Anyone miss your full size truck after buying a Tacoma?

Good question, but I’m not sure whether it would help or not. My previous truck was a 2015 Canyon, pretty much the same wheels and tires, but it was more planted on the highway. It did ride lower, and had a front air dam though, maybe that made the difference.

 

You could lower in the rear to level. Add weight. Would help to combat being thrown around by gusts of wind.

 

I hadn't notice the wind issue with a load throwing the truck around coming from a larger tundra nor unloaded, but i would expect the larger size tires to carry a heavier load.

 

I don't think wider has any affect. My power struggle was multiplied when I recently added 235 85 16 Toyo Open Country At3's. They are about 12lbs heavier than stock per tire. I can really feel the difference. I still love my truck and didn't buy it to go fast. However, I also carry about 250-300 lbs of gear in the bed when I'm travelling, or pull a 5x10 trailer with an ATV and the struggle is real haha.

 

I had a 2001 Dodge Cummins 4x4 with long bed and what we would call an "Access Cab". Interestingly enough, I actually have more drivers leg room in my Tacoma than the Dodge did. I do miss having a full 8' bed, compared to the 5' bed I have now. And I absolutely miss the sound, and almost unlimited power I had in the Cummins, and both trucks get/got almost the same fuel mileage (16.5 in the Dodge, 18 in the Tacoma). But I absolutely love my Tacoma. In a perfect world, I would still have my Dodge, and the Tacoma, both

 

I have missed the larger bed when hauling a lot of something. I miss the sound of my Ram's engine and the stereo. I don't miss parking that beast, the poor mileage, or the amount of driver input on a long trip. The Tacoma is a better truck in so many ways and it is more comfortable to drive, especially on a long trip. When wheeling, the Ram's high brake pedal made for a tired leg when lots of brake inputs were needed. Stuff like this is always a give and take but the balance here leans toward the Tacoma for me.

 

I miss the sound and power of my Ram 1500 Hemi with Corsa exhaust sometimes, but Ive had the Tacoma for over a year and have yet to have needed to hall anything that wouldn't fit in the 5' bed of the Tacoma. If I do I can use the 5x8 flatbed trailer.

 

Very true. Surprised the crap out of me on the hwy desert mountains when the wind was howling. Truck was blown all over the place. My Tundra never had any issues. Definitely miss the full size crew cab tunda. Especially now with kids. If it wasn't for over $3k a month in daycare fees I would have bought another Tundra. Could never take it to LA b/c it was too large to park anywhere. But the full size was great on vacations, towing and hauling. One day I'll go back to another full size. But I'll keep the taco around b/c it's fun to drive. It's basically a big kids toy and will put a smile on your face when driving around. Plus Taco's are cheap to maintain. Ever shop can work on it and parts are not that expensive in comparison to other cars.

The one thing I did notice is that if you're taller than 6 feet and have people in the back or big kids the room in the second row becomes a little tight. If you don't care about the people in the back it doesn't mater. For a more comfortable ride I'd get a tundra. Other wise shorter than 6 feet the truck will do. The driver seat seems limited on how much it can adjust.

Be realistic with your expectations and what you plan to do with it. It's not a full size truck if that's what you are use to. But it is a very good truck and can do almost every thing the average person needs a truck to do.

 

Id only get a full size if they came with manual gearbox

 

Glad to see more than not are happy with there Tacoma's. I hoping to make the step into a 3rd gen for DD later this year but I will keep the 2500 I've had for 10 years for times that call for a big truck. Running for groceries or going shooting up some logging roads are not those times!

 

make sure you test drive it FULLY. Get a good feel for how the truck behaves and make sure that you like it. Would hate to have another guy on this forum that didn’t do due diligence, regret his purchase, hate the truck and blame Toyota.

 

I took a 2020 TRDOR 6MT for a 45 minute test drive this week and loved it. I have a buddy that has a 2019 TRDOR auto on 33's, before I get serious I'm going to try and borrow his for a day. I love my 1st gen for playing around in the mountains but longs trips are not so comfortable anymore.

 

good stuff. Smart man. Make sure you turn ECT on, makes for a better experience, especially with bigger/heavier wheels /tires. Also, learn / use “S” mode when pertinent. Finally, don’t be afraid to mash the go pedal.

 

Before the Taco I was looking at a pre '18 Ram with a manual. They're out there, just harder to come by

 

Good point.
I ended up buying the Tacoma because I had the same model as a rental on vacation. Guy at the rental counter tells me, "After you drive one of these you'll want one". I told him I already had a full size 4X4, so probably not. Hmmm... he may have been onto something. We were already thinking of buying a new truck. My wife hit me up with, "How about one of these?" Too small, not enough power, yada, yada... was my response. I chnaged my mind a few days later, especially after wheeling it a bit. It hit the sweet spot for me.

Anyone go from a full size to a Tacoma and get responses like "What happened" and "Why did you step down to a mid size"?

 

I hear you on the wheeling. Made me fall in love with this little truck. So capable. It’s a toy!

 

A lot of my buddies have ran dodge diesels and other full size rigs for years and used to make fun of me back when I still had my Tacoma. (I now have a tundra). But fast forward to today and 4 out of 5 of them have Tacoma’s. You just can’t beat them especially off-roading and for us hunting. They fit down the trails perfect. I’m still on the fence about getting another Tacoma. I love my tundra but I don’t do anything with it that I couldn’t do with a Tacoma plus a Tacoma would actually fit in my garage and that would be nice. Poor tundra sits out in the hot phx sun!

 

i've never had a full-size truck, but anytime i ride in my buddy's raptor, I'm super jealous of how much room there is in there, especially when i haul my three kids in the back seat. it can get snug

 

holy crap! welcome back after a decade!

Did I read this right: "Right now I have a new Ford F150 lariat with 5k and it needs a new rear end housing" that your Ford has only 5,000 miles and needs a new case that holds the differential? How does that happen?

 

Damn sounds like they sold you the same number of trucks you sold them!