May purchase a used Tacoma

I currently have an SUV and full size truck. It's time to downsize, approaching retirement. I need a truck to obtain firewood for the wood stove. I estimated having 2 vehicles adds about $500/yr in expenses for insurance, taxes, etc. Still working for now, so I wouldn't want to be driving a full size truck to work for various reasons, fuel prices being one.

I'm a manual transmission fanatic. I surprisingly found 2 Tacomas in my area with 5 speed manuals, 1 2007 and 2006. 4WD is a must, which these are. I test drove both. The 2007 has 148k miles. It had sort of a drivetrain shudder from a stop, but settled down nicely around 40mph and especially on the highway. Did some research, this is somewhat common? Not a show stopper due to the deal I may get from the dealership, and to find a Tacoma with a manual transmission and 2.7L (plenty of power for me) in these parts is very rare.

What surprised me was the overall test drive. I do a ton of research, and was expecting a rough ride and less than ideal seating position. Absolutely not the case. I heard the seats for a truck are low, I found them ideal. I'm about 6', maybe that's why. I know it's a real truck body on frame (I need to check on that for rust). IMO it rides better than my 2002 Silverado. Another nice surprise was the gearing - at 70mph in 5th I was only around 2500rpm. Maybe 2350 at 65mph. I expected higher.

Also test drove a 2006, same configuration. Lower mileage, so more expensive and may not be obtainable, but it didn't have the drivetrain shudder. Both of these trucks felt very good to me. I guess for now just a couple of questions. Is the drivetrain shudder a big concern, is there potential for damage? Only seemed to occur when putting a load on the engine, such as going 40mph in 4th, then depressing the accelerator more. Also - I believe the 2.7L engine has a good reputation, is it common to exceed 200k miles? This looks like a great site. Thanks for the opportunity to join.

 

Welcome to the TW

 

The shudder you are experiencing is more than likely axle wrap. The stock leaf springs in these trucks are garbage. I installed an Icon pack in my truck and the shudder was completely gone. Good luck with your purchase.

 

Welcome to TW.
Drive train vibration is on some stock trucks right out of the factory. It can be resolved, lots of information about that here. All trucks that you are looking at sound good. My 4cylinder, had 325K miles on it when I sold it a few years ago and it's still being used as a delivery truck today. Good luck with your hunt.

 

Depending on where you live, I’d be very cautious buying a Tacoma that old given all the frame issues. The 2.7 is bullet proof, shouldn’t have any worries with that as long as it was properly maintained.

 

I’ve owned a few Gen 2 trucks myself, six to be exact. One of them an 06 X Runner 6 speed manual. As a work truck that was close to useless but it looked real nice and had the pussy magnet factory installed. One was. 2.7 five speed which I found to be weak as well, not able to tow much. The others have all been Sport models and Pre Runners with automatic. There are unique quirks and problems with these trucks, known issues to be aware of before jumping in. Leaking timing covers, paint falling off, driveline vibrations, head gaskets, water leaks into the cab, air conditioning that drains or sweats moisture into the passenger compartment just to name a few. I actually had less problems with the Gen 1 trucks and in my opinion felt they were better more reliable trucks. I’m still driving an 07 Sport with low miles

 

I have a 2007 Tacoma 4X4 crew cab. I also have a 2014 F150 4X4 crew cab with the 5.0 V8. The Tacoma beats the Ford by 1 mpg. The newer F150's with the 2.7 V6 beat Tacoma's fuel mileage AND out tow my V8 F150 Tacoma's are great trucks, just don't expect one with the V6 to get better fuel mileage than your Chevy. They will be about the same and I wouldn't be surprised if your Chevy does better. The 4 cylinder won't beat it by much. And you'll be really disappointed in the power of the 4 cylinder with a load of wood in the bed.

You'd be very unlucky to get less than 400,000 out of either the 4 or 6 cylinder engines. There are guys with 1 million+ on the 4 cylinder and some in excess of 500,000 on the 6 cylinder.

If you decide on Tacoma and want to haul firewood you'll really need a utility trailer. Tacoma's have limited space in their beds and very limited payloads. Around 1000-1200 lbs is typical. Most 1/2 tons are going to be closer to 1800 lbs. You can haul more wood in a 10' utility trailer than you could put in the bed of a 3/4 ton with an 8' bed and be well within the tow ratings of a V6 Tacoma. Plus it doesn't beat up the bed and is a lot easier to load/unload.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

Thanks for the welcomes and as expected replies with good information. Encouraging to know a 2.7L can exceed over 300k or more! Yea recent engine technology with new vehicles makes some full size trucks achieve pretty good fuel economy. I'll research here about the drivetrain shudder. I did see elsewhere it's happened on new Gen 2 Tacomas.

I will need to look at the frame, I live in New England. I did on the 2006, looked good. A trailer is in fact a good idea for firewood - it's not always easy lifting good sized rounds into my Silverado, a trailer is lower. I had a small one once, 4x6 I think, but I sucked at backing it up! I heard trailers with longer tongues are actually a bit easier, like for a 4x8. I realize I'm making some sacrifices with load capacity, finances are a factor for this whole decision. I realize the V6 would be better for hauling wood. I guess I'm old school, maybe weird(!), I just really like the 4 cylinder/manual combination.

Thanks for the many links in the previous message.

 

I’m old school that way too. All my favorite old Toyotas owned by others were 4 cyl./manual/4x4. By the time I got around to getting one for myself that’s all I wanted. No regrets. Mine tows trailers, plows snow, commutes at highway speed and generally gets about 20 mph.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Good to know. I was going to guess with that engine/transmission it would be possible to hit 20mpg. I don't have to tell anyone manuals are very rare, especially these days on a 4WD truck. I'll check to see if Toyota still offers one with the Tacoma. For cars and SUVs I thought Subaru would be a holdout - but only CVTs have been available for several years on the Outback in the U.S.A., and a few years on the Forester. I'll admit modern automatics are great, but I've typically exceeded the EPA ratings a bit with manual transmission vehicles I've had.

Thank you!