On a scale of 1-10, how much do you baby your truck?

5 I guess
It's my daily driver, I do all required maintenance it's been dealer serviced since I bought it in '19
It is tuned and I do drive it on the harder side, but I wouldn't say I beat on it.

However for it being a Turd gen I enjoy pressing that skinny pedal whenever I want too

 

Cleaning - 3. Washed a few times a year, only thoroughly detailed it twice since I got it, definitely overdue for another deep clean inside and out. Fluid filmed every fall for rust proofing, seems to be doing a good job keeping the underside in good shape.

Maintenance - 5. Dealer serviced at 5k, 10k, and 20k, did my own oil changes at 30k and just recently at 40k, but will probably switch to 5k intervals since I have a short commute during the winter for 3-4 months of the year. MT fluid changed at 20k but need to do the front and rear diffs still. I check my oil when I do oil changes. Even the oil coming out at 10k intervals looks fine.

Driving - 4. Normal commuter 99% of the time so gentle cruising to and from work, but certainly not afraid of high RPM's and WOT when the situation calls for it, like on the highway. Beat it up in Moab twice and had a blast doing it, completely changed my perspective of what these trucks can do mostly stock. I also park far away from people everywhere I go if possible, had a door ding in the middle of my drivers door within the first few months (literally the only time I ever let someone else drive my truck, still salty about that one).

Mods that may or may not affect longevity, but definitely add some stress - 5. Steel sliders, steel skid plates (engine+tranny+tcase), high clearance steel rear bumper, removed front sway bar. 33" tall skinny E-load tires. I'm probably 350-400 lbs. heavier than stock.

Overall - 4. I lost the battle of keeping it pristine in the first few months of ownership. Cleaning could be more regular (especially the interior), and it could use a proper exterior detail. I don't go overboard on maintenance but have generally followed the service intervals. I don't anticipate any changes in driving style or significant mods in the future. I've owned it for nearly 4 years and just over 40k miles, hoping to get 20 years and 200k+ without major repair work, which I think is totally doable if I keep up on basic maintenance and rust prevention.

 

Truck looks great. I’ve always liked these trucks in silver.

 

A 1. Gets oil changes at dealer every 10K. Gets washed once a month in one of those scary car washes that is touchy feely. I clean the inside when it gets too dirty. I park it outside every day usually in the sun. It's a tool.

 

I'm nearly religious with my maintenance intervals and upkeep as well as with running routine checks periodically and detailing the interior and exterior.
It also gets to live in the garage despite this being a big nuisance for accessing everything else I store in there.

But I also push the truck hard offroad, including putting a tree branch through one of the bumper cabs and causing rashes on nearly every wheel from rubbing rocks plus scratches in the plastic cladding from bushes, so while I have no major dents or damage there's a lot of smaller things that pop up once you get within 5 ft or so that evidence how it's been used. I tell people the reason it looks clean so much inside and outside is because when I get it dirty it gets so dirt it pretty much has to be cleaned thoroughly to be nice to drive on pavement again haha

 

Fair point!

 

I drive my truck as though somebody else pays for it...

Bedside smashed
Interior taken over by the pup
Pinstripes abound
Tailgate paint all fuckered up
Passenger slider smashed into pinch weld
Bumper half gone
BSM & backup sensors left the chat

Oh yeah, and somehow put the bed into the cab on both sides!



I think I warrant a 2, but I want to party with whoever voted for 1.

 

2019 with 24700 miles I do not use it as a daily driver, nor do I haul people, I use it as a Truck ! I use it for hauling and towing. As for care when I do use it people are always complimenting and can not believe it's five years old. I do not want to be replacing a expensive tool because of abuse.

 

I respect this. I treated my old Ranger like that. Just can’t bring myself to treating my Pro that way. I honestly think it’s because I know the resale value is so good. Kicker is that I don’t plan on selling.

 

I don't either, 3rd Taco, this one isn't going anywhere. I should add my truck isn't a DD, I would feel much different about it were that the case.

 

Yeah mine is my daily. However this past winter when the snow and salt was bad I drove my 16 4Runner. Love that thing too.

 

What are we considering babying vs abusing? I change the fluids earlier than specified, I use what I believe to be good quality fluids, and I redline mine constantly when shifting. I don’t consider that abusive at all, but I suppose others might cringe at how I drive mine. I don’t take it rock crawling, it lives on the street so I’m not beating it up in that regard.

 

I baby my truck but I also use it. Washed almost same night or next morning following any trip to the desert. And when something breaks I fix it immediately plus this is my daily so I have to fix anything wrong immediately lmao

 

This reminds me of an old thread on examples of bad parking.

 

When we're all gone... the grass will still be growing !

 

Mines filthy 24/7, gotta love living on gravel roads

Otherwise treat it well

 

I'd say a 10 for me. I've never really felt the need to own anything new but when I was in the market for something different the wife was adamant that it had to be something new and so the Taco is the new vehicle for me. I WFH so I rarely ever drive anywhere and usually if I do, its hauling the family which the Highlander does bests compared to the Taco. Coming onto 3 years of ownership and finally just broke 4,000 miles on the odometer, picked it up with 6 miles.

 

I’m punching out in the 2050s on some icy mountain with scars and aches and arthritis and an imperfect liver. And my pinstriped and dented and gear-packed and loved scarlet letter of a Tacoma might not be the thing waiting back at the trailhead, but she’ll understand.

I want to party with the 1s as well. I’ll even party with the 4s.

But we need grants from the 9s and 10s.

 

.1

 

Nah…that’s at least a .75