New member seeks answers.

Hello, I am a new member and this is my second post.

When I return from Afghanistan I will be in the market for a good used truck. At first I was thinking of an F-150, but of late I have decided to scale down. Out here there are a lot of Toyota Hilux trucks which got me thinking of a Tacoma. So I have a lot of questions, please bear with me.

I am looking for a four door with a long bed, long enough to put a full size Harley in. Can the tail gate support the weight, or will I need plywood or something to help support it?

With a V6, what is the towing capacity? Can I pull two touring motorcycles on a trailer and carry one in the back? Can I tow all that with a 4 cyl and climb the Rockies?

What are realistic mpg figures, city and freeway? How much does 4x4 make a difference in fuel consumption?

Is the 4 door long bed available in an SR5 package with leather, and all the bells and whistles?

What are the weak points of the Tacoma, brakes, tranny, cooling system? What issues should one look for in a used Tacoma, ball joints, serpentine belts, warped rotors?

Are there any years, or models to avoid?

I am just looking for a good daily driver. I do not plan to slam it, jack it up, or supe it up. I'm not going to go mudding, off roading, or run the Baja. I just want something comfortable, dependable, that I can tow with once in a while, haul stuff around when needed, and take to the mountains to go skiing.

Any insight or help you can provide will be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

4door long bed= 6ft bed. Not sure about tail gate support weight but I would think It would be hard to get a Harley in the back of any truck, so I would say trailer for bike

Towing= 3 bikes you would want the v-6 with the Rockies. Not sure the exact towing numbers

Fuel= 4x4 v-6 gets around 18-20 give or take a little. Driving habits make a big part of that

SR5= they do have some nice pakages. Not sure what you can't get with sr5. Maybe try and go to Toyota.com and see what you can build

Weak points= it a Toyota no weak points!

Years= again Toyota has no bad years

And since your in afgan, you see what the government leases over there, 90% are Toyota trucks and 4-runners. That should tell you something!

 

All I can tell you about is the second gen. I believe that the towing capacity with a tow package is 6500 lbs, without, only 3500 lbs. I'm not sure about towing over the Rockies, but I'm sure some people have. You could always install a super charger for more power. The rear leaves are a weak spot as they bottom easily out if you put a heavy load in the back, just do a quick search on here for it. The tail gate is also weak from what I hear, but you can reinforce it easily. The Tacoma is a great truck, my grandpa drove them for years and that was the main reason I bought mine. He could take his base model 4 banger places where you wouldn't think possible.