Toyota Tacomas

tbayskier

tbayskier

Active member
Sup NS. I want to buy a Toyota Tacoma. In particular, I am considering a late 2000's model; a 4 door, automatic, 4wd, and extended bed. I would use it in winter as a ski mobile, and put a topper on it with a bed for sleeping. In summer I would buy a trailer so I could haul crap and use it for work. I'm honestly pretty sold on the truck, can anyone convince me otherwise?

Thoughts in general about the tacoma would be appreciated.

 
I might also use the trailer in winter for hauling a sled around. Honestly this is more hypothetical than anything, it's more of a dream ski mobile.
 
from my experience one of the best trucks out there for reliability, my 97' Lexus (made by Toyota) has 250,000 miles on it and runs like a beast. you cant go wrong by Toyota.
 
I have a 98 Tacoma, and absolutely love it. But that said, they're pretty light trucks, if your thinking about towing anything heavy it might struggle a bit. The 2nd gen tacoma's are a bit bigger if you'd need the size though.
 
I use to have a 99 taco and ooohhhh my god did i love that thing. For reliability it is awesome but if you want to be towing for work i wouldnt recommend it. I have a 98 silverado now which i have a trailer behind everyday in the summer. And let me tell you, some of the things i've hauled would really ware(sp?) on a taco. A tacomas biggest engine is a 3.4 i believe and i wouldnt trust that to haul heavy shit. Plus you'll need a certain class of hitch to tow the big stuff.
 
If you want the smaller sized pickup but want to be able to tow bigger loads, look into a dodge Dakota. I love mine.
 
you won't be able to sleep in the back unless you do some major remodeling. it's no insulation with those toppers, it'll be the same as sleeping in a cardboard box.
 
Word, rangers come in an extended cab but the rear seating it real tight. I'm not sure what other models are like but my friend's ranger has like two lunch trays that fold out of the rear corners of the cab and you sit diagonally on them. There's no space so definitely go with the taco
 
My dad has an 11' tacoma with 50k miles on it and nothing has broken down, no new tires or breaks, on his old ford there was thousands of dollars in repairs by 50k. Tacomas run for ever. When ever I drive it, its always fine and is great off road, but like any pick up, you need to put weight in the back so you dont fish tail and my mom has a 98 lx470 with 200k miles and still running fine. Deff go for it.
 
early 2000's were some of the best Tacomas imo. They are a great smaller truck. If you can find one in good condition scoop it up because it will go for a long time if you take care of it
 
I sleep in my taco with a topper shell with no insulation alot during the winter in CO, I have a descent pad and a zero degree montbell down bag...and im not a pussy, and its really not bad, the sleeping bag is key though.
to the OP go tacoma, they are rad man
 
I've always found fords to be reliable, my dad is at 210k on his 06 f-250 and hasnt replaced anything other than brakes and tires. Toyotas are hella reliable though and OP already said he needs crew cab so he cant get a ranger

 
If you're not going full-size, I wouldn't look at any truck other than the Tacoma. Colorados are cool, but they look like shit compared to the Tacoma, are less reliable, and just not as awesome. I can't believe the Ranger was even brought up, those trucks are a fucking joke. Go Tacoma, it's worth it, there's a reason they are slow to depreciate.
 
i hear ns is the place to go for car advice but really teh Tacoma's will go forever my buddy has one with half a million kms on it and shes still goin strong and his dad had a 89 or something with over a million on the orignal 6 cylinder engine
 
my dad just got a 2009 tacoma standard too, pretty big upgrade from the 1998 mazda B4000 he has
 
the late 80s and early 90s are easily the best trucks to this day, I had one my brother had two and my dad had one and they all lasted over 300000 miles and took a beating. yoda is the way. i have a ranger now and i dont like it.
 
Ive had two toyota trucks, (a 89 pickup, ext cab 4x4 22re) and (a 2001 4door 4x4 3.4l). Both were abosolutley bullet proof. I woudnt buy anything else.. The 89 has 120k miles on it when i sold it, still running great, the 01 had almost 170k on it when i sold it, absolutley flawless..

however you cant buy an 01-04 double cab long bed..
 
Get a tacoma if you don't wanna be able to tow shit. If you want a real truck, get a f150 or silverado.
 
what are the fuel numbers for the v8 tundra as opposed to the 3.4l taco?

Not that it really matters to me as I drive a I6 TJ that gets about 13mpg haha just outta curiosity
 
for the past 5 years ive been driving an 01 ford ranger..its a great truck..ive never had any major problems with the truck except recently i had to replace the fuel neck (big whoop). right now it has 102k miles and it still runs great. now mine is not 4wd so that kinda sucks but once i put a few bags of salt/cat litter and all my and my friends ski gear in the bed it runs pretty well in the snow. i also have it with the supercab with the two seats that fold down..that kinda sucks cause its tight but it fits 3 ppl comfortably..mpg is about 21 if u drive it responsibly..the bed cap also is great i usually blow up an air mattress and sleep in it when i drive somewhere and get too fucked up to drive home lol..
 
Mine gets 17/18 highway and about 15 around town. My brother has an 06 4 door extended bed taco that's maybe a mile or so better.

