Picking up my new Taco tomorrow...

Greetings, all! Long-time lurker here, finally joining the forum because I'm picking up my new Tacoma tomorrow, a Cement TRD Offroad double cab. I'm like a kid on Christmas eve right now.

It's my first Tacoma and my first brand-new vehicle, ever--I've always preferred used vehicles. I'm of the "let someone else eat the depreciation" mindset, but that logic just doesn't work on a vehicle that holds onto its resale value like a terrified toddler clinging to his mother. I found a truck specced exactly as I wanted it, at a very appealing price... as I said, I'm a very happy man.

The only thing I'm wondering about: how I should handle the long drive I have from the dealer back to my house? I had to buy from a dealer one state over to find the exact truck I wanted, so my maiden voyage in the truck is going to be about 250-260 miles.

If you were in my shoes, would you take it home on the highway, or spend a couple extra hours taking surface streets to vary speeds/RPM a bit more? Or a mix of both? I've read all the threads here and on other forums on the subject, and I think I could recite the manual's advice on the subject by heart--I know it says "don't drive at extremely high speeds" and "don't drive at constant speeds for extended periods." Hence why I'm hesitant to take the highways.

And yeah, I know full well I'm being more than a little OCD even worrying about this, and it's likely that as long as I don't drive the thing like I stole it and avoid constantly slamming on the brakes as I drive the truck home, I'll probably be perfectly fine.... but you're still welcome to make fun of this anal-retentive question

But I'm obsessing over this because I want to hold on to this truck for as long as possible--I want to be dropping my two-year-old off at college in this thing. The reliability is a huge part of why I'm buying a Taco in the first place, and I want to do everything I can to make sure I help that along

Thanks, all!

 

Welcome to TW

 

Welcome to The Forum!

 

Welcome & Hello.

 

Welcome! Enjoy your new truck!

 

Highway speeds do vary, depending on traffic conditions. The only time I can use cruise control is in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise, I'm constantly varying from 50-70 MPH depending on traffic. If course, if you're in an area where that's not an issue, it's a bit different. Take the freeway, just don't use cruise control. Drive for a bit in the slow lanes, a bit in the fast, etc.

Break in is 500 miles or so, you'll have plenty of time hit surface streets once you get it home.

 

welcome

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Congrats and welcome

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

Welcome! I wouldn't worry about driving on the highway on the way home.

 

I smashed the throttle on my way home from the dealer and the truck loved it.

 

Lol, same here!!!

 

Welcome to TW and congrats on your purchase!

 

Thanks for the welcomes and the advice, all! You all pretty much echoed exactly what the rep at the dealer told me. Don't drive it like I stole it, maybe don't drive quite as fast as I normally would on the highway... I actually got a chuckle out of him when I asked about driving at a constant speed for too long. He looked at me and said something to the effect of, "man, you're driving out of a major metropolitan area the Friday before Labor Day weekend. If you manage a constant speed for more than two or three minutes at a time I'll consider it a miracle."

Anyway. Got the OCD anal retentiveness out of my system, now I can just enjoy the damn truck... which is easy to do. My only regret is waiting this long to buy one. Best part was getting home just before my 2-year-old son went to sleep, having him run outside grinning from ear to ear and clapping and jumping up and down, shouting "daddy's new truck! daddy's new truck!" Now if only I can keep him from covering the inside with crumbs...