noob on here with Taco questions...

i know this isn't the intro forum, but i shall say "hello" to you guys anyhow, as i didn't feel like making two posts. my name is Cezar and i'm from CT, and have been itchin' to get a Tacoma for the past 3 years. my dad had one that he shipped to Poland in '98 for a while, and i think that one was a '95 or a '96. i loved that beast, learned how to drive stick on it and my heart still has a soft spot for it to this day.

i am looking for info on double cab, long bed Tacos. i like Tacomas because they really aren't as big as some trucks out there, (my friend just bought a f-350 and it's so effing big, and hell, even a f-150 is too big for what i need!). i also want a double cab because i am usually the person driving on trips and what not out of my friends and it would just be easier and more comfortable to have 4-doors...and 4-doors will be handy for when i finally get around to having children. i also like the long bed because the short bed just seems too small. i would def be hauling stuff from time to time, and the more room, the better.

i have a few specific questions pertaining to them as well...

-how are the DCLB's in the snow?
-do skiis and snowboards fit in the LB easily? if not, then up to what length does?
-why the hell would the DCLB not have a manual transmissiona as an option?
-how are they maintenance-wise? any major problems? i'm coming from owning a Jetta which i absolutely hate!

i wanna do as much research and get as much feedback as i can on these as i really wanna get one before September is over, and to be armed with some knowledge when i go to the dealership.

i'll ask any other questions i have as time goes on, i'm sure. any and all help would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

Welcome!

As for the LB, it's plenty long for skis and snowboards. I haul a lot of gear in mine. The cab is pretty comfortable for 4 full sized adults with no complaints. I have a car seat in mine and the kid is fine. He loves the truck and fits with no worries. It handles fine for me so far but I haven't driven it in the snow but I'm not worried at all. I've only had mine for 4 months so I can't really speak to maintaining it but I've had other Toyota's and they have been bullet proof if you take care of them.

 

Welcome!
No real issue with these Tacoma's. The LB has a 6' bed so I'm sure it will do the job. As for the snow? Depends on the tires you choose to put on that bad boy! But it will handle any condition you put it in, just as good if not better than any other truck out there.

Good Luck!

 

length and wheel baes doenst really make a big difference in the snow. Its about traction and the driver.

 

that's what i kinda figured, which is also weird that they don't make it stick shift.

 

In my area, seeing a stickshift tacoma is pretty rare... especially a DC tacoma. Most of the tacomas that ive seen with a manual gearbox are the absolute base RC models.

 

Not sure about the stick shift thing, or if you can order one that way. I have a Double cab short bed and I live in Pittsburgh, we had over 2 feet of snow last winter. So I get up to go to work and open my garage door to all of this mess, and my driveway is up hill to the st and wraps around the back of the house. So of course I park at the bottom not knowing all the snow is coiming cause the weather men said nothing of the sort. I really didn't want to shovel since I had to go to work. Sooo I attempted it. Nothing in the bed for weight and the shitty Rugged Trail tires (called Rugged Fails on here) and I actually made it half way up and it was that heavy wet stuff! I was impressed by the fact I made it that far. Long story short I shoveled the rest. Anyway it went great in the snow. The short bed is 5 ft and LB is 6 ft. So should be enough room for anything you need. Good Luck with it when you get it! And welcome to TW!

 

I am guessing sticks are slowly fading away. Few drivers know how to drive them properly.

 

on the Toyota site, there's an option to "build your toyota", and there is no option for a stick shift in a DCLB, yet there is in the DCSB. makes no sense to me.

i really want a stick more than anything for winter driving. i can do with out it for city driving, especially when driving home from the meadowlands after a Giants game. the GW Bridge traffic suuuuuuuuuuuuucks with a stick. i go up to VT/NH and Canada at times, and i'll go in a snowstorm if i gotta, as i live to snowboard in the winters, haha.

 

*bump*

 

the drive shaft for a DCLB manual would be too long, that's why its only an option on the SB. It really changed my truck option from a LB to SB since I really wanted a manual.

 

interesting, i had no idea.

i really want a manual too...but need the longer bed. after 9 years of driving, (legally), looks like i'll be rocking an auto for the firt time.

 

so any specific questions i should ask them at the stealership when i go to test drive one?

 

Yeah even if you can build, at the end of that it just takes you to a list of dealers with trucks that have a "close" match to what you want, i was at the local toyota dealership yesterday and there was only ONE stick tacoma, and it was a base RC.

 

The Double Cab is always the best choice.
Fitting four adults is no problem.
I used to always have a manual transmission, this one is a automatic
not missing the stick, but love the automatic starter i had installed with the automatic.
As far as snow, Replace the stock tires immediatly.
These trucks are outstanding 4-wheel drive machines straight from the factory.
There only limitations are the stock tires, they are for nice rides on the street.
I recommed the Goodyear Duratracs
Have had them a year so far and love them, better than my previous BFG AT
They are also snow rated and i kicked ass in the snow all winter long - buffalo snow!

 

thanks for that.

any all-seasons that work great in snow? or would it be wise justs to stick with strictly winter tires?

 

also...once you start messing with the suspension and what not, by lifting it and throwing tires on the rig, does the factory warranty get affected?

 

why move the topic here when it was questions about 2nd gen Tacomas?