Tacoma reconfig idea. A real crew cab

I miss the size of my 1982 Toyota p/u......standard cab with a long bed......bring back a TRUE mini pick up......and that 22RE motor was a dog but bullet proof!!

 

I see this monster in town every so often. It's even bigger than it looks.

 

“I’m just gonna pop a quick H on here so everyone knows there’s hornets in here”

 

When I saw this topic I wondered how long it would take the Ridgeline guy to show up.

 

my version would be to remove the 1 foot space between the front bumper
and radiator and add that to the short bed. now you have a usable
long bed dc truck that will fit in your garage.

 

I thought it was a race to see who could be first....

 

Regular cab with long bed, V6, and 4WD would be my preferred configuration.

 

They make those still, just not Toyota’s. You can get an F150 that way all day, with turbos even!

 

if you're not first, you're last

 

Before I used to think an ideal truck for me would be a Tacoma Crewmax truck, extend the crew cab on the current DCLB base but leave a five foot bed, and kept hoping Toyota would come out with one.

Funny thing is that the third gen Tacoma is about a foot longer than my previous truck, taking out the foot difference between the five and six foot beds where it's actually a two foot difference, but has less interior room than my previous truck. Where Toyota has the least rear seat legroom in the market when I looked. This was before the Gladiator and Ranger came out.

Even the first gen Tacoma had more rear seat legroom than the current Tacoma.

So I don't think it would take that much effort for Toyota to increase the rear seat room to be a bit more useable. Another user on here mentioned it was the underseat bed storage or something that took away the rear seat legroom. I'm not asking for something like crewmax/minivan like spacing. But I think giving 36 inches in the rear legroom would be the sweet spot.

As it stands now, sometimes I wonder if I really need a DCLB. One of the main things that keep me from switching is remembering how when I used to curse the five foot bed I used to have every once in a while. Where it didn't make sense to have to deal with the hassles of owning a truck and having it not do what I needed it to easily. So that would be even more the case if I had to deal with the size of a DCLB base and a five foot bed. If I'm dealing with a five foot bed, the truck better be small and easy to maneuver.

I think if a manufacturer ever came out with a smaller crew cab pickup with decent interior space or a short bed access/quad cab full size, I'd definitely consider trading in the Tacoma after that truck is out for several years and has proven to be a reliable and good truck.

My previous truck with about 34" rear legroom was our primary family hauler for a while. And the need for rear seat room is supposed to get better as the kids move out of the rear facing/convertible car seats. Which is one of the reasons why the Tacoma is working for us now as the primary family hauler with the kids in forward facing seats now. Well I guess until they get adult size. So I don't think Toyota has to increase the size of the Tacoma to make the interior room more useable.

 

These people may be able to help you out...
http://stretchmytruck.com/

 

If I ever found a good condition, mid-90s ford/toyota truck in a decent price I would probably buy it. I love my truck, but it is bigger than what I really need for how I use it. I had a Ranger in the 90s and thought it was the perfect size. Wish I never got rid of it.

 

I would have bought that truck! Having said that and remembering that I am new to 4x4s, I have been impressed by the stock approach and break over capabilities. Departure angle is the place I seem to have the most issue. I’m planning for this to be a 10-20 year truck for me and I am likely going to push too far at some point.

 

But why stop there? Let's see a 4th row option as well so I can fit a monkeytruckin jacuzzi in there.

 

My first Toyota truck (All I've ever had were Toyota Trucks) was a '88 Regular Cab. Not enough space inside! My second Toyota truck was a '93 Extra Cab V6 5sp, still not enough space inside, but it was better than the '88! My third was a '04 Tacoma DCSBTRDOR. Best truck to that date...

Now I have a '16 Tacoma Limited 4x4. I wished the back seat was a little bigger (it seems like the '04 was?), but I still like it a lot! And no, I really wouldn't want it that much bigger...an inch or two for the rear seat, but that would be it!

But you could always go this route!

https://jalopnik.com/for-9-000-this-1986-toyota-custom-cab-pickup-could-be-1782632376

 

We sold out 98 Ranger to help fund the Toyota. It has 130k miles, was is great shape and was as basic as could be. 4 cylinder, no cruise or power anything. It had a standard cab but no 4wd. If it had 4wd it would still be in the driveway. The new owner needed it, loves it and takes great care of it. That makes me happy. Now I have a “technology” package. I wonder how much of that stuff will work after after 2030

 

Get a van. The worst thing they did was make a pickup truck a 4 door and take a way the bed of the truck. Makes no sense to me.

 

I owned a 93, V6 manual, regular cab. I put almost 300k on it before I sold it and it was working great at the times still. I sold it because I started a family and needed more seats. Today I wish I had kept it and just bought a 2nd vehicle. I would have replaced the engine when the time came if needed. To this day, that is the favorite vehicle I've owned.

With the family, I do like my Tacoma. Big enough for everyone to fit when needed and I have a truck. However if we are planning a trip we take my wife's SUV, so I could get away with downsizing again.

Maybe someone will release a small truck again, or maybe I'll break down and get one I can rebuild.

 

Now that’s a Taco Bell Grande!