First time Buying a Taco, Excited about Toppings

I've always wanted a midsize truck with a manual, ever since Tacomas were offered with the TRD superchargers back in the day. Now I'm old, have kids, do some outdoors stuff, and it's more about durability and functionality than performance. But ... I still want the manual. Can't help it.

I've already searched and read dozens of threads on this forum and have seen so many great ideas and opinions. Looking forward to getting rid of this unwieldy and gaudy old F-150 and stepping into my new Tacoma. Should be a breath of fresh air!

I have to decide on dealer options by Monday morning. I'm going to forego the tonneau cover while I research toppers, including the Softoppers that I'm just learning about. I am thinking I will go with the floor mats (unless I'm better off with Weathertech or whatever?), bed cleats, bed lighting kit, bed mat, cargo divider, door sill protectors, mini tie-downs, roof rack, and bed D-rings.

I think even the kids can get in the truck just fine without the predator tube steps, but if anyone has found them handy, please let me know. I do live in the rural upper Midwest and have read that running boards can help reduce gravel chips and keep snow and ice sludge down -- not sure if true. Same indecisiveness with the bed step -- I'm an old Marine with a bad back, but at 6'1" it seems like the bed should be easy enough to get in and out of? I'm all ears on those options.

Definitely open to other advice on dealer options. Looking forward to joining the cult -- uh, I mean the crew here soon.

 

Welcome aboard. Here's one to ya

 

Welcome aboard new member

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Hello and welcome ..
First thing take a extensive test drive with everyone in the truck . Being that your 6'1 your going to have to move your seat pretty far back .Leaving no room for passenger legs .I love my Manual truck but it is really slow and I mean good god slow in first gear . Takes time to get used to it . The steps are pretty much useless if your that tall unless you have a lift so I would stay away
from them .WARNING Joining TacomWorld will make u go broke
.

 

Used to be a Pep., Shroom & G. Pepper guy but to each his own. Variety is the spice of life or so I’m told.

Welcome to TW.

 

Welcome to the best damn Tacoma forum on the interwebs

Thank you for your service

 

Welcome aboard. For sure on the bed mat, most people find the floor mats less than adequate, especially if you have snow to worry about. When that melts off your feet, I found the mats didn’t contain the water. I’d recommend getting the husky or weather tech. There is some truth to the running boards protecting gravel chips, but not the predators. Maybe the cast aluminum, or the 2nd gen equivalents that look great and cost less. Good luck and enjoy

 

If you’re 6’1” I’d probably skip the sunroof unless you’re a long leg short torso guy. I’m 6ft and my head occasionally scrapes the roof with the sunroof. Since you have a bad back I’d focus on how you feel about the seats during test drive as many people complain about them for long drives. I’d skip most of the dealer add ons as you can usually find better or less expensive options in the aftermarket. Including the bed divider and floor mats. The divider is bulky and heavy, cargo net might be a better option and WeatherTech/husky make far superior floor mats. The sill protectors and bed mat I definitely recommend however. Just my 2 cents, your truck, not mine. Welcome to TW, enjoy your new truck!

 

Personally, the side steps was something I avoided simply because I love the stance without them. I'm also 5'9" and have no problems getting in. My last truck (GMC Canyon) had side steps and I only really ever used them for washing the top of the truck because they were largely unnecessary. They did keep a good bit of slush and stuff from building up on my body, but what did get there was more of a pain in the ass to get off of the truck.

I don't find need for a bed step, but I also don't have those back issues that you do so take that with a grain of salt. Perhaps try getting in and out of a bed at the dealership a few times.

Some people don't like the seating position in the Taco and find that a certain range of height people seem to enjoy it most. Personally, I fit fine and don't see much difference in seating position compared to my Canyon. It will be different than the F150 you currently have. Unless you are getting a 2020, there will be no power adjusting seats, so no up and down movement. I have the sunroof which has a slightly lower ceiling though and enjoy it, but again, I'm only 5'9".

I wanted the manual originally, but opted out due mainly to MPG and lack of a crawl control option. But I suspect those are not things you care about so I'd say go for it!

As for the other options you mentioned:

I enjoy the factory floor mats, but agree weather tech would have more coverage. However, I have yet to fully test mine in the Michigan winter.

Mine came with bed cleats, but I bought mine certified used. I love the idea behind them, but haven't actually had to use them yet. That being said, if you're getting a 3rd gen, it does not come with a bed rail on the front of the bed like on the sides. They have the mounting points for it, but I have no idea why it isn't factory. I added this and it was an easy install.

The bed lighting kit would be a nice option. However I haven't had need for one, but I also rarely run my tonneau cover and don't have a topper.

I find the bed mat to be a little ridiculous, personally, but people say they definitely help with items sliding around. It is a composite bed without a ton of friction so I definitely noticed more movement of items not strapped down compared to my last truck which just had a plastic drop in liner.

