Toyota Tacoma Advantages

[WV Mountaineer]

I’ve owned big trucks and bed hauled an atv and/or trailer hauled a sxs. And, I owned a 2010 Tacoma back in the day.

Tacoma are bomber little rides for getting into places a big truck can’t go. However, I see zero advantages of doing it that way. Tacomas that are dependable are expensive. They will go places a big truck won’t go. But, you still dent them, scratch them, and otherwise tear the heck out of them. Because they WILL NOT go places a sxs or atv will go. Not even close. It’s no comparison.


I get it, bed hauling an atv or trailer hauling a sxs has disadvantages lije hauling space, etc…. But, the only thing nicer about the Tacoma versus the atv or sxs was when it was raining. And, I own both after selling the Tacoma. Plus, Tacoma’s are expensive!!!!!!! Even used.

I bought both my atv and sxs for way, way, way, way, way less and still have them both. Minimal upkeep costs too in comparison. They are built for off roading. And, no matter how many fan boys tell you differently, a Tacoma will get tore up if you do it often enough.

In a perfect world I’d have a Tacoma for a hunting ride. But,I’m not monthly paying for just a hunting truck. And would never drop the cash needed to buy a used one simply for hunting.

 

[chutinlead]

I've got an old manual 2000 Tacoma that I take hunting and it is sweet. Still has manual locking hubs so I can leave them out and just crawl around in 2WD Low. I think I only paid 6k for this one and use it as my everyday run around rig and it gets 20+ mpg

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I have a 2500 Cummins. I just sold my ATVs and and was going to get a SxS. I bombed around in a $30k loaded Polaris elk hunting and was less than impressed. I am a big guy and didn’t fit super great and the seats weren’t that comfortable - my son is turning 16 and I plan on buying an older tacoma for him to drive and will double as my offroad hunting truck.

 

[cmahoney]

I did that for a few years and thrashed my Tacoma. A side by side is way better off road, but it is nice to leave the house in just the Tacoma. Having both would be perfect.


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[BigE]

Are there 5th wheel trailers that can carry a Tacoma in the back? That would be ideal!!!

there are some huge toy hauler 5th wheels that can take full size vehicles

 

[RW2013]

All we use here are Tacomas. The 3.4 1st gens were awesome and the 4.0 second gens are proving to be great so far. I’m still not a fan of the 3rd gen with the 3.5. The driveability isn’t as good and it’s hard to see when creating a hill with the narrow windshield and long hood line.

I would take a standard cab or access cab Tacoma over a SXS any day. The convenience of not having to tow the rig up to the woods and the comfort of AC and Heat is awesome. Can’t beat the reliability of a Tacoma either.

 

[KenLee]

Advantage...you'll save money on gear because you no longer have room to bring it along. Bonus points for being so slow you couldn't possibly get a speeding ticket if you tried.

Swear I had this same conversation yesterday after looking at a nice 2019 Taco.
Also realized that if I don't quit blowing out my knees, I won't need much gear.

 

[roosiebull]

My brother has a '19 tacoma with the "TRD off road" package. It is significantly better off road that my full size f150. Like not even in the same class. The main advantage is the size and weight. They're pretty darn narrow and if you have a good set of tires that aren't gonna fail on you there's nothing you can't roll over. I don't think there's a better vehicle for hunting if you don't need to tow or bring a massive amount of gear.

Colorado zr2

I was a loyal Toyota guy most of my life, but for a stock pickup, the zr2 is a better mouse trap

 

[sacklunch]

Colorado zr2

I was a loyal Toyota guy most of my life, but for a stock pickup, the zr2 is a better mouse trap

For the price of a TRD Pro, I'd snag a Coloradp Zr2 Bison with the turbo diesel any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

For the price of a TRD Pro, I'd snag a Coloradp Zr2 Bison with the turbo diesel any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Sounds like a great plan until that bowtie leaves you stranded in the mountains…lol.

 

[Diced]

Colorado zr2

I was a loyal Toyota guy most of my life, but for a stock pickup, the zr2 is a better mouse trap

I'm a GM hater till I die so we'll have to agree to disagree

 

[jayhawk]

From what I have seen it must be easier to throw empty beer cans out of a SXS.

The Tacoma solves this problem by allowing more space to throw them in the floorboard

 

[BarCO]

The Tacoma solves this problem by allowing more space to throw them in the floorboard

Better on the floorboard than on the side of the road.

 

[RW2013]

Colorado zr2

I was a loyal Toyota guy most of my life, but for a stock pickup, the zr2 is a better mouse trap

The Toyota isn’t the most well equipped but everything it’s equipped with will still work 20 years later. I wouldn’t spend the extra coin on the TRD-PRO myself, the TRD-OR is all I need only because it comes with the E-Locker.

 

[sacklunch]

Sounds like a great plan until that bowtie leaves you stranded in the mountains…lol.

That's Implying tacos and 4runners go to the mountains, would be neat to see. I've only seen them at local paved campsites and Dutch Bros coffee parking lots. Cool RTT, rotopax and laders though.

