Considering a 3rd Gen Taco, want some advice...

I came over from a 11 Ranger, tho mine was an fx4 4x4 and had a very different experience with it than yours from the sounds of it. It was a very solid tight truck, no rattles, ran like a top, was very rugged. It did not have the power or transmission of the Tacoma, this is the biggest difference, and I'm speaking MT to MT here not AT.

There's so many differences I'd really have to say go and test drive like the guys above have said. It's a very different vehicle from the Ranger.

 

6'4" here and it's all good.

 

@West_Pac I see you found my truck! I'm going to start from the top.

Ride quality is great, with King shocks and adjusters I can adjust my shocks to the terrain and how I like it. Stock the TRD offroad suspension was not bad at all. A little on the softer side compared to a sport but still smooth and nice especially if you will be keeping it stock.

Power steering is fine, no issues. Offroading in narrow spots takes a little more effort but I'm also on 35s. My wheel/tire combo weigh 100+lbs so it's expected. Some people have had issues with theirs but besides what I stated it's just fine.

The cabin in the 3rd gen is really nice and slick. I like how modern it is compared the 2nd gen. I'm only 5'6 so I don't have issues with height. Also be aware I have the tech/premium package with sunroof. My buddy is like 6'1 and his head scrapes my roof. We have the same truck but he has without sunroof and his head has a few inches. So I recommend sitting in one with and w/o sunroof.

The headlights are fine and easily upgradable. I installed some led lights which changed the color but the throw was the same. The projector lenses are really nice so if going hid you don't have to worry about blinding people because they cut off at the top.

Safety is solid on the new Tacoma. Tons of airbags. Watch safety vids on them. Or even the airborne metallic grey 3rd gen that was stolen and launched it about 100ft. Guy survived.

Stock I had no creaks but now with aftermarket stuff it creaks all the time. Just one thing you have to get used to I guess. A lot of it is preventable with a lot of maintenance. Also be aware of the little fixes which this site has quite a few threads on (speaker squeak, front body mount clunk, east coast gear supply needle bearing eliminator)

So I've essentially answered most questions but the number one answer like stated before is take a extended test drive. Make a list of all the known issues with these trucks and see if you like it. Don't get caught up in the looks and gotta have it mentality. Take note of the transmission and can you get used to it. That would be the biggest downfall about the 3rd gen in my opinion.

Let's talk tires. If you want to keep the driveability stay with tall and skinny 255s. You can still get the overlander look with some new wheels and this tires measure out to a 33. Intake won't do anything besides make more noise. It sounds faster but it does not feel faster. Regearing won't be necessary and you'll still keep decent mileage.

My specific configuration. I get 12mpg on a good day. If you want a fully built Tacoma with steel bumpers, skids, rock sliders, 35s, roof top tent you are not getting good mileage PERIOD. I am regeared to 488s and that fixed my issues with not seeing 5th and 6th gear. I recommend for you to go aluminum with 255s. It weighs significantly less and you are still armored.

Lighting I touched on but directional lighting... it's a truck not a Mercedes. Get offroad lighting if you think you'll need it. DONT RUN IT ON THE ROAD like a lot of people do.

Lastly what I love about my truck. There is not a single one like it. I made my truck unique its it's own way. Very similar to tons and tons of other builds but this one is different. I take pride in all the work I've done on it, yes lots of bolt-on parts but also fabricated a few things as well.

I feel like I've touched everything. If you have any questions please PM me. Also my build thread is in my signature. Gives a better breakdown of my build vs that link. Beware these trucks are money pits and once you start you can't stop haha

-Mike

 

It is the same Cab as a 2nd Gen but is made with much better high strength Steel, the guy's that complain are talking about head room with a Sunroof, I am 5'-10" and have no issues.

 

After two years, I have just a few gripes. The auto transmission is ok. You get used to the shifting style, but if I didn't have a wife that needed an auto, I would definitely get the manual. Another thing.... the seat has minimal adjustments. I wish I could adjust the forward/backward adjustment in smaller increments. I still can't get 100% comfortable with it. I need to be in between two notches. Just unlucky in my leg length. Everything else is great. Those are my only two gripes. The ride is amazing in the Sport, I feel like it drives like a car.

 

You'll have to test drive it. If your Ranger is clean with relatively low milage for its age, don't give it away on trade in! A lot of people still want a basic compact truck and they have held their value.

 

6'4" here. No problems. And, my name is Greg too! At 55 yo this is a comfortable truck. I drive 30K miles a year and so far i am fine comfort wise. A lot of my miles are for work but a lot of my miles are for play too.

A month ago i drove 11 hours to ride on the Santos trails in Ocala. Last week i mixed business and fun and rode the US National Whitewater trails in Charlotte. Yesterday i rode local. Yes, this is a perfect truck for me, and I get to shift gears again! A few pics:

 

I'm not a Ford fan boy but I did buy new a 04 2wd 5 speed 4 cylinder ranger back in the day. With that said, that 2wd ranger was the best riding rig on gravel logging roads.

