Torturing myself - a potential decision..

As I sit here writing this post I must lament to you all that I've been rather troubled for the past week.. heck the past month.

I've been considering selling my current truck - a domestic.. ahem, a Ford.. to come back to Toyota; however, I just cannot for the life of me figure out if I did purchase a Toyota if I'd purchase a 4runner or a Tacoma.



Some back story..
I used to drive a 2006 4Runner Limited back when I was living in CO. I kept the vehicle fairly basic.. really basic. I just did larger tires, and some vleds. I took it off-roading on easy trails in CO, and the decision to keep it stock was largely predicated around my hobby of playing the drums. Having to lift gear higher up just wasn't something I really wanted to deal with.

Today I drive a fairly new (I purchased it new) 2022 F-150 Lariat with the BAP package - essentially a fully loaded Lariat. I enjoy having a truck bed for putting all the things I'd never want to put inside a vehicle cabin, but it does make it difficult when I still enjoy my hobby; drumming. I also really like the features and cabin size of the Super Crew F-150, as does my 150lb Cane Corso. Having a flat floor rear seat with seats that fold up against the seat back is really nice.

However, this truck is just about too nice to be used for more utility. I don't use my truck for work, but I do use my truck when hauling mulch, gravel, trees that I cut down (I live on 25 acres), as well as moving odds and ends for myself, family, or friends. I also really enjoy hunting. Primarily Missouri Whitetails and Turkeys, and having a truck is super handy in that regard -- but there are some places where I hunt that getting my truck into 'basecamp' is difficult without getting pinstripes. My wife and I and the doggo have taken a trip to Fairplay, CO, and stayed in a Cabin for a week, while also hitting lots of trails up in the mountains. I find that given our dog's age and his recent knee reconstruction surgery that I'd like to travel more with him, so we'd be taking trips together where we'd go camping or stay in more rural, semi-off-grid areas. This is where my desire to get back into a vehicle that I can buy or build to a semi-overhanding rig would be really fun.

EDIT: I should add that I've considered a GX470 when weighing the options of going to a T4R.

The dilemma I'm having is two (hah! not) fold:
1. Sell my really nice, feature packed, spacious, BlueCruising F-150
2. Lose the spaciousness of the F-150 when going into a Tacoma. I'd still have a bed, and I'd probably pull the rear seats out so the doggo would have the entire back area floor to himself.
3. Lose less spaciousness going into a 4runner vs a Tacoma from my F-150. Have a larger cabin that lends itself better to having my drum equipment, and dog, but does not allow me to throw the same kind of stuff I don't want to have in a cabin, but in a bed that I'd have with a Taco.
4. Either a 4runner or a Taco are going to require some sort of forced induction. More weight from armor, winch, and gear in vehicles that don't produce enough power straight from the factory (in my humble opinion), will probably get a s/c installed.

With a 4runner I would not opt for a RTT. I'd have to have such a long ramp for the dog and a large RTT! With the 4runner I can (along with the wife, and dog) sleep in the cabin if necessary. A Taco could use a bed rack and tent setup that would be far easier for the pup to get into.
Buying either a used 4runner or Taco will allow me to get more utility with regard to getting out into nature, and overlanding, and knowing this I'm still stuck on what I should do. Funny, I'd come to TacoWorld to ask for opinions on what to do in this dilemma .. hopefully I get a couple opinions that aren't along the lines of, "SELL THE F-150, and BUY THE FREAK'IN TACO!"

So, fine people of TW -- what say you?


TIA,

JF

 

First, OP, you've done a good job of thinking through and itemizing what you're looking for, what the use cases are, and understanding what your needs are! You've actually done the hard part which many people don't put the time in to really working through what they need.

Is a used long bed double cab with a hard topper an option? That would let you have the double cab where you could do a rear seat delete for the doggo. And, great choice of the Cane Korso - I've always wanted one of those but seem to end up with Black Labs and Great Danes. Also, with the hard top/shell over the bed, you would have the ability to put your drum equipment in a space that is relatively out of the weather. And, with the long bed, you would have the ability to use the bed for a sleeping area if you didn't want to go the tent route. Finally, if you needed to haul things and didn't want the topper / cap on you could remove it for the times you didn't want it on the truck and fully open up the bed space.

