Toyota Tacoma Advantages

[roosiebull]

I guess I'm in the minority .I bought a TRD Pro Tacoma 3 months ago and hate the thing. No power,road noise,transmission can't decide which gear its in.My own fault.Bought into the hype and now I'm kind of stuck with it or take a huge hit by trading.

You won’t take a huge hit, that’s one benefit of a Tacoma, they have excellent resale. My last one I traded in for more than I owed on it, and that’s probably more true right now.

It does seem the computer will adapt some to your driving style, but yeah, how and when they shift is odd, I assume they did that for fuel efficiency. Pretty much have to floor it to get it to go, but it was annoying off road, with little perceived torque. I wouldn’t say no power, but you have to be forceful to access it. I liked the 4.0 from the previous gen better.

When I first got my 18’ taco, I was impressed with the change in ride quality, but the stock tires didn’t last me 5k until I got a rock gash in one, then put real tires on and it felt like a Tacoma again

I would like to drive a built taco from someone who really knew what they were doing, if I could get the ride quality off-road similar to my zr2, I could handle the quirks of the new tacos, I just wonder how much it would cost to get there.

 

[Poser]

It’s nice to keep things simple, rather than a full size and trailer, you can pretty much camp anywhere, parking lots are easy, if you need to pick up and go somewhere else it’s a lot easier, when you get there, finding a spot to park is easy.

If you end up in a spot you don’t need a side by side, it’s less to worry about leaving all of that stuff alone, people breaking into your stuff to steal your side by side or contents of your trailer.

There are a lot of things that make a small pickup easy vs a full size pickup and trailer. The downside is storage, and some people just aren’t comfortable in a small pickup, I prefer them.

Yeah, trailer parking and unloading can be problematic to super problematic in some areas. Some spots can only accommodate 1 or 2 trailers. I’ve also seen trailers blocked in by others parking behind and around them and I’ve seen trailers parked in a way to basically claim the parking area where no other trailered vehicle can get in.

Also, in CO you need the ORV sticker to be legal so further registration and what is street legal in some states is not street legal in CO. I’ve seen guys getting tickets for driving on County roads even though they are high clearance 4WD roads. Some people seem to assume that rough road = SxS and that’s not the case.

 

[Coveyleader]

I find the 3rd gen to be pretty quick, but I'm always on the gas so the computer may have adjusted to my driving habits. Now if you're taking the 4Runner (I have one of those too) they are complete dogs! I mean every time I get in that thing I'm like WTH. Wife drives it so I'm good, but that would be the first thing to go if I sold one of my vehicles.

 

[J.r. Shinkle]

What year did you get and what were you driving before?

2017 F150.I BOUGHT A 2021 LUNAR ROCK COLOR.

 

[roosiebull]

I've owned several 1st gen tacos. Bulit-proof vehicles IMHO. That said, I find they are extremely uncomfortable to travel long distances in. I end up putting four-runner seats in them but it's only a slight improvement. As a mid-westerner who travels to the west to hunt, it's becoming more of an issue the older I get. You all who have owned first-gens but now drive newer generations of Tacos- Has the comfort level improved? If so, would you describe them as "comfortable" to travel long distances in? I'm especially interested in opinions from folks over 50 yrs. old

I have had all 3 gen tacos, I do think the 3rd gen is the best ride, and probably considerably better than a gen 1, but I had a gen 2 between the 1st and 3rd so it’s hard to say, my last 1st gen was on 33’s too, so ride quality was probably not as good as it could have been.

With stock tires, I was impressed with the 3rd gen ride quality but putting 10 ply tires on evened the playing field a little more. The 3rd gen was the best fuel economy for me by a fair amount, I think I averaged about 19mpg which was considerably better than my others. I want to say it was 22-23mpg with stock tires on the gen 3, but could have been a bit less, I only drove the stock tires about 4500 miles

My gen 3 made it a solid 1200 miles before the leaf springs started to squeak, so that was an improvement

 

[ceejay]

I guess I'm in the minority .I bought a TRD Pro Tacoma 3 months ago and hate the thing. No power,road noise,transmission can't decide which gear its in.My own fault.Bought into the hype and now I'm kind of stuck with it or take a huge hit by trading.

Me too. I owned a 2021 TRD off road with the 6sp manual and it was gutless and underpowered. After driving it for a while after purchase, I was disappointed and shocked at how underwhelming the performance was. The horsepower and torque values do not correlate to real world driving experience in these trucks.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

I’ve had my 18 pro for 5 years, 75k on it. Threw a set of 33s on it the day I bought it and had the kdmax tune for the last 4 years. Truck is a blast to drive. No gear hunting and more than enough power with the tune.

Also had a 1st and 2nd gen and would never go back to either. I will drive mine till the wheels fall off.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Haven’t heard of that tune,don’t affect longevity I guess?
A very good mechanic friend was serious when he told me thats the main reason toyotas tacoma and 4 runners had longevity is they are purposely underpowered.

