Tacoma reconfig idea. A real crew cab

A nice 4wd small truck is not only really hard to find around here, they bring a fortune. That was a big consideration for buying new. I’m getting too old and lazy to be working on my stuff all the time. With folks doing so many intense modifications, doing the rebuild of an older truck seems reasonable. I turned around on a blackberry engulfed trail the other day because my truck is too shiny. I nearly did it anyway but my 5yo grandson looked at me with a stern stare and carefully annunciated “DOOOO NOT, SCRATCH THIS TRUCK”. not sure if he sees himself inheriting one day or what, it really surprised me!

 

Terrible idea. Awful idea. Worst. Idea. Ever.

Adding more passenger space increases the chance that I might actually have to share the truck with passengers* and that sounds like unacceptable risk to me.

*Dog is truck-buddy, NOT a passenger

 

You could Air B&B that sucker!

 

That is the problem I am facing. Way more money than I want to put out. I would honestly be content finding one with a good frame/body and replacing the engine, just to have a smaller truck again but I haven't found one that the cost would have made sense to me yet. I also need to have more space in my garage so I can actually work on it before I make the purchase as I need to keep the one I have at least until I have that running again.

As for the point of this thread, adding more room is the wrong direction IMO. If I wanted more room, I wouldn't have been looking at a "mid-size" truck.

 

That's because you can't believe anyone would have a different idea of using a truck than you!

Best thing they did was to add four doors and there are a lot of people in the world that like them too....

To each his own, but at least they can have their own!

 

In my opinion, they need to just offer more options. There is every size of SUV out there. You can get a small hatchback that is similar to an SUV all the way up to a full-size truck size - and about 10 steps in between. But when it comes to a truck you get large and larger. Can't at least one of the companies fit a 80s/90s size pickup into their lineup again?

 

Ford has stated that they're working on exactly that.

 

I haven't followed ford much after I was disappointed with the Ranger re-release. I get that regular cab owners are the minority, but there are a lot of companies that sell low number configurations of some vehicles. Heck, I'd be happy with a smaller size access cab. I just more want a smaller footprint for how I use the truck. My 93 Ranger was a reg-cab, 6 foot bed. My step-son had a (slightly newer) access cab, 6 food bed and it was barely larger than what I had. The specific cab configuration is less of a concern to me than wanting the smaller footprint while still having access to the bed for the stuff I don't want to put into my wife's SUV. I'll have to check out what Ford is doing again I guess although I'm not thrilled with their eco-boost engine line.

 

HAHA! I had typed that line about regular cab owners like 3 hours ago, then decided to not post it because I'm working on my negativity lol. I guess it stuck itself back in my post when I replied to you. Completely unintentional.

And I'm with you. I'd love another regular cab truck (I've owned a few). But hey, I also love my kids and it's illegal to strap them to the fenders when tooling around town.

Anyway...Ford has a Bronco coming that will compete with and is sized almost identically to the 4Runner. They've also got a "Renegade-sized" baby Bronco on the way. They've also stated that they're bringing out an actual compact truck. Pretty sure the assumption on that one is that it's going to be a unibody though.

 

btw if mileage/price isn't an issue you might as well look at the Tundra Crewmax cab. I didn't really look at the Crewmax but the double cab short bed, which I think is on the same base as the crewmax?, is about 228.9 inches long, just three or four more than the Tacoma DCLB bed. So you'd get a bigger bed (5.5 feet) and more interior space for just a couple of inches more than a Tacoma on a DCLB base but with a five foot bed.

Here are the specs of the trucks I was considering this time around last fall. Where rear seat room and comfort were major factors. Having a bigger bed than what I had before was also a nice to have.


Frontier crew cab short bed:
width 72.8
height 70.1
length 205.5
turning radius 43.3
rear seat legroom 33.6
bed height 18

Frontier crew cab long bed:
width 72.8
height 70.1
length 219.4
turning radius 47.5
rear seat legroom 33.6
bed height 18

first gen Tundra double cab:
width: 79.3
height 74.4
length 230.1
turning radius 47
rear seat legroom 37.5
bed height


First gen Titan crew cab short bed:
width: 79.5
height 76.3
length 224.6
turning radius 45.4
rear seat legroom 40.4
bed height

Tundra double cab short bed:
width: 79.9
height 76.4
length 228.9
turning radius 44
rear seat legroom 34.7
bed height

Tacoma third gen long bed crewcab:
width: 74.4
height 70.6
length 225.5
turning radius 44.1
rear seat legroom 32.6
bed height

Ridgeline first gen
width: 77.8
height 70.3
length 206.9
turning radius 42.6
rear seat legroom 36.4
bed height

Ridgeline second gen
width: 78.6
height 70.8
length 210
turning radius 44.4
rear seat legroom 36.7
bed height

2018 RAM 1500 Crewcab short bed: 5'7
width:
height 77.5
length 229"
turning radius
rear seat legroom 40.3
bed height

2018 RAM 1500 Crewcab long bed:6'4
width:
height 77.5
length 237.9
turning radius
rear seat legroom 40.3
bed height

2018 RAM 1500 Quadcab: 6'4
width:
height 77.7
length 229
turning radius
rear seat legroom 34.7
bed height



Colorado Long bed
width: 74.3
height 70.5
length 224.9
turning radius 44.6
rear seat legroom 35.8
bed height

 

I have a Tundra Crewmax now. It's a monster to park lol

 

The first gen tundra 4 door was the sweet spot. 6ft bed and more leg room than the Tacoma. That is the style the need to bring back.

 

I almost spit out my lunch with laughter.

I did not see that coming!

 

they could have taken a foot from the front of the engine bay. and moved the seats up a bit.

 

If you would leave your wife alone...there is plenty of room for 2 people in a taco.

 

Was that supposed to say "...leave your wife at home?...

 

How about no one rides in the back seat? I only bought a double cab so i'd look friendly for single moms, dog moms to be specific.

 

***
No. Get off of her...
Or, put wife and stuff in the truck bed and kids/dog in the cabin. We all know many wives deserve "open air ride".

 

I want