I love my Taco, the only thing I wish I had done differently was to go with the long bed option to have the ability to use it as a functional sleeping area. Yes, it's possible to sleep in the short bed, but when the wife and dogs are along, it's tight and not really viable (for keeping the wife happy on the trails).

Just my highly discounted two-cents.

 

Enjoy the F 150.

 

Some great two cents.. Thank you! I was actually originally considering a DCLB, but then had second thoughts about wheel base when off-roading and such. Probably not a big deal, and more than likely worth any headache that comes from the longer wheel base for the utility. Definitely thought about a topper setup - that could protect my bagged and cased gear, as well as something that can be slept under - although having some deck boxes would be awesome, and a bed rack to hold a tent. This would be lower off the ground than a RTT, and ramps could help the doggo get into the tent. Removing the rear seats helps the dog, and gives me more space to keep my wood drum pieces within a climate controlled cabin.

I might. I need to make sure my desire to sell my truck, and capitalize on the market (I purchased it for less than what it is currently with), and more importantly get back into a vehicle that satisfies my desire to spend more time outdoors, aligns with my daily life as it will be my daily driver, and provides the features and utility I desire.

 

Your truck is worth a lot right now. Ive never had a Tacoma or a Toyota. Ive had a F150 and a Ranger (Those were my ford trucks) Ive been researching for about 6 months now. Ive been driving a minivan for 14 years. We have 2. I wanted to buy a truck to haul my 2800 lb camper. Now I want to mod a truck I can live with for 20 years and do some serious offroading. Never considered a SUV (Had a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited and didnt like it) The Tacoma Offroad package is cheaper than any similarly equipped Toyota SUV that can haul so for me. It would be a Offroad Tacoma. IT SEEMS to me that that damn "Crawl" button is like when you are playing a shooting game and put it into GOD mode. So Im aiming for the offroad Tacoma personally. Id like to get one with a moonroof but I dont think that is possible. (adds like $7000 to the price)

Campers are awesome.. Ive been tent camping the first 51 years of my life. Im actually sitting at the table in my camper right now in my back yard having a blast. Hook up camper.. no loading the car.. pull into site.. no unloading the car or setting up camp... just amazing.

 

Do not sell the F150. Get some all terrains and be done. Pinstripes be damned. They usually buff out fine. It doesn’t make sense to lose a bunch of money selling a good vehicle and buying a new one to avoid some minor, repairable paint damage. Think of the taxes and fees. Oof.

The Tacoma is likely not spacious enough to suit your needs too. That’s a big dog. There are reports of the supercharger systems having issues and not working well on the 3.5.

The 4runner is likely too small as well.

Stick with your F150. Put a RTT on it if you want. At the very least wait until the new gen Tacoma, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser are out.

 

Get on Turo.

Rent each vehicle for a weekend. That will make your decision for you.

 

A guy I used to work with sold his Taco and went back to a full-sized Chevy because his English Mastiff was never comfortable in the Taco.

 

trading in an F150 for a sc'd 3.5L Taco is the worst idea ever

 

Yeah man, my T4R had the DAC, my F-150 has the FX4 package and has a 'crawl' mode. It's a nice truck, but I wish I had something that I cared less about abusing (not talking about the bed of the truck). No moonroof on my custom ordered F-150. Potential for leaks and such, so no thanks. I also never really used them in my other vehicles that had them. Of course now that I don't have one I feel like I miss it at times, lol.

