Why pick 2016 Tacoma DCLB over F150 DC (supercrew)

I'm just going to throw these here for the guys trying to decide. A full 2,000lbs in the bed, and another 200 lbs in feed in the cab.

 

You are so helpful Jon. Has anyone told you to take a long walk off a short pier yet today? That sharp pain you feel is my wife sticking needles in your voodoo doll. Really, thanks, your info and the comments from the other F150 owners has been helpful. From what I've read it looks like the incentives for the 2015's expire the beginning of November, so I need to make up my mind here soon. I think the two big things holding me back is that a F150 will not fit in my garage and I really like my Tacoma. But they're really nice trucks and the incentives from Ford are crazy good. If one of my sons wants to buy my Tacoma that may push me over the edge.

 

I have a 2016 Tacoma on order that I am not obligated to buy. With two small children I'm concerned the DC is going to be too tight. I'm also not thrilled about -early- mpg numbers.

So I have been testing F150s. For aesthetic and amenity reasons my focus has been the Lariat Sport. Upper end models have too much chrome, and lower models can't match Tacoma options.

The interior dimensions and incentives are definitely causing me to question the Tacoma. However a few hours on the Ford forum still have me leaning Toyota.

Especially if you're interested in the F150 moonroof I recommend reading the F150 forum. That was a top option for me that I wouldn't touch now.

 

You're welcome! And can you tell her to move the pins to the right a little, I seem to have a knot right about there. Thanks!

I understand. I didn't really want to let my Taco go either. It was fun, small, could get places many people thought it wouldn't/shouldn't go, and never left me stranded anywhere despite all the problems. I even towed and jump started several other vehicles that broke down.

It was just to the point were I was looking at $4,000+ before tax at the dealer for misc frame replacement parts, UCAs, front axle shafts (2nd replacement), wheel bearings (2nd replacement), timing cover seal leaking ($400 repair for $15 in liquid sealant), new shocks all around, and they claimed the clutch was going (replaced within a year already).

That didn't count both cat/exhaust manifolds were fouled and needed replacement (engine was burning oil, throwing P0420 and P0430 codes). Passenger side was $900 dealer cost, $1600 retail, plus labor and tax. Who knows how much the other one costs. I didn't ask. So closer to $5,000 at dealer, another potential $2,000-$4000 in cat work, plus the muffler rotted through, tailgate needed to be replaced/painted, rear locker needed to be replace, and the AC didn't work (tried recharging it last year, didn't help).

So what's all that? Around $7,000-$10,000 in potential repairs? Even if I was able to spread it out over the next year I was looking at $700-$800 per month in repair bills! That's even if I COULD split it up! The dealer wanted their money up front while Monro could have done most of the rest 1 at a time. I didn't have $5,000 laying around to dump at the dealer, but I can do biweekly $300 payments to pay off a new truck faster.

In the end it didn't make sense to me to spend that much money on putting a 9 yr old truck with 140,000 miles on it through the shop each month for a year, hoping nothing else failed in that time. Even if it cost less than a new truck (which it didn't). All that for a truck the didn't really meet my current needs. A lot changes over a decade.

And now even a simple trip to get heating fuel for the house is easier!

• I no longer have to call my wife to come meet me with a second vehicle to split a ton between them.
  
• I no longer have to have the wife call a pellet place, reserve a ton over the phone with our CC, drive home, hook up trailer, turn around to drive to the pellet place, fight with getting the pallet on the trailer, drive home, and maneuver it to our back door before unloading. I can go directly there, have them slid it into the bed, and drive away.
• I won't have to limit myself to 10-20 bags hand thrown onto a cart at HD, dragged through the store, hand throw into the truck bed, then hand carried into the house. I can touch them once when unloading the truck. (I was doing small trips every week to stock up, paying more than the pallet price, because getting a ton was such a pain in the ass. And I ended up coming close to running out each winter because I was going week to week on fuel.)

With that 2,000 lbs in the bed I hooked up my 5x10 trailer with extended tongue (8 ft section of 3/8" thick 3x4" steel tube) and went for a drive. The extended tongue (to fit my tractor loader) made it so heavy we no longer towed with the Pathfinder, and even with the rebuilt springs in the Tacoma (800lbs made it sit level) it sagged a little while empty. I could feel the trailer behind the tacoma, and braking made me nervous. With the F150 in Tow/haul mode I came down the steepest hill near my house without touching the brakes.

