My Tacoma Dilemma

I have never been at the point of trying to rip my steering wheel out but definitely spend a extra 10 minutes driving around and parking farther away then if I was driving a sedan. Now I dont have a rear view camera and I imagine I would be a bit more comfortable with spots that are a very tight squeeze if I had that to give me a better view of when I am going to hit the car behind me. I know I will park closer when I am driving a vehicle with a read view camera then one without.

 

I have a double cab long bed and I love everything about it. I actually think the the proportions of the long bed are much much better than DC short bed.

That said, parking is a complete bear. I don’t mean to bitch, I bought the truck after all, but the truck has a bad turn radius as-is and the long bed makes things just wonky. I sometimes see Tundra long beds and I’m like Eeeeeeeeehhhhhh. It’s easier to reverse into parking spots than nose in.

Would I buy this again? Yes, in a heartbeat. Long bed is awesome.

 

Nice chicken katsu plate avatar, that’s all I have to add to this.

 

Preach it! My wife and I spent a month in Ireland driving a right hand stick and it was a real eye opener. Roads in America are gigantic with slow speed limits, and most parking spaces are more than adequate.

The long bed is longer, but it isn't any wider. The truck still turns well, has good handling, and is small enough to qualify as a mid sized. If you really want to have your cake and eat it too, it might pay off to set up some cones in a parking lot and practice parallel parking, backing up, depth perception, ect. My wife and I attend track days in our car and it really increases our safety and preparedness on road during normal driving situations.

I'm not jealous , but I can understand not wanting to pack up and leave the ocean waves behind. We spent quite a bit of time on the west coast, and in Hawaii and the water is superb. Parking truly sucks , but it's doable.

Good luck to you

 

Valid point, I guess the other day I was pulling into my parking lot and there was a lot of cars in makeshift spots and I started thinking about how would’ve been a bit of a hassle with the big truck trying to maneuver and park in the in the open spot

My wife does have a Mazda 5 that we would use when going around town together and she would love driving the truck if I needed a smaller car but she’s not fond of me driving her car a lot haha. She says I’ll fuck it up

 

I have a DCLB and I live in Seattle. It has some pretty tight areas, but never had any big issues finding parking or getting through traffic.

 

Tacoma turning radius: 20’-22’
Wrangler: 17’-20’
Land Cruiser: 19’
Tundra: 22’-24’ (craaaaaaap)
Colorado: 20’-22.3’

The Tacoma is a beast to turn (worse than a Land Cruiser!). But interestingly the Colorado is worse, even without a long bed option.

 

That's cause it's a Chevy
Toyota and Ford till the end

 

You could do a bed rack and mount the surfboards on that.
A soft topper would address your sleeping needs.

 

I surf, ride a dirt bike and camp and went with the DCLB OR.
If I was going to be doing any serious wheeling the short bed is the way to go or if you're in a city area without parking.
Living by the beach for the past years you learn to never rent a place without a parking spot!


For now I walk to surf but every now and then I'll drive somewhere. My boards are 5-6 to 6-1 and one or two can fit in the front seat with it tilted back. Obviously no problem fitting them in the bed and the 8-0 would have no choice.


When I go camping and riding I wanted to fit gear and the bike with the tailgate closed so the bike goes in diagonally and cooler(s), water & gas jugs, camp stuff all fit. I usually put stuff in the back seat area but if you have a dog you won't want to do that.



How are you camping in the truck......sleeping in the cab??
I don't see how it can be done because the seats don't fold flat.
My 93 pathfinder was great for that....pull the front seat head rests, move the seat forward and it would fully recline so that it lined up with the rear seat. I thought for sure that the taco would be able to do the same, oh well.

 

Yep DCLB with Topper, and don't look back.

 

Truly only you can determine the right configuration for you. I have an Access Cab. My dog loves the platform I built for him, needed a 6 foot bed to haul stuff and I can count on one hand the number of times a 2 legged person has ridden in the back seats in the past 3 years.

 

Yes! I was living in Long Beach with no parking for awhile, and that plus price was why I ended up with the Mazda 3 but I wanted a truck. Kinda glad I didn’t get one then and am getting one now as the 3rd gen Tacoma has been the first truck that I truly loved since 80s-90s Tacoma’s and fords

Camping, we’re sleeping in the bed not the cab. Not too fond of putting boards in the cab. I wanna be able to just toss them in wet and sandy and pull them out easy too. Also road tripping and camping in somewhere like Ojai and surfing Ventura is something I’d be doing a lot

 

Do you put a tent in the bed or just open air?

I keep my boards in socks to keep the sun off them, but they fit in the bed fine. You can use a long bungee across so they don’t fly out.
If you get a short bed they’d fit diagonally or a bit over the tailgate if you have other crap in the bed.

I would rather have the short bed (parking, 4x4ing, looks) but hauling the bike is job 1.

 

The access cab rear jump seats only good for small children and dogs. Adults won't fit comfortably or at all. No leg room. If you occasionally need to transport 3 people, don't get the access cab.

 

If you're worried about the size of the truck, you will get used to it. I have a double cab long brd and I go on narrow windy forrest trails that a full size truck cannot go. Driving in cities is not difficult in this truck. The tacoma was the biggest thing I ever drove before I jumped in a Peterbuilt 335 service truck for work, but after a few weeks, I could navigate busy roads through cities easily.

 

For me, dealbreakers were 4x4, manual transmission, and 6’ bed. Those constraints forced me into a Sport Access Cab when I would have preferred an OR. I love my Sport though and am in the process of making it more off-road capable.

I live in Montana, but spent all of January and February visiting family in LA. Parking was so difficult, I would avoid going out at all costs, and when I had to I would try to switch cars with my brother and drive his Accord. I can’t imagine what it would be like with a DCLB.

Also when it comes down to doing truck stuff, if I wanted a big truck, I’d want something with full size towing and payload capacity. Probably diesel as well. I got the Tacoma because I wanted something smaller to take camping but also do some work if needed.

I’ve had the truck for a year and have taken a passenger maybe 5 times? It’s always just me and my dog. If I was a more social person I may have considered the DC, but personally I’ll take a motorcycle for my next LA visit to avoid all that parking BS!

 

I test drove the DCLB, they just feel awkward to me. I've had a Tundra Crew Cab, so parking the Tacoma wouldn't be an issue, I just don't like how the DCLB drives and handles. The rear seats in the double cab are not much use for normal size adults, but fine for kids and smaller people, or normal size people for very short trips. If you would rarely use it anyway, I'd do the Access Cab, get a topper and be happy.

 

DCSB with any good bed rack that will allow for surfboard mounts. Tons of rack and surfboard options on the market. The Thule rack seems to be the rack of choice in Hawaii.

Hard topper should be considered.

 

DCLB Master race UNITE!