Coming from the dark side...

I've been a toyota guy for years, I've own a 2000 5sp TRD S/C 4runner, and I've had an 06 Rav4, '18 4Runner, '19 Tundra, and now this '21 Tacoma.

The dark side: I sold my '19 Tundra for an incredible profit in September '21, and decided to give Ford a chance. I went to bat for Ford on a number of reddit threads, forum posts, etc.. my '20 Ranger was an absolute hoot to drive, quick, responsive, great economy....

Hard shifts started happening around 30k miles, somewhat went away. Blend door actuator went out at 36,050 miles - off warranty a $2k+ repair. I had an electrical gremlin that was eating my battery, and it started to drink coolant at an alarming rate.. best guess there is an early stage head gasket failure, an uncommon but not unheard of occurrence on the 2.3T that it ran.

To end this long story, I traded it off before the issues got too bad, as I was about to face enormous repair bills, knowing that the issues would happen again at 80k miles.

I'm 3 days into my '21 DCLB TRDOR Tacoma, and I can honestly say that I'm content. It isnt as fast as the ranger, but it has plenty of pep. The interior is about on par, maybe SLIGHTLY nicer than the ranger. Gas is cheaper to put in it and the fuel economy is nearly identical, with a 1-2mpg edge to the ford (negligable due to needing 91 in the ford).

I was a "taco hater" for years for all the standard stuff (seating position, lack of tech, transmission, power blah blah blah), but man is it a solid feeling rig. I did opt for the extended warranty on the CPO, and am fully covered to 130K miles (which I likely wont need, but coming from ford it makes me feel great).

My hate for the tacoma stops here. I get it now. This truck is just *solid*. Thats why you all have it. Thats why I have it now too.

I love forums for the vehicles I own, and love tasteful mods. I'm no huge off roader, but I do go over gnarly terrain to get to bike and ski spots, so it wont be a pavement princess.

I look forward to the advice I can give & receive from this forum - y'all seem like a good group of people to bounce ideas off.

Thanks for having me!

 

Welcome aboard! Sounds like you got a sweet truck! TACO's Rule!

 

Welcome to TW..

 

Welcome to the amazing world of the Tacoma. I'm a convert as well, long time Jeep guy, all of the different Jeep models built for off-roading until I picked up a cheap 2001 Tundra with 300K miles at a towing auction and after throwing in a used transmission, it lasted me 5 years and 137K miles. It was the most reliable thing I had ever owned, started every time, never complained, went anywhere I wanted it to go, and my back no longer hurt after big road trips. Now I've upgraded to a Tacoma, and I'm building it out to be a big road trip (Overland) rig.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

I owned a 2015 tundra 1794 edition, loved it but it was terrible on gas and a pain in the ass in a small parking lot, it was also more truck than I needed. I've owned several toyotas through the years and they've all been rock solid. When I traded my tundra in I was going to get a tacoma but the ridgeline had so many extras for the same money. Bed storage was great, heated steering was nice so I said why not give it a try, I've had a honda in the past that was really good to me and I don't spend much time off road so the all wheel drive was acceptable to me. Fuck, what a mistake that was. It had engine knock In Cold weather, the occasional hard shift, usb went out on me, auto headlights would just stop working, and the multi-media was complete trash. Sometimes I would have to turn the vehicle off and turn it back on just to get it to work. Traded it in 6 months later for a 21 tacoma limited with 10,000 miles on it. The tacoma isn't a perfect truck, and toyota really dropped the ball in a few stupid areas (led interior lighting, footwell lighting, gas cap holder, rear disc breaks).. but I honestly love this truck, it feels like a truck, it looks way better than the honda too in my opinion. I've made some minor upgrades, replacing some of the chrome ( mirror caps, fog light bezel, rear taillights ) and installed sequential turn signals in the mirrors as well as led interior lighting and a gas cap holder. My step bars came in today as well. I'm wasting so much money on It and having a great time doing it. Good luck with your taco

 

Welcome.

I looked at the rangers when they came out. They were nice for sure, but like other trucks they were missing just a little something. They are... kind of boring.

The Tacoma is a weird animal. Its a bit of a weird looker, trying to find that balance of appearing rugged but trying not to look like its trying to appear rugged. (compare that to Jeep or GM who will blatantly put out frustratingly inconvenient ergonomics in the name of rugged manliness). It has weird dimensions, weird handling that all the reviewers hate, and a very weird mixture of placing modern gadgets side by side with obsolete technology. Its the most populous midsize on the road, and yet it turns my head.

Its weird, I'm weird too, maybe thats why I like it. Its a truck thats not boring.

 

They are empty words without pics. I don’t believe you.

 

Pics coming soon! Im a part time photographer, so iPhone pics dont usually do the justice I'm looking for...but I'll throw a couple up when I can!

 

May the force be with you!

 

Welcome. Now let’s see some pictures

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome from Texas!

 

Welcome!