I beseech thee, bretheren, instill me with Tacoma knowledge

Late model, like '14/'15 6cyl, manual 6 speed trucks with 4 real doors and 4x4. Any major issues?

I'm looking to have a sporty run-about to do some real work hauling things like motor bikes, engine blocks, and lawn tractors... maybe pull a small boat or reasonable car on an open trailer... and act as a car most of the rest of the time.

I've done the big honkin' diesel, the Tundra... I'm really looking for the smallest truck I can buy that will do the job, look good and not break. Cost is important but secondary to lasting 10yrs and not bothering me too much for repairs.

Does the Frontier play here? They don't seem much cheaper and I never see them on the road unless they are half beat to death.

The Frontier is similar to the xterra from what I know , and nearest i can tell they're very reliable. I've had friends with them, and theyre nice little rigs.

Taco should fit the bill. I think the 4.0 v6 in the previous gen is a pretty stout, under-stressed engine from what I understand. The earlier years of that gen were plagued by the Toyota frame rust recall issues, but would have been resolved well before '14 or '15. TRD Sport package comes with rear LSD, TRD Offroad gets a selectable locker and I think some skid plates, and both come with Bilsteins.

One of my best friends bought a lightly used '14 crewcab auto TRD sport a few years back, right before moving to Georgia and then on to Alaska, where it has reportedly been doing just fine on a steady diet of mild abuse. I like that truck a lot, just the right size, well built, and lots of well thought out features (like the tie down cleats in the bed.) I'll probably get one to replace my XJ eventually.

So with the four real doors, is there a real back seat?

Furious_E wrote: Taco should fit the bill. I think the 4.0 v6 in the previous gen is a pretty stout, under-stressed engine from what I understand. The earlier years of that gen were plagued by the Toyota frame rust recall issues, but would have been resolved well before '14 or '15. TRD Sport package comes with rear LSD, TRD Offroad gets a selectable locker and I think some skid plates, and both come with Bilsteins. One of my best friends bought a lightly used '14 crewcab auto TRD sport a few years back, right before moving to Georgia and then on to Alaska, where it has reportedly been doing just fine on a steady diet of mild abuse. I like that truck a lot, just the right size, well built, and lots of well thought out features (like the tie down cleats in the bed.) I'll probably get one to replace my XJ eventually.

I agree, I did't want a behemoth because I didn't require one. I was looking for a smaller truck to tow a pontoon and did research of available midsize trucks (the GM twins were not available then). I am very happy with the 2013 Access cab 4x4 V6 auto. Great resale value, quality is great (no problems at 30,000 miles. Actually very quick and handling is quite good. The newer Tacoma backup picture is in the infotainment screen instead of the mirror. I still prefer a real lever to engage hi/lo/4x4 but no one does it any more

I love my 2015 so far. Little over 12k miles on it and no problems.

All for, none against... that would explain the used prices. They hold value steady. The difference between a zero miles '17 crew with 3.5L and a 6 speed stick, and the same truck from '14 with 20k miles at the edge of it's warranty is about $6-7k.

Thanks for the info. Now I need to decide if I really want a nice new reliable truck or a beat up F-150, new bike and a project car

In reply to Huckleberry:

Definitely a beat up F-150, new bike and a project car! What's the fun in reliability?

I love the 4.0 6sp combo in my wife's FJ and would buy a truck equipped like that in a heart beat. If you do everything kind of slowly (let revs fall before shifting etc) you get a very solid tractor/dump truck feel out of the drive line which is immensely satisfying.

Does anyone know anything about issues with the new 3.5L? I can read lots of journalistic swoon about self-cleaning injectors, liquid cooled exhaust manifolds, VVT and other new magic - but nothing about recalls or other teething problems. It makes an extra 42HP, same TQ and gets better mileage. Seems like a no-brainer to go '16 or greater from the outside looking in.

Can you still get a manual on the newest trucks? I thought that went away with the redesign?

mazdeuce wrote: Can you still get a manual on the newest trucks? I thought that went away with the redesign?

You can get a '17 crew 3.5L in either TRD Off-Road or Sport with a 5' bed and a 6 speed manual. No 6' bed for some reason. No dealer has one I can find to try though so if I go that route it's going to be a special order.

A 5' bed means issues fitting a lawn tractor or dirt bikes though without a trailer ... so I'm conflicted.

