PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

@PennSilverTaco
Glad you made a decision! Is there a reason you wanted 4WD? I'm guessing more for on-road safety since you're looking at an AWD Prius, but were you thinking of off-roading some too?

 

Yeah, so basically there's been a bunch of car thefts at this dealership (Chapman) and yesterday Horsham Township Police were there conducting an investigation relating to these crimes; The police were very nice, but the one cop told me that I was not allowed to be on the property on Sunday...

 

Not looking to do any off-roading at this time; I just want a vehicle that can make it up this slight incline in my neighborhood, after a snowstorm, on the first try!

 

A beige Maverick XL on the front lot at Chapman Ford in Horsham caught my eye; Chapman has always gated its lot to prevent people from driving in there when they're closed, but I went there on Sundays for years and wandered around taking pictures with no issues; As stated above, some local cops were there investigating something (he just referred to it as "some police work" and did not elaborate further).

One of them saw me pull onto the shoulder and walked to over ask what I was doing; Due to the noise from traffic on 611, I initially misunderstood him as saying I could not park the truck on the shoulder. Nothing bad happened and the police were very nice, but I couldn't look at the Maverick they had in stock; I showed up this morning, saw that it was gone, and confirmed with a dealer employee that it had been sold over the weekend and the person who bought it picked it up this morning. Would have been nice to get some pictures, but nothing good ever came from arguing with a cop...

 

The cop I talked to gave me impression that Chapman had this "nobody on the property outside of business hours" policy in place for years, and that I'd essentially been trespassing the previous times I'd walked onto the property on Sunday in the past; Not the case...

The employee I talked to stated that there'd been a rash of auto thefts from the dealership (even though they've always kept the lot gated on Sundays and when otherwise closed for business) and they'd only recently started prohibiting people from entering the property outside of business hours.

 

It looks like we will not be getting any snow, but I fired the new machine up briefly just to get the juices flowing and make sure she's ready for when we actually do get snow!

 

One of the most beautiful songs ever in my opinion! The link between my iPod and the HU is screwed up, so it displays the album artwork for the song I was previously listening to (in this case another Elton John song)...

 

A Prius is a good choice regarding mpg. I drove a borrowed one while Tacoma shopping. It has a selector switch, 3 or 4, I forget. Ev, eco, fast or something. Ev mode is a joke unless you drive very gingerly on the acceleration and under 15 mph. Eco is like the opposite of putting in a pedal commander. Fast mode is surprisingly fast off the line. Inside is very roomy.

Cons, the list is long. The biggest is lack of respect from other drivers no matter how you drive it. Then, well, I think it’s ugly. Reminds me of having an ugly girlfriend who’s really good at one thing. You keep her because she’s really good at that one thing.

 

I had a girlfriend like that once; Relationship did don't last too long...

 

If I bought a Prius, I'd put this sticker on the back...

 

isn’t the 4WD system in the Taco good though?
Take for example Quattro AWD in an Audi.
Older Audis had a torsen diff. People add those to the rear of Tacos.

there is a saying that older Audis were the best. They had things like front locker, rear locker, maybe even a center locker. That supposedly could be activated while moving. Newer ones stopped doing that and switched to open front and rear diffs.
Meanwhile the 2g Taco, depending on what model it is, can have LSD in the back.
You’d have to spend $1k on the part alone to put an LSD in the back of an Audi and few people do it (example, JHM LSD into a B6 S4)

to my knowledge the center diff of a 2g Taco is locked, when 4x4 is engaged.
In a sense giving you parts that carguys drool over, from stock.
plus the added benefit of high ride height to clear snow and metal skid plates instead of plastic or fabric ones that are easily ripped off

old land cruisers, FJ’s, and Limited package 5th gen 4Runners have full time AWD
possibly Ford Raptor as well
Which seems like a waste of gas and possibly harder on clutches if it’s manual
Plus, 4x4 gives you the option to engage 4LO for off roading or getting yourself unstuck
Whereas AWD vehicles typically do not have the addition of a transfer case with low range gear ratio

why not a Ford Ranger?
Ford seems better about giving you technology and being modern. The many-speed auto trans will result in more power and MPG. And it will probably have options like heated seats.
Sure, my Taco has 4x4 for snow. The door speakers also freeze disabling music, the non-heated steering wheel and seats are cold, and the side mirrors freeze over making it impossible to see anything.
Some vehicle sideview mirrors are auto-dimming, heated, anti-dazzle, with the option to fit aspherical glass where the outer 1/3rd section is a different shape to see blindspots better.
But the stock 2g Taco side mirror in snow gets about as useful as having a coffee cup there.
Ford may also have remote start to warm up the vehicle.
The eco-boost is probably reliable. And placed longitudinally in a truck, it should have room to work on it.
The turbo will give you power and MPG, especially at altitude. But can require higher octane more expensive gas.
Some turbos are reliable. And probably all sourced from the same turbo company, no matter what brand puts it into their vehicle. Such as Borgwarner, Garrett, etc.

Taco at least holds value or appreciated now; not sure about Ford.
2g Taco supposedly did well in crash safety testing, but I really don't know how that works.
Because Japanese cars are known to have thin panels.
Maybe ride height is a factor. If it's a lifted 4x4 and you get hit by a car, their impact is kind of going underneath you and into the frame.
Trucks are said to be more visible on the road and less likely to get crashed into, but that might not matter if somebody runs a red light through an intersection at speed

 

My wife's Rav4 (gasser) has the regular, Eco, Sport. I throw it in Eco on the highway, otherwise just regular mode. Decent enough.

Eh, lack of respect I could care less about..I've driven plenty of war wagons to know my self respect is best measured in a negative number.

Haha..that one thing?

 

I wouldn't buy a GM, but I had a 2020 Malibu rental for a few weeks. Almost 40MPG city for a straight gasser wasn't bad.

 

And you think 4.3L Vortecs are junk?

 

I personally am very impressed with the Ford Maverick.

But, don't sell your Tacoma. You'll regret it immediately afterwards!!!!

That's just my 2 cents though. We know how much you like your Tacoma.

 

Do you watch the TFL Truck YT channel? They recently took a maverick and a Santa Cruz "off roading" to see how a non-offroad truck would fair. The ferd did better but you could see that it was clearly out of it's element when off-road. I personally think that the little ferd would be a good alternative to a Subaru outback if the platform proves itself to be reliable.

I just can't past the naming of the platform, as I owned a '75 Maverick w/ the 302/ 3 speed manual trans. It's the same reaction when I see what gm did with the 'blazer' nameplate. Fooking ass clowns....

 

I had a 4.3 in my 2002 S-10. It was a great engine. Plenty of power, and good fuel economy.

 

Honestly I think this is a perfect truck for 50% of truck owners today. If you don't need to do any serious offroading, towing, or hauling. This is a perfect truck for the average consumer who is on a budget and doesn't have any extreme needs.

Call it a gardener special, but at a price of 20-22k for a functioning truck....with *cough cough* a higher payload than a Tacoma....

I think they are going to sell a ton of these

 

The one at Fred Beans that I looked at on Sunday has already been spoken for; My biggest issue is that I just can't fathom paying sticker for any vehicle. Gonna keep the Tacoma and likely buy a used AWD Prius in a few years when (A) used vehicles aren't changing hands for rage-inducing prices, and (B) I have enough money to pay cash; Mortgaging a house is one thing, but I'd rather pay cash for a used vehicle!

 

I’d far and away consider a Ridgeline before a Ford Maverick.