If you weren't going to buy a Tacoma

Good info! I liked the new Sierra, but then I saw how GM had almost 27 million recalls in 2014 alone! That, without any other GM experience or knowledge, scared the shit out of me.

Any particular reason? I'm leaning toward the Ford myself. Seems more modern and updated than the Tundra, and better specs.

Hell, I leave mine in 6th gear most of the time! Go down to 30, back up to 60+ no problem. While it reduces my need to shift, the lack of real over-drive and mpg gains from it makes me not like it as much. The 6th gear could definitely have been taller in this manual. Maybe the new one addresses that, but I'm not sure I want to take that gamble.

Yeah, i'm looking at that too. Lots of things I had to do/add after the fact are already there on the Ford, saving me time and frustration, and all covered under warranty. I spent FAR more time than I want to on this truck doing mods. So seeing so much of what I had to do as a factory warrantied feature makes me happy.

And yeah, it seems like the F150 is a better buy. I mean the Tundra is currently $36k around here. If people are paying $32-33k for a Tacoma, what's the point of a Tundra? What more do you get? A bigger, heavier, less fuel efficient truck without any of the newer features? I guess if you just want a bigger Tacoma it might be worth it.

 

Hell, I leave mine in 6th gear most of the time! Go down to 30, back up to 60+ no problem. While it reduces my need to shift, the lack of real over-drive and mpg gains from it makes me not like it as much. The 6th gear could definitely have been taller in this manual. Maybe the new one addresses that, but I'm not sure I want to take that gamble.
^^

Yes the 3rd gear was mostly a joke

 

In regards to the Ford F150, how is it in the snow? I live in a snowy area. The taco has always served me great and never got stuck.

 

I did buy a 2nd gen, it was nice for the most part. It ABSOLUTELY needed heated mirrors though. Towed ok on flat ground, but on the hills it didn't do well... Mainly in the stopping region. But, honestly... it towed 500x better than I ever expected it too.

Rather of bought a 2014 cummins, but I sure as shit ain't that rich

 

That's my problem. I can tow ok with it, especially if I remember to let the RPMS go up higher than normal before shifting, but the stopping was always concerning. I would downshift and tap the breaks frequently, sometimes spike them a little to kick in the surge brake on the UHaul auto transport when I used that.

And yeah, it had enough power to pull things and surprise my friend with an older F150, but it's so light trailer sway was a real problem. One time on a 100 mile return trip I couldn't go above 45, and even at 45 it would sway. So I kept it a hair under just to be safe, the whole way back, in the dark, in winter. What a long fucking drive. Sometimes I turn on the 4WD just to have the front discs slow the whole drive train down and compensate for the rear drums not doing much.

 

When I went downhills with the trailer loaded, the trailer would overpower the truck and it would shake violently and it just got worse as i started hauling more shit. (GF, her stuff, more water, firewood) that extra few just took it overboard. It was absolutely ass puckering going down a big hill with it. I was so fed up with it and didn't want to risk my life and everyone elses I needed to upgrade.

I pulled at least 6k+ with it for 4 years, several 1k+ round trips with it... Only problems I had were ujoints in the driveline every couple years. I did have a front wheel bearing twice, but thats normal shit.

 

I've been fine with the drive shaft, but I've gone through 2 front driver wheel bearings, and 1, if not 2, on the passenger side. I pulled a few 6k+ loads with mine too, and thought wasn't as bad as I expected it to be (having never towed before). However, after a couple times I realized it could be a lot more comfortable and I didn't tow for years after 2 back and forth runs to Rochester for a friend.

Now I have a 2k tractor and 1k trailer, and will be towing probably 3 or 4 times each summer if not more. So the comfort factor is only going to become more of an issue, and the possibility of having a serious problem is going to increase. Worrying about that shit is already getting old.

 

I don't see why it would be much different. It's heavier so that's a bonus. Good tires and weight on the drive axle is important in snow.

 

What size trailer is that supratt? I'm thinking I need a 40' gooseneck to haul 2 tacos?

 

That would be my thought as well, plus it has some sort of traction control. I test drove a 2015 one night after work, and the roads were shit. I didn't go very fast since I didn't know where all the controls were, but I know I felt very little, if any, wheel spin despite being in 2wd the whole time. Unlike my taco where I throw it in 4wd the second I feel the rear end break loose just to keep it straight.

My wife's pathfinder has a similar feature and it's amazing how much it helps in snow. I've switched between having it on and off on the same section of road and was impressed with how it kept me away from the ditches.

 

Uh what? In 2010 the most registered new cars in Germany were:

1. Vw
2. Mercedes
3. BMW
5. Audi

Probably all manuals because euros are cheap...

 

What is hilarious though is that those brands are very cheap in Germany. For example, a 2 series BMW in the United States will cost over $32k USD to start out, while a 2 series BMW in Germany costs $16-17k USD.

 

Articles like this, and the factory feature list, sometimes make me think the F150 is more off-road capable/ready from the factory than the Tacoma.

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/we-drove-the-2015-ford-f-150-like-wild-texans-it-still-1641497652

Built in tilt n roll indicator, locker in 2WD mode, 420lbs of torque, front/rear/360 degree camera options, 3 skid plates (I actually want to poke my head under one to see what they amount to), 7/4 pin in the bumper instead of under it to get torn off. There's probably more I'm forgetting.

 

It's a 16'. I think a 32' would fit both. Depends though, I have my truck bobbed 12" so that helps too. If they are stock tacos they will probably still fit, but the ass will hang off a bit.

 

I am going to bob mine, but if I throw on another vehicle who knows how long it will be. Hopefully not a trail limo though. I would also like room to put a toolbox up front and maybe even a Lincoln welder one day. I will probably search for a 30'ish deck with a decent dovetail.

 

False. A 2 series starts at 30,600 euros (34.7k dollars); just looked it up at BMW.de

 

My 14 is great in the snow. I have noticed that the active stability control is no where near as sensitive as the Taco (some may love this, others maybe not). I can definitely get it to fishtail if I want without disengaging the traction control.

 

I haven't got a chance to check out my skid plates but I'm assuming they're no better than the Taco's. I def like the trailer pin hookup. Power is amazing. With a $400 tuner people dyno at ~380whp and 500wtq. Towing with it (Ecoboost) is amazing. Haven't had it offroad but I'm sure due to the front bumper being lower, in stock form, it wouldn't be as good (nothing an aftermarket bumper wouldn't fix) not to mention the longer wheelbase.

 

I'm not expecting much from factory skid plates. lol And I suppose technically the taco has 3 as well, since the front is 2 piece, and then there's a plastic one under the fuel tank.

I had to reinforce the factory front 2 on the taco so I want to see what the Ford's are like.

That tuner is interesting! And that's something that mildly bugs me about Toyota in general. No tuners or anything like that for them. Or at least no plug and play ones. Always more difficult and more expensive to do anything with a Toyota.