Hi! Bit the bullet, after years of looking..

Bought a '17 base model 4x4 that had been a loaner for dealership. 1000 miles. Totally un-fancy, without the bells and whistles that make most of the trucks on the lot priced astronomically. Some features I've gotten used to like remote keyless entry and cruise control will be somewhat missed, but for the amount of money saved and the fact that I HATE burning gas not a real concern. Love the rear camera - a very big help as my aged neck can't turn much anymore.
I was a bit surprised to find what I had read here already, that the big 4 cylinder engine does have to work a lot on hills, but again I'll get used to stepping down a little hard on the gas. At my advanced age being a little underpowered is not a big deal. I had a Dodge Ram 4x4 for 27 years before turning it in on a Chevy AWD van that had 40K more miles than the 90 I had on the Dodge. Got four+ years out of the van, but 12 mpg and lots of repairs ate up too much of my time and money. I have a 17 year old Camry which I use for most of my travels in the non-snow periods, and it has been a very reliable vehicle, just turned 90K miles. The only complaint I have about the Camry is that it is lousy in the snow, even with the Michelin X-Ice winter tires which are the best set I've had on it. Camry often can't make it up the hill on our 1/4 mile dirt right of way in winter, else wouldn't be a problem, but I still need a truck for hauling stuff. I waited for years for the Mahindra vapor truck, and it, of course, never materialized. The payload of the Tacoma is a bit wimpy for firewood, but I'll just keep loads small.
This is a terminal purchase at my age, and I expect this truck to outlast me, though I'll be competing to make that as short a time as I can, lol.
I was on my way out the door to go tractor shopping, and I thought, "well, it can't hurt to look online and see if they have any decent deals on Toyota trucks." That is how close it was, and I'll have to make my little CUT last at least the years I'm financing the truck. Should do it easily, I hope.
I'm in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of NY, having escaped the insane urban jungle that SW CT has become over the years in 2009.

 

Congrats. Search the forums here and you will find out how easy it can be to add features you lack, like cruise.

 

WELCOME!What @Lt. Dangle said above^!

"Dangle"!

 

Welcome to the club! There is plenty of information thru this forum!

 

Welcome

 

This is a great forum, just joined a month ago , and already had answers to my questions

 

Welcome!