Purchasing a New Tacoma--what to watch for?

Don't listen to these people about towing, unless you were going with automatic. I had the automatic and now have a manual. I pull an 1800lb aluma h tilt 8218 with a kubota b2650 with backhoe about 5600lbs combined. The manual pulls it with no problem at all, I did add sumosprings and a tekonsha p3 brake controller.

 

I'll play this game.

I tow all the damn time. In the summer my camper goes somewhere every other weekend. In the winter that rate drops to one weekend a month. Twice a year I go cross-country. From my home base in Texas, I have towed my camper on trips over the Smokies to Charleston SC and back, then to Los Angeles, then a long circuit around the four corners, and most recently to South Dakota and back via Wyoming. Over 1/3 of my odometer was racked up with the trailer in tow.

In the past, speaking as a guy that has towed from a wide variety of vehicles from a utility trailer pulled by a ford mustang all the way up to a triple axle goose pulled by a F450, the Tacoma is a perfectly fine tow vehicle. Like all vehicles that comes with the caveat of "as long as you stay within its limits." But as long as you do stay within its limits, the Tacoma does great with a trailer, at highway speeds, in the mountains.

 

I tow our 2700# dry camper usually at least once a month. We just went on a 6000 mile roadtrip across the country to the west coast and back through the big mountains. My tacoma is an auto and it does just fine. Never struggled or overheated. Just don't use cruise control and you will be just fine. I had an f350 gas before the taco and while we had a much large camper, I had to rev the engine way higher going up steep grades.

 

We are in similar situations - with the towing - not often. We have a horse farm...I do not tow my horse trailers with this truck (LOL)...but I have towed our mower and UTV, dual axle trailer (with tool boxes)...trailer equipped is around 2K and mower (Scagg) is 1200 pounds, UTV (Kawasaki Trans 4x4 Mule) is around 1600 Pounds - no problem with either of these. BTW - I have an auto transmission - I'm getting up there in age and have had a lot of knee surgeries and too often my left knee will not flex/bend easily. I use the ECT when towing and yes mileage goes to around 11-12 MPG when towing (I usually avg 20-22 MPG). As far as headlights, I rarely drive at night - but when i do I am fine with the lights. I greatly appreciate the locking rear diff of my OR, as our farm is bordered (on 2 sides) by a river so we are often in the mud. I am usually alone in my truck - but when I have more than one passenger I usually take another vehicle, however in your case - a young child in the back seat - I see no issues there. I bought my 2019 TRD OR Dble Cab Short Bed in Jan of 2019...I have 80K miles on it so far, a lot of that in 4WD, I very much appreciate this truck for what it is - a great value and highly capable mid size truck. I wish you luck - be safe.

 

You also learned reverse gear top speed is like 95 mph. It's pretty hard to back a trailer up at 55 mph lol.

 

I have my Tacoma 3rd gen simply as a 2nd truck for general communting during winter, fishing, and hunting rig. I also own a 2020 Duramax which tackles real truck duties. Even if I was only towing 5-10 times a year I simply wouldn't pick the Tacoma as my only vehicle. They have their place, but a Tundra would be much better suited for your needs if you want to stay with Toyota. You can buy a new Chevy 2020 Duramax 2500HD diesel in the LT trim for the same price as a Tundra, and its 10X the truck along with comfort, good mpg's, 455HP, and 1000lbs of torque. Only thing worse is ride comfort. American vehicles have come a long way in the last 10 years. If someone told me I would own a Chevy truck 15 years ago, I would have punched em in the d!ck. Look at me now........

 

This for sure ^

 

Human size passengers

 

I had a '99 manual T4R and likewise, loved it (except for the leaky sunroof). I also own an '01 v6 Taco with an AT. I have test drove a MT '19, don't own one (yet, probably) so I can only speak from limited experience, not as extensively as everyone else here can, but I can offer a bit of insight from the perspective of that comparison.

It's a completely different machine, and I think a lot of that has to do with the electronic throttle. Throttle response is slower and rev hang is going to slow down your shifts (or make it jerky until you get used to it). I was really surprised when the car jerked on me from 3rd to 4th, but the most modern MT I've driven was that 4R. The '19 I test drove didn't have a power adjustable seat, so I can't speak for the power seats but I found the steering wheel adjustment and seat adjustment to be awkward with the steering wheel still being too close to my knees, and the pedal location made heel-toe difficult. This could be my awkward body geometry. And this truck is a lot bigger than your old 4R, but you're used to bigger trucks so I don't expect that to be a concern.

Like everyone else has suggested, test drive and see. I liked it, but it didn't replace the love I had from that car. You may look for a 1st gen DC MT since it is basically the 4R but with a short bed, but that's not exactly new...

 

Ive towed my dads aluminum 15ft boat on a steel trailer, maybe around 2000#? I did not even feel that it was there, same rpms no issues at all. The only time you could feel anything, is when braking.

Why would 3500# be an issue? Unless you are towing a huge sail. The wind resistance then will get in the way for sure. With proper set up and aero dynamic trailer 3500 is nothing for the mighty taco.

 

My buddy always makes a joke that the back seats are for little people.

I guess for me, coming out of the AC ranger, the back seats of the taco is a 5 star hotel.

 

I have a 2020 Double Cab OffRoad 6MT and I love it. The LED light option is a great one. I love the manual - shifts nicely, clutch is easy, and it drives well. Comments about reverse being a bit tall are true but it's not the end of the world (wish I knew more about the mod that was mentioned). This engine needs to be revved and I think it sounds great as you climb past 3K rpm. That's also where it starts pulling hard. Good luck!

 

There it is. Install took me about 1.5 hours. Amazing mod, really saves the clutch and makes maneuvering trailers/boats a breeze.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAAegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw14hkXINAdAcx5YKTi-U_uw

 

Absolutely. My father in law has a new Ford Ranger Lariat crew cab he bought for his body shop and I am shocked at how much less room they have in the back.

 

I agree with OverlandExpress. The Double Cab is nice, but coming from a Super Duty would be rough.

 

My buddy also said the 2nd gen was roomier in the back? I told him, how can it be if cab is the same size.

 

If you're talking MT any discussion about payload, towing, bed space, interior space, it's all out the window. Your options are Frontier (as if that's a real option) or Gladiator (legit choice) or Bronco (super fun but no truck bed, a rather different vehicle) or something several years old.

If Ford offers an MT F150 again that would change a lot. I suspect the EV F150 will be similarly interesting for entirely different reasons.

If you're open to AT, there are a large number of options and it's not at all difficult to find something that matches specific preferences.

 

Do Not be pressured... take a long test drive in the actual vehicle on various road conditions and speeds.

 

I have kids = fact.
You won’t like having kids = opinion.

I got this MPG while towing 3500lbs =
You’ll hate towing 35lbs =

 

NO!

Must buy thirg gen MT NOW!