up two solutions that I don't like, then I haven't thought hard enough to find a solution that I do.

You will probably spend a lot more time in your truck in retirement. So get what you want, get what you need, and be proud you have put yourself in the position to be able to make this choice.

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[MuleDeerMike]

Am I the only one that thinks Tacomas are super uncomfortable to both ride in and drive? I would never buy a new one unless I truly couldn't afford a full size truck. As far as Toyota I would go Tundra over Tacoma any day. If someone is gonna pick up an old, used Tacoma for a couple grand to drive around logging roads every now and again then that's a different story.

 

[MuleDeerMike]

I’ve hated Chevy since my 2005 Duramax experience. The truck was bad, GM’s attempts to avoid fixing it were worse. That said my company just sent me a 2023 Silverado 1500 and it’s pretty nice. I don’t know what we paid, but the sticker was higher than the OP sounded like he was looking for.

That 2005 was the only bad duramax they made. The LLY. Theres a reason they sell for so much less than even the older ones. The 2006 was probably the best truck they ever made.

 

[fngTony]

My son is going to grow up and get an engineering job with Ford. His sole mission is to design and bring to market the Ford F-150 Classic. It will have zero microchips in it, no sensors, no garbage ABS module, a radio with knobs and a CD player….

CD player will need a microchip

 

[Iceman82]

I would rather walk than purchase the foreign made shit.

 

[Tbonespop]

I would rather walk than purchase the foreign made shit.

Are you talking about Nissan and Toyota? Both of their full size trucks are made domestically, just as much as any of the Big 3 are. If you want to buy a Big 3, by all means do it. But don't be dismayed by thinking Nissan and Toyota don't make their trucks in the US, because they are made domestically.

I'm personally looking at a buying a 22 or newer Chevy 1500 sometime around the end of this year or early next year - I'll just say in the next 18 months. I want to see where things go as I suspect prices are going to come down as inventories get better and the recession takes more effect while inflation is still high. I would avoid buying right now, just my $0.02.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

CD player will need a microchip

True, but at least it won’t be causing the ABS light to pop on every time a piece of dust lands on a stupid wheel sensor or something.

So i will allow the chip in the stereo but i’m holding the line there.

 

[Marbles]

WTF did ego come into it? My '99 Taco is a micro truck. With a 87 pound duck dog in the extended cab....he is still essentially in my lap. Laying a rifle and a backpack on the platform I built over "rear seat" is rather difficult and completely fills the rear area. Battling your passenger for the arm rest console like Southwest airlines is just fact, not ego.

I miss read between the lines of your wording. Third generation Tacomas have a decent bit more room than the first generation (I own one of both). If you don't need to carry adults in the back seat, they have plenty of room to be comfortable (and are the same size as the Colorado). So for someone who does not need the power of a big truck and does not need to put adults in the back seat to not want the Tacoma due to it being small; I'm largely left with ego being the issue.

Anyway, if the cab of a 3rd gen Tacoma is too tight for comfort, you should skip looking at the Colorado and Ranger and move up to trucks like the F150 or Tundra.

 

[yfarm]

Supercab Ranger, 6ft box, 7500 tow rating, turbo motor for altitude.

 

[tony]

You had me at 80K for an acre of land!

Anyway, what are you needing out of a truck? You farm, work it somehow? Thats a big difference in needs.

Chevy is doing away with that little diesel in their trucks, GM as well.
Everybody is doing a 4cylnder turbo coming up. Toyota, GM (Chevy)
I really like my Ranger Tremor. It will do more off road then I will ever need.
Pulls 7000-7500 pounds, (I don't tow). MPG mid to high 20's.
Like you I long for the days of locking hubs, and manual transmissions. Only hope is Toyota keeps putting them in Tacomas

 

[roosiebull]

I have more vehicles than shoes. All are pretty serviceable. But all are old and only partially reliable. I am over 50. I will retire in under two years. In my 50+ years I have purchased ONE new vehicle. I am simply not a vehicle diva. I despise it really. Can I appreciate nice trucks? Sure. I say I am Cheap. My other half says I am Frugal. I have tons of cool rifles, bows, target bows, great optics, and my urn will not be big enough to melt me with all my Sitka, Kifaru packs and Filson wool.

