Frustrated that my truck isnt...well..a truck!

My 62 GMC long bed 3/4 ton is down with a bad rear differential (can't really complain, it lasted 58 years) so I'm using the Taco this weekend to help someone move. It's annoying as all hell to try to carry things in the back of this truck. At 5.5 feet, the bed is way too short (I couldn't get a long bed double cab with a manual transmission) and he bedside tie-downs are useless because they flex the bed if you try to strap anything securely to them.

I feel like the Taco is a great car and good for hauling camping gear, exploring off road and such but it really sucks when you need to actually carry things in the bed.

I know, I know..."It's a mid-size truck". Well my 83 was a mini truck but with a 6 foot metal bed and external bedside tie downs it was FAR more utilitarian than my 2017.

"Buy a full size truck" I already own one but as I said, it's down right now.

I like my Tacoma for daily use, camping, off road etc, but trying to use it as a an actual pickup is a giant pain in the dick.

I

 

I’ve used my truck for plenty of truck stuff. I do it every day

 

I made the same mistake thinking it would be alright for my line of work. Well it isn’t. I work civil construction and all my counter parts all drive HD trucks. At this point it is what it is. I’ll trade it in eventually. TW isn’t a good place for guys that actually need use the truck. It’s more of an enthusiasts site. So good luck with your post.

 

There is a 6' bed option. But composite beds really do seem like such a compromise.

Time to move to Australia, they have proper beds on small trucks there.

Or buy a Nissan .

 

Guess you haven't see too many short bed full size pickups you know the 4 door ones? Maybe a few full size with the rotted out floor. A Tacoma would look pretty silly with a full size long bed. If you are going to crank the bejesus out of a ratchet strap use the tie downs. Only thing I have seen in a full size it a bit more width. No thanks if I need to haul more I'll use the trailer and leave the behemoth to someone with a large family.

 

I can live with the shorter box, and even the reduced width, but having a tonneau, the bed height is a bit of a drag. I came from a 15 Canyon and the bed was probably 3 or 4 inches higher, it makes a huge difference when loading gear such as coolers and gear boxes. I’ve had to replace both to fit in the shallower bed of the Tacoma.

 

So I read, I couldn’t get the truck I wanted because it’s not made, but it doesn’t matter anyways, because I over strap stuff down so tight it bends my composite bed.

Then others come one and say folks do not use their Tacoma’s as trucks. Well, can I carry 5 thousand pounds, nope. Can I carry a bed full of gear and pull a trailer full of gear and go 20 miles into the woods on trails, yep. But I guess that’s a job for a mini van.


Now let’s see some Picts of that 62. And go to Home Depot and rent a “truck”

 

There are better work trucks than a Tacoma, for sure. That’s not how they’re marketed, or how they’re designed. Suitable in most cases when length and weight is less of an issue.

 

I think the 3rd gen bed is an inch taller than 2nd gens

 

This

 

Tacoma isn’t a heavy duty work truck, and it doesn’t claim to be.

I use my Taco for “work” stuff all the time.

 

I think his main complaint is that it has less utility than the same size truck from ~30 years ago, which is something I have have a hard time disagreeing with.

 

OP, I really hope this didn't sneak up on you all at once.

 

Coming from a tundra i choose the access cab with the 6' bed. Its ok for most of my needs...sure i wish it had a wider steel bed, but the rest of the tacoma makes up for those short comings. Its really sad those gen1 tundras were discontinued for marketing purposes. Toyota got greedy like the rest of them wanting to sell more trucks.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacomas-doing-work.574940/

Well you have 49 pages of people not using their trucks as trucks....oh wait, try telling them that.

 

If I need more than a 5 foot bed, I use a trailer

 

Sounds like you're not good at buying the right truck for your needs.

 

I use the bed floor tie downs to really secure stuff and then if I want to the bed side tie downs for a little extra security

 

5 days a week my Tacoma has no issues being used as a construction work truck.
I can load all my work tools and materials for residential tile work.

What do you expect when you buy a "1/4 ton" truck? Even my F-150 fell short of what the company F-350 can do.

Buy the right tools for the job. Don't go out buy a miter saw and then join a miter saw forum to bitch that your old table saw was better at ripping boards.