Need advice on new 2022 Tacoma trim

seems like this is a common issue. i got mine around fall 2019, was trying to wait for the 2020 with the 360 camera option, but my expedition shit the bed and after a month of riding my bike work i just needed something.

i went to the dealership thinking i wanted an access cab, but ended up with a double cab. my dad kinda convinced me tbh. admittedly 80-90% of the time its just me or me and my gf in the car and my back seats are pretty much always down with the head rests in a closet at home somewhere. mostly camping gear goes in the back when we go places. its peace of mind not wondering if someone is going to steal something from my bed or not if im on an all day hike or park at a city park. the few times i do take people, the back seats are very convenient. my dad and brother are around 6 foot and my dad has had back surgery. so comfort for him is pretty high up there. he sits in the passenger seat and everyone else goes in the back. an access cab would probably not work since we only get in my truck if we're driving an hour+ to go do some outdoor activity.

i went to the dealership thinking i wanted an access cab so i could have a 6 foot bed without it being too long. i was living in a pretty tight area at the time and driving my dads 2015 tundra up there would get spicy. a double cab with a 6 foot bed would have been a bit tricky to navigate as well. coming from my expedition, i could easily sleep in the back with the seats down and had ideas of putting a topper on, building a platform in the back, and sleeping in there. since i went with a double cab, i also with with a short, 5 foot, bed.

living in colorado, i go into the mountains as much as i can, at least once a month with a mix of forest service roads and tight trails. the few times ive had to turn around in a 1, 1 1/2 car width road was kinda stressful, but i managed. you could probably do it with a dclb, but the dcsb made it a lot easier. loading the bed with my mountain bike, stand up paddle boards (inflatable), camping box, grill, other random shit friends bring, takes a little thought, but ive managed to get all the things in there. ive even taken 10-11 foot hard sided kayaks with inflatable sups and camping shit. a roof rack would work for big stuff, but i dont have one yet.

ive used my locker twice, once soon after i got it because i went out with a friend and wanted to learn how all the things worked. the second time was in moab area and just couldnt get over the rock step without it. admittedly im pretty new to off roading, but im glad i ended up the a trd or instead of the sr5 i had initially planned on getting. you could go and get an after market locker, but im not very mechanically inclined or worked on cars too much. having one from the factory with the toyota reliability is peace of mind to me and worth it.

as mentioned, i camp a bunch. the roof top tents interested me, but i didnt seriously consider one until my old ground tent had like 5 pole segments snap. new tents i was looking at were like $600 and the rtt i got was $1300. so yea it was twice the price, but a million times more convenient. i found a super good deal on a used rack that still lets me carry my bike in the bed using a tail gate pad while carrying the tent. i moved this year and did the majority or stuff in my bed, but was fortunate enough to be able to use my dads tundra for bigger items too. so there are some restrictions.

at the end of the day, its up to you. i havent wanted a longer bed, but i dont do construction or anything, pretty much outdoor fun things. im considering getting a camper shell for security if i do a week long road trip with my bike and want to go into a city or something. i have a tonneau cover but it doesnt work with my rack so its just in my garage at this point. i may swap it for the winter so i can leave all my snowboard gear in my bed when i go up with friends. (the ac plug in the bed is super dope for waxing board and skis in the parking lot).

good luck with your decision

 

Just to throw my 2 cents in the ring - I went with the short box because I just like the way the truck looks with the short bed. I didn't want the access cab because I am not a fan of the way the doors work. And finally went with the Off Road for the locker and the lack of the fake hood scoop.

So basically my choices were based on personal preference

 

Thanks for all your sensible and insightful responses. Keep'em coming.

I was half expecting to receive some negativity, like the ones you get from the cancer of forums - reddit, but no you guys have been surprisingly supportive and helpful. So thanks for that.

I will be test driving a DCLB later this week, so hopefully I will have a better idea then.

Verdict so far: Still a hard pass on the AC for me, so it's a battle between lockers + pano cams vs long bed.

 

Rockblox standard size

 

I chose the short bed specifically for my parking dilemma, and I am happy with my choice. I live in the suburbs and work downtown where I have to parallel park on the street. It gets kinda packed, and finding a parking spot to fit would be that much harder with a long bed.

I also have a several hobbies where a long bed would be ideal (woodworking and motorcycles), but I haven't had too much of a problem fitting what I need with a short bed. Plywood is easy and 1 dirt bike is easy. I could potentially fit 2 dirt bikes if I had to, but the max payload comes at you pretty quick in an OR with premium. Which brings up another point, if I had a long bed it wouldn't solve my dirt bike dilemma because my payload is 990lbs on a DCSB OR w/ premium, I weight 200lbs and my bike weighs 250lbs. That's 900lbs with 2 bikes and 2 people before gear and fuel. The long bed lowers the payload by about 50lbs making it less useful to me.

 

1 more time.... get a longbed thank me later

 

But...bbuutt...... the feeeeturezz mannnn.....

 

How often are you gonna use those teeeeeeeturezzzzzz?!?!?

 

You've got a point there.

I don't actually need the cameras since I've been driving without backup camera / blind spot monitor for over a decade. Still have no idea how to use cruise control on any vehicles. I guess it's just nice to have the latest toys especially on a truck. 0 truck driving experience here.

As far as locker is concerned, maybe I'm just worried that it might be too late when I need it but don't have it.
Though the extra 1' bed could actually be useful to me immediately... hmm

 

The back up camera is standard equipment it's just the 360° camera. Just another thing to take your eyes off the mirrors and behind you while reversing.