Damn 13 is brutal, sweet ride though.
 
ive owned 5 toyotas, two of which were tacomas. do not get an automatic! they are great 4X4 machines and a stick in this thing is like a race car/rock crawler. make sure you stick with the extended bed, cuz the short beds are dysfunctional.

nice choice.
 
Tacoma's are sick. My family only owns toyota or honda

My dad's had a 86' 4runner that he could have easily kept going with 300K plus miles and picked up a 2000 Tacoma, 2door cab, straight 4 with a stick and the thing a beast. Gotten us many places in CO / UT / WYO and the things are tanks

do it

 
Tacomas are awesome, but you wont be able to sleep in the back of the crew cab. You might not even be able to get your skis in the back.

The quad cab perfect truck for doing "car things" a lot of the time, but still being offroad capable. The bed is big enough most of the time but it's like half the size of even a shortbox 1/2ton. I have an extended cab, shortbox 1/2 ton because I wanted to be able to sleep in the back and lay my surfboards and skis down flat, and still drive with 4 people (and shortbox because I wanted the smallest wheelbase possible).

With the Tacoma you kind of have to choose between those options. The 6cyl is way better for city mileage though, and quite a bit better (unloaded) on the highway. Plus just as many people modify them as the american 1/2 tons, so the parts are reasonably priced.
 
I am not going to convince you otherwise...Toyota trucks are nice.

There are 2 generations of the Tacoma:

1st: 1995.5-2004 (3 facelifts, the introduction of the TRD pkg in '98, DCSB in '01, other minor changes)

2nd: 2005- (Only facelift in newest, 2013 model)

If you want a DCLB (double cab long box) model, those are 2nd gen only, so 2005 and newer. Here are some thoughts:

-I personally love driving manual and would recommend it to everybody over automatic, but DCLB are auto only and you may not want a manual anyways so it doesn't matter really. Personal preference.

-The TRD Sport and TRD Off Road are different packages. TRD sport has a rear limited slip and a fake hood scoop, while the TRD off road has a rear electric selectable locker. The latter is much, much more useful in a trail riding context (I have one in my '01). Both still include the 'off road' Bilstein shocks (different than the 5100s) from the factory but may have been changed out if you buy used.

-If you plan to use the truck as a truck (and not a glorified minivan), don't even consider the 5 foot bed option. You CANNOT fit anything in there (especially skis or yourself), thus rendering the 'truck' part useless. May as well go purchase a Toyota Sienna at that point. Otherwise, if you just want it for looks but want to carry people, DCSB model works ok.

-The 2nd gen 4.0L 1GR-FE engine is a well-made engine. It is/was also offered in the 2nd gen Highlander, FJ Cruiser, and 4th/5th gen 4Runner. I have driven all these and have concluded that it's got more then enough nut if you want it. There's also a factory supercharger available ($$$) for installation if you want even more power.

As for people who said 'buy American," Most of those trucks are made in Mexico anyways so unless you know the EXACT plant in the US where your Chevy/Ford/Dodge was made, don't even bring it up. My 2001 Tacoma was made in the Fremont, CA NUMMI plant (no longer associated with Toyota, Tesla makes cars there now), so there's American for you.
 
I sleep in a rag top wrangler in the winter. By your standards I probably shouldn't even be alive.
 
my dad owns the 2010 model and the car is sweet. Has an unreal sound system and just a good rugged car. The only problem which is similar to a lot of trucks is that when its slippery the car slips out on me....def need to put a weight in the truck bed because I came close to some serious skid accidents.
 
He asked about the old Tundras versus a 3.4... Toyota stopped production of the 5VZ-FE (3.4L) in 2004, so your brother would have a different motor. I had a 3.4 swapped into a 1983 pickup, and it got about mid-twenties on the highway and low-twenties around town (single digits while off-roading, haha).

I've owned nine or ten Toyotas, including a couple of pickups with over 300K miles on the original motors that still ran strong. Toyotas will last forever. If you're just looking to pull a small trailer with a sled, you shouldn't have any problem with a Taco. As others have pointed out, heaviers loads will put a strain on it, though. I'll never again own any truck other than a Toyota, especially if/when they come out with the newer diesels in the US.

And to the fool who said they were over-priced and that you should just go with a 350 Chevy: Silverados are over-priced! Maybe not up-front, but when you consider how much money you have to dump into the pieces of shit over the years, it adds up to be WAY more than a Taco. And no, the gas mileage is nowhere near the same. I've owned two 1500s (5.7L 350 Vortec) and after switching to Toyotas, I'd never even dream of going back.
 
Yep, what DH said!

Oh, and as far as sleeping in the bed of a Taco with a camper shell goes: if I can sleep in the back of one during the winter in Alaska before going out on a five-day hunting trip, then you can sleep in one before a day of skiing... And I'm a female. To whomever said you can't: fucking grow a pair, seriously.
 
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No hate intended, Yotas are still pretty sick. I just wouldn't buy one, I know people who go off roading in them and they never get stuck, seems like a durable truck.
 
Im just going to leave this here: If you want a good reliable truck, buy a tacoma.. No hate intended towards american, they just dont campare in my opinion..

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my friend has a new tacoma. i've never driven it, all I know is that it has a shitty turning radius which is probably the case in most trucks.

also OP isn't even american. I would never buy anything made in america on purpose anyways.
 
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