Do Tacomas Like the Cold?

It’s a truck bro. Gives you more reason to buy a bed mat. I have a bed mat and they don’t slide.

 

One thing you have to realize about 4x4 is that you will get going easier but you still need to leave lots of room for stopping. I’ve see it one too many times that people think they can just stop as if the roads were dry because they have a 4x4

 

Tacomas do fine in the cold but if it twas me I'd sell it and get a 4WD. I live in MD and wouldn't even consider owning a PreRunner here. Don't need the 4WD that often but when you do, you do. A lot of folks will say that you can "get by" with 2WD, and they are correct, you can. Been there, done that in Idaho and New England. But many of your winter drives will be "interesting"... or when it is snowing bad or before they plow you can be stuck at home, or wherever you are.

 

think about how many 2wd cars there are...yeah I know most are FWD, but in the 70s they werent and we did just fine in winter...

 

Live in Mass, before i had 4wd vehicles what i hated the most was stopping at a hilly light or stop sign in the snow, embarrassing to get stuck or risk trying to roll through it slowly and get a ticket. My tacoma in 2wd is that. The back end is so light that 2wd is mostly useless in snow and ice. Weight will help, as well as tires. I live in rural areas, lots of hills and "maybe ill get to it" plowed roads. I dont like being held hostage to weather.
As someone else said, long term stay 4wd, short term weight in bed.
As far as corrosion. I rinse when i can, not crazy about it, and apply fluid film as needed. One big application at beginning of season, then here and there when i feel like peeking in the cold. Frame has held up well over 7 years.

Tacoma in cold, sometimes the trans is a little slow, but quickly picks up the shifting after a minute or two. Certainly not the cold in mass i hear about in minne, but plenty of times where i drive around close to zero.

 

Nothing better than being behind the guy spinning for 2 min to get through the intersection haha

 

@DavesTaco68 LOL! well..not saying its ideal...

 

I really don't know if the truck "likes" the cold. When I turn the key at -20F it starts. When I drive in the snow with good tires & 4wd I have no issue. Is that "liking"? I have no idea, but winter is not an issue for me in New England

 

I don't know about MN, but around here we have hills. Hills+ice and snow and 2wd is absolutely worthless. It happens every year and there are cars scattered all over the roads slid up against a curb or other stranded cars.
Can you make do with a 2wd truck? Sure, just don't drive until the storm passes. What would I do? Sell the 2wd and buy a 4wd.
I know nothing about rust prevention. Good luck with that, that sounds horrible.

 

Before you make any choices for undercoating read this first (the whole thread):

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rust-veto-342-cosmoline-undercoating.651180/

 

https://minnesotaautomotive.com/ here is a Fluid Film place in the TC...

 

A small point in an earlier post bears repeating. Don't forget the block heater. A group of us moved from Florida to Idaho in the fall once upon a time for some Navy training and when walking around the neighborhood we'd see power cords coming out of vehicle grilles. What were those for, we wondered. A month or 2 later after a typical cold spell when none of our cars would start or move for over 2 weeks, we understood. And then we could get only 1 car running by bringing the battery inside to warm it up and then wait for an above zero day.

 

Your truck will do fine. They're all tested for cold weather. Remote start is you're best friend in the northern climes (wish mine had it, love the wifes). Krown or similar applications would be a wise choice given the copious quantities of salt and brine that are applied to the roads once the temps drop below 0 (32 for you guys). 4WD is nice to have but 2WD with proper winter tires is sufficient for almost all winter driving unless you like to drive through blizzards. Just drive smart. My sister lives in rural northern Ontario, drives a Yaris (previously Echos etc) and has never gotten stuck. My previous Toyota trucks have been 2wd's and I have never been stuck with them. Bags of sand over the drive wheels can add some weight over the drive wheels for forward traction (please don't use patio pavers or cement blocks, they turn into real ugly projectiles in an accident) and you can use the sand if you do get stuck. Bottom line, Don't sweat it. Enjoy the adventure.
Cheers.

 

That's pretty much what I'm thinking of doing...

 

Again, appreciate the brutal honesty

 

Hey I appreciate it! Not sure how much I'll enjoy it during the winter, but I already know I love it in the summer from a past trip up there.

 

2X4 is pretty useless in the snow. Lived in Maine my whole life and my 4X4 taco is great in the snow. 4X4 makes all the difference in the world between slowly getting around to not getting around at all.