Edit:
FWIW, my Tacoma hasn't parked in my barn since the first year. Too many tools, and the wood floor sagged under the weight. So now my tractor sleeps there. Easier for the block heater and battery charger anyway. lol So that wasn't really a factor for me. Although, the SCREW 6.5 requires a 3 or 4 pt turn to leave my driveway. That took some getting used to.

 

FWIW, I have the moonroof and haven't had a problem with it. Only time water gets inside is when I leave it popped up at work and it rains, or I open it while water is still draining off it. (Stupid mistakes on my part.)

I haven't really looked at the 2016's, but my XLT has more options than I've seen on any of the Toyotas I've driven.

 

Seems like a no-brained for piercedtiger. Not sure how a midsize could ever be the right call for your lifestyle.

I'm the weekend Home Depot run guy. Again carrying two kids is my concern. :/

 

I have 4 kids, and we bought an "as-is, where-is" HUD foreclosed house. So yeah, I was running to HEP, Home Depot, Lowes, or Valu Home Center every weekend as well.

One of the cashiers at Valu has been a friend on FB for a few years now, and his family came over to see our goats a couple weeks ago before getting their own. Maybe I spent TOO much time there? haha (We had to put $1,000 into plumbing repairs so it would pass inspection before we could even close on it.)

The Tacoma was good when they were small. (Then again, we had that and a Corolla. So it was bigger than a Corolla.....) Now my 17yr old is ~5'8", the 14 yr old is ~5'5", and the other two are over 4ft so it was getting cramped for them.

The thing you forget about is what ELSE goes with kids! Snacks, diaper bags, extra clothes, jackets. If you live in snow country there's boots, snow suits, scarves, gloves, etc. I have a plastic footlocker like bin I would stuff things in and toss under the shell in the bed because I didn't have room up front for that stuff. Even bags or gifts for holidays couldn't go on the floor by their feet. Everything went in the box in the bed to stay clean and dry.

I had to get a bed cover of some sort shortly after getting the truck just to keep things dry that wouldn't fit in the cab. With the F150 I want one, but I'm kinda like "ehhhhh..... I don't *reallllly* need one right now......" since I can fold the seats up and toss in 4x50lb bags of feed when it's raining, and still have room for a child or two. Same with groceries.

 

Well! I can add to this I had an 04 dc or. Loved the truck but I needed a plow truck. That was the first mistake. Sold the Tacoma bought a used f-550 7.3 diesel. Great truck plowed like a tank just got to a point where I was throwing more money into it than I would like. So! Sold that and a 68 f-100 show truck and on Memorial Day I went into ford. I wanted a new truck but didn't know witch one. Drove a platinum f150 with the Eco boost. Man that truck was sweet!! But a 68k price tag made me walk away. Drove the chebby 1500. Nice truck but wasn't me. Sat in the Tacoma and drove it but it's too small for what I need. I race dirt bikes so needed something to pull my trsiler. Not a big trailer but a fully loaded 7X12 trailer with three bikes my old Tacoma would be screaming pulling that. So back to ford I go. I had them build me a 2015 f-150 lariat with 3.5 Eco boost the full sun roof, leather, heated&cooled seats, super cab, max trailer tow, all the bells and whistles that you can have for 47k out the door. Got good pricing threw my job since we buy 10 fords a year.


So enough of the back story. So now I've had the truck for 4 months and 5000 miles, it's not my daily driver. I can say wow! The Eco boost absolutley flys! She's pretty damn quick for a full sized stock truck. Can roast the tires right off it, not that I would know The 3.5 pulls better than my dads 6.0 diesel that's got a pretty hot tune on it. I honestly can't even realize the trailer is behind me. Once those turbos spool up your gone. The truck rides like a Cadillac very very comfortable. I love the huge cab. I can fit 5 full sized adults no problem with more than enough leg room. So now for the kinda bad. Fuel milage isn't amazing what the dealer said. I drove it like a granny and got 20 that's highway and in town. Drove it like a hot rod and pulled my trailer 300 miles and got 15. Not bad but not good. Other than that I love the truck


So! With that being said I absolutley love my truck. It out pulls everything in the 1/2 ton class. The truck is super sharp looking and with the aluminum no worries about rust. Yes it will oxidize and who knows about repairs and honestly who cares! Lol if anyone is in the new truck market check them out. You will not b disappointed. Now all of this may be a little biased but I'm in love with it.

