I'm thinking about buying a Tacoma

Hi everyone! My name is Alex, and I've been looking around into buying a truck for over 5 years now. I currently drive a 2011 Chevy Suburban which I use to haul stuff around, plus currently have 7 in the family (including myself). It has been trouble free so far with 230,000 miles, but it's time to retire this thing before it just grenades on me.

I've been mainly interested in towing a trailer (small 5x7 for work) and and open trailer as well to haul concrete bags, drywall, beams, etc (I'm currently working on my house). Both units would top out at 3000-3500lbs, maybe an occational 4,000lbs once a year 12mile haul.

At first, I've been mainly looking at Fords and GM trucks, but given the conspiracy theory that became true lately (they're bugging their vehicles without consent), plus their high transmissions failure and AFM "technology", I've decided to abandon them. Don't get me started with Ford either (their older stuff is much better but too overpriced nowadays).

So my quest to find the prefect truck continues. I really like the DCSB 4x4 manual, but I'm noticing that they're unicorns here in CA.

My question is, would a 2nd generation grant me the torque I need to haul stuff around? Or are both 2nd and 3rd gens equal in torque delivery? I don't like too much tech in my vehicles.

Also, I've only driven a 2012 DCSB 4x4 manual a few years back and I just can't get it out of my head! If i were to buy an LB auto, would I regret it?

Sorry... I know it's too many questions, but this is the truck that I'll be driving til the end of time.

 

Welcome aboard!

This video shows a 2015 Tacoma (2nd gen) towing a trailer up and down a mountain road.
This video shows a 2016 Tacoma (3rd gen) towing the same trailer on the same road.

The 2nd gen Tacoma 4.0L V6 produces 236 hp / 266 ft-lb torque.
The 3rd gen Tacoma 3.5L V6 produces 278 hp / 265 ft-lb torque.

 

Ohhhh... thank you. I just saw it and narrowed my search to my dream truck! Thank you!

 

i have owned both a 2nd gen and 3rd gen Tacoma both with V6 and manual transmissions and based on your initial post, i would not recommend a Tacoma for you. i believe you will be underwhelmed by the lack of power to the point of regret.

all i carry is a bunch of wheeling/camping gear and a couple mtn bikes and i find the lack of low end power annoying. in the mtns its almost embarrassing. if you are hauling and towing you will likley enjoy it even less.

if you do continue down the Tacoma road do yourself a favor and test drive which should include a drive with your loaded trailer on.

 

Welcome to TW...

 

Welcome. I hope you find your dream truck. If you are looking for a tow vehicle, Tacoma probably isn't your best choice. I would go with Tundra if you want a Toyota.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome!

 

Thank you for all of your responses. I forgot to mention that the first trailer will just have medical equipment, and collapsible tables for work. Nothing really too heavy. This would just be when I'm training here and there, maybe once a week. The second trailer would just be from my local hardware store (10miles), to my house. I'm at 3,500ft elevation here in the Acton/ Palmdale region of CA. I'm guessing if that's too much for the Tacoma, I wouldn't want to strain it. Thanks everyone for the input.

 

Hi so I just recently switched from a tundra to a tacoma 2g , 4x4 access cab manual 4.0

My goals were similar to yours 3500 lbs towing , occasional home project hauling. You will be fine. My 2nd gen has plenty of power to do what I do. Now if you want race someone up a hill while towing 10k lbs , it's not going to do that. But it will serve your purposes fine.

Edit: I'm at 6k feet elevation

 

Race? Haha! I would have done something stupid like that 20yrs ago. Thanks for the ray of hope.

 

I was like you once, also wanting a manual. However, with how rare they were, I had to settle for the automatic. Aside from the quirky transmission, I have no regrets. Consider a 3rd gen automatic, you shouldn't have trouble finding one. Also, theres a guy with over 350k miles on one who worked it and it is still solid. There's not much else you can really ask for.

 

Family of 7? Uh, towing or not, you don't want a Tacoma.

 

Yeaaaa I just assumed this wouldn't be his family vehicle. If it is however, then I agree with the above . My double cab tundra wouldn't have even worked for a family of 7

 

What made you think he uses Tacoma for kids?

He uses a Tacoma (if he gets one) for work. Don't forget that his wife probably have a minivan or something for family.

Or if family of 7 do not fit in one vehicle, then wife can follow him with other vehicle to their destination. That's what I do. I follow or they follow me.

_____

@Pyramid_Head, you can tow the trailer with Tacoma fine as long as no steep hills between the A and B places (flat land). For towing on the hills, get full size truck instead. If you want to stick with Tacoma, then take it easy. Don't overdo it.

 

Tacoma? *My* choice would be a well kept '12-'15 v6 auto with a tow package, add a trans cooler and a system monitoring tool like a ScanGaugeII. (I just dislike the looks of the 3g enough I don't want one). And while the published numbers of torque and HP are very close, dig deeper and find they occur at quite different RPMs.

Otherwise, a used F150 just old enough to be in the reliable and bit simpler pool.

Option 3. Find a Suburban of your same vintage that's around 100-120k and park it till what you're driving lays down. Which could be awhile.

 

True. My wife has a 7 seater rav4, so I won't be hauling 7 people TJ style in the Tacoma .

As for buying a gm product, I just don't like newer gm vehicles now that the transmission has to be programmed for it to work (pre-2005 is ok). If it weren't for that, and the recent class action lawsuit about tapping into owners drive logs and sending them to whoever they want, I'd keep it. Modern GMs = El Diablo.

I could sacrifice the manual for the auto and longer bed plus 4 doors. I'm still searching. 4.0 seems like it'll have a slight advantage in the torque curve. I'll have to look into that.

 

Welcome!

 

If payload, towing capacity, and torque are your top priorities, then you should seriously consider a Tundra. When it comes to pulling power, even the "lowliest" Tundra blows away every Tacoma (including the brand new 2024 Tacoma).

The 2021 Tundra (last year of the 2nd gen) has a 5.7L that produces 381 hp / 401 ft-lb torque.
The SR and SR5 have a max tow capacity of 9,800-10,200 lb, depending on cab size, drivetrain, and bed length.
Limited tow capacity is 8,800-10,100 lb.
Platinum and 1794: 8,800-9,400 lb.
TRD Pro: 9,200-9,900 lb.

The 2022+ Tundra (3rd gen) comes with a 3.4L twin-turbo V6. The TRD Pro and Capstone have a hybrid version of that same engine.
The SR produces 348 hp / 405 ft-lb torque and has a max towing capacity of 8300 lb.
The SR5, Limited, Platinum, and 1794 all have 389 hp / 479 ft-lb torque.
SR5 max towing is 11,010-12,000, depending on configuration.
Limited: 10,970-11,400.
Platinum and 1794: 10,890-11,380.
The TRD Pro and Capstone produce 437 hp / 583 ft-lb torque. TRD Pro max towing capacity is 11,175. The Capstone max towing is 10,340.

I know you don't plan to pack your entire family in the truck. But the interior of a Tundra is cavernous compared to any Tacoma, should you ever need to haul people.

I am not trying to sway you from buying a Tacoma, but carefully examine your usage plans before committing to that platform.