4wd on non off road Tacomas

Hello everyone, This is my first post and it is long but I need some information from Tacoma owners so please bear with me.
I plan to purchase a new mid-sized truck within the next 6 months. I have narrowed my choices down to the Tacoma or GM twins. I have owned numerous GM vehicles and I am very familiar with their 4WD systems but completely in the dark about Toyota. I do 99% of my driving on the highway so I don't want an off road vehicle but the other 1% usually consist of pulling my boat up a slick grass covered hill at my house. With my 4wd with the G80 (GMs version of locking rear diff) I have no problem. However, with a gm 4wd without the G80 it spins on wet grass and tears up my yard.

I have read and heard nothing but great things about Toyota's 4wd abilities but in looking at the 2016 Tacoma info, and test drives thus far I think The Tacoma that I would be interested in would be the TRD Sport and From everything I can read I can't order a locking diff on that model.

So here is my question. Do the non off road Tacomas have some type of limited slip system in the differentials that would solve my situation or is that also only available on the TRD off road?

Thanks for your help. I really like the looks of the new Tacoma not to mention its great resale value.

 

Paging DavidK

 

OP, the sport has TRAC which will arrest a slipping wheel in 4WD-Hi gear, and will work for your needs. However if your in 4WD-Lo, I don't think TRAC will operate, and that might be an issue for you. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but that's the way I understand the non-off-road model trucks.

 

Thanks for all the replies. not familiar with the yellow wire mod but I will check the forum.

 

Wonder why Toyota didn't make it this way? Is there any down side to the mod?

 

There is no downside to this mod. It was discovered nearly (7) years ago and first described in the 4-low-trac thread.

 

Op.... Sounds like you should look at the TRD Off-road. It has a 'real' locker in the rear axle. It's a mechanical locker that is on 100% when engaged.

All the other trucks use a simulated slip prevention electronic / brake bla bla bla system. LOL

 

Some unsolicited thoughts from a Tacoma owner....

Any base ( or sport) model 4 wd Tacoma has all the tracion you need with the right motor, capacity And good AT tires. You don't need to have the OR package to pull a boat up a grass area.

 

Btw if the Taco doesn't work, nothing else but this will. Have no problem with this pulling boats up steep inclines with no wheel spinning whatsoever .

 

the reason the atrac i more agressive is due to the entirely different master cylinder / abs unit found on the TRD OR 4x4's.... they have an electric boosted self contained 4 channel abs traction control master cylinder capable of line pressures ~2x greater than the vacuum boosted setup on the rest of the tacomas.

 

MTS not ATRAC

 

One should NEVER buy a chevy.

 

OP, for the price difference just buy an SR-5 and have an ARB locker installed at the stealership. With all the money you'll save you can have them throw in a full OME lift setup with Dakars in the rear before you even drive it home.

 

Now wait.....I owned two Chevy Novas years back for Collge cars and a couple of Geo Prisms sold by GM. They were all made as a joint venture in Fremont Calif where they were made side by side with the Corrolla. Not all Chevys are bad.....especially the ones designed by Toyota using Toyota parts. They wer all excellent and trouble free.

 

I think you guys are covering this quite well...
Carry on!

 

Thanks guys for all the great replies. The reason I had not considered the off road was twofold.
1. I wanted a great ride on pavement and I was pretty sure I would never use Crawl Control. As soon
as a local dealer get some 2016 units in stock I plan to test drive a sport and an off road to judge for myself.

 

Any difference you notice on pavement will be due to the different tires.

Crawl control is a "software" feature, and certainly won't cause any harm by being available. You can just ignore it. It also is only available with the automatic transmission, not manual.

Actually, since you bring this up, your slick grassy boat ramp sounds like it would actually be the perfect excuse *for* crawl control. That is the kind of situation where it will actually be of benefit, since what it does, is it keeps the throttle application very steady (jerky throttle application is what typically initiates wheel spin), and increases the sensitivity of the electronic anti-slip.

About the two GM vehicles you are comparing with respect to the differential... aside from the differential, are they actually *identical*? And I mean everything down to the tire tread pattern and depth. The situation you're describing is really all in the *front*. And while adding an extra back wheel certainly wouldn't hurt anything, one extra back wheel on a pickup typically won't make a night/day difference.

Now a bald tire vs something a bit more aggressive, or at least *deeper* can make an enormous difference, especially when you are on wet lawn with a little bit of give for the treads to bite into.

 

I can't speak for the 2016, but the 2015 off road I bought had better on road ride the the standard SR5
. But, the new 2016 model should have improved ride in all models !

 

I thought the sport had a better on road ride than the OR? So what is the point of the sport other than the hood scoop?

 

I can only speak for the 2015. In that year, it handled better. The off road package absorbed bumps better and the 16 inch rims were less harsh.
If you get a 2016, all through the line the trucks have improved ride.....IMHO, it will not be an issue. I travel on a dirt road with potholes every day. So an off road will ride better then on city streets where the sport should excel. The sport should handle better and be cheaper. And...it has that non functional hood scoop..;-)
If all of your driving other then towing the boat is on tarred roads, the sport should be the ticket. The gen 2 trucks, the OR actually had the better ride then most other models...that should not be the case with the 2016.

Really, after trying them out, you will know more then us !