First time truck owner

First time truck owner here and I absolutely love my new Tacoma. Took it out for a camping trip a few days after getting it. No more roof bag on an SUV, the truck hauled everything with ease. The closest thing and probably the furthest from a truck was a Honda Element I had way back when and I missed being up higher and being able to trek all the gear. Don’t know why I ever traded it in. Looking forward to scouring the forums for tips, tricks and mods. Already got a few of the simple mods in the center console and glove box from suggestions here. Everyone seems so friendly and helpful.

 

Welcome to TW.

Nice looking truck!

 

Congrats on the new rig! Welcome!

 

Nice truck.

 

Congrats and welcome

 

Nice truck and happy miles to you….question. In that photo, are you in a redwood forest , im on eastcoast. Those trees are beautiful, ive never seen the redwoods

 

Yes, those are the redwoods in Northern California. And thank you everyone for the warm welcome.

 

Congrats, that's a sweet looking truck!

And what a nice setting for camping, love it.

 

Right now the front air dam doesn’t bother me. (Plus I hear taking it off is causing a noise that I don’t want to have until I have the money for a full solution) What do you mean AT tires?

 

I don't know if this is a Sport or Offroad thing, but I took the chin spoiler off my SR5 and have no noises

 

Same here , took mine off and no noise

 

Thank you for confirming, i have always wanted to see those trees, somday, if i ever come west……enjoy that Taco

 

Nice ride, welcome!!!

 

Nice rig love the color …welcome to tw .. don’t listen to people saying take off the chin strap and add at tires … not needed unless u planning to do more aggressive off-roading . The stock tires are fine for off the pavement roads .

 

Music people loved the Honda Element and VW Vanagon. The side doors and convertible flat spaces are great for jamming in small groups. I was surprised when Honda discontinued the Element. Good to hear you are enjoying your new Tacoma.

 

The Element was probably the best utility vehicle Honda has sold in the US. Ridgeline is more utilitarian, but it's a pick up and the pickup market has been saturated since the 90s and everyone makes a pickup or three. There wasn't, and there still isn't a comparable vehicle to the Element. Many CUV are close but don't compare, and Element was much smaller than most SUV. The Maverick even though it has a bed is probably the closest interior wise to the Element.

 

IMO Honda missed an opportunity to sidestep Subaru and VW with the Element. An "Outback" style Element with higher clearance, upgraded suspension, and cosmetic changes would have been a hit. I still think it could be if they built it. Drop in a hybrid power train for MPG, HP, and Torque and it would eat VWs EV van for lunch along with giving the customization guys a new toy to configure.

 

Good pick on that TRD Sport, and glad you are using it right. Some CA highways are worse than the backroads, so check the tires and the tire pressure from time to time. You're gonna get a lot of pleasure out of the pickup.

 

Great to see a Tacoma in its natural habitat - the redwoods are quite amazing.

If you do a lot of camping and don't want to mess around with ice for the cooler, which is a pain,
you might want to think about one of these Dometic fridge setups with something like a Jackery 1000 Pro
to power it ( or use the 12v connection in the truck ).

This is a setup I did in my Access Cab you could probably do something similar in the standard cab.

This Dometic keeps foods/etc as cold as my home fridge - we love it.

 

Skip the lifts and other expensive mods for a while.

A lot of folks lift these things, change out headlights, add lots of 'stuff' right away and then when
an issue occurs they don't know if it was an issue while stock or after the mods were made. Usually
turns out it was some incorrect mod - so I'd avoid stuff like that the first year or two. Anything electrical
is like playing russian roulette. Leave it all alone for a while that way if any issue comes up the dealer
won't play games. (if warranted item)

Also.... quite important thing here.... find a GOOD independent shop and let them do all the maintenance.
I wouldn't let the dealer touch mine.
And,... change the oil rotate the tires every 5000 MILES....


I'd seriously consider a new set of tires after about a year as well, stock-sized Wildpeaks is what I went
with and they really are a good all around tire especially when on not so nice roads.

That truck could last you for 10-15-20 years properly maintained.