Decisions---> Advice

Definitely sounds reasonable, especially if your ganna turn the truck into a trail rig. Maybe get a DD in 10 years when you need it. I wonder how many people on this site have said that they intend to never sell their tacoma, and then sold it or traded it in. im one of those dreamers, i would love to keep my truck for strictly a toy and buy a nice new 4runner when i can afford it.
Are you planning on going with 35s? I know you said you were ganna get a 6 inch lift, well if you are going to regear then that would take back one of the drawbacks of the 6 speed. Bash away 6 speed haters lol.

 

yes a regear and 35"s are in my future. after watching some vids of off roading im trying to picture the technical aspect, when im trying to crawl over a steep hill or rocks am i really going to want to f**k around with the clutch? I mean i consider myself a pretty damn good driver when it comes to control of street/race car clutches, but now that im thinking ive never actually driven a manual off road. hahaha
the lack of experience is inhibiting me from picturing whether the neutral roll will piss me off or help?!?!

now if i decide 5 yrs from now, meh 6" sux and trail blazing sucks i want to go the LT route and do a baja setup, im guessing Im definitely going to wish i had a manual.

yahoo answers says to similar question:
"Forgive me for laughing so long before answering your question...
Off road you as the driver are making decisions as to what conditions you are about to ask your vehicle to tackle, so you also make the decision as to what gear will best handle that condition as you enter it. An automatic has to start to experience the change before it can (hopefully) go into the most advantageous gear for that condition. At best there is a delay while the automatic selects a gear; at worst it spends even longer "hunting" through the options and perhaps even lands in a less than optimal gear.
Off roading is all about control, so it only makes sense that controlling the transmission is key to the experience."

 

When I went to buy my truck I told them I wanted a specific configuration. Well they had one with all the right options, except the manual trans. They were going to have to order one as there weren't any east of the Miss. river. but they had an auto on the lot they would "make me a good deal on." I hummed and hawed. Just the other day, 10,000 miles later I said to the girlfriend, I'm so glad I got the manual 6spd! Yeah the reverse gear is less than perfect but I like to be able to select a gear and drive in if thats what conditions demand. I say go manual access cab off road for the WIN!

 

Well looks like your leaning towards auto now.. lol. Trd offroad Auto has hill climb and decent assist i believe, manual does not. Someone who has this might wanna chime in and let him know about it because i dont have it. i still like my 6 speed

 

I dunno about that, I having a hard time with this. I really want manual but still confused. Theres one manual not to far from me Im gonna go test drive see if dealer will come down on price its an 08 they're asking 23. Its silver...but later on ill just cover up door jams and engine bay will be dirty so dont care about color. Black or red would be good to match the matte black/grey rhino paint. heading out there now will update later.

 

Alot changed between 08 and 09. They redesigned the back seat of the access cab, most people like the 08 and earlier better. They also added a bunch off saftey features and A-TRAC

 

i wonder if he bought it

 

haha actually no for the better. I pulled into the dealership.. and out came the taco. I was kinda pissed but life happens. Sooo I did some searching and found another 2008 black manual access im gonna take a look at tomorrow. Its a bit far but price is good. hopefully no body damage or rust. The dealer i went to let me take some tacos for test drives and honestly not a fan of auto... and really dont need the space in the double.

 

6speed access cab FTW! were you able to drive a 6 speed? You should do a search or something for the differences between 05-08 and 09+ it might help you narrow down the search. I wish they never changed the rear seats in the acess cabs, the older styles are much better for keeping shit in the rear seats. Oh ya and they got rid of the rear door speakers in 09 and put in stupid headliner speakers

 

Well I found this 08 and the price is hard to say no to. I drove the 08 today and was satisfied. The changes made to the 09(right next to the 08) do not justify the price increase. The changes I have in mind for this truck really wont matter about dealer changes as long as engine, drivetrain and body are in good condition ill be happy.

 

I wonder if rhino lining the whole truck will have a noticable effect on mpg based on wind resistance?

 

How did the search go today?

 

Absolute disaster!!! truck was a complete rust bucket, i couldn't believe it for only 4 years old. not worth 5 grand, never mind 18! so looks like ill be saving a few weeks/months until toyota does a low interest incentive. they say Nov. Dec. are usually good sales months, doubt ill find a left over next year hard enough finding v6 manual access now!
I'm still pissed because now i sold my car! lol sitting on cash thinking of all the things I always wanted lol.

It really does suck that these trucks are so expensive used. It makes absolutely no sense. good news is that I decided on definitely access cab manual. Just not going for any TRD packages. not worth it. once i blow the shocks then it gets lifted and so on, so forth. This wasnt the way I wanted to go but not much left to do.

BTW I definitely saw why you guys were complaining about the gearing. I could only imagine a heavy tow but for me, I dont have a trailer or boat so thats fine with me. Honestly it was actually fun to drive. Ive never experience that real truck transmission feel but actually enjoyed it today. It definitely doesnt let you slam through gears but really shouldnt be doing that in a truck anyway...least not till out in the desert flyin over dunes. lol
so until i can hit some trails with y'all my ride are my asics trail runners lol.

 

Damn that sucks man, its better to take your time though and not jump right into the first truck you find. I know someone who wants to sell his 05 red access cab, but its automatic and i think it has 100,000 miles so your probably not interested but i thought i would mention it, and he has wheeled the shit out of it lol.
It sucks that they are expensive used...until you sell it. But if you are never going to sell it then ya it kinda sucks. Something will come along for ya, i drive by the dealer where i got mine on a regular basis so ill keep my eyes peeled for you.

 

UPDATE** Just bit the bullet and ordered a 2013. Metallic Grey, 6sp v6 sr5 access. Should get it by end of next week.

 

Access cab FTW 6sp FTW MGM FTMFW please dont bedline that beautiful paint lol

 

lol oh it will get it all right... just maybe not for a few years lol. Im gonna get it acquainted with some tree branches and see how they communicate. BTW i actually starting to believe the 6'' lift is garbage and might go with a decent 3'' lift. I really wanted a monster truck but really doesnt sound practical at all.

 

The MGM paint shows scrathes very easily so have fun with that lol.
Ya in not a big fan of the 6" lift either. Thats why i have a full old man emu kit with 885s, dakars and light racing UCAs sitting in my garage. Its killing me looking at it everyday that it sits there not on my truck. Just need some extra cash for tires and need to grow some balls and start taking my truck apart. I dont have much mechanical experience so it makes me a little nervous but i want to do the install myself for the learning experience.

 

heres a teaser, this is just the inner part of the grill. Still needs some cutting shaping and sanding

 

Looks pretty clean so far. cant wait to see finished product!