OK, I think I was only looking at the lower trim trucks. The prices for the higher trims seemed silly to me. For what they're trading for used it does make sense to just buy one new.
I have the opposite conflict with full size trucks, I want the big motor with a standard cab and the short bed which they won't sell to me.

mazdeuce wrote: OK, I think I was only looking at the lower trim trucks. The prices for the higher trims seemed silly to me. For what they're trading for used it does make sense to just buy one new. I have the opposite conflict with full size trucks, I want the big motor with a standard cab and the short bed which they won't sell to me.

For the truck I just spec'd, it's a a '17 TRD Off-Road quad cab with 3.5L, 6 speed, and tow and tech package that comes in at about $37k before tax. I imagine I can bargain a $1k off that but not much more. Toyota dealers are pretty confident they don't need me to make their numbers.

A 3 year old similarly equipped truck is going for 32k and I have to fly to get it. I think the way these hold value - it makes perfect sense to be the 1st owner unless you are buying one that is > 7yrs old. To find a rust free quad cab v6 stick 4x4 in one of those with low mileage is like finding a whole unicorn village.

$37k is no joke for a pickup with cloth seats though. That is a nice Elise with a supercharger money. I really just want the small size, handling and decent power but the right answer here might be a $150 hitch for the wife's Outback outfitted with a cheap utility trailer and a sporty car. I wanted them to be the same vehicle but whatever it is - I just want to be able to move bigger stuff reliably on a weekend and have a decent semi-fun driver around every day. An old ranger or 90s Toy/Nissan pickup with 250HP/275TQ would be perfect - but I'd have to make that.

The Tacoma is the easy button except paying nearly 40 large for it.

I've noticed that the late model used ones tend to stick around dealer lots, and if one does make it to Craigslist, there is a huge background story about why they are selling the truck included.

I love my 4runner, same running gear as the taco, the 4.0 V6 has been great to me if your looking at used ones.

I love the Toyota's. FJ, 4Runner's and the Taco. However they all carry the Toyota tax in the used marketplace, and, if you aren't planning to sell it for 10 years after purchase, it won't be much of a benefit. The Nissan Frontier, Xterra are very solid suv/trucks that don't carry the same price tag. Available with the manual trans and 4WD, and if you get the OffRoad (later renamed PRO4X) package you get the locker rear diff, Bilstien shocks, skid plates, and bigger tires. Newer trucks still pull good money, but a comparable years/miles Toyota is 6 -7 grand more. If you buy a 10-15 or so you avoid all the common problems the 06-09's had.

The two major problems with the old ones are radiator fluid contaminating trans via trans cooler, killing the trans. A new radiator fixes these if you replace before failure, or at least bypass the factory trans cooler. The timing chain rattles due to worn guides are the other issue, they cost about 1000-1500 to have replaced. These conditions are mostly found the 06-08. But, if you find a clean older one, the issues are fixable for reasonable money and they have become downright cheap, $5-8k, leaving you with a solid truck and money for a new bike.

Nissan's 4.0 has had the variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust since it was introduced in 06. As a result, it was roughly 40hp stronger than Toyota's 4.0. Toyota added VVTi on the exhaust cam in 2009 for the 4 runner and FJ, but the Taco...as far as I know,(toyota guys is this right?) stuck with the 236hp 4.0 till the current truck came out.

If the 4 full doors aren't a necessity, you could build a nice extended cab Ranger with an Explorer based 5.0/T5 for $4-7k depending on condition.

Stock Explorers and Rangers had towing capacities around 6k pounds, they're everywhere, dirt cheap, and smaller than the current crop of mid-sizers so they actually fit places.

Huckleberry wrote:

mazdeuce wrote: Can you still get a manual on the newest trucks? I thought that went away with the redesign?

You can get a '17 crew 3.5L in either TRD Off-Road or Sport with a 5' bed and a 6 speed manual. No 6' bed for some reason. No dealer has one I can find to try though so if I go that route it's going to be a special order. A 5' bed means issues fitting a lawn tractor or dirt bikes though without a trailer ... so I'm conflicted.

Try doing a nation wide search on auto trader, or somethjng of the like. I'm not sure that Toyota's online configurator is totally accurate, because it told me I couldn't do a trd sport extended cab with a 6 speed, then I clicked over to Auto trader and one appeared on the first page of results.