 

Yes it's a snapchat....... But here it is the day I brought her home. I'll get more pictures later this week. I've got the windows tinted. Leveling kit and a tonnue cover, or how ever the hell u spell it

 

Don't get me wrong. I love my Tacoma. It's my first Toyota ever, none the less Tacoma. It's like brand new, only 12,000 miles on it so I'm hoping one of my sons wants to buy it. I'm just feeling like I want a "full size" truck again. As far as room goes, my wife and I are empty nesters. Son's are 33 and 28. No grandkids yet so I don't have that issue. I've done a couple of longer trips with the Tacoma with four adults in it. The back seat passengers survived, but I don't think they would want to do that all the time. I'm 6'1" so the drivers seat is all the way back for me. We do take our next door neighbor's son (he's almost 4) in a forward facing car seat in the Tacoma sometimes. We have to move the passenger seat up a bit. Just remember, your kids only get bigger. Pluses of the Tacoma though, good quality, decent gas mileage, easy to maneuver, even in parking garages. It's a tough decision for sure and I tend to over think things. Good luck with your decision.

 

One other thing if you don't mind me putting my two cents in. If you are going to use the truck for an trips, with two kids in the Tacoma, you will have to get a cap on the back or weather proof tonneau cover. No way will there be room in the back for anything other than the kiddies.

 

Jeep Grand Cherokee deezul

 

Seriously doe, 2016 Tacoma vs Grand cherokee in off-road capability? Power/towing? MPG's? Reliability?

 

That's what kills me! The F150 gets better MPG than the Tacoma! I was consistently under 18mpg with the Tacoma, and I can get low 18's in the F150 consistently. It's not a lot more, but considering it's 1,000 lbs heavier, taller, wider, longer, and more powerful I'm impressed.

 

The GC has a unibody. It's decent at off-roading but not exceptional. They are hefty and don't have very much suspension travel. If you're going down dirt roads and what not you'll be fine but it's no rock crawler.

Best you can do aftermarket is a 2.5" icon kit and it'll fit 275s... Mid travel taco with 3" lift and 285s would be superior off-road me thinks, mostly because of the additional suspension travel.

GC power can far exceed the Taco.. You can get a 6.2 hemi in the SRT8 package or the 5.7 hemi in lower models as well as the V6 ecodiesel. Not sure about towing honestly.. You'd have plenty of motor but not sure about payload capabilities.

Reliability and value retention will heavily favor the Tacoma. Jeeps aren't bad but they're not at the top of the JD Power reliability reports like Lexus/Toyota. The GC has a lot of electrical/tech stuff that the taco doesn't even offer.

GC is a great offering... can get FAAR more luxurious than a Taco ever dreamed of being.

 

I've had two Grand Cherokee's. A 1986 and a 1998.
Both were pieces of total crap. I would not own one if they were giving them away.

 

Maybe they are better now that Fiat owns them?

 

No...

http://www.chryslerproblems.com/trends/tipm/

My mother picked up a 2011 that failed to start the second time we started it after getting home from the dealership... We took it back immediately. I recorded the video below before we took it back that night (same night we bought it).

https://youtu.be/WdxcrrNq5TA

 

Wow that would be a bummer. Did she get another vehicle or did they fix it? What was the problem.

Also, did Fiat own Chrysler in 2011? I know they bought like 41% market share at one point, but I thought it wasn't until 2014 they bought the whole shebang?

Edit: words are hard...I see you linked a TIPM article, so I'm assuming that's what was wrong with your mums car?

 

Just looked it up, you're right, they didn't fully purchase until 2014.

It was a real bummer, she was trading in a Chevy Malibu and she just took it back before they put it on the lot and was able to back out of the deal. She was really disappointed, this GC had every option available and really seemed like a great vehicle.