What Kind of Tacoma Do I Need for North Dakota Weather/Climate?

Hey all,

Brand new member here. I'm in the Air Force and will be moving to the "metropolitan area" of Minot, North Dakota in a couple of months. It's 55 miles south of the Canadian border and in the middle of nowhere, so I thought it would be a great time to get a truck. I've been doing research on various trucks out on the market and have been super impressed with the Tacoma. But, now that I've decided on the Tacoma, what to get? Used vs. New? TRD vs. SR5? Extra Cab vs. Crew Cab? Will the Short Bed be long enough to transport a motorcycle?

I'm thinking about a 4x4 Crew Cab, with the V6 engine and 6 speed manual. I need cruise control, as I've got a lot of long drives ahead of me in the next two years. Also, the bed has to be long enough to transport a Yamaha R1. But other than that, I know little than what I've read on some consumer reports. Any insight from owners, especially from the cold climates, would be greatly appreciated!

 

welcome to TW, whats your job and what base are you coming from? i'm an AGE mechanic a Seymour Johnson. as for your truck a short bed will fit a bike in the back wit hthe tailgate down. and you DEFINATLY want 4x4 being all the way the F@&k up there! TRD sport is nice TRD off road is even better (considerig the E locker) but both not a necessity compared to 4x4. as for crew cab or acsses cab thats all personal pref. as for new or used it's all about $$$$$$$$$$ as for the R1 go ahead and trade that in for a 4x4 4 wheeler or snow mobile!!! good luck on your choice you CAN'T go wrong with a tacoma no matter what year or trim level!

 

I think with all the travel and the extra inside space i would go for the double cab. Just for more room. Would do the 4x4 with off road package for the diff lock. Espcially where your going to be. and i think i would do the long bed to haul the cycle. But take a tape measure if the long bed isnt long enough to close the tail gat with the bike then i would do the short bed. look into getting an inexpensive trailer easier to load and haul. the v6 with the 6 speed tranny could tow a trail with a bike no problem. yes if your going to do long trips cruise is a must enjoy the ride.

 

I'll be going into Security Forces and Minot will actually be my first assignment -- I just rececently commissioned out of University of Florida. It's gonna be a big change, as I've lived near the beach most of my life. How do you like Seymour Johnson?

As for buying used or new, it seems like the Tacomas hold their resell values so well, that it's almost not worth buying used. Why buy an older model with 20k miles when you can dish out a few g's more for a brand new truck? Any thoughts?

 

yea your right the dealer took some off the truck i got and out the door it was only 2-3 grand more than an used one with 10k miles on it. going new can be a better idea

 

well congrats 2Lt Tacoma! Yea Gainesville to Minot is quite the change in environments to put it mildy. I have a couple of SP firends there actully and they say it's as good as you make it. Seymour well.... NC is nice but it's a very high speed base. i'm actully PCSing to Kunsan Korea in Nov. so that should be interesting! but back to the Tacoma... if you can swing the extra cash definatly go new it's yours and you don't have to worry about how "the first owner" treated the truck

 

$$$$$$$$$$ thats all i have to say about that!

 

I've ran into a couple of people from Minot and they've said that it's a pretty tight-knit community. Mark, you'll have fun in Korea -- I was born in Korea when my dad was in the service. Love the food over there. Are you planning on taking your Tacoma over?

I'm planning on going by the dealership this week to look at this silver 06 double cab TRD off road model with only 6k miles. It's pretty much everything I'm looking for except for the color. Never bought a car from a dealership before -- any tips on negotiating with the car salesman?

 

no us Airman aren't allowed to bring vehicals or our spouses.
as for the dealers.. your way or no way. if your in FL still David Mauss Toyota in Sanford Fl is a pretty good dealership. make sure you tell them your military they eat that shit up. I almost bought a new Taco last year when I got home from the sand box and the dealer took 2g's off the top

 

Sounds good... I'm "negotiating" right now with a dealership here in Gville. We'll see how it goes.

 

I made the jump... got my silver 2006 V6 Crew Cab 4x4 with the TRD Off Road option today. It's already cost me $60 to fill up already cause my dealership was too cheap to send me off with a full tank of gas. Yikes... anyways thanks to everyone for their 2 cents! It was helpful!

 

good lookin LT enjoy your new tacoma bro!

 

hey I m from the province right above you in Minot, It gets pretty damn cold, just make sure your truck has the block heater option, if not then your screwed. hey when You move up, sometimes I can' have things delivered to my province from the states due to weight restriction however its free to ship to in the states, would it be posssible to have my stuff shipped down to you, then have a quick road trip to come up and get the stuff.....let me know if that sounds cool, if not thats ok, I would pay for any additional starage/shipping costs and would also throw in a case or two of canadian beer. let me know either way that would be cool... I won't be ordering anything for awhile.

 

Here's a picture of my two babies!

Yeah, man... as long as it's not illegal and won't get me in trouble, that's cool with me. I won't have an address til August, tho.

 

that would be great, no it shudn't be illegal, i would still have to pay duty/customs when I would pass the border. I won't be ordering for a bit, my wife has never been to minot and i haven't been in a few years so when i do oredr i will take a trip up to let her know. Minot doesn'r get to cold but like i said make sure the truck is outfitted with a block heater and make sure you have decent tires, M/Ts are cool to look at but not cool when they can't get traction on ice, go with a A/T or all season.

 

Let her warm up every morning. Leave heat on too. You'll be glad when you dont freeze to the wheel lol. Keep insulated bibs in cab tow rope in bed along with cables. Watch out for deer. A good grille guard is helpfulif your gonna go outside the city.

 

Well it's been 7 years. I'm gonna go ahead and say he's figured all that out already