But Dave Ramsey and my cheap ass simply cannot get over the price of a new truck. A pretty lame F-150 is $55,000. I have built a bunch of Taccomas and Chevy Colorados online. They're the cheapest at $40-$44,000. And even with grown kids and no friends (meaning I dont ever see needing more than a passenger seat) I am not certain I want to ride into old age in a Micro Truck.

For $80,000 I would rather buy and extra acre in Montana or Idaho.

But at some point I need something newer and reliable.

All these threads (I've read most every Tacoma thread) turn into a "Well my XXXXx kicks major ass". I guess I am kinda asking for that opinion here.

I suffer terribly from both being Cheap and Analysis Paralysis. Watched a ton of Tacoma vids on the YouTubes. Read a bunch. What I read other than phenomenal resale and longevity is gutless, drum brakes, 20 year old technology. Wait for a 2024 Gen 4??? I don't need a truck today. Or this hunting season.

I'm pissed that truck beds keep getting smaller. Why? I slept in my '99 Tacoma bed (6ftish) all over Washington and Idaho this fall. Solo ramble. Had a blast. I really don't want a 5 ft bed.

My opinion of modern society is very poor, as is my opinion of the current generation. But am I the only one who wants a manual lever on a transfer case? Could roll my own window down if need be too.

I've crossed paths with a few of the diesel Colorado owners. They are in love. I've searched a 300 mile radius and I can not find a Colorado, long bed, diesel. And I am not 100% I'd chunk down the money today, but it's the closest I've found to possibly Happy.

I've been overwhelmed with lithium, chips, Supply and Demand, interest rates, the apocolypse.....will vehicle prices ever subside? Very poor time to purchase? And is there a short list of "clear winners"?

If you are going midsize, I just don’t think you can go wrong with a Tacoma, they aren’t gutless, but they don’t just want to go either, but they have plenty of power in reality. I would get a sr5 and do performance mods yourself over time, as you see fit, they are still great pickups.

I drive a Colorado zr2, and wouldn’t even consider trading it for a Tacoma, but I still very much appreciate what Tacomas are, I have drove Toyota pickups my whole life until recently, and my last one was an 18’ trd off-road and was a great pickup, and for people spending most of their time on pavement, I don’t think you can beat them… I’m off pavement almost every day, and my pickup is more fun to drive, but you could do a suspension build on a stock Tacoma and have a pickup that goes anywhere you need, and comfortably.

Full size, I don’t know, we have a 21’ tundra, it’s been a great pickup, but sucks on fuel economy and is unnecessarily big for a 1/2 ton, some might like that, but I hate it… it’s a very comfortable pickup on pavement, and crazy smooth and quiet in the cab with AT’s, I talked my wife into driving it so I could get another zr2, she loves it, but it’s expensive to drive, and we drive a lot

I hear you on being conflicted spending the money on a new pickup, it’s hard to justify today’s prices. My wife kind of ruined me in that regard(and she’s the frugal one) I never drove anything I couldn’t pay cash for until I was probably 30, I didn’t mind it at all, but it wasn’t long ago you could get a nice used pickup for 15k$

 

[Carpet Capital Shyster]

I would rather walk than purchase the foreign made shit.

The Silverado I just traded in back in December was made in Mexico. The Tundra I bought was made in San Antonio.

 

[z987k]

All the manufacturers have some kind of discount plan. I got x plan pricing thru my employer...but you can also get the same plan by owning Ford stock, currently $13 a share. Then I signed up with Fords promotions dept and they sent me a coupon for 3k off an F series truck. X plan got me approx 8000 off sticker plus the 3k PCO. I walked out with 11k off the sticker for my F250 7.3 Tremor.

Paying full price today is just being lazy. You can get it cheaper by jumping thru some hoops.

Ford ended the shareholder discount last year.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Ford ended the shareholder discount last year.

Good to know..been a while since I looked into it...Pretty sure you can join Mustang Club of America and get xplan pricing.
Point is there are discounts out there for all the manufacturers if you look around.

 

[Rexman]

Ford ended the shareholder discount last year.

You can join EAA and get x-plan. I believe membership was $50 when I did this a few years ago.

 

[ohoopee]

I was looking at upgrading my 2010 Taco this year. After a little research,
It seems they may be making a few changes in 2024 to the series. Should
drive the prices down for the used models. Although, I may just bite the
bullet and may make my last truck purchase a new one. I like the upgrades in
the 4th gen Tacoma.