 

[Coldtrail]

It's interesting to read the reviews on the 3rd gen, I have a '18 TRD off rd access cab in stock form I bought used on a very good deal & always heard the "no power" reviews. If I wanted to I could cook the tires off the back of mine hammering into traffic. Not arguing with anyone, to each their own, I do notice in 4x4 that the torque isn't the same as my F150, but once the RPMs come up there is no problem getting enough spin on the wheels to clean the tread out...reminds me of the turbo F150 where it takes some pedal to get into the power curve but once there you have ample HP getting to the wheels.

What I dislike is loaded on the freeway, if I'm up over 75mph it is a pretty squirrelly ride. Seating I like better that my old F150, seems like the Tacoma seating is more car like.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

Haven’t heard of that tune,don’t affect longevity I guess?
A very good mechanic friend was serious when he told me thats the main reason toyotas tacoma and 4 runners had longevity is they are purposely underpowered.

Get on tacomaworld if you’re serious about getting a yota. Dudes already have over 250k on tuned trucks. All it does is change the fuel mapping, doesn’t effect reliability at all.

 

[Pdxfire1]

Love my Tacoma, had an f250. The taco is smaller and more maneuverable. Can go places where a full size can’t.

 

[LoggerDan]

I had a ‘13 four door manual for a crummy on POW. It did great on shot rock, had enough power for what I needed. Only complaint was mileage from naukati to Craig was not what I thought it would be, but it had close to 270xxx something. Easy to maneuver in pull outs. Didn’t use much oil. It was fairly beat when it was issued to me, but still a heckuva rig. I wanted to buy it from my boss. Took some getting used to with reverse being so close to first.

 

[SoloWilderness]

I don’t know about that. Allegedly you can fit a first gen Tundra down four wheeler trails.

I can fit my 2nd gen Tundra down 4x4 trails. It just gets a lot of new scratches if I do.

For a hunting rig Toyota:

1. 1st gen Tundra Access Cab
2. Lexus GX470
3. V8 4runner
4. Taco

I've owned multiple Tacomas, they are excellent little trucks, they will go anywhere you can go in a SxS, just a bit slower. A Taco with a 2-3" lift and 35's will get you into some crazy places, definitely get one with locker. It makes a huge difference in muck. I'm 6'2" and got tired of hunching down to see out the windshield of my Taco. Tundras are just way more comfortable, the 1st gen is still a pretty small truck, and has a 4.7 V8, way more ooomph than the little Taco v6. But they can be hard to find in good shape. Easier is a soccer mom GX470 (Aka Landcruiser Prado), that has never been off the pavement. Buy one for under $15k, put $5k into suspension and armor, and you have a comfortable beast of a SUV that will go anywhere.

 

[Throwin Darts]

Best thing about a Tacoma is you can put both arms out the windows when the weather is nice.

 

[adventure907]

2015 Tacoma Off Road Access Cab
60k miles
First and only vehicle I've ever bought new. Knock on wood, but I've had zero problems and been extremely happy with the little truck. Mileage isn't the greatest, but I don't drive enough for that to matter much anyhow.

 

[roosiebull]

I had a ‘13 four door manual for a crummy on POW. It did great on shot rock, had enough power for what I needed. Only complaint was mileage from naukati to Craig was not what I thought it would be, but it had close to 270xxx something. Easy to maneuver in pull outs. Didn’t use much oil. It was fairly beat when it was issued to me, but still a heckuva rig. I wanted to buy it from my boss. Took some getting used to with reverse being so close to first.

Very few pickups have a life that hard, do you know any of the repair history? What tires were you guys using on it?

I think this is where Toyota pickups really shine, is the gritty reliability. I have always put a lot of non pavement miles on every pickup I have owned, and very little wears out on them even getting beat up all year every year. What I remember from wear and tear is a few clutches, a motor on a 4Runner (22re so it was in high rpm a lot) broken leaf spring, and I really can’t recall much else.

My zr2 is a lot more fun to drive off pavement (and on) but it has 77k now, i have put 52k on it in a year and a half and the sway bar endlinks are toast, I knocked a baffle loose in my muffler, and had one of the bed brackets rattle off… that stuff never seemed to happen on Toyotas…

The small stuff doesn’t seem to fail on tacos, or big stuff. But I do drive my current pickup harder. Our other house is on a forest service road, and I always take the back way from town to get out of traffic, and it’s a trashed road, and I make better time now, but some little stuff has worn out. I put 60k on my 2018 taco trd living the same life and the only maintenance was oil changes, not as fun to drive, but they have always had excellent reliability

 

[LoggerDan]

@roosiebull

batteries, brakes,belts; normal stuff. At one point the front and rear diff got regeared because of a larger set of tires. It was at one point in time the bosses rig, and he likes to have a nice tipple out in the woods and somehow one section of the rear slider got smashed out, and replaced with a sheet of clear plastic. I don’t know what the hell happened, but the rear taillight were gone and replaced with generic round trail lights and filled in with great stuff foam. I suppose it’s had a helluva life. It had been on quite a few backwoods booze cruises, I suppose. Only thing I had done to it was CV joints. I got pretty possessive of that rig and tried to buy it, no matter how beat it was.

