Reg cab in the wild

Spotted this gem at the neighborhood watering hole last night(and mine way back there) and had to give the 1st gens some props. I'm always shocked at how good they look with just 31x10.5s on.

 

that rust tho.

 

He's in the corn belt, if the bed looks like that... I shudder to think of the frame

 

which watering hole was that?
i cannot say i have spotted this truck yet on the roads (It looks like this is Millard area?) 72nd area it is (there are so very very few around here from recent spotting)

its 'probably' ok... its NOT a '98 - 2oo4 model year that had the major issues with a different frame design, etc.

wish i knew if that was a 3.4 or not
rope hooks look like they were painted over

 

I do like a regular cab

 

i have to find out why this guy is not part of TW, need to locate the watering hole 1st

 

Hate to bust the bubble but just for the sake of keeping everyone's expectations in line. The 95-97 taco frames had the same problems, they were from the same alloy, from the same manufacturing plant, etc. If you yourself personally haven't noticed rust as bad on these years, then it's an anomoly or you just haven't seen enough of them. The reality is that they all share the same problems when submitted to the same factors and environments.

 

from my personal experience pounding the literal shit out of a wrecked 95.5 frame (could only reach the passenger side as it was half tipped over on the ground) at a local salvage lot recently that had surface corrosion all over it + rotted rockers, nothing but mighty ping ping ping and busted my arm doing it lol
.... to my relatives '98 that failed hammer test in 2o11 ... i have no clue!
it would be nice for ACCURATE data from Toyota motor corp to disprove this theory I have been formulating regarding the redesign of frames from 97 to 98 for the longer leafs

by ACCURATE data I mean the exact # of trucks bot back and crushed, model year, location(s) compare with those that frames were replaced. and aggregate all of that data and make a better model for interpretation

i understand that many factors can possibly play a role (examples include proper rustproofing at time of delivery, habitual and dedicated hosing of roadspray during the winters, etc.)
it just seems that most of the pics I have seen on TW are ALL from the 2oo1 - 2oo4 period
i have looked at some local for sale on used lots here recently from the early 2000s and they are totally caked in the rear on the inner part where the shocks mount, put my finger in those and the crusty flakes just come on out. I put my finger in mine and nothing but fine dirt/dust and sand comes out!
this issue is still under investigation! ...

 

It's already been investigated and we already have the conclusions, but go ahead and knock yourself out man

 

so where is the data and charts?
somewhere buried in TW forums?

 

It's scattered throughout the internets. Lots of us have gone on treasure hunts to find what we could. I didn't save any of it, I was researching out of curiosity.

 

The early ones, 95-97, that had rough frames were mostly bought back and crushed, not frame swapped. That's why you see fewer bad frames on those, if in fact you are seeing fewer bad frames on the early tacos. The Yota buy back wasn't really around near as long for the later first gens, as the latest campaign for those later gen frames that were rusting was frame swap and no more buy back going on.

 

There are a crap-load of first gens around South Carolina, very few of whom I see on here. I see several almost daily, random ones-not the same ones again & again.
The climate here is gentle to them.

 

you can add 98-2000? as well to the crushed ones?, for some reason all those model years were deemed NOT worthy to be saved

i am also researching out of curiousity to see exactly what I am needing to deal with going forward

there was a '97 for sale (somewhat locally ~70 miles away) with +300k iirc for about $2k that I went to take a look at a few months ago. It was most likely a farm truck from its area it was for sale in. It was snow covered in the back lot of a Ford dealer so all I could see was the back area by the tires. The frame area that I could see was covered in a layer of surface crust, as well as major body panel and bumper rotted holes. I would have thought with that amount + mileage it would have snapped in half already

from some of the pics I have seen on TW of 2oo1-2oo4 years I have not really noticed the associated body panel perforations that I would think would have to also be there, considering the metal in the panels is MUCH thinner than frames are?

this in turn leads me to hypothesize that these particular years have a significantly more sensitive rate of decay for some reason?

fwiw, my state and the surrounding states of IA,KS,MO,SD are deemed as NOT cold climate states or so I have found out recently and I am not sure what to make from that argument...

 

I would like better 'semi-official' data points, because local results are very confusing and are not adding up (to say the least)

what happened if you wanted to keep your truck and get new frame put onit?

 

with not a bit of assistance from corporate?

 

I do know my truck was made in California and has lived in Colorado its whole life and never had any
rust except some surface rust by the rear passenger shock support which is now sanded off and gone.
I think it’s all about location is the reason for these trucks getting rusted for the most part.

 

Mine looked about the same, had no wear or crusty on they and I use mine all the time.

 

So... the plural of anecdote is not data. What that means is that just because you saw a 95.5 that didn't have a rusted frame, that doesn't mean the early models had better frames.

The early models aren't any worse, or better than the later models. Even 2nd gens still have rust issues. As has been stated, the only reason you still see 2000-2004 models with rust is because the earlier ones were bought back and destroyed. After 2000, you could get the frame replaced.

Some 1st gens are actually STILL able to get a frame replacement under the extended warranty program, so that's what we are still seeing on the forums. At this point, it is only a few 2004's (it expires 15 years after in-service date) that still have even a slight chance to get the frame replaced.

If you haven't gotten your frame looked at or replaced within the last 20 years, you either live under a rock, or live in AZ or CA.

 

it had a rusty frame, but I could not find any perforations upon limited examination, i was fully expecting that hammer to go right on through as hard as I was hitting it all over (dammit my arm still hurts!) and the stories and pics seen on TW that continues to baffle me

so who knows, who knows? ... those that do need to furnish the pertinent data for safety sake if nothing else
i tried pressing the local dealer for some good deets but they are more clueless here than i am