Happy with your 5 Lug????

I have been reading posts and some people are unhappy with their trucks. I just want some other peoples opinions about this. I have an 08 5 lug and i love it, thing rides mint no issues for the truck cept the squeaky clutch but got that fixed. Regearing was a bitch but since i did it thing is sweet and quicker, and the mpg didnt suffer hardly at all. I love my taco and curious if others do too.

Anyone know of any good trails to cruise on in New England, not looking for hardcore just cruising thru some stuff.

Lata

 

It drove me nuts that I didn't spring for four wheel drive.

And then, looking at the low ride height and tiny tires on my 5 lug only made it worse.

It felt like I took a huge dump when I moved to 4x4.

 

im enjoying it so far but i wish i had gotten a 6lugger. reg cab seemed good until i actually had people to drive. 2wd seemed fine till i wanted to go offroad. the 4 cyl seemed fine until i had a trailer to pull. MPG seemed good until i got a second job and gas prices dont bother me anymore.

it seemed perfect when i was first looking but when i actually started using it as a truck, i needed more. and still do...
bench seats are good for the GF though....hint hint, nudge nudge

 

I love my truck. But I do now wish I got an access cab, 4x4, and v6. It hasn't stopped me from using my truck. Believe me it's off road ability is far superior to the VW GTI it replaced. I'm planning on eventually trading it for something else but until I need to I am content. No need to spend a bunch on a new one for a few things I've been able to not really need yet.

 

I am enjoying my 5 lugger! I know I am limited to off-road capabilities, but I am happy with what I got. I have drove trucks when 4x4 is engage, its fun. I like to challenge my trucks capabilities.

I have only been into two toyota trucks (tacomas), my own and Cliff's truck. I was amazed at the 4 wheel capability of his truck! It was not rough, it was smooth sailing. I know the next time I purchase a Tacoma, it will be a 4x4.

This does not mean I want to trade in my 2WD. I see myself owning my truck for the next several years. I enjoy driving my 5 lugger on pavement and offroad.

 

Well i can see if you wanna go off roading the 4x4 seems like the logical choice. Being in New England we get crappy weather and my truck has had no issues, got stuck a couple times but a little rocking back and forth solved that... I threw on 29" AT's and that improved the overall look of the truck and made it 1" higher so I think it looks sweet. I plan of getting some other mods and i will make a build page of it later. I guess it all depends on your purpose of the truck, i do alot of hghwy driving so at the time the 6 cyl. seemed improbable and i heard the revs r high so made no sense. the truck still a bamf though

and for the person who took a huge dump gettin a 4x4... im glad this cleared up your constipation

 

What tires are you running?

 

BFG's 235/75/R15, if i get the lift i may goto 31's but these are nice for me right now. really made it feel like a truck and improved handling and suspension ride

 

About 0.5% of my miles are off-road and I don't do much towing or hauling, so I am very happy with my '5-lug' 4-banger. I bought this model because of where and how I drive, not because of what I might or might not come across someday.

 

I have a 98 and love it. Right now im set on replacing every part with something new of aftermarket!... kidding of course, but it really seems that way!

 

somewhat. I'm more disappointed there isn't much for mine out there and for some reason my intake manifold just had to be made out of plastic.

 

I really love mine. It's perfect for my daily needs. I knew when I was in the market for a small truck that a 2wd 4 cylinder was all I needed. I don't tow anything and most of my hauling this relegated to weekend Home Depot type projects and neighbor's furniture . Any make of truck would have worked just fine. I chose the Taco because it had the most comfortable and quiet ride and a better interior than the competition IMO.

Plus Mama's happy that I no longer have to take out the seats in her Sienna to fill it full of mulch....or whatever I'm working on that day.

 

Yea i really liked the interior too. I thought it was kinds sharp and had a kinda warm feeling. I didnt like the fords hada cold feeling, dunno if that makes sense but whatever... Yeah my truck runs smooth too, i get it up to 90 sometimes of the freeway and thing is sailing sweet. For the person looking for mods, hey their out there you just gotta find em its a little tricky. When i save up some money im going to look at LC Engineering, they do a lot of good stuff for our 4 bangers, they gota header kit, exhaust, and short throw shifter i would like to get my hands on. So far i got new gears, 29" tires which arent huge but make a huge impact, and an intake and a kick ass system So im very happy i drive like 500-1000 miles a week and still get 25-26 MPG's

 

So far i love mine, but hate my tires and rims. The rims are the stock 14" i think, steel and have ugly silver truck hub caps. I want to get something bigger and more truck looking on as soon as I can. I just dont have the cash to do a lift, and that my problem. I need to figure out what will fit and still look good.

 

Lovin' my '010 5-lug so far. It's my 4th Toyota truck, and none have had 4wd. Last truck was a '00 Prerunner and while I prefer the style/size of the 1st-gen trucks and especially liked the Prerunner's tough looks, I disliked the 60/40 bench and harsh ride, the auto tranny and poor gas mileage. Still wanted a new Prerunner (w/buckets & 5spd) until the dlr told me "they don't make Prerunners for New England" and that it'd be ~16 wks for a special order. They tried to push me toward their yard full of 4wd's but I somewhat reluctantly went with the only 2wd on the lot and am very happy with my choice - it's a great riding truck and much more fun to drive for what I use it for.

I do plan to get some nice wheels and slightly bigger tires when the originals wear out, but want to keep the good gas mileage and ride quality. I think with a few other minor mods it'll be a keeper for a good long time.

 

Hey Cappy Cap,

do those bigger tires stick outside of the wheel wells at all, or are they tucked in nice, no rubbing inside either? I feel these 2nd-Gen trucks are plenty wide without the fender 'blisters' and wouldn't want tires wide enough to need them. It's been kinda hard to find examples of 2wd trucks with non-stock tires to see how they fit - most tire threads here seem to drift toward 4wd and gigantic tires pretty quickly. Got pics of yours?

also, what do you mean by regearing?

 

Depends on how you intend to use your truck. Buyer's really have to narrow down how they will use their truck. I my case the wife had a full size 4x4, that returned piss poor gas mileage for little to no use of the 4x4 drivetrain. She did however use the pickup bed and extended cab with occasional light towing during the summer months.

I purchased a 4 banger 5spd access cab 2wd which addressed many of the short comings of the full size without seriously compromising how she uses the vehicle. Certainly, there are times when a wider bed or larger cab would be handy but not essential.

For folks considering a 4x4 purely because of inclement winter weather, look into a good set of snow tires. I watch with amusement every winter as 4x4 pickups/SUVs, AWD Subarus, and AWD Benz's and BMW's struggle on icy/snow covered roads because they have the wrong tire for conditions. A typical set of snow tires will cost $1000 to $1500 for our trucks, compare that to a 4x4 driveline which will set you back $2k to $3k and added maintenance expense associated with the system.

 

$1000 for snow tires.....

i priced them out on tirerack.com and the tires were $99 each.

anyways, i'm happy with mine. key is to look at what you want/need/budget when buying. mine met my needs/wants/budget.

 

I like my MPG too! I get between 23-25 MPG on the interstate, I drive 5 over the speed limit. I thought I might get MPG as low as 20 MPG, the lowest I've seen my ScanGauge read is 20.6 MPG with my current setup.