1st gen Tacoma or Tundra?

Hey all, I know this being a Tacoma forum that you'll be a bit biased.. but I'm looking into getting a new (older) truck. I just moved to the rockies and my 2wd 2nd gen tacoma just isn't cutting it. I'm looking to get into an older Toyota with 4x4. My gf owns a 97 4runner 4x4 that I've been working on and the things a beast, but I don't quite fit in it ( 6'3 and my head hits the inside of the sunroof when I hit a bump). Is the tacoma a similar size on the inside? Which truck would you guys recommend? I plan on light/medium occasional hauling, no towing, moderate off roading in the middle of the rockies. Will be modding it in the future, or will be buying a modded one. I love the tacoma aftermarket support, and am concerned about the tundras support. My family owns 5 tacomas so I feel obligated to stick with the tacoma, but the idea of a bigger truck is appealing. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

There is more room in a 1st gen Tacoma than the 3rd GT4R

..but at 75” and in the mountains, If not 4x4 often, prolly best with a 04-06 Tundra access for the room and power.
I’m 6’ and fine in Tacoma and like the compactness.

 

If it comes down to cab comfort try both and go from there.

If your hauling needs include lots of 48"x96" sheets of anything the Tacoma gets old fast hauling with one side against the wheel well the other on the bedside .

Most anything else being hauled is not to bad at least to me.

 

I'm 6' and fit in my Tacoma snugly. I put in a set of Corbeau seats and the seat height is a little lower, which made it much more enjoyable for me to drive. Plus, once the seat is all the way back, I cannot comfortably reach the pedals, so you being a bit bigger would fit. I highly recommend butt dyno-ing both before you buy. I had a buddy that was 6'4" and barely fit into any vehicle without the seats maxed out.

What mods are you looking at doing in the future that you may be concerned about with a Tundra?

 

The 1st gen Tundra and 2nd gen Tacoma are close, but the Tundra is a little bigger. To me the 1st gen Tacoma is just too small. I can make my 2nd gen work as far as cab size. The rear seats are OK for 2 adults on a short trip, no more than one back there for a longer trip

The 1st gen Tundra's have near the same cult like following as Tacoma's. One in good shape sells for a premium. They are darn good trucks. My brother has a 2006. The biggest downside is that they used a timing belt instead of a chain. The belt MUST be replaced every 90,000-100,000 miles BEFORE it breaks. If you let it go too long and it breaks on you the engine is toast. That job will cost you $1000+ at a Toyota dealer. You can get it done considerably less at an independent shop. Just keep that in mind when shopping.

The 2007 and newer Tundra is bigger, and uses a timing chain. And to be honest you can probably buy a 2007 or 2008 cheaper than a 2005 or 2006. While they don't have the cult like following those are good trucks too.

 

Those tundras are every bit as reliable so if room is your most important factor I would say go with Tundra plus have the extra power.I would say most of us have Tacomas because of the off-road capability,compactness,and just cool factor of having an older Tacoma modded our still kicking it around town.

 

The Tundra is huge compared to the 1st gen Tacoma, it’s a safer truck and if your 6.3” a better choice.

Personally I like the smaller compact Tacoma, so much easier to get around in.

If you put in Corbeau seats LG1, you will gain plenty of room leg and head room.
I’m 6” and have a ton of head room and can extend my legs straight.

I would go with a Tahoe before a Tundra myself, plenty of room and comfortable and reliable.

 

Yeah of the choices he named sounds like tundra be the way to go for him.I like Chevys also and would love to see them bring back the 2 door Tahoe,I used to want one so bad when I was younger.

 

I have both, a 95 Tacoma and 2005 Tundra. Love them both. I will say the Tundra is far more comfortable to drive on road trips due to the seat height and more room. I'm 6'1" with gibbon proportions and the Tacoma has you sitting on the floor which gets uncomfortable for me after a couple hours. I prefer the Taco for off road and driving around town though. Only downside for me with the 05 Tundra is the towing capacity is lackluster. I have a small Toy hauler and it pulls it OK, but not great. I'll eventually get a newer model Tundra with that said.

The timing belt vs chain shouldn't even be a consideration. You'll probably have to do a water pump at the same mileage on a timing chain motor which is just as much work. When I got my Tundra it had the original timing belt at 200k. Definitely wouldn't recommend that but it still looked fine surprisingly enough. I've done three belts on my Tacoma, not a tough job.

 

although I have no experience with first gen tacos, I do with 3rd gen runners which are identical except for the bodies.

now everyone thinks they are bulletproof and enginge / trans wise they are but the front diffs / cvs are crap. I've broken at least a dozen cvs, some doing something stupid and other times just going in a straight line.

this was inside the diff on the add side:


oem front pinion snapped on 32s (this happened TWICE):


another cv:


swapped to a built diff, hasn't broke yet:


another cv:


another cv:


another cv:


Point im trying to make is while the taco is pretty bulletproof .. well it's really not. Get the tundra, better front diffs and cvs.. just my 2 cents.

 

Thanks everyone, I think the Tundra will make the most sense. One of you mentioned a 2nd gen Tundra can be had for a similar price to the 04-06 models. Any idea why that is? My 2nd gen Tacoma has been amazing for the past 7 years, and if the 2nd gen Tundra is built similarly I'd prefer to go with that. It looks a bit better and a newer truck for a similar price seems like its too good to be true.
I'm going to miss the awesome support of tacomaworld, those tundra forums are looking pretty lame compared to here.