I have the 5' bed and I don't really need a cargo divider. However, I do have the factory bed extender which essentially functions as a cargo divider when collapsed. Plus it gives me an extra 2' of bed space when extended which is a foot better than my last truck.

I'm not familiar with door sill protectors so I can't offer a comment there. However I haven't noticed any issues where I'd need any such thing so far and there haven't been any issues from the previous owner either by the looks of it.

My truck came with the standard tie-down and bed D rings. Recently the D-rings have been replaced by the Total Chaos bed stiffeners, which you may want to consider adding if you're going to add anything to the top of your bed, such as a topper or rack, and plan to do any off-roading. Otherwise you can knock the bed out of whack and have some issues with the tailgate closing, but that's the nature of the composite bed. It is very strong, however so don't get discouraged there! I'm about 180 lbs and have stood on the wheel wells and jumped up and down a bit without so much as flex from the bed so it's very capable. There's just an inherent lack of strength compared to steel beds when it comes to shifting loads on the bed rails. However, it's a small price to pay for never having the bed rot out in the Midwest winters!

I haven't added a roof rack, but I do have some KB Voodoo bed rails which I use to mount my rooftop tent and keep the tent behind the cab. I honestly don't see myself adding a roof rack, but then again, I'm not running a topper on this truck like I did on my last truck, and thus am not storing anything on the roof.

Long winded post, but that's my 2¢ on it!

 

I test drove one and found it comfortable. I am exactly that: a long-leg / short torso guy. (I actually have a second-gen MR2 that I find to be more comfortable than most bigger cars and more comfortable than my F-150, so I like that driving position.) I did not know that about first gear, since the one I test drove was an auto. I just don't imagine wanting an auto regardless.

Thanks for the tip on the bed divider. I'll have to look into other options. After your suggestion and poking around a bit here, I'm eyeing the Husky floor liners instead of the Toyota ones.

 

Thanks, the more info the better! I notice the factory bed extender is chrome, which I don't think will go well with the color. Cosmetic, I know. I see there are aftermarket options that are black; of course, then I have to mess with install. Not sure what I'll decide between now and tomorrow morning.

 

It is actually matte silver, not chrome so don't worry there. My truck is black and it doesn't actually look bad. But I have that more for practicality than anything anyway.

 

They're actually a powder coated dull grey color. They can easily be painted black. Install requires removing the tail lights, drilling 6 holes and bolting the brackets on. Drive over, I'll give you one and install it for you. For free. Use the money the dealer is going to rip you off for to take the wife out to dinner.

 

Welcome aboard.
Please let us know if we can help you with your parts.

 

It is still my first time buying a Taco, and I'm still excited, but I no longer know when it will be. To make a long story short, I had three separate reservations come up short. Congrats to whomever scored the last three manual Army Green Pros coming off the line this production year! Not even sarcastically, seriously, congrats.

I'm not all-in on Army Green or the Pro. Toyota just doesn't make any of this easy with color limitations. For 2020, color options on the Pro were their special color (Army green), white, black, and gray (MGM). No quicksand or cement (both of which I like at least as much as the green), etc. For the Off-Road models, if you load them up with enough options to accommodate the Mrs., they're about as much as the Pros but lose the Fox shocks and probably lose a little bit at resale(?).

I'm new at this and open to ideas from the great brain trust here. I'm not trying to put too much weight in the color, but I do drive on a lot of gravels, field approaches, rough grated spots, creek beds / crossings, mud, etc. for goose hunting, trout fishing, kayaking / camping, and we get a lot of snow and ice here, and so black is out, the lunar rock color is a wild card / unknown just in terms of whether I am going to drive it or give it to my wife, the MGM seems like it doesn't hold up well to dirt and dust (?), and so I'm left with white on the Pros. I don't rock crawl, so I'm thinking the Off-Road would be sufficiently durable for what I do? I did manage to break both front coils on an F-150 just doing what I would consider light/medium-duty, and that's why I'm here buying a Taco in the first place.

Appreciate all the support and advice so far!

 

These are probably the rare exception but you might want to reconsider white.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/paint-flaking-off-my-2017-tacoma.592147/

 

Thank you for this. I'm going down a rabbit hole now, but all for the better.

I have a 2010 Caddy CTS, and the paint job on it has spoiled me. Living in the agricultural midwest, I've taken dozens (hundreds, perhaps) of highway-speed hits of gravel, rock, other construction material, uh, live pheasants, maybe a meth-head or two, washed out loose concrete from a flood, all kinds of fun stuff. There are divots / chips all over the hood and front quarter panels, but those chips don't actually go through to sheet metal. Sounds like I might be disappointed with the Tacoma paint?

 

Yeah the paint is probably my only real big complaint/disappointment with my truck. Its pretty weak or thin or both I don't know but it definitely chips easy. I could probably find other things to nit pick about but over all am very happy with my truck. That white paint flaking on those trucks is probably the exception not the rule and seems to mostly have been in earlier 3rd gen white models. I just thought I'd give you a heads up since I had just been reading about it.