Was coming back to Tacoma, but what happened to the stick?

Fully loaded bed and max towing through Vermont's Green Mts I needed 1st gear and pissed a few people off behind me through a pass or two, but I was never in danger of failing. Still had power/RPM's to spare, it just was very slow ... no different than waiting behind a loaded Semi though.

Had it in Colorado fully loaded @ 8k ft, but not towing anything ... and I would NOT want to be in a situation beyond that. 2 people, 2 dogs and some hiking gear I was pretty much redlining in 2nd gear just to go up N. St Vrain from Lyons to Estes Park. I could not maintain the speed limit, but very gradual acceleration was possible.

That is really the only argument I have against it. Maxing out the GCWR at high elevation, it would probably get to where you're going but 99% would trade in after the experience if they had to do it regularly.

 

The companies want inexpensive but very reliable trucks... and so do we!

 

Huh. I live here, and routinely drive those roads with similar and heavier loads, including a shell and RTT, two dogs, and all sorts of camping gear, and am typically having fun driving in 3rd, nowhere near redline.

 

Maybe on some of the less curvy sections 3rd is okay, but it feels like accelerating in overdrive if RPM dips below 3500(which is 55mph). Either way, pretty lethargic at best in 3rd unless you are going too fast to stop given the load conditions. IME, those sections are not common. I found myself needing 2nd quite a bit to keep the traffic from piling up behind me.

The short 2 lane passing sections helped with that.

Have you driven at low elevation?

Edit: I had the width of the bed from cab to wheel well stacked with a few hundy of firewood as well.

 

A bone stock 4 door is not hideous!

 

They are if they’re blue and a sport

 

Not me. The double cab is just plain ugly to me, and I prefer a manual both for simplicity and for off roading.

Costs less, gets better mileage. The 2.7 is all you will ever need to get through the mud or snow.

 

I have both, both are manuals, both 4wd, and both trucks are almost modded up the same. The 2.7 gets almost the same MPG as my 3.5 v6.

V6 18.5 MPG avg
I4 19 MPG avg

Stock MPG was not much better than what I posted.

 

I had one and ran it hard, many out of state hunting trips pulling several different small trailers. 1985 4x4 SB, 22R, 5sp MT with AC:

I sold it after about 286,000 miles. Then bought the 2002 Tacoma V6, 5sp MT in my avatar, had to travel 3.5hrs to buy it but it was well worth it. Now in 2019 I might buy a 3rd gen Tacoma Access Cab with a V6, MT tomorrow AM.

Believe me you will like the V6 with a MT, plenty of power and if the going is steep or rough drop her down to L4 and 1st or 2nd gear.

And there are Access Cabs with MTs available, trust me. You just have to find the right sales person or you can special order one.

 

I had a 2006 2nd Gen Tacoma Access Cab V6, 4x4, MT and loved it (RIP). Now I have a 2016 3rd Gen Tacoma Access Cab V6, 4x4, MT.
You won't regret buying this truck. It's a matter of time before the MT disappears.

 

This is what happened to the “stick”.
Manual transmissions account for just 2 percent of all vehicles sold in 2018, according to data from Edmunds.com

 

Just drove over Monarch Pass with a similar load tonight and yeah I did dip into second on a few of the turns. That said, never came anywhere near redline. If the road had been dry I probably would have been going fast enough to stay in third.
Truck has been down near sea level once in its life, has spent much more time above 7k than below 1k. And yeah, firewood is heavy.

 

I would just keep looking and try an earlier model year. I was able to find my hideous gem of a MT truck in a sea of cheap looking access cab Tacomas on my dealer’s lot. Just have to look hard enough.

 

Jealousy makes this chick magnet that much more appealing.

 

I miss my 2nd gen, 5spd,2.7L,4x4,totaled.I bought a 2018 loaded Sport with a manual, I like it, but still miss the simpler 2nd gen.

 

I nearly bought a 2010 2.7L 5spd Access cab SR5 4x4. Great truck if you ask me, ended up buying a 2010 4.0L 6spd King cab Frontier Pro-4x.

 

If MPG’s and trucks are mentioned in the same sentence, probably shouldn’t be talking about trucks.

 

Sounds like the guy wants to get a cheaper base model truck that's 4x4. If they still made the model he's looking for it would be about 25k for the truck. Now if you want a manual you have to get the trd sport or whatever that cost about 35k and comes with all the options and an unproven engine.

 

With steps, for the big girls.

 

You have never experienced a slow Toyota until you owned a 6,000+ pound 22RE Toyota motor home! It never failed to get me where I was going and got a fairly consistent 12-13 MPG but by God it was slow!