Long-bed vs Short-bed

Thanks, ordered me one up!

 

I knew that I would not be off-roading for the most part so I went with the DCLB. You can still obviously take them off-roading, I've seen plenty of awesome LB rigs

 

I think you'll like it but recommend going with thicker tape than supplied.

Here's a pic for where I placed it or you could remove the V6 badge and place it there.

Old FJs had them on either side depending on rear mounted spare tire location.

 

Personally, I would like a longbed, but if I were to go that route, I'd just go full-size. A full size 1/2 ton truck is only 7" longer than DCLB.

And for all those bragging about their ruffneck lifestyle, maxing out payload and towing capacity all the time (yeah right), what's in your bed right now? A bed mat? Ok, thanks.

 

I do this every weekend, don't need to remove the toolbox to do it.

Tailgate stays up so the backup camera still works too.

Might not be heavy but it's handy as hell.

 

Yup, you're absolutely right--I hit Moab several times a year and those trips, and if I had to haul bikes in the bed, I would definitely want a long bed. But truth be told, I much much prefer a hitch rack to a bed mount on those trips. Main reasons is ease of load/unload, security. Then it leaves the whole bed open for gear.

Tailgate mat works well, too. No need to remove the front wheel.

It's all personal preference. I just don't have the need for a 6' bed enough to justify driving around a truck almost as long as a full-size truck all the time. For those occasions where a SB just won't work, I'll go rent a trailer.

 

DCLBFTMFW

 

Nope, my bedmat is for sale. I don't subscribe to the theory of hauling expedition gear everywhere I go, but I like having the room for more than a cooler, tent and a kitchen box when it's time to go. And my Tacoma gets beat up enough with the size it is. A full size would not cope as well. And they don't make a full size tacoma.

 

Right

 

Went with SB for the looks

 

That looks a lot like a Tundra.

 

Badass Truck. Double Cab Tundra is the equivalent of the Tacoma Access Cab.

 

Just this weekend I was reminded how much I love the double cab long bed. Took a 4 hour road trip to go skiing. The long bed swallowed up all the ski gear and clothing for myself and two others with no problems and the skis/board laying nice and straight. Even the double cab is a little cramped with three people for four hours... can't even imagine the access cab. Not the most loaded up it's ever been but a solid reminder I made the right choice for me.

As far as the full size/mid size debate... I occasionally find myself envious of all that extra space in a full size until I stand next to one. Just WAY too big. The Taco is definitely the right size for me. I come from a non-truck family and have non-truck friends, everyone calls my Tacoma "Huge".

 

I'm an avid skier as well (before I had kids anyway!) and even my 191's fit in the back of a short bed, although diagonal. I think eventually, I will probably end up getting a shell and getting a ski box up top. I could still fit the skis in the bed without issues, but with plans to build a shelf/drawer in the bed, ski box is a good solution.

 

Manual tranmission was the lady in the red dress for me.

 

Yup yup. I definitely wouldn't recommend someone buy a long bed just to fit skis. But it is really nice having all that space to keep things back there semi-organized and not have to pile things on top of each other. Although I have definitely had enough stuff back there to play tetris! For me, a huge part of having a truck at all was to be able to fit a bunch of stuff back there easily. I used to have a subaru and it was a struggle fitting everything. Although again, I have to admit, now I just bring more toys lol.

 

Has anyone tried a custom order? A manual, DCLB would be awesome.

 

Tried last year. Toyota does not make a manual in an DCLB. Believe me I tried...they still don't!

 

I have and like the double cab/ short bed. I think it looks better, I don’t need a large bed, I needed the larger back seat, and it keeps people from asking to borrow my truck! I knew a guy with a BSP double cab long bed that was lifted and it looked amazing!