Are 2nd Gen V6 Tacomas by definition 4wd?

A great description of your situation. What does this quoted statement mean? 8,000 lbs camper top? That is an impossibility.

 

If you want a long bed that will exclude a double cab with the off-road package.

I think she means $8,000....

 

Ah, good question. Yes, I meant $8,000. The topper weighs ~380lbs.

 

Good to know re: long bed/double/off-road is not a possibility.

Thoughts about whether we need the off-road package? We are not hard core off roaders up to this point in our 4 decades of life. However, there are many places we don't go fishing because clearance is low and roads are pot-holed. Would like to be able to navigate forest roads too, which sometimes are totally fine but other times not.

 

I have a V6 4x4 Access Cab Base model. It looks like every other 4x4 Tacoma, it just doesn't have some of the "bells and whistles" of the higher-end (more expensive) models. It's an extremely capable rig. Access Cab is great for dogs - especially when you remove the seats and build a dog platform/ tool box like I did. Here's my build page, if you're interested https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pigpens-working-mans-build.437972/

Also, look at my suspension upgrades. I recommend doing the air bags and Dakar leaf springs if you're putting in a slide in camper that weighs around 1000 pounds. If it's just the camper shell (topper), then you can get away with either/ or - I suggest the leaf springs.

 

I found that that even the double cab was small with two dogs in the back seat. Granted, I had one very large, large size dog, and a medium size dog that takes her comfort very seriously. Ever starfish in bed? She does the dog equivalent of that. She tackles sleep like its a job. I tried seats folded, not folded, base only folded, dog platforms, and every combination there of. Nothing worked. As the big guy got old, he started having trouble even turning around in the space he had. I ended up going full size for him. Not suggesting that route for you, but given the size of your dogs, I’d at least go the double cab route. And if you need a long bed for your camper, I think you’re limited to SR5 and sport. If you need manual transmission, you’re out of luck in DCLB.

 

This is all very helpful. Good to know a base model 4x4 v6 serves your needs, pigpen. Is that an SR5, then? I looked at your thread and you have a diverse set of needs similar to ours in terms of being outdoors. We don't need much in the way of fancy upgrades. Would like to be able to play music with our phone plugged in, but even most older vehicles (e.g. our 33-year old van) had this capability, with a small mod.

Bushed, Also very helpful. We are worried about our Boxer being able to turn around and being comfortable on longer trips. We want to make sure they have a good comfortable space to be in. Our boxer is 6 and we've had one who lived to be 13 so we know that older dogs do need comfortable spaces and this is figuring into our equation. As you can probably tell, the pups are a priority, which is why we've been leaning toward the double-cab. We don't need manual so no problem there. I'll stop looking for an off-road if we go with the double-cab. No sense banging my head against the wall.

We are surprised at how well these trucks hold their value. The cost of a used one with a 80-120k miles isn't really that much cheaper than a newer used one, with 20-60k. Maybe it comes down to the models/packages which we've been trying to sort out, but I'm surprised at how few there are that are double-cab, long bed, 4x4, v6. I guess our list is growing, so that's to be expected.

 

Circling back. Landed a black 2015 DCLB TRD Sport with 44k (now 45k!) miles, one owner, prior lease, certified. Seems it has it's whole life ahead of it! Thanks for answers my noob questions! Best, Christy