A friend of mine was driving through a parking lot, guy backs out right into the side of his truck. The guys response was, "I didn't see you in my camera so this is your fault!"

 

I think the DCSB is the most common configuration for good reason, it's the best of both worlds. I was coming from a 1st gen Tacoma ACLB, and that configuration was perfect for my needs for years (single, with a dog, occasional camping and snowboarding). Worked great, and was also a convenient excuse to not be the designated vehicle for longer trips with more than 2 people (helped keep the mileage down).

When it was time to buy a new truck, I had already thought through all of the options endlessly (like, for 3-4 years since the 3rd gen came out). If we had the ACLB OR manual in the states like you get in Canada, that probably would have been my choice at the time. I debated the ACLB Sport manual, but preferred the more rugged looks of the OR vs the color matched sport (obviously easy to change in hindsight) and the idea of having a locker if I ever needed it to bail me out of a sticky situation. I also seriously considered giving up the manual life, and going with a TRDOR DCLB, for the ability to sleep in the bed. The manual would be tough to give up though, but if I had an auto, I probably would have ended up with the TRDOR DCLB. My only gripe with those is you are entering full-size truck territory, i.e. harder to park (although not that big of a deal, IMO), tougher to squeeze into the garage, etc., so they kind of defeat the whole point of a mid-size truck, at which point I would consider a full-size.

Ultimately, I ended up with a DCSB TRDOR manual, and I couldn't be happier. I never thought I would enjoy having the entire back seat as much as I do, as I rarely carry more than 1 passenger, but my dog sure enjoys having all that space, and you can pack a ton of stuff back there, whatever doesn't fit in the bed. And on the rare occasion I have 2+ people, it's comfortable for them. The 5' bed was my biggest concern, but I've made numerous trips with everything but the kitchen sink, and it has fit everything it needed to, albeit without much room to spare (softopper definitely helped to increase the usable space). For camping, my ground tent sets up in 5 minutes, I can fully stand up in it, and I don't have to mess with a RTT, taking it on/off, storing it, climbing the ladder after a few too many beers around the fire, etc. Sure, it's more time setting up/taking down a ground tent, especially when wet, but I maybe spend 2-3 weeks in a tent all year, and they usually stay set up for days at a time. Plus for the price RTT's, I could buy a new ground tent every year for the life of the truck and still come out ahead. Also not a fan of adding any weight that high up on the vehicle.

The locker is definitely nice to have, but not a necessity unless you really get serious about wheeling. I'm glad I have it, as I used it several times out in Moab this spring, but it was more to prevent me from getting stuck in a precarious situation, and not to bail me out after the fact. When you start doing bigger obstacles (i.e. stuff that requires 35"+ tires) a locker becomes a lot more of a necessity, IMO. My buddy's Tacoma on 35's and the factory locker keeps up with my buddy's 4Runner on 37's with no lockers, and even surpasses it in some situations.

Since you've already ruled out the 4Runner, I'll keep it short(ish). I think they perfectly solve the 4 doors vs storage space/sleeping platform vs too long of a vehicle problem. Since the rear seats fold down, there's a ton of usable storage space, it's comfortable and secure to sleep in, and when you need more room for passengers, you fold the rear seats back up and still have usable storage in the back. I am often jealous of my buddies with 4Runners for that aspect of it. And I think they are overall nicer vehicles, but you're definitely paying for it. If those came in a manual transmission, I would have seriously considered one.

In terms of the 360 cameras, I would agree with it's more of a distraction, less of a necessary feature. However, I will be adding a front camera at some point, there were too many situations in Moab where I was completely blind while cresting over large hills, only to find that I got the right line by a matter of inches. Also increased my appreciation for good spotters.

TLDR: I ended up with a DCSB TRDOR and don't regret it one bit (after years of considering every configuration), if the 4Runner came in a manual, I might have gone that route.

 

You’d better get the double cab or 4Runner.

 

Just my 2cents worth … I have owned 4 Toyota trucks over the last 30+ years. Well over 1/2 a million miles of use. My last 3 all had lockers on them. I never used it even one time, ever! My current truck, a 2019 4x4 TRD Sport DCLB does not have a locker. Since I never used it on my last three trucks don’t think I will miss it now. This is also my first AT Truck. The only time I ever think about not having a manual transmission, is when I’m not driving it. Wanted the double cab for the dog and for the event people had to sit back there. Although adults on a long drive might be cramped back there. The long bed also was a necessity as I need to get more then just a couple potted plants back there.
I ski and do some off road. Number one upgrade I recommend are tires. The ones that come with are not great in snow or mud. Better tires make a WORLD of difference.

85% of my driving is paved roads and I do quite a bit of driving. Was in between the OR and the Sport. I went with the TRD Sport as I felt it to be a little more comfortable. Have never looked back. By far the nicest truck I have ever owned.

 

Yep! That's the plan.

Went to a dealership today and saw an AC. Tried hopping into the rear seat, got half way in, laughed my way back out and I'm less than 190lbs.

 

Short and fast reply TRD Sport Premium long box would be good for you.

 

Access cabs are small kids if you have them, or some storage. If you plan on carting full adults along with you get the double cab....don't overthink it.

 

I screwed up when I bought my truck! If I had bought the AC instead of the DC then I wouldn't have to carry people in the back...

 

Best part about the Access Cab is nobody every asks you to drive. If you get it with the MT then no one will ever ask to borrow it either because most don't know what the third pedal is for!

 

You know there are holes on the underside of the seat so that you can store the headrests?

 

U just blew my mind