Price...Base vs Off-Road, Double Cab

An experience driver who knows the value of MOMENTUM in the deep sand, might get by....

But....Check out post #266, and watch all the 2wd's getting towed: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/so...cial-anza-borrego-split-mountain-trip-14.html

More fun stuff! Great fossils. This is one of our research areas: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/off-roading-trails/84645-anza-borrego-trails.html

Our students are actually very fit and tough, and if they can't drive somewhere, they will put on a backpack and hump it.

 

Curious as to what terrain the students will be driving to need a locker. Not to mention, many of them may not understand the feature and when to use it...much like atrac.

You may have to spend a week in class explaining how and when to use the features safely.

 

If the university is paying for it, get a TRD Pro

 

FWIW, I'd get a white one in that situation. As much as I personally hate white, it'll still look good after trips through the desert.

As great a color as it is, my pyrite mica shows everything.

 

ALWAYS buy white when it comes to company/work vehicles. They hold up way better than colours or black. Remember, your students are going to treat this truck like a rental, especially if it says TRD on the side. I wouldn't be surprised if you find it upside down somewhere within a year if you buy an Offroad because of some idiot. Remember, the smartest people have the least common sense. The last two people we had to let go had masters degrees in there field, yet couldn't figure out how to do the simplest of tasks without messing up things like customer relations or there work vehicle. We even had one Chinese girl flat out lie right to a customer about a disease identification which almost sparked a major confrontation...

Anyways, my point is the more I think about this the less even a Tacoma sounds like a good idea. Find them the worst old beat up 4x4 half ton that's still mechanically reliable and buy that. At least then if they are stupid you won't end up paying much for there lack of common sense.

 

The part of this conversation I don't get is - why are university students too dense to understand something as simple as a four wheel drive system in a TRD Off Road.

All the folks I attended U with, that made it as far as third year were pretty sharp cookies, the dummies had mostly washed out in first year, with a few clinging on to third semester.

Are standards that low at your U? Or is it just that geology students don't understand electro-mechanical systems? Or, are they brighter than you're giving them credit for?

 

Yes....when driven by an experienced driver!

This is a vehicle for the students to drive themselves out to their field locations, so the huge attraction of the OR is the greater self-recovery potential, having A-TRAC and a locker. But, on the other hand, simplicity has a quality of its own as well. I don't have to decide for a couple weeks, so I have time to mull it all over.

Like maybe some of you, I grew up off-roading so it is second nature, but that is only true of a tiny fraction of the population (even here in the So Calif where off-roading is absolutely HUGE). These students are bright, but most don't show up with any off-road experience. Maybe their family wasn't into it, or they didn't have any off-roading terrain, or whatever. So no, I'm not going to hand a little girl from Ohio a set of keys and tell her to have fun out in the desert badlands, without proper training. But if she gets into trouble, I want her to have the best options to get herself home.

 

Operating a trac and the locker properly without breaking something isn't common sense. You need to read the manual. It's not their job to know what us here on the forum know.

Why do you need a bed op? Are they getting groceries? Get them a jeep.

 

So why do YOU need one? To haul all your gear maybe?

 

You haven't told us what your students haul. If it's a duffle bag of measuring equipment and some notebooks, they may not need a bed. If it's large or heavy equipment or machinery, they may need a bed.

That information is pertinent to how you're going to spend alumni/donors' money.
Don't worry OP - I know which vehicle I need.

 

Nice sled deck on a Tacoma!!

 

just give me a call... id gladly go help them out, but the call must be accompanied with pictures to see if its worth while.

Either way i vote base 4x4... you dont need all the extras. and if stuff like a locking diff and atrac are necessary they shouldnt be out there alone in the first place.

Believe me i deal with college students on a regular basis (work IT for a university) and the current pool of students are about as sharp as a sack of marbles.... its rather sad.... maybe 1/100 knows how to change their own oil, let alone know how to use a selectable 4x4 system.... and god forbid know what a rear locking diff is and how to use that properly.

Base 4x4 and call it good. Hell id say DCSB 4 banger auto 4x4... base of the base and it will get them anywhere they should be.

 

That's sad. I taught my younger sister how to change the oil in her Subaru Outback when I moved since I wouldn't be around to do it for her anymore. Her response? "This is easy! Why doesn't everyone change their own oil?"

She's been doing it herself ever since.

BTW, IT SysAdmin for a public K-12 school district here.

 

Come on....isn't some of this obvious???

Say you are spending 2 weeks in the desert and you are 3 hours drive from the nearest water source....start with minimum 50+ gallons water and 10 gallons of backup fuel.

Plus all your personal gear, food, camping gear, computers, gps equipment, maybe a small generator, drone helicopter, whatever tools you need, etc.

We do a lot of core drilling, so you have the drill itself, and it eats up a gallon of water every few minutes or so, plus fuel for it, so add that in. Then, you have to carry back all those samples that you collected in the field....etc.

Yes, hopefully there is more than one vehicle going to share the load, and if you get into trouble you have a backup. But, I have a guy out in Nevada right now solo for going on 2+ weeks. He is in his personal 4X4 Gen 2, and very experienced, so I am not especially worried about him, though we would like to hear from him soon.

 

I didn't read through every post. Since this is a completely non emotional decision, get quotes for each trim level you are considering instead of choosing based on MSRP. When I bought mine, I was looking at the access cab to save money. The dealer offered me a better price on a double cab long bed (higher MSRP) because it was easier for them to get. You never know.

 

I'm a mechanical engineering student, and if we do have geology students I don't see them. Not to mention there aren't much of those lands around here. I don't know the things your students will be doing, I'm actually surprised they're permitted to go out for that long at a time. That's pretty cool.

Before I decided what truck to get I would figure up the combined weight of all POSSIBLE gear brought on any of these trips. The Tacoma doesn't have a very high payload. Is a utility trailer an option?

 

What? There's no OIL in Texas???

 

There's oil here. But it's not 3 hours away from the nearest town, much less water source.
In fact, it doesn't matter how many traction functions you have, a truck isn't going to get you to where most of the oil is anyway.



What I actually said is, we don't have much of that type of land around here that requires students to take an expedition.

By the way, did you bold the part of my quote you intended to? Also, please don't disregard the other part of my post. We're not lying when we say the Tacoma has a low payload capacity.

 

The price differential is only $2,440 between the OR and SR5. We have a room full of six half-million dollar mass specs, so in the big scheme of things, that is chump change.

For me it isn't the money, it is simplicity vs better capabilities but more complexity, and deciding which will serve the students best in the end.

 

Are you going to tape the owners manual to the steering wheel so they don't blow up the rear end? Are they going to engage the locker often enough so it doesn't crap out? Who's going to bring the truck to the dealer? I still don't think they need a locker or atrac. Lobster already recommended buying a base and putting lockers in it. Good tires and recovery gear is a better investment.