If you weren't going to buy a Tacoma

FJ cruiser

 

Tell me about it. Love my truck, but I'm constantly having to re-calculate my turn arounds on trails and parking lots. Luckily the camera, proximity alarms, and big mirrors are there. Hell, even my drive takes a 3 pt turns and turns it into 5 or 6. I knew that was going to be a challenge with 6.5ft bed, but man I'm sick of stacking shit higher to get more in the bed!

Also, this thing rides like a dream. Not sure if it's the width or the suspension, but it feels like I'm riding on a cloud. Even my motion sickness-prone daughter didn't have a problem riding around today grabbing mulch stuff from half a dozen stores today. To me, that says something. (Though I do have to watch the shoulder on these narrow country roads a bit closer!)

 

Possibly. However anything more exciting than a seasonal use road (typically handled with no issues in a stock truck, unless it's buried under snow) has been blocked off around here since 9/11 happened. Concrete blocks, cables, gates, dropped trees, huge piles of dirt, you name it. I gave up trying to find places to trail ride in my Tacoma so no point in giving up tow capacity, comfort, and cargo capacity for something I can't really do.

 

The better question is what would I get if I wasn't going to get a toyota. If I wasn't going going to get a tacoma I'd get a 4Runner or a FJ or a first gen toyota pickup 4x4, maybe even a land cruiser or tundra. If I wasn't going to get a toyota it would be a f-150. Frontier and Colorado are out of the question because I'd never own a Nissan and would prefer not to own a chevy. I like to drive a cummins now and then but wouldn't own a dodge either. I like fords however I would rather my taco.

 

In Canada right now, Ford has an unbeatable deal on the F150: Crew cab, 3.5 V6, 4x4, 5.5" bed, XTR trim with power group option package 300a, on a 2 year lease for CAD$350 all in, that's like US$284/month. I went and tried it out and was very impressed with the new F150, but it won't fit in the garage and reliability is unknown, but on a 2 year lease, it will be under full warranty, so I don't care. I'm very tempted to lease it for 2 years, then either buy it out, or turn it in and get a Tacoma. The garage issue is a big one for me. I can't get it out of my head.. it's plush and comfortable and has a very spacious cabin.

 

I drove a beautiful Bronze Fire Metallic F150 XLT FX4 Supercab with the 2.7L V6. Awesome. Huge. Like you mine has to fit in the garage. It won't.

 

OK, 5.5 foot box is 122 inches WB. http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/spe...47313&ef_id=VWTDVAAAASt3PgXH:20150527000722:s

6.5 foot bed the wheelbase is 141 inches. Ford does provide detailed specs, including approach, departure, breakover angles, ground clearance. GM often does not provide that, Toyota does.

Man, 230 inches overall length with a 6 foot bed doesn't get me all warm and fuzzy.

 

I still can't get over the size of the cabin! I typically compromise between having enough room for me, and enough room for someone behind me. The tacoma was the best so far, but the F150 is amazing! With the front seat adjusted for me, I have 6" between my knees and the back of the seat while sitting in the rear (I'm 5'11"). My wife had the passenger seat back a couple clicks further than my driver seat, and our eldest daughter at 5'7"-ish had 6" for her knees. My wife road shotgun to get chinese for dinner the other night. We got our typical paper bag sized order, she put it on the floor between her feet to keep it upright, and realized she still had room to move her fee.

I keep thinking I wish I had this rear seat before I was married.

 

Tundra. You cant replace the Toyota reliability, they literally last for forever. If i was in your situation, i'd just fix it.

 

Yeah, the wife and I went with the shorter box. You end up being about 6-8" longer than a DCLB Tacoma. It's not great in parking lots. That's where a mid size or smaller full size always wins. Until you buy a 60" LED TV and have to leave it out in the rain on the way home because it won't fit inside. I've fit a 60" TV inside the back of a Ford crew cab with the seats up, and it goes in easy.

 

This is very true. I didn't leave the back seats down but I did just slide the box in and still had room on both sides

 

If anyone wants to see a crazy long truck look up the concept Dodge 5500 with box. Dodge wants to play with Ford in the personal use medium duty truck market, right now Ford is the only company selling trucks above 1 tons with a box installed and high end options, and Dodge came out with this concept :



That's right, it's a megacab with an 8' box. By my math it would be about a 193" wheel base and 284" total length .

Just for comparison the Ford is about 3 feet shorter because who the frick wants 8" of box and a mega cab? The whole mega cab idea is crazy anyways, it's a ton of wasted room.

 

Life would cease to have meaning without a Tacoma. If I couldn't get a Tacoma I guess I'd get a Frontier.

 

There is a small market for that configuration. http://www.longbedmytruck.com/

Shoot, I could use that thing as a camper, haul the dirt bikes in the bed, and use the mega cab as a sleeper cab, would need a field to turn it around but hey

As they say different strokes for different folks.

Not a mega cab, but damn long...

 

That thing doesn't turn, it taxis like an aircraft. Does it come with spotters?

 

Those trucks would be great for the prairie or flat, open farmland. That would not even park in my driveway

Howard

 

I miss the look of the 2000-2006 Tundras. Pretty modest without the "in-yo-face-my-weener-is-bigger-than-yours" look of the current Tundra. I miss when full size trucks were lean and athletic looking. When they had decent ground clearance and a grill that was not the size of your living room.

 

LOL!

 

Nothing wrong with a big truck or a long one, just need to know how to drive.
drove full size diesels 4d and lb for 20 years or so.
never had a problem hunting, fishing or doing anything I needed even with some off roading.

Never had the problems and got stuck, or costs like the Taco has got me into.

Not going to say it would be an off road trail rig but have wheeled with some and the whee base helps in some cases but can be more of a challenge in tighter turns. Hill climbs nothing can beat wheel base. I would bet a 2500 ram stock could do more and go more places the a TRD stock.

 

I own both a Ram 2500 and Tacoma. The Ram is too long and heavy for offroading here. Not to mention the width isn't even usable on most of the fun trails.

I was wondering where you went.