coming from?

I was wondering if your new to the 16 Taco, what was your previous ride I.E. 1/2 ton, 3/4, 1-ton? Any regrets on your choice going down in size?

 

It sounds like you are asking opinions specifically from people coming from bigger trucks, but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyways. My previous vehicle was a 2007 Trailblazer SS and a 2006 Tacoma TRDOR. No ragrets!

 

2009 5.7L CrewMax Tundra Rock Warrior to the '16 3.5L DCSB TRD Sport Tacoma. Quite the change!

I'll admit I miss the power of the 5.7, and the luxury of having a ton of interior space to put things and people. It was great while I had it and towed like a boss with a brake controller and 9,000 lb trailers. But I no longer tow much anymore and I have since moved houses to something that has a smaller garage so the big ol' Tundra simply wouldn't fit with a second vehicle in the garage. That and I got an average of 14 MPG.

The Tacoma is more sensible for me, single guy, doesn't need to tow much, easier to park, fits in the garage, better gas mileage, etc.

I can see myself going full size again sometime in the future when I've got kids and such. Maybe a Subruban, but probably another Tundra. Surely they will change the power train over the next 5-10 years.

 

Yes mostly from bigger vehicles, but that being said coming from anything else...I should change that.

I always liked the SS those sounded mean!

 

I had a 2011 tundra for about 2 years, went to a 135i for the last 3 years. The truck was competent, but my wife hated the size of it and I simply didnt use it as a truck often enough to convince me to keep it. Got the bmw, and while easily the most fun car I've ever owned (it has a manual transmission), it is likewise the worst ownership experience. Evaporative fuel system failure at 300 miles, 700 miles, and 1100 miles (took them a while to diagnose that one). Blown charge pipe at 11k miles. Failed 2nd gear synchro (and subsequent new transmission) at 12.5k miles. Replaced a number of failed electrical control modules at 14.5k miles (windows stopped working was the tell, that took 16 days at the shop). It went into the shop for numerous other issues (dash popping, headlight washer leakage, a few other interior nits). This car was assembled in the last month of production of that model, and part of me thinks they were using all reject parts. ;-) So I'm walking away from that car for fear of having to foot these repairs on my dime when the warranty expires and going to the Tacoma. Hoping for some reliability, but honestly anything would be better than what I've had the last number of years. We have two small kids and I would cram them in the back of the 135i, but clearly I'm upgrading in functionality by jumping into the Tacoma.

 

Awesome, a bigger truck is what I have. It's good to hear you enjoy the smaller truck, that's my position now no need for the larger rig.

Cool truck I've seen very few of the rock warrior trucks, I'm new to anything involving the Toyota scene, pre TRD Pro truck? Pardon my ignorance

 

My single wheel converted 1ton Dodge Clifford with my commuter shoes on. 300k miles.

When Pete was still my daily driver before he was built for crawling duties only. 1.2mil miles.
960k miles as an oversized load escort vehicle.


I am in the same boat as the OP I drove a 1985 Toyota for years then made the jump to a 1 ton Dodge for towing needs.
Don't tow as often any more and my commute is longer so I have a Tacoma on order. I'll be taking a hit in the fuel mileage department but hopefully the maintenance cost savings will offset that. I know I am going to miss the torque of the Cummins and the towing capacity. I do know I'll have a quieter more comfortable ride with the Tacoma and it will still fill most of my needs in the towing department. If not my son has a 3/4 ton Cummins that I can get just about any time I need it.

 

Thats like from going too living in a large house to a walk in closet. Lol jk BMW is supposed to be top notch, but I guess you got the end of the month deal where the guy building it was going on vaca and said screw it. Sorry for the bad luck. I have a 2015 BMW 1200 RT-P, best bike I've ever been on 10k miles in 8 months no problems yet.