Yeah, I was thinking of a small lift and AT3s, but this truck is still too nice for me to want to take it wheeling or pinstripe it. That's my issue. I think I optioned it out (when ordered) to be too nice to be as utilitarian as I would have liked. Oops. I wouldn't really lose money on selling. Actually, I'd make some money. I'd be looking for a used T4R or Taco, built or not.. I do get your point though on repairing some cosmetic blems though. Taco might be small, but again my plan would be to get a DCLB, and remove the rear seats. I think the dog would have space; however, this brings a point about the T4R. My last Cane Corso fit in my last T4R just fine when we'd go wheeling up at Mt. Zion. Right now when we go on road trips we take the wife's 2021 Outback XT, folding the seats flat, and loading the pup in, which I could do with a T4R. I should also state that I've considered the GX470 over a T4R. I don't know if I'd go with a new Yota - for what I want I think used makes sense provided it's not marked up to some insane amount.. Thanks for the insights and opinions!

Not a bad suggestion! I think there would be some options for me, even in a smaller University town. If I go down this route I'll report back. I had considered just hitting up the dealerships and taking some test drives.

Yeah, I get your former co-workers logic here. I will say that the English Mastiff is considerably bigger than the Cane Corso. Taco seems like removing the rear seats would be a requirement, and one that I don't really mind. T4R or GX470 would be better for the dog, but losing the bed would create some complexities around making up for that lost space.

 

Care to elaborate?
F-150 Pros: I ordered it new, has good value, great features. Spacious, and super comfortable. Lots of power.
F-150 Cons: Large, mpgs, dealership in town - the Service Department has crappy service, and terrible turn-around time. Can't into places where a Taco or T4R can. I could sell it and have money to buy a Yota with money to spare.

Yota variant Pros: Smaller, better mpgs, holds value, dealership in town is far better equipped in providing good service, better aftermarket support and community for wheeling and overlanding.
Yota variant Cons: Smaller cabin, less power, not as new of a vehicle (potentially), dated cabin and technology, money pit.

I think it is important to say that I've been considering selling my truck for a while, and have been looking at other options. I have so far until thinking about overlanding and Yotas not been too serious about those thoughts, even though I have been looking at listings for other vehicles, which leads me to think that I'm not really happy with my truck. At times I wonder if I'd be happy with any vehicle.

 

F150 will be 1 million times more reliable than a moded sc'd 3rd gen taco

 

Go the 4Runner and a trailer to pick up the cargo the truck bed would carry .

That would allow even more room then The Tacoma bed .

A hard call Good luck !!

 

Tacomas are cute and all but at the end of the day there is a reason F-150’s are numero uno.

 

Buy a sequoia

 

I didn’t see what motor you have in the F-150 but I highly doubt you’d get better mpg in a Tacoma or 4Runner. I had a 3.5 Tremor and got 19 mpg, my Tacoma gets 18.9-19.5. Not worth it for the decrease in power, towing, room, etc.

 

Those are fairly big, I am considering shrinking my footprint to get in/around/on trails more easily.

3.5EB. I am probably 70/30 city/highway at the moment, and my mpgs are around 15s. The truck really shines for mpgs in 17-18s when I'm primarily highway. If I add bigger tires, lift, bed rack, and associated gear for doing mid travel overlanding in the F150 it will really suffer. FWIW I have the 3.31 with the FX4 package.

Sure, but there's a reason you see more Tacomas kitted to handle trails and overlanding than you do F150s. Not saying F150s aren't used for that, but they're not as nimble, some complain about the aluminum bodies, and so on and so forth..

I will say I have been looking at setting up my F-150 with the Ford Performance Bilstein 2.5" setup, a nice RRW R7 with 34" AT3s, and perhaps a few trips on those will help convince me? In all honesty I can go make some trips now, and slowly figure out what works and what doesn't for this truck. I'm still not 100% yet, but everyone's posts have been helpful.

 

The Tacoma will not get better MPGs the second you lift it or add weight. Its fuel economy is hanging by a thread. The minute you change anything the mileage will plummet.

Stock you might average 19-22, the instagram rigs that look so cool are getting 12-14.

 

If I were you. I'd get both.

 

Whatever you do, go test drive it. Then test drive it again. When you are done with that, go get lunch. When you are done eating, go test drive it again.
Decide on a different trim package? Go test drive that one a few times also.