Did I make a mistake buying TRD Sport instead of TRD OR?

This is just foolish, no one who actually offroads would ever agree. All those upgraded tires will do is dig you into a deeper hole that a locker would climb you out of. As far as a winch, they are great but the last thing you really want to do. Lockers and TREDS will get you out the majority of the time.

OP a locker is worth it. I chose function over form. The OR has more function while the sport has form. Utility over aesthetics .

Just add an ARB locker

 

Out of curiosity how long did it take you to organize this response lol. Shits clean af

 

If you need a locker you can add one.

My SR5 didn't come with a locker. Now it has two.

Rarely get used.

 

If you were like me and you werent willing to compromise on an automatic transmission, then id say you made the right choice. I bought a 6spd sport when i came across the right deal, and ive never looked back, theyre better looking, have a larger rear diff (in the case of gen 2's) and you can add a rear locker later if you need one. Enjoy that MT and dont second guess yourself!

 

Any 4WD drive Tacoma is going to be extremely capable off road. You're fine.

 

Yes you did make a mistake !!!! BIG MISTAKE

 

And I bet there are folks with lockers and crawl control that have also gotten stranded. Broken stuff as well.

 

IMO, if you are getting a sport, you might as well get an SR5 and buy a hood w/ skoop.

The loaner SR5 I just had had the same interior display/setup as the TRD models go pro mount, and even had back up sensors.

 

Nice truck! Just enjoy driving it and add mods as you need or want them.

 

I thought the standard infotainment on the TRDs was the entune premium versus the plus, and TRDs have some other electronic features like the power rear window. Also, the TRD Sport has different wheels compared with the SR5 (265 versus 245). It might not make a difference to everyone, but I liked the look of 265s and didn't want to spend another $1000+ on wheels and tires on a brand new truck. The power rear window is very nice, especially in a double-cab.

 

Sport no! Offroad good

 

There's truth to this, the driver has a lot to do with how well a trail is run. My old truck was torsion IFS with none of the fancy gizmos like TRAC and I got it way more places than I should have with just good spotters and practice. It made me I think a better driver.

But you do have to have a tolerance that you might ding your truck because with open diffs you sometimes have to use the skinny pedal more aggressively than you might like. My rocker panels and skid plates took a beating when it was still stock. With the electronic limited slip in the Sport you can get by a lot better than I ever could, though. From what I've seen the traction controls actually do work pretty well, too.

I won't sit here and say I don't like having a locker but, really no, you don't 'need' a locker to have fun. I ran open/open for years in my old truck and it's true that good ATs or MTs in a 4WD Toyota will get you pretty far. I would also suggest sliders, but knowing now what I wished I did 20 years ago I would say every truck that goes off highway can benefit from sliders. Just my $0.02.

Personally I don't see the point of the Sport since it's an appearance package and I couldn't give a shit about color keyed this and matched that. But I wouldn't feel bad about not having a locker. Get it out there and use it on what it can do and don't worry about the last 10% you can't. My philosophy was I would 'wheel that sucker to the point it could go and bring hiking boots or catch a lift for the stuff it couldn't. Here in Colorado most trails that go someplace have a bypass around hard stuff and it's only the trails that are supposed to be hard, IOW where hard core wheeling IS the point, that might not.

 

Yes.

 

Put a locker in if you're happy with your current setup. Would it be worth taking the hit on trading and purchasing another? There's nothing wrong with what you have and I've had a manual sport 4x4. I wanted another auto to make a few things easier in life and be able to have my wife drive it if needed. This time I went with the OR so I would get those extra features that only come with the AT.

 

You called it a wench, it is actually called a winch, obviously if you don't know that you shouldn't be giving advice on lockers or anything off road related.

OP: Crawl control is a fun feature and can help but ultimately the locker is the critical difference for the offroad. It is all about your use and many users on here would say a rear locker is not nearly enough, forward and rear lockers are needed. For those who post and say, "Well shucks I haven't had to use it," they should NOT have purchased an offroad and obliviously do zero real offroading. Who cares if you do go or not, nobody is cooler for doing it. I look at it this way. If you are going to ride your skids, get some pin stripes from trees, and scare yourself a bit you may want a locker because those scenarios generally can produce an environment where a locker is necessary.

 

Best advice!
Knowledge and skill it's the first thing to attain.
I had a triple locked fzj80 and never had to lock it (only maintaining the system).
I bought a new TRD sport in 2012. At the time, the features I wanted (Entune) were only available in the sport.
I really figured I would not need the locker. And if I did I could add one later.
I have run many trails, and have yet to need a locker. I don't intentionally run mud pits, but I will drive through one if it is the only way to continue on a trail. Could have made some of the obstacles easier, of course. But part of off-roading is the challenge. When you make it too easy oh, you take all the fun out of it.