New Toyota Owner - Why I bought the 3rd Generation and my acclimation so far

So Subaru owner here who decided he needed a truck. Being from the South, naturally every vehicle I own better be dirt worthy, or in my case, sometimes snow.

First option I looked at was the Nissan Frontier. Pretty great truck in my opinion, except for the lack of leg room in the back seat. So it was struck from the list.

Next up was the F150. The 302 engine is a classic, and it's a full-size truck, so plenty of room for 3 passengers. But the interior is gawdy as all get out. Not even the limited can redeem the overall "work-truck" atmosphere, which is fine, but not for me. Also the exterior is too basic. This latest generation will never be remembered.

Which left the Tacoma. Now I personally believe that no matter what detractions people may throw at the 3rd generation, it's by far the best looking Tacoma so far. And I wanted to jump on it before Toyota went the way of the Colorado or upcoming Ford Ranger. They look like Urkel, if trucks had britches these would be pulled all the way up. I don't know what's wrong with these designers.

From what I understand the Tacoma has a 4wd system that's hard to beat, and I am getting 23.9 on long trips, that are a combination of city and hwy. Which is pretty good for a 6 speed transmission.

I haven't towed my boat with it yet, but I foresee no problems seeing as how I know somebody tows his skiff with the 4 cyl.

Being new to the Tacoma I do have a question.

Has anyone noticed where when you come to a stop, especially suddenly, there's a thump underneath the truck? I think the transmission must be shifting down to 1st a little awkwardly.

Thank you for listening. Thus far I feel pretty good with my decision. I plan to post some pics later.

 

Lots. Some variable causes as well.

If you can make it do it every time you wish, take it in to a dealer.

In the meantime, search on the term axle wrap as a starter.

 

Agreed, it's axle wrap. You'll get used to it. I forget mine does it, but if someone is riding in my truck they'll ask about it.

 

Congrats on the new truck

 

Hope you enjoy your truck.

I wanted to point out that the current 5.0 Litre engine is nothing like the classic 302. They just have the same displacement.

The old is a pushrod over head valve configuration that is very compact.

The later shares more in common with the 4.6L and 5.4L Triton V8s as it is a over head cam engine. Good engine though.

 

I've never had this issue of "axle wrap", am I supposed to..?? What is the fix if my truck develops it..?
I did torgue the U bolts 2 days after buying the truck.....and filling ALL fluids, grease, etc

Did I fix it before it happened..?

 

One thing Ford has on their side is time. They've been engineering forever, so I can see why Toyota would play it safer when making changes to vehicles that are proven. (I've seen that Toyota's slowness to step up their hp is a common complaint). But this proven record is exactly why I went with it. The Axle wrap is not a distraction. It's just I assume should it lead to damage it would only be covered up to 100k on my 4x4 parts warranty, not part of the 200k powertrain warranty. Ill have to look into it when I get the time.