Advice for new taco that will be driven 5 miles a day?

I just purchased a 2022 3.5 4x4 taco. My job is only 1.3 miles away. I'd like to keep this truck forever so I'm wondering if anyone had suggestions on things to do to keep up with maintenance? Should I warm the taco up before driving? Change the oil more than suggested? Also, I live someplace that sands and salts the road a bunch, are there certain crevices I should focus on spraying down?

Thanks everyone. I'm sure this is kind of a weird question. Usually people are putting on tons of miles and want advice.

 

Welcome to TW & Happy New Year

 

Fluid Film coat the frame, have it inspected yearly and recoated, if necessary.

 

Just get in and drive. Idling to “warm it up” does more harm than good. No manufacturer recommends it.

Change the oil once a year.

I suspect your long term problem won’t be mechanical anyway. It will be electrical.

Honestly if I lived that close to work, I’d walk or ride a bicycle.

 

Welcome to TW...Cosmoline for one and done...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rp-342-cosmoline.687112/

 

Do you guys suggest these undercoating options over what Toyota offers?

 

Ok, thanks for the info.

It's not a matter of distance as to why I don't walk or bike it that much, it's a matter of time spent doing that instead of spending that time walking with my dog and gf on my property twice a day instead. Driving to work frees up the time for that for me.
Between helping run a 4 season nordic ski/ and lake access resort, and maintaining my 100+ acre homestead, my time is valuable. Heck, I even wrote this post while showering. Lol

 

You might want to throw a battery charger on it once a week to top off the battery. That short of a commute doesn't give the alternator much time to replenish what you used starting it.

 

I'd walk or ride a bike to work and drive the Tacoma for recreational use on weekends, bad weather, and off days. With traffic I'm betting a bike will get you to work and home just as fast as the Tacoma. Short trips like that aren't conducive to longevity. It is the guys who drive 10,000 miles a month that get a million miles out of them.

 

There is nothing you need to do, just enjoy your truck. Don't overthink it.

 

Being in NY, I would use rust check or one of those places that use oil base. Fluid film if you do it yourself. Short commute like your doing is hard on a vehicle, more frequent oil change, moisture in exhaust doesn’t get enough time to burn off.

 

Anti-rust coating for sure - find a local shop that'll do Fluid Film or the equivalent.
Short miles are the worst - give it a 30+ mile run once a week to really get things up to operating temp.
I'd be changing the oil once a year like clockwork, regardless of the odometer.
Otherwise - enjoy!

 

Ya, that's what I'm worried about. It barely warms up and I'm at work.

 

Used to be able to buy a beater car for like a 1000-2000, but those days are gone

 

Ps. I think I jinxed myself with this post. One of the small bridges to get back and forth to work washed out and is closed now, so my commute just jumped up to a whopping 1.8 miles. Lol. Guessing the county won't be able to fix that til next summer.

 

I've run beaters my whole life. They've done the job well for many years. I'm retiring my absolutely beat 2004 dakota this week to a work truck on my property. She did a hell of a job these last few years.

 

Somewhere like Garnet Hill?

Get some protection on the frame and drive it. Change the oil, etc.

 

I'm 1.6 miles from work now. I have the N2 remote and start it most days. The heat used to come on right when I was pulling in the lot.

I also sprayed it with Cosmoline when it was fairly new and touched it up a few months later.

Other than that you really don't need to do anything.

 

It is what it is! Do your scheduled maintenance, change your oil once a year, and keep up with your rust protection since you live in snow country. Not much else I can think of really.

BTW, I lived in Saratoga for about 5 years. A true sportsman's paradise up there! The hunting and fishing were great!