newbie 2.7 L Tacoma

Hi all. just bought a 2.7L i-4 2 wd tss Tacoma double cab. kept my corolla that i has 165,000 miles on it. i dont haul, dont tow. highway round trip to work is 90 miles a day.

any suggestions???

 

Sell it to me. Edit: The Corolla or the truck and welcome to TW!

 

i plan on keep that corolla for work. still getting 35 miles a gallon...love it

 

What are you looking on suggestions for? How to make it more comfortable for your long commute?

 

Keep commuting in the Corolla.

Not sure why you need a truck, but it's not a prime commuter vehicle.

 

sorry about that, i wasnt specific enough. maybe i should have wrote "any advice for this specific vehicle". wasnt sure how much longer the corolla could handle. it is in great shape. take the occassional visit to houston to visit family, thought having a more newer reliable vehicle would be good. suggestions on a more comfortable ride would help. why do you say that its not a prime commuter vehicle.

 

Your MPG will be less than 2/3 of the Corolla. The Corolla is better handling on the road and easier to park in the city.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your truck of choice, for a truck. I only have a 2wd as well, but I even have the cheaper 5 lug.

But I need a truck for truck stuff. A 90 mile commute/450 miles a week is a job for a budget friendly appliance. Which you already have.

 

I guess im not understanding. What are you looking for advice about...specifically? Suspension, tires, turbocharger, stereo...???

 

Welcome to TW! Is your new truck a stick shift?

 

anything specific that i need to worry about you. favorite and least favorite about the vehicle.

 

it is an automatic.

 

Ahhh got ya. I have the same truck and its great around town and fits my needs 100%. My only complaint is freeway driving on long trips which are only about 1 or 2 every couple months. Being underpowered makes using the cruise suck. Other than that your only worry will be trying to kill the motor cause you cant do it! It will last forever.

 

i live in the coastal plains of texas so not many hills. i drove it to work today for the first time. not nearly as smooth as my corolla. it is quieter. corolla seems to have a quicker get up and go when entering the freeway from a ramp.

 

What cities are in the coastal plains? North Ft Worth here.

 

victoria, corpus christi, harlingen, el campo

 

It's hard to beat Toyota trucks for reliability, so from that perspective they are good for commuting. I understand wanting something newer than your Corolla, but it sounds pretty bulletproof, so it is still valuable for the purpose of safe, reliable and efficient transportation. And since "commuting" is strictly transportation, driving a utility vehicle (pickup) for this purpose does not make much sense, especially when you already have something that gets 35mpg.
So my question is, why did you buy a pickup truck? Doesn't seem like you have any need for it.
If your question about "advice for this vehicle" is directed toward modifications, I'm a big advocate for buying the right vehicle in the first place. Why would someone buy a specific vehicle that they want so badly, and then turn it into something else? When a vehicle is modified in a significant way, it often (not always) loses the original engineering/design and dynamics. Manufacturers invest millions on R&D, and then the owner just wants to tear it apart? Makes zero sense to me. Buy exactly what you need and it will serve you well for its intended purpose.

 

There are lots of reasons to mod trucks.

First, for some buyers, "buy exactly what you need" isn't a reality.
Second, mods are often less expensive than buying the factory upgrade.
Third, looks are important to many consumers, so we personalize our trucks.
Fourth, from a budgetary perspective, mods allow us to make changes over extended periods of time when the funds become available.
Fifth, mods allow us to modernize our older trucks.
Sixth, mods allow us to learn about the mechanics of our trucks.
Seventh, there's a tremendous enjoyment and bragging aspect with mods.
Eighth, mods are just plain cool, dude.

 

I guess transportation could be a hobby, seeing how I sometimes drive my sports car only for fun. But I just don't see pickup trucks as a lifestyle. Fishing, camping and hunting? Sure. Fitness, exercise and health? Definitely. Spending thousands and months/years building a truck instead of actually using it? Not my thing. We all have our own values, whatever rocks your boat dude.

 

In a way, I agree with you. But all of those reasons don't apply to the OP and his question.

Everything that DGXR said I agree with and is common sense advice.
Why buy a certain vehicle that isn't best suited to your task, then spend more $$$ trying to make it a better fit?
Just buy the darn vehicle you need in the first place.

 

The truck has more wind resistance/drag than the Corolla and weighs more. That's generally why a 4 cyl truck doesn't get 35MPG and also why it may not be quicker off the line.
If you need to haul things, get a truck. If you just like trucks, get a truck. If you want a commuter vehicle that gets good gas mileage, get another Corolla. If you want more comfort for some longer trips, and still get good gas mileage, get a Camry hybrid.