AC owners,do you wish you had a DC?

I would love a DC, but I would have to have the LB. I don't know what I would do with a 5ft bed. LB is what I like most about a AC. I also don't know what I would do if i had with a DCLB. that extra 1ft makes a world of a difference In trying to parallel park and doing a u turn.

 

Grocery bags? Please. Park further away so you have room to maneuver, not all that difficult. I'd like to have the DC, but that sure isn't a reason. Yeah, the AC is tough on anybody, hence the simple, cheap, functional mod of building a bench seat for the AC, as posted above. Cures a lot of ills.

Neither configuration is perfect in my mind. With the DC, you lose three degrees of breakover angle compared to the AC, that's kind of a big deal. With the DC you gain 4 inches of rear leg room, more rear hip room, more rear headroom. So there are tradeoffs. I would prefer a RC for off-roading, but it's just not practical enough, and the DC is TOO practical.

Throw in a DCLB and you lose another degree of breakover angle, a degree of departure angle, and add another 13 inches to the overall length.

 

AC is great for people without kids or who don't carry more than 1 passenger. Other than that go with a DC. I have the DCSB off road, great for me as it will tow my boat, fit my family and friends, and carry what I need from Lowe's or Home Depot.

 

DCLBFTMFW

RRIIGGHHTT the ole park farther way mod.

If you are worried about all those angles then why not get a Jeep?

 

It's a foot difference in bed length. That takes it from awesome to useless? What can you haul in a 6 foot bed that you can't haul in a 5 foot bed? Give me one example of something impossible to haul in one bed, but perfectly doable in the other.

That reeks to me of self justification. The DC and AC are essentially the exact same. The only difference is one has the extra space in the cab for a larger family or more protected space, and the other places that extra foot in the bed instead for a bit more room for cargo. That's it. One isn't better than the other. It just depends on the particular needs of the person buying it. If I was single, i'd own an Access Cab. With a family, a Double Cab is an EASY choice, because those rear seats in the AC are ridiculously cramped for trips longer than ten minutes.

 

I do. But I have a wife and a kid.

 

Jeep, eh? Yeah I looked at the 4-dr (only the two choices, 2-dr or 4-dr). It has a 20-degree breakover angle, the DCSB 21-degrees breakover, whereas the AC has a 24-degree breakover angle.

The Jeep has the awesome approach and departure angles no matter 2-dr or 4-dr, but there's some troubles with them thar Yeeps. One of the biggest for me driving the 4-dr hardtop was I did a hard lane change and back again at 60 mph, and I tell you man, I was sweating when I was done. It wasn't a simple yank left, yank back right and you're done. No, no, there was . . . well go try it yourself and you'll see what I mean. The Taco passes that test easily and at even higher speeds.

Then also the Yeep 4-dr weighs 300 lbs more than the Taco, has an unproven Pentastar V6 (that has gone through four cylinder head redesigns already), doesn't have a real bed (although it is 6-ft long with the rear seats folded). They do have real skid plates standard, a roll bar, shorter overall length.

But no, the Jeep wasn't for me.

 

The times I wish i had a double cab, are usually negated by the times I actually use my long bed for moving stuff, hauling supplies, or camping

 

A bed camper, a few elk and deer, my possessions to move across country, me sleeping comfortably, the list goes on and on...

 

You can get bed shells for a short bed. Elk and deer can fit in a short bed. Your possessions is not quantifiable or specific. And who's going to move cross country with just what they can fit in the bed of a pickup truck? Unless you're the only hobo in the USA to own a Tacoma. Pop down the tailgate and you can sleep in it fine. Any more?

Sure, an extra foot of bed is nice to have. But if you're the problem solving type at all... anything you can do with a 6 foot bed, you can do with a 5 foot bed. It's just a bit of extra convenience that you have, while someone who ops for the short bed has better doors, roll down windows, more seating and cabin space (locked and protected space for those possessions.)

 

How about a four foot bed? How about an suv?

My six foot bed is already too short and most of the weight is carried behind the rear axle making for poor handling when carrying a long (8')and heavy load. I love my ac cab but yearn for a shorter wheelbase and longer bed.
Truck or grocery hauler that is the question. Mine is a little of both but I wish it was more truck as far as the bed is concerned.

 

When comparing the same exact vehicle, 1 foot extra of a bed doesn't make any sort of change between "truck or grocery hauler." All in how it's used. Plenty of people with longbeds haul nothing of note, and plenty of people with shortbeds are hauling quite a bit. It's 12 inches difference, on an otherwise all but identical vehicle. It's ridiculous to act like that makes any difference whatsoever.

 

I would have gone with a DCLB if there was a 6-speed option for it. That extra foot makes a big difference with overlanding, more fun gear to pack like a larger vertical water tank for extended stays. On more technical trails it takes a bit more. For work use, then I can take more rigging gear like C-Stands, Arms, lighting kits, camera gear, etc. Apple boxes take dick ton of room, there's no way around that. That extra 12" of room means I can carry 4 more yamaha EF2000is units.

I was about THIS close to getting a Dodge Ram 2500 w/ Diesel and 6-speed. But I already made an account on TW.

 

Why not utilize the extra inside room in a double cab for your expensive gear that you would have otherwise left exposed in the bed of the truck in that extra 12"? And..12" isn't going to 4 fit generators that are 1.5' by 1'.

Again. Nothing wrong with Access Cabs. They fit a role, and I can see why some would prefer them. But acting like they're leaps and bounds better than a double cab because they have a foot more bed length is nuts.

 

x2

 

I love my AC! I sold my F250 for my 2010 Taco AC TRD Sport in February. I love that it looks like a pickup truck and not a family car. Don't need the extra space.

 

Never wanted it any other way. I usually only haul me in my truck and sometimes the dog on a rainy day otherwise she rides in the bed. Can't even remember the last time I had to fold down my jumpseats in the back, but it's been well over a year.

 

I'd have bought a Camry or 4Runner if I wanted to haul people around in.

 

I have an Access cab dont you get better mpg with a shorter cab rather than longer, not that we are driving trucks for the gas milage anyways...... but just saying.

 

I don't see anyone 'acting like they're leaps and bounds better than double cabs'...you prefer a DC, most on this thread prefer AC, as that is what they bought, for whatever reason. Neither is going to convince the other that what they have is 'leaps and bounds better'. The original question was posed to AC owners, not DC owners who think they have to defend their choice.

I had a DC until recently, sold it and got an AC. I prefer it for what it is for now. The best Tacoma is what people buy for what they use it for, and it's not any better than anyone else's.