Pending Purchase

Good afternoon Tacoma crowd.
I'm in the negotiating stage with a local dealer on a 2021 Tacoma Double Cab 6A TRD (6ft box) Sport Premium. Depends on how much they'll pay for a 2017 XLT loaded F150 3.5 Eco that's about 1.5 yrs from it's factory warranty running out.
Considering the issues myself and others are having with the VCT/Cam phaser failures a quick sale will be good riddance.

The Tacoma will cover my needs for the next few years or until manufacturers get the bugs worked out on hybrid and electrics coming down the pipe. I may look at another 1/2 ton one day, TBD. Interesting times!

What blew my mind is the insane resale value on Tacoma's which make it great choice to cover my bases... Commuting, a bit of 4x4, exploring, dragging my 3000lb boat to the ramp & fishing areas, the odd bike in the back, paddleboards, etc...

In my 50's and our family has owned a few of the old school Toyota 4X4's over the years. A late 70's, a 1982(brother turbo charged this one), and the old 1985 my dad purchased new. That poor truck survived his 18yr old son (me)beating the living cr*p out of her for years...

Couple of questions.
Are the Factory step options garbage? Tube step, running boards or predator steps...I'm not expecting rock slider quality although it would be nice.
Looking for decent steps that are durable, prevent parking lot door swingers, and actually feel somewhat sturdy. A have a few coworkers weld professionally and I'm not easy impressed by some factory garbage these days.

The factory tuned suspension is hopefully better than the FX4 suspension which is a complete joke on the F150. I replaced it with Fox 2.0 which made the 150 feel like an actual truck not a 1984 Monte Carlo floating down the road.
I suppose Bilstein is an option as they do come factory on the TRD pro which I assume is 5100 series. I've run 5100's on 1 ton Rams which made a fairly substantial difference.
I'm aware of some of the aftermarket coil overs although not yet prepared to immediately purchase King, etc.
Not really into the leveling/spacer setup as it's a cheap fix that does nothing for ride quality and suspension. Kind of spoiled after running Elka's on quads, and Ohlin's on the odd bike

I won't get into tires without rim research at this point.

One other thing is a sway bar. I put a Hellwig on the 150 which drastically improved the handling especially when towing. How does Hellwig compare to TRD in the Tacoma world?
A little concerned with the tongue weight but will cross that bridge when required.

I have a spare set of rigid led D series which may need a home as well.

Thanks for putting up with the long winded intro and sorry about the rambling on about other vehicles.
Will keep things on topic when questions/answers are warranted.
Cheers

 

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