 

Yup, you will miss the power to some degree, but I find that for all the complaining people do around here, it gets along just fine. 0-65 getting on 96 or Kellogg is no problem if you hit the gas hard enough

There's a couple around town where I'm at, but none that are 2009 models. Never seen a single one like mine. It's kind of a unicorn. Speaking of which, referencing your username, are you from Wichita KS by chance? Or the other Wichita? Anyway, the TRD Rock Warrior is basically a package that is added to the base model Tundra. The invoice on that truck was $35,132, just a bit less than my Tacoma! Quite amazing, but that was in 2009. It still had a lot of goodies though, 5.7L V8, CrewMax cab, decent stereo that I upgraded later, built in back up camera, power sliding rear window, 4x4, and more. But none of the extra stuff like the more premium models had, but I didn't care about that. The Rock Warrior package was mostly TRD wheels (pictured above), BFG AT tires, Bilstien shocks, and extra skid plates.

Great truck it was though! I used it as a trade in at Eddy's Toyota and it was on the lot for one day, ONE! And it was sold and gone. Crazy, but it did have a lift, grill guard, Magnaflow dual exhaust, custom stereo system (Head unit, AMP, 12" sub, and better speakers all around), LED lighting, brake controller, and more stuff I threw in over the years. So it was pretty enticing I imagine.

 

I think that's what I'll miss is being able to towing 20k if needed. Realistically the biggest/heaviest thing I've had in it in 2 years is my receiver hitch dirtbike carrier. Haha fuel mileage isn't that big of a deal for me as my truck only averages about 5-6k a year

 

Yes the power will take getting used to, I have to watch out as my truck doesn't mind lighting the tires up at 30-40 depending on pavement if you stomp the skinny pedal! Wichita Falls Tx is where I'm from, we are know for 3 things. The first is the Air Force Base, the Hotter'n Hell Hundred and being the first city too recycle our toilet water with the highest concentration back in to the system. We put the #2 in H20! Sounds like it was an awesome truck!

 

Coming back to Toyota trucks in a Tacoma that replaces two vehicles. This oil burning disappointment on wheels:



And this gas guzzling beast of a beater:



The only place where the Tacoma will really fall short is in hauling really long materials and the twice a year trip to (or from) the water with my uncle's 28' sailboat. Both uses are things that happen pretty rarely and I've got an F-350 flatbed dually I can borrow from a friend anytime I'm desperate.

 

Yes the short bed can be an issue, but a little trailer would be the ticket for bigger things. Love the old ford, late 91-97 F250's-350's are my favorite body style too this day! Also how do you like the manual trans?

 

I bought a new Ranger in 95,4cyl,5 speed dog, kept it for 190,000 miles, 17 years. Then upgraded to a 96 Chevy that I worked on to many times. Just got a new SR 4cyl, 5 speed, access cab ,4wd tank.Had to wait 5 weeks for it,but worth it. A couple little problems I hope get fixed at the 1st service. down side=twice the price of the ranger

 

Early 2000's explorer that begs me every day to just let it shit itself on the side of the road.

Currently the rear end howls, whines and vibrates the entire truck like a jackhammer on the highway. It is a white knuckle adventure every day I wait for my tacoma to come in...if I can make it the next few weeks without the differential locking up on the highway I will let the exploder die in peace.

Funny to read about transmission slipping and vibration issues on here. I wonder if I'll even notice if my tacoma has those considering where I'm coming from....

 

The little Rangers all suffered from the no power bug, but seemed to be pretty dependable. You got 17 years out of it seems too be up in to taco territory! Please don't hate for a ford too Toyota comparison. Everything new seems too have a few bugs that's why we all love the warranty for those issues.

 

That's when you know you got the most out of your ride. Nothing like getting on the road in vehicle you know might not make it, makes the arrival too the destination that much better! Sounds like you might be able to pedal your new taco and still be in a better vehicle...I kid

 

The dependability of the Ranger was due to the Mazda drive train.

 

Oh ok I always thought they just rebranded the ranger, it's the other way around. Learn something new everyday

 

Come from (still have) a 2009 Pontiac g8. 550+hp, and a couple inches of ground clearance doesn't work well in the winter or to offroad