Jake’s Taco build and other B.S.

Without de-railing the OP’s post too much, the Raptor is a pile of garbage. I had 11k miles when I got rid of mine and I had it in to the dealer 6 or 7 times to get the transmission looked at (every time they acknowledged something wasn’t right, but couldn’t ever fix it). I had to have the rear tailgate latch replaced (wouldn’t unlock and you can’t manually unlock it, with the tonneau cover I was locked out of my bed), I’d had it in for six different recalls, I had random pieces of paneling come off, and the final nail in the coffin was when I picked it up from getting the tranny worked on (again) I climbed in, closed the door, and the driver door panel popped off. I had that truck in to the dealer more than I’ve ever had any other vehicle in to get worked on and it was one of the shortest ownerships I’ve had. Normally I would chalk it up to having a Friday build, but most of my issues weren’t unique to me, it became a running joke with my wife and I when we’d talk to other Raptor owners how long it would take them to bring up tranny problems. For the price of those trucks and their “performance” profile, they should shift butter smooth and with zero hesitation, they don’t.

sorry for the de-rail OP, you made a smart choice to get rid of the Raptor

 

It would be virtually impossible for me to go from a full size 450hp Raptor and step down to a mid size Tacoma. A 2020 SuperCab Raptor starts at $54,800 with the destination fee.

 

The size wasn’t a big deal for me. I had previously been driving a lifted Tundra on 37s so I was already used to the width and terrible turning radius. They are very wide trucks though.

 

If you want to go fast off road, nothing beats the Raptor in stock form.
But it's not a mudder, it doesn't tow well, doesn't have a good payload, but that is the price you pay to go fast off road....

 

I didn’t have a Raptor but did have a 2014 F150 with the eco boost. Traded it in for the exact same truck and color. Never been happier with a vehicle decision. Well done

 

They are also total brainiacs.....Get a standard.

 

It is funny reading some of these reviews. I am switching from a Raptor to a 20 Tacoma Trd Pro too.

I have owned 3 Raptors. The Gen 1 was the best and has held its value as well (and at times better than) any Tacoma. Yes, the Gen 2 brought a new crowd of people in (aka yuppies), who mostly slap lift kits and 20 inch rims on the truck, so that it “looks cool”—a complete contradiction for off-road Baja trucks.

I have been to Prudhoe Bay to Cabo San Lucas to Florida and lots of places in-between in a Raptor and loved every second of it. I am wanting something smaller to get into places off-road that you could never get into with a Raptor. Moreover, the Raptors 4x4 system is nowhere close to Toyota as Ford has had failing IWEs across both generation of Raptors.

I rented a 19 Tacoma OR with a GFC in October and put about 2000 miles on it traveling in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. It was a very pleasant ride. I drove the truck hard and pushed it in rough off-road conditions as I hit every major off-road trail that was along my route. I thought the transmission shifted well and the 4x4 system is excellent. So I am trying a Pro given the shifting is suppose to be even better this year and the Fox suspension

 

Wow lots of posts on here! Been a long day for me but I got the Taco pretty dialed in. Will be dropping it off for an alignment tomorrow and hoping to do a little more trimming tomorrow night. Only put a couple miles on it today but I’m stoked on it. I think the 5.29 gears are gonna be perfect for the 285/75r17s. Still has some zip to it with the big tires and seems to cruise at highway speeds ok. Here’s some pics of the finished product. Definitely needs an alignment! Haha

 

As for the folks asking about trading the Raptor for a Tacoma I have a few answers. The raptor costs 65k where as the Tacoma was 40k. I had a ton of equity in the raptor from two Afghanistan deployments where it just sat in my garage and collected dust while I payed off a good portion of the truck. That facilitated a pretty easy pile of cash to do the upgrades on the tacoma along with a heck of a down payment.

Next, the raptor had some hail damage and a crash on the title. Some dude crashed into it when it was parked on the side of the street like a week after I bought it. That kind of tainted the whole thing for me.

 

Tacoma looks great! Would you mind sharing the total cost of the King suspension upgrade, UCA’s, etc?

 

You stationed at Carson huh? I was there '86-'88

 

Also with a price tag of 65k I was always so worried about scratching the damn thing. It doesn’t fit in a car wash/parking garage or any mountain pass here in Colorado. It’s just obnoxious after a while. At 40k the Tacoma is a much safer bet for me. I’ll be able to take it far more places. Plus I can afford to do some upgrades to it and do the work myself which is rewarding. A raptor mid travel kit from SVC is like $13k or something nuts. For the taco it’s like 4k. Not to mention insurance costs and fuel consumption in the raptor. Dear god that got old.

 

Yeah stationed at Carson, lucked out on that one! Love it here!

 

It was a cool post I remember cruising Nevada ave on Friday and Saturday nights. IDK if they still do it or if it's still open but get a tour of NORAD if you can. The zoo was pretty cool also

 

Unfortunately your Tacoma that is smaller, weighs less, and makes a lot less power really isn’t going to get any better fuel economy.

 

Sure, these are rough and some included Black Friday sales so I saved a little money there.
King coils/shocks ext travel with resi and OME Dakar’s was $2800 during DSM Black Friday sale.
JBA HC arms were roughly $450
Nitro 5.29 installed by Tanner 4x4 was like $2900.
Leer 100xr with all the fixings, installed was $3200.
5 Nitto Ridge Grapplers were $1500 and another $1200 for the 5 SCS wheels.

 

I’m getting a little better 14/18 but yeah you’re right. At least I don’t have to run super in the Tacoma. The raptor also had a 36 gallon tank. $100 almost every damn time. Here is a pic from the first Tacoma fill up.

 

I’ve been here 4 years and still haven’t been to the zoo. I gotta go check it out, I’ve heard it’s awesome.

 

What was the insurance cost on the Raptor? Curious

 

smaller is better for sure!