I've owned 3 tacomas and two 4 runners. You know what else is reliable? A bike...and it nearly as fast and carries about the same payload

all in good fun, btw. Yotas are great, just a bit small for more than just a man and his dog. Full size, double locked truck was my answer, based on family size/needs.

 

[roosiebull]

I'm a GM hater till I die so we'll have to agree to disagree

Just don’t drive one, especially getting out of the seat of a taco and into a zr2, you will question everything you ever thought you knew

I have had 2 Colorado zr2’s, my first one I traded in my 2018 taco trd, it’s a very different driving experience, especially off-road. I have drove a trd pro a good amount too, my sis in law had one, and I certainly wouldn’t trade my pickup for one.

I’m a Chevy hater as well, but it’s just the best pickup in production for what I do. If I buy another Toyota down the road, I will be getting an sr5 and upgrading it myself, but I don’t see it as long as Chevy keeps building the zr2, they are cool little pickups that are just fun to drive.

My disclaimer is I don’t keep rigs long enough to worry about long term reliability, but so far the Chevy has been flawless, and my last one was too.

I have put 55k on my current one (bought with 15k) and will probably drive it another 60 or 70k and get the new style that was just released.

If Toyota builds an equal, I will happily go back, but I feel like they are currently riding their reputation rather than building the best midsize off-road pickup

 

[Poser]

Around here, we are a SXS destination: folks come from all over hauling the most crazy expensive rigs you have sever seen with pimped out SXSs. I’ve seen $60,000 trailers with $250k worth of SXS in them.

However, the locals all drive Jeeps and Tacomas. 90% of the roads these SxS tourists come to drive can be driven with a stock Toyota. 100% with an aftermarket Toyota or stock Jeep. SxSs aren’t street legal in CO. To me, it makes way more sense to spend $2000-$5000 in upgrades on a Toyota than spending $25,000+ on a SxS. Granted, serious desert crawling is going to be a different beast, but I generally view SxS as toys, not tools for Colorado. I don’t know if a road in these parts they can drive that I cannot.

Obviously they are exploding in popularity and they are probably fun to drive and faster than a truck with the best suspension, but skillfully driving the same terrain as a line of SxSs is more gratifying.

 

[BarCO]

Just don’t drive one, especially getting out of the seat of a taco and into a zr2, you will question everything you ever thought you knew

I have had 2 Colorado zr2’s, my first one I traded in my 2018 taco trd, it’s a very different driving experience, especially off-road. I have drove a trd pro a good amount too, my sis in law had one, and I certainly wouldn’t trade my pickup for one.

I’m a Chevy hater as well, but it’s just the best pickup in production for what I do. If I buy another Toyota down the road, I will be getting an sr5 and upgrading it myself, but I don’t see it as long as Chevy keeps building the zr2, they are cool little pickups that are just fun to drive.

My disclaimer is I don’t keep rigs long enough to worry about long term reliability, but so far the Chevy has been flawless, and my last one was too.

I have put 55k on my current one (bought with 15k) and will probably drive it another 60 or 70k and get the new style that was just released.

If Toyota builds an equal, I will happily go back, but I feel like they are currently riding their reputation rather than building the best midsize off-road pickup

I have a 2009 SR5 and it is awesome. Only 148k on it so young. When I do get a different truck the ford ranger looks interesting. The newer Tacoma doesn’t do it for me. I have owned 4 Toyota trucks since 1992, they do last.

 

[Diced]

Just don’t drive one, especially getting out of the seat of a taco and into a zr2, you will question everything you ever thought you knew

I have had 2 Colorado zr2’s, my first one I traded in my 2018 taco trd, it’s a very different driving experience, especially off-road. I have drove a trd pro a good amount too, my sis in law had one, and I certainly wouldn’t trade my pickup for one.

I’m a Chevy hater as well, but it’s just the best pickup in production for what I do. If I buy another Toyota down the road, I will be getting an sr5 and upgrading it myself, but I don’t see it as long as Chevy keeps building the zr2, they are cool little pickups that are just fun to drive.

My disclaimer is I don’t keep rigs long enough to worry about long term reliability, but so far the Chevy has been flawless, and my last one was too.

I have put 55k on my current one (bought with 15k) and will probably drive it another 60 or 70k and get the new style that was just released.

If Toyota builds an equal, I will happily go back, but I feel like they are currently riding their reputation rather than building the best midsize off-road pickup

You'd know better than me about the off-road difference between the 2. The TRD off-road package my brother has is basically just Bilstein shocks and locking diffs. Maybe slightly more clearance too. Other than that it's not much different than a sr5. I think most people just have them as reliable vehicles to keep for a long time and daily drive. I doubt many of them really see hard off road use.

1 thing about tacomas though they are slooowww on the highway

 

[PredatorSlayer]

That's Implying tacos and 4runners go to the mountains, would be neat to see. I've only seen them at local paved campsites and Dutch Bros coffee parking lots. Cool RTT, rotopax and laders though.

I've owned 3 tacomas and two 4 runners. You know what else is reliable? A bike...and it nearly as fast and carries about the same payload

all in good fun, btw. Yotas are great, just a bit small for more than just a man and his dog. Full size, double locked truck was my answer, based on family size/needs.