I like my 3rd gen Tacoma, mine has a 6 speed manual. Only issues are, no power below 2k RPMS.

With stock wheels I had no problems getting 20 mpg. Any speed over 70 mph and mpg goes way down.

 

when you are this particular and uncompromising (like me), then - in my opinion - you need to simply identify the shortcomings and fix them.

i didn't like the ride, so i tweaked and tuned my suspension.

the headlights sucked, so i replaced them.

the seat was uncomfortable, so i modified it.

the motor's factory tune was beyond awful, so i went to an aftermarket tune.

the list goes on and on in my case. the truck is damn near perfect now although I'm still modifying away. it's one of the most mod-friendly vehicles you can buy. so get busy and make it right for you.

and by the way, I'd say the Toyota steering system is one of the best in the business. my 0.02.

 

I love mine. 18K miles in less than a year. Get a sport if you do mostly road travel, off road if that's your thing. Get shift-sense pro to make the trans shift like it should. Then start modding the things you want. This truck is not perfect, but which one is? No one builds the perfect vehicle for everyone.

I could not care less about electric seats. How often do most people move their seats?
The stock lighting is fine for most normal owners. Most of us on here wren't normal.
Fuel economy is ok for a truck. If you want to hypermile, buy a prius.
If you want leather and electronic gizmo's, bet a limited or Pro, or Mercedes.

This truck is leaps and bounds ahead of a 2000's ranger. Read up on some of the tacoma real world crash threads on here. This thing is impressive in collisions. It is the main reason I own one. The little princess is worth it.

 

Bro I didn’t know you were a writer...Holy shit!

 

Hey people, new to the site here. I’m from Wpg, Mb. Canada. I currently drive a ‘15 Sierra. Have had full-size all my life. Maybe time to downsize as we sold the house, bought a condo and lake front cottage. I’m thinking of a ‘18 model tra sport dbl cab long box with the upgrade package but because we go to the lake every weekend, I would put a cap on the back like a Leer also a mild 2-3” level lift with larger tires. Just wondering if anyone else has gone from full-size to a Tacoma? Regrets? Best move ever? Room and power? Etc. Looking forward to any advice and maybe some pics.
Thx

 

133k miles on the clock, but it's in pretty good shape. I paid $9.5k (cad) for it in december '16. No idea what resale value will be. Honestly it's likely to be a hassle to sell it because the AC has a leak, it needs new fender flares, and a few other small fixes to get some lights off the dash (TPMS and check engine light from a thermostat code).

I will likely keep it as a work truck for now and maybe further down the line sell it to buy something I can use for plowing customer driveways in the winter (I run a landscaping company).

I definitely looked into possibly trading in my truck against a Taco but the monthly didn't change much and would leave me without a work truck, meaning I'd have to use the Taco for work which isn't how I want to use it. Going forward I really want to have separate work and personal trucks.

I think this is the thing for me. Electric seats are nice but I have a Ranger, just having something that doesn't feel like it's going to shake itself apart going down the road is going to feel "luxe" to me. I don't feel like it's something I need or a deal breaker for not having it.

I definitely don't want or expect it to be a mercedes, that has never really appealed to me, I'm just done with "cheap".

That's something that I had not really considered going into this, but since I started considering the Taco and just looking at what's available it's become apparent to me that this thing is on par with (or maybe even exceeds) the Wrangler in terms of how much aftermarket support it has.

That's a completely new scenario to me because the aftermarket support for the Ranger is almost nonexistant. The 4x4 Ranger has 1 four inch suspension lift kit, 1 three inch body lift kit, a few torsion keys and leaf spring options, and that's really about it.

Honestly the Taco's massive aftermarket support has become probably it's biggest selling point for me now, next to looks and safety. The fact that I can make it whatever I want means that it doesn't really matter so much what issues it may have.

Well thank you so much for jumping in with your experiences! I love the look of your truck and it's definitely inspired me to build something similar.

I get what you're saying about 255's, but I actually really dislike skinny tires, just as a personal taste thing. Right now I have 31x10.5R15's and I find myself wishing they were a bit beefier. IMO 12.5's and wider are the "perfect" off-road width. I'm not really worried about gas mileage, I was more curious to see what people got. 4.88 gears would be definitely something I'd be putting in when 35's go on.

I've got your build thread open in another tab and will favorite that for later review. I'm sure there's a lot in there that I can learn.

 

I am 6'2 coming from a Saab 9-5 Sportcombi. It has lots of legroom and head room. So the Tacoma has great left foot room so you can stretch your left leg out on long trips. For me that is a big deal. Headroom is not as good as the Saab, but it doesn't have height adjustable seats. I can sit in the Taco with a sunroof and not hit my head. I can't wear a hat but in the big scheme, that's minor.

 

This is my first Tacoma, purchased new in October after spending the last 12 years in a lifted/modified Jeep Wrangler. I've owned a number of trucks prior to that but any comparisons to the older truck models would be meaningless.

