Prospective New Owner Questions

I'd say up to around 5K is ok tow with an OPEN TRAILER regularly. If you are talking enclosed camper or cargo trailer, that number is MUCH lower. I tow 4500 pounds (including trailer weight) regularly on my open car hauler, even long distance, but enclosed 7x14 EMPTY can be sketch even before you put any weight inside. The wind resistance makes a massive difference, and easily becomes tail wagging the dog kinda situation. Some sort of rear suspension help would be good (heavier leaf springs, air bags, weight distribution hitch...)

 

Sub 3k towing, no prob with my small boat loaded up. As far as the transmission, a lot more fun when you get to pick your gears. Gear box is smooth, clutch feel is not the best, but once you get used to the accumulator it's not too bad. EDIT - Reverse is pretty tall. I got used to it, but since it is a Tacoma like the accumulator delete mods, there is also a 2Lo mod if you really need to back a trailer up a steep hill etc.

 

This is a great mod for the MT. Really helps with backing up with a trailer
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-2wd-low-range-for-the-3rd-gen-tacoma.614743/

And Welcome to TW

 

Nothing against the Sport, but you get a lot more Off Road goodies on the OR model for the same price....

Ok, I do have something about the Sport! I still dont know what makes it a TRD??????

 

Ratios are a little weird (1/2). Gearbox is silky, fueling lets it down a lot imo, including the Atkins Otto 'switch' at 2900-3000. Pedal fairly numb but learnable. Would love to have the 4.0 in front of it.

 

Always wondered the same, stiffer suspension and sportier (no pun intended) bits (color matched fenders, LSD) ??

 

I don’t understand the need for the 2lo mod. What’s wrong with 4lo? Unless you are turning sharply on pavement, it’s superior to 2lo. 2lo seems kinda silly to me. I also have never been in a situation where I am backing up a curved paved hill with a boat in tow. But I haven’t definitely used 4lo to back up on your typical gravel or grass boat parking yard and to get up steep slippery concrete boat ramps

 

All trim levels have simulated Limited Slip.

 

"Simulated" that's what i call it also. i want the real deal, good old Posi Traction.

 

That was more directed at the fact that a bunch of trailer tires aren't rated for it.

 

TRD is just Toyota Racing Development (now a useless tag as none have any kind of racing development applied) but you could argue that one is for road "racing" and the other is for off road "racing." It's all just a badge to differentiate easily, and it doesn't mean anything anymore. Same for SR5. Means nothing anymore.

 

just like "PRO" means nothing, hahaha.

 

Yup. It's just a trim package. Used to have meaning, but regulation killed all that.


Good grief. Sorry to derail your thread, OP. Welcome to the forum! This is how things go.

 

I test drove both the Jeep Wrangler JL and the Ford Bronco 2.3. Both of them that I drove are manual. They got their pros and cons.

The Wrangler and the Bronco aren't direct competitors (the Gladiator is a competitor though), but I'm happy with my decision with the Tacoma. It's the best choice for me because it's a better daily driver while still being capable off-road, and it can tow my car while the others (talking about manual Gladiator) doesn't have enough towing capacity. I also feel like the Tacoma is the best to own long term, but we'll see.

I agree with this. Yes the primarily purpose of my truck is daily driving, but I also bought it to tow my car to the race track. Coming on to this forum, before my first time towing, I got a bit scared my truck won't do a good job towing. But now, I've done it several times and it didn't struggle.

 

You should rent one for a weekend and go see. I love my sport. Granted it's a g2. But the shocks are set up for 99.5% of tacoma owners. The on highway feel is uncomparibly better then the OR shocks. I recently changed my 07 sport shocks to 2022 OR and they are absolutely horrible for highway driving! The sport runs circles around the OR suspension until you get off road. And if you have no use for a locker, you get a panty dropper scoop.

 

Try to back up a hill with a MT pulling a trailer. You slip, and slip, and slip...

 

That’s what I use 4lo for. Even 1st gear is too high for some boat ramps.

 

Thanks guys. I haven's driven a manual much since 2014. That beloved vehicle was totaled, the wife got the replacement.

I see several comments about the clutch. I found it very soft on a test drive. The "spot" was difficult to find. Much of my early driving didn't include a power clutch so anything since will feel soft to me. I can adapt.

Several of you mentioned the accumulator and a mod. Please explain.

 

I have to agree. I held back the chuckle when test driving. While a sales rep always drives the vehicle off the lot, this guy gave me the keys and said, "go get it". He had tried to learn but couldn't get past the initial roll. I took him to a slope and showed him the easy way to get it rolling.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/mt-accumulator-delete-mod-adm-and-bs-thread.568303/

The accumulator is the reason that the engagement point is vague. Many have modified it (current best method is to replace the "disk" in the accumulator to bypass this) and found that it makes the clutch engagement feel much more predictable.