 

[LaGriz]

Have been running a 2011 Tacoma double cab long bed 4X4 since 2013. I tow a light trailer with all my camping gear each year to my hunting site. I have replaced my universal joints with aftermarket products that have a grease zert. Gear space is limited for my hunting buddy and I while making the 1100-1500 mile trips to the SW for our coveted archery hunts. I often wish we had a SXS to limit the abuse to the truck. The idea that I must make a return trip of such a distance prays on my mind while I'm pushing the limit of what my Taco can do or should do. A recent rifle hunt in WY Big Horn's ended with a snow event that convinced me to stay off the FS roads and 2-tracks that I negotiated for the 1st 7 days. In this situation a SXS would have been very useful. I noticed that many locals had tracks on their ATV's. Probably a game changer in 14" of wet snow. Never got a shot on this hunt that took 9 preference points, 4500 miles of driving, 3 motels going and 2 on the return, expensive tag, and accommodations. Ouch!

My truck is well scarred with Rocky Mountain Pinstripes from the Oak Brush on the (often narrow) New Mexico NF service roads. Got stuck once in the caleche dust that turns to Owl skat after a significant rain. Fortunately, a passing hounds man winched me out. The last 2 days of my archery tag overlapped with the opening of Bear season. While hunting there, the bed of my truck catches a volume of dust in spite of being covered. It enters in the gap of the tail gate and can be a pain. Can only imagine that it would be an issue on a SXS as well. Generally, I worry I might damage the truck causing a huge problem with getting home timely or need rescue & repair ($) before leaving. A short bed/extra cab might prove to be tighter turning. Can't remember having a problem to date with the length of this truck. IMHO, a short bed model would suffer a rougher HWY ride along with the limited capacity. Hauling a side by side the long distance, the initial expense, added fuel costs while towing, registration costs, and possible theft while sleeping in motel going and coming, should be considered. Now in my late 60's the idea of being able to (more easily) recover an animal (especially an elk) gives me pause that a SXS IS my future.

I hope this info helps someone.
LaGriz

 

[Crusader]

Have been running a 2011 Tacoma double cab long bed 4X4 since 2013. I tow a light trailer with all my camping gear each year to my hunting site. I have replaced my universal joints with aftermarket products that have a grease zert. Gear space is limited for my hunting buddy and I while making the 1100-1500 mile trips to the SW for our coveted archery hunts. I often wish we had a SXS to limit the abuse to the truck. The idea that I must make a return trip of such a distance prays on my mind while I'm pushing the limit of what my Taco can do or should do. A recent rifle hunt in WY Big Horn's ended with a snow event that convinced me to stay off the FS roads and 2-tracks that I negotiated for the 1st 7 days. In this situation a SXS would have been very useful. I noticed that many locals had tracks on their ATV's. Probably a game changer in 14" of wet snow. Never got a shot on this hunt that took 9 preference points, 4500 miles of driving, 3 motels going and 2 on the return, expensive tag, and accommodations. Ouch!

My truck is well scarred with Rocky Mountain Pinstripes from the Oak Brush on the (often narrow) New Mexico NF service roads. Got stuck once in the caleche dust that turns to Owl skat after a significant rain. Fortunately, a passing hounds man winched me out. The last 2 days of my archery tag overlapped with the opening of Bear season. While hunting there, the bed of my truck catches a volume of dust in spite of being covered. It enters in the gap of the tail gate and can be a pain. Can only imagine that it would be an issue on a SXS as well. Generally, I worry I might damage the truck causing a huge problem with getting home timely or need rescue & repair ($) before leaving. A short bed/extra cab might prove to be tighter turning. Can't remember having a problem to date with the length of this truck. IMHO, a short bed model would suffer a rougher HWY ride along with the limited capacity. Hauling a side by side the long distance, the initial expense, added fuel costs while towing, registration costs, and possible theft while sleeping in motel going and coming, should be considered. Now in my late 60's the idea of being able to (more easily) recover an animal (especially an elk) gives me pause that a SXS IS my future.

I hope this info helps someone.
LaGriz

Yours sounds like an interesting rig and a good setup. Got any pics you could post of the Taco with the trailer hooked up?

 

[HuntHarder]

Biggest advantage of a Toyota is when you sell it.. Great resale on AVG. I will join the Minority and say I was less than impressed with my Tacoma. I broke just about everything on that pickup and it was gutless.