Excited New Owner

What's up 2nd Gen Forum,

I am now a proud owner of a pretty clean 2015 Tacoma! I unfortunately wrecked my 1st gen which had me feeling pretty down. I loved that truck, and she took great care of me in return. However, all good things come to an end, sometimes with a nice insurance payout as well.

Well, I took to the web to find me a new truck. I was looking for almost any Tacoma that spoke to me. Trucks in Hawaii are so overpriced in this current used car market that I could not find something worthy of my wallet. It didn't take long to find a potential new suitor, albeit I was a bit apprehensive. It was in Washington and required a bit of due diligence, but it really caught my eye. After playing some hard ball with the dealer, I decided I was going to pull the trigger. Got all my documents together and purchased that flight ticket.

I showed up to the dealer on the cold gloomy morning of January 27th, cash in hand. Test drove the truck, signed the paperwork, and was on my way. What a mix of emotions, this was my first large automobile purchase I've ever made, I was ecstatic. I also saved about $10,000 purchasing it out of state. All the dealers in Hawaii were asking way too much for a comparable truck. Even better was the road trip I was about to begin. To get it back to Hawaii, it was going to be cheaper to drive it down to Oakland and ship it then from the port of Tacoma. A friend of mine flew in to Portland, and we had an amazing 1,000 mile journey back down to San Jose.

It was a beautiful drive through Oregon, mostly staying on the 5, stopping in several of the major cities for food and drinks. However, the real fun was when we got to Grants Pass and detoured down to Crescent city for some driving down the 101. I know living in Hawaii is beautiful, but wow what an experience. Also, it was the first time seeing some giant Sequoias which is really something everyone should do.







(Some Hawaii shots)




Well now here we are now, it's May, and I've had the truck in Hawaii for a couple months. Still missing my old girl, but it's hard to say sad when I've got such a great new truck. This thing drives and handles much more comfortably then my 2001. It's also got a lot more space for my big ass. It hasn't taken long for me to warm up to it. It also hasn't taken long for me to really look into building it into what I want out of a truck.

I've got some trail gear sliders to replace these dinky step bars that are screwed into the cab. I decided to go for a Black&Tan look so I've got a tan Softopper camper on the way so that I won't need to tie a tarp every time I go fishing in the rain. I decided on some SCS Ray 10 Matte Bronze rims to be wrapped with some Nitto Ridge Grapplers (285/70/r17). Then just recently, a wild hare crawled up my ass and I decided to pull the trigger on the ARB Old Man Emu BP-51's. Well... there went my $10,000 in savings from purchasing out of state...

I can't wait to get some updated pictures for how the truck is going to look in the near future. Life really is all about smiles per gallon, especially after what could have been a much worse accident in my previous truck. Will future me look back and shake his head at what I'm doing? Possibly, but present me is enjoying living in the moment. I look forward to digging around the 2nd gen forum and posting more of my build as it comes to fruition. I also still haven't figure out what to name her yet... Anyone else here name their trucks lol?

2015 Access Cab Tacoma
4.0L v6
4x4 TRD OR
48,000 Miles on Manual Transmission
Bells and Whistles baby

 

Great story, super excited you found a great truck. The road trip sounded amazing. Safe surfing/mudding/sea kayaking bro!

 

Welcome to TW!
That is one sweet and clean truck!

 

Black, my favorite color for any vehicle.

V6 manual, yes. Good choice. Sounded like a great adventure to get it home. Congratulations.

The beast in black. If you’re a Judas Priest fan.

 

It's straight out of hell, One of a kind .

 

And it's a 4.0... not a 3.5. I own both. You bought an amazing truck..

I'd be curious, I have I think year 2. You have the last year. Do you have a cd disc changer?

I'm not being condescending. My wife and I take short "date nights" and she picks and old mixed cd, or an album cd and we will role around our corner of life. Listening to skipping CDs

 

Welcome! Great to hear you found a replacement. Funny how we can get so emotionally attached to these trucks. Loved my new 1992 Toyota 4X4 Truck for 14 years. Now loving my 2020.

 

2015 is the last year of the 2nd gen, and I think 2013-2015 were somewhat different that the 2005-2011; all the same generation though. As far as the CD player goes, I'm not sure lol. I haven't played any CD's in it yet. The last CD I played in my old truck was probably some of my dad's music after he passed, Nat King Cole.

 

Nice! I really like the truck.

 

Great find and better story!! Welcome to Black Tacoma World...I love mine..excited to see what you do with yours!

 

Thank you!

My old one was black and had a decent paint job, but this one is leaps and bounds better. I'll proudly be showing it off when I get some new stuff on it.