Whats the Best Tacoma 4x4 to buy for Off roading

I am about to buy a Toyota Tacoma 4X4, I have owned several Toyota Tacoma 4x4's before, I owned a 1980 Toyota 4x4 that was lifted and had 33" tires on it. I drove it in a major Snow Storm, and used the 4x4 in high and it drove very well. I had, 1986 Tocoma Extra Cab that was a great vehicle also, but didn't get a chance to drive in the snow, but I drove it off road, I mean really off road a few times. That Vehicle was great until a drunk driver blew threw a stop sign and I ran over the back of a Honda Accord. Lucky for the lady in the Accord, I was quick enough to turn the truck to the right to avoid crushing her. Then I purchase a 1983 Toyota Tacoma Extra Cab 4x4 with 31" x 10.5" Tires, and that truck was the best, when I had it locked in 4 wheel Hi, or 4 Wheel low, you could not get that truck stuck unless you tried to drive it across the Grand Canyon going straight off the cliff. That was the only way to stop that truck. It meet its demise in Melbourne Fl when I was driving from Miami to Pont a Vedra, when an old chevy truck came on to the highway and slammed into the side of it and ran me off the road. Luckily I was able to control the truck into the medium, before it finally flipped on the passenger side.

I now own a 1998 Tacoma SR5 Extra Cab, 2 wheel drive pick up, that is an awesome truck also, but I am not able to go off roading with it to much, because only one wheel spins.

That is my history of Toyota Pick up trucks. I am thinking on buying a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 Crew cab, between the years of 2005 - 2011, and was wondering if you could give me some advice on the Best 4x4 Toyota Tacoma Differentials for off roading and driving in 2 to 3 feet of snow, and possibly driving on the beaches in Florida. I Travel up and down the east coast, and can experience just about anything, and I want to make sure I get one with 4 wheel drive, so that I can tow a few small things with it and be able to handle any weather, mother nature can throw at me without me having to walk unless I am just to stupid to drive into the great swamp in NJ.

If you can provide me with any advice I would greatly appreciate it, but I need all the wheels to be able to get me through the terrain I am generally in. I don't abuse these vehicles, but I do need a good off road truck so that I can take people to remote research areas. If you want me to call you to speak with I can call you anywhere you are, just let me know the number and time. I promise it will only take about 15 to 20 minutes to get the information I need to make sure I buy the right Tacoma 4x4.

I really appreciate any help,

J

 

Do you plan to leave it stock or mod it? My opinion go with the off road if you plan to leave it close to stock or get an sr5 and build it yourself.

 

Sounds like you want to find a TRD Offroad model the the E-locker and ATRAC.

 

TRD off road or TRD sport. But it really depends on your kind of off roaring. I personally would recommend the Off road version but if you want to build it I would say SR5.

 

95.5-97 Regular Cab V6 5speed with manual hubs and the rear E-Locker.

 

Tow small thing like a hamster or as big as horse v6 4x4 will get the job done for you.

 

I have a DCLB TRD Sport. Love it BUT it's pretty long for some off roading. I do construction so I like/need the extra space. I haven't done too much off roading with it though. So my $.02 would be do a TRD Off Road with a short bed or the SR5 if you really wanna go off roading.

But personally I'm more than happy with my Trail Limo.

 

Buy a bare bone 4x4 tacoma. Build it to your needs

 

If your want to be ultra cheap and build it yourself an SR5 4X4 would work.

If you plan to keep closer to stock and want a good all around machine, take your pick:

TRD Sport
or
TRD Offroad

I'll tell you having a sport myself, I feel as if I missed the boat on the whole locker thing before I bought it, which really bothered me for a while, but goddamn this beast still gets me ANYWHERE I have ever demanded it to go. Sand, mud, snow, dirt, rocks, gravel, take your pick. I did the yellow wire mod to my sport for 4LO and it makes low speed crawling and climbing really fun.

Advantage of Sport over Offroad is aesthetics more then anything, and the lack of the locker. Which to this day I haven't really found too much of a need for with all of the wheeling I have done in the last year and a half of owning this thing.

Like I said, just take your pick.

 

Thanks 4Wheeling Friends, Okay I check around to see if I can find a Sport or Off Road, Not sure what you mean by Avtac or E-loc, not sure what they are. But the advice I have received just confirmed my thoughts. I am not sure about building an SR5, Though I need to find on fast. Because my other two vehicles can't do what a 4x4 Tacoma can do. I think the v6 will be great, sucks more gas than my 4 cylinder 2wd I have now. Though I did own a Tacoma 4x4 Extra cab, that I drove back and forth from NYC to Miami, and a lot offf road places. Plus some wicked snow storms. I just want to make sure before I go buy another one. If you all don't mind I will be asking some more questions about Tacoma, because if I can fix it myself I would rather do it than pay someone to do it.
Any advice is always greatly appreciated, Maybe one day I can build one.

Thanks,

J

 

Just got an 05 TRD Off Road. The E-Locker is a locking rear diff that is activated push button. It only works in 4LOW unless you do the grey wire modification. I recommend this truck, but for offroad I always liked the regular cabs for the short wheelbase. Then you gotta settle for a base 4cylinder for the newer years. My honest opinion is go find a 90-94 4x4 pickup with a decent frame, regular cab, for a good price. Then spend the additional money you would of spent on something newer building it. Thats for something to use just in the woods. If you need a daily driver that can also do woods, then by all means find yourself a 2nd gen Tacoma TRD Off Road.

 

Go with the Offroad, locking diff > open diff.

 

Hey J,
I ordered my vehicle from factory in 2005 (almost 9 years to the day). My personal opinion. I wanted to keep it stock (w extended Toy Plat warranty $0 deductible) and liked the color keyed TRD Sport model (only one w hood scoop). 6' foot bed was mandatory for me as I was building a home & still prefer that over the tiny bed. This was a $900 option back then. I find that everything fits in there better when packing the truck for long trips. I hunt, fish, camp and drive where I want. The few times I did get stuck I used the 4 wheel low and got right out. Note: The only times I got stuck I was doing something impossible and a diff lock would not have helped. I personally don't mind making 20 point turns on a tiny trail &/or I can back all the way out so I don't scratch her.

TRD Sport & Off Road versions come with the upgraded Bilstein shock which is great for nimble handling on road and very tuff/nice for off roading. For a crew cab LB pickup it handles exceptionally well with these shocks. TRD Off Road version comes with locking diff (if I could have added this to my Sport Model I would have). I took the looks over that 1 great feature.

I just read a group buy for skid plates on this forum. I see the 2014 model still has the exhaust hanging 3+ inches below the frame cross member. I may see if they can reroute mine & get the tranny and diff skid plates. The low hanging exhaust is still tuff as hell.

I saw a new SR5 Tacoma at the dealer a few days back. I noticed the dealer had a printed page of options I almost didn't see which brought the price up 3K for a total of 35K. Custom UGLY pin striping for $500. I would have paid them $100 to take it off. I see how they could substantially increase their profit with these silly extras. Keep that in mind. I didn't like the handling and the short life of the Bridgestone HT Tires that came on vehicle. You may want to bargain to have them replaced with your choice of tires before you drive on them. On my 3rd set now. Have any questions, let me know. Good luck!

 

For an off road rig I would go with a first gen (04 and before) TRD off road with the E-locker. 2nd gen is just a bigger and has more quirks.

 

If I could go back and do it again, I'd go SR5 Single Cab and build the truck to my specs with ARB air lockers.

 

if your looking to keep it stock, go with trd offroad.