I was looking for a mid sized truck that could, at a minimum, handle light off-roading, light towing, the interstate, city traffic, and be a dump hauler yet still have a respectable amount of tech and be a comfortable ride (as in my wife would willingly ride in it) - all at a reasonable price. This truck meets or exceeds each of those requirements. I have not had the transmission issues nor the howl from the rear end that some have reported. So far, anyway.

There are a few things that I do not like though none are deal breakers:

• Entune. It took me about a week to figure out that using bluetooth was the way to go for navigation and music and it has worked well without any issues.
• Stereo system. The sound system that came with my tech package is...well...unimpressive. There is thread here about replacing the tweeters with a pair of Subaru tweeters. It's only a $100 fix and many seemed pleased with the results. Mine are on the way.
• Gas mileage. I'm averaging 14.7 combined as of this post. I use the ECT button on occasion and I live in the mountains. I do expect that it will improve somewhat as the weather warms up and I'm not driving in snow. That, and a few more miles on her wouldn't hurt, either. It's a truck so I'd be happy if I get 17-18 over the long haul.

Things that pleasantly surprised me:

• Double cab. I was looking for an access cab originally. Glad I couldn't find one at that time. Having four doors has been very, very convenient.
• Short bed. When I drove it off of the lot I was a little concerned about the five foot bed and my ability to haul things. Hasn't been an issue yet except that it takes away the option of a bed tool box for me.
• Sun/Moon roof. I didn't think that this would make up for a topless Jeep and although it's not exactly the same, I love that thing in good weather.
• Power. It simply has not been an issue. I can load her up and drive up to 8500' feet no problem. It's not my wife's 3.6l Subaru in terms of speed and acceleration, but it gets the job done.
• Appearance. Of the new trucks I test drove the Taco was easily the best looking of the lot.

If money was no object I suppose I'd be driving a Raptor. But it is, and I am extremely pleased with my decision.

 

Compared to the 2nd Gen, it feels as if the 3rd Gen has a much better turning radius. Having to do U-turns is a much simpler task now. Also, there is this one tight turn on the 27 where I couldn't help but run wide with the 2nd Gens. I always had a hard time staying between the lines, thus having to lay off the gas in that particular area. Never gave up trying, LOL. In the same area, the 3rd Gen can maintain a slightly higher speed without letting off the gas, but drive right between the lines with no problems. It handles very well for a truck. And btw, the 2nd Gen on the curves was no slouch either.

Overall, road performance in the canyons is not quite like what my lowered 63 Chevy C10 Apache stepside had, but it's dang close and I think the Taco looks just as cool.

 

Interesting but perhaps not surprising. The FX4 trim had much nicer bilstein shocks and heavier springs, so right out the gate it will ride better than any other trim level. There were also some interior changes made in 2010 where they introduced side curtain airbags, which may have at the same time addressed some fit and finish issues. It also would've been 2 years newer than my truck and sometimes that can make all the difference. My truck was also in an accident of unspecified nature at some point, which a bodyshop did an okay-ish job of repairing. This may have affected things.

The only thing I know for sure is my personal experience and how my truck compares to others. I drive a lot of different trucks for my job. I've driven three different configurations of F350 ('04 long bed crew cab dually, '09 long bed crew cab SRW, '95 long bed regular cab), a 2k F450 dump truck, an '08 GMC Sierra 1500, a '15 Ram 1500, and a '12 Ram 1500. I also live in a city that's pretty bad for potholes. All of them except the '95 handled potholes better than my truck. Even when towing heavy trailers, heavy loads in the bed, with plows on the front, and/or salters in the back. I've also test driven a '17 Nissan Frontier Pro4x, which despite being a 12 year old platform, also handled better than the Ranger.

They're still a great cheap 4x4 truck, and if that's what someone wants then cool, but personally I just can't live with mine anymore.

 

My 2nd Gen 2014 I sold felt like a bucking horse compared to my smooth 3rd gen.
3rd Gen tows faster up same grade 2nd Gen tried to.
And it kicks a in passing much faster than 2nd because of 18 % more hp.
And gone is the Fisher price interior and outdated exterior looks.
No regrets.
All gens had squeaky leafs. My first gen 20 years ago did too. Fix it.
Gas cap holder ? Really.

 

Test drove a 3rd in the mountains it had a very hard time maintaining speed in the fast lane. Honestly shifted 20 times up a 5 mile stretch no exaduration(automatic).litterally jerking us back and forth like a bucking horse lol trying to find gears. With no weight it had a hard time climbing inclines with stalk tires. It shifted so much on my test drive my gf said this is miserable. She’s use to mobing up mountains 2000rpm at 90 mph fully loaded in the 4.0 the new engine is really lacking power or not converting it with the transmission. I Have money for a new one but imma hold off. They will fix this problem. If you you put lipstick on pig it’s still a pig my dad used to say lol they sure look nice.

 

No advice?