New to TW: 2018 TRD-OR (6MT, Leather, Moonroof)

Hey everyone - I have been reading TW for about three years as I've been planning to buy a new Tacoma. I have found the threads extremely helpful and I really appreciate all of the time and energy people put into sharing this information. The first vehicle I ever owned was a 2001 Tacoma "TRD" access cab, 5MT, which I loved. I sold it when I moved to Chicago (too expensive to park) and I always regretted that. Now I am back in Virginia, I am approaching 40 so I figured I would get a jump on my midlife crisis and re-purchase my all-time favorite vehicle, albeit 17 years later. I didn't get the 2016 because of the new model year, and then in 2017 I heard that Safety Sense was coming so I waited another year.

I plan to take the vehicle off road on camping trips off the fire trails of the George Washington National Forest near where I live. Manual transmission is an absolute essential for me (so much fun to drive, no one steals them) but of course limits my options. I also really wanted leather interior, and moonroof, which until 2018 wasn't possible.

So I went with a 2018 TRD-OR 6MT and a few upgrades - the 4Runner TRD-Pro wheels (with 265/70/17 K-02 like everyone else [yawn]), TRD-Pro shifter (I don't like the crease in the stock one), and TRD-Pro grille (don't like the cheese grater). I also have the skid plate and tonneau cover coming but the dealer forgot those so I have to wait a week. Hondo i-Phone holder but I haven't installed it yet.

Because leather / moonroof / 6MT are a rare combination it took me 4 months to get this truck. I started visiting dealers and also talking to car brokers in November 2017. Everyone wanted to sell me a truck that was already on their lot. That was frustrating but I understand the business case for this. I was able to buy one locally in Charlottesville, VA.

Attached are a few pictures of the vehicle. My next upgrades will be audio - I've been reading the $250 audio thread in detail, which has been helpful, but I think I am going to go with what I know (from previous builds) - powered component speakers in the front, powered subwoofer behind the seat (Stealthbox, my only concern is whether the base will be muffled having to travel through a seat), and I'm thinking of putting Kicker CompRT 43CWRT672 shallow-mount 6-3/4" subwoofers in the rear doors and running them at low gain to produce some clear low volume base to supplement the Stealthbox. I know they won't be enclosed like the Stealthbox but if I don't like how they sound I can just turn them off.

Oh, and I have to figure out how to get three carseats in this thing.

Thanks to all the TW contributors who unknowingly helped guide me towards this purchase!

 

Welcome! good looking taco

 

Congrats and welcome, man!

 

Welcome, and nice truck! 3 car seats is gonna be a fun challenge though.......

 

That's one sharp rig!

Congrats, M/T FTW

 

nice looking taco

 

Congrats on the gorgeous truck, well worth the wait to get it!

 

Perfect and congrats!

 

You swap out the shift knob it is that what they ship with now?

 

It's a TRD Pro shift knob, it says so in the original post.

 

Did Toyota discontinue the Rear Cross-traffic alert?

 

Congrats and welcome. Hit me up if you want to hit the trails sometime.

 

Very nice, exactly how i want to buy my Tacoma if i get an OR
How much before TTL if i can ask

 

How do you like the safety sense? Worth waiting for?

 

No lift?

 

Welcome! Congrats on your purchase. Where in VA do u live? I currently live near Woodstock but am planning on moving to Winchester in about a month or so. Best of luck.

 

@JohnGalt nice Tacoma and good move on the manual trans!

They should still have it. If you zoom in on the interior shot showing the dash you can still make out the BSM switch.

 

Answering questions in bulk:
1) I upgraded the shifter to the TRD Pro Shifter. I believe it's $140 MRSP, $95 cost
2) Truck has RCTA (as bbrown mentions there is a BSM switch on the dash) although I haven't used it yet - I have only driven it for three days. I know my radar apparently needs to be cleaned because radar cruise control wasn't working on the highway. So I have to learn more about TSS
3) $41,113.15 was the price of the truck with all the upgrades installed (not including $499 processing fee, VA title tax, dealers license tax, VA license fee, title fee, and filing fee). Hoping to recoup some of that by selling the 5 wheels and tires that came with it
4) Still getting used to TSS, so far I do notice that the truck beeps when something gets near me. Lots of debate on TW about TSS and whether it's annoying or not, I haven't driven it long enough to comment
5) No lift. I went with 265/70/17 because that is what most people on TW say is a reasonable size upgrade that you can do without any modifications

 

My bad, missed that line. Looks good.