Should I trade in for a TRD PRO?

From my experience with Ram resale values, if they are offering you 11K over what you paid, take it now...this afternoon...and figure out the tacoma as soon as you can get your hands on one. Once Ram gets the chips sorted, the resale value is gonna drop like a rock and you might be 11K the other way. Its unlikely this deal will be available to you by the time you can actually get your hands on a 2022 TRD Pro.

The 3rd gen still doesn't like a strong headwind at 75, its gonna do it, but not as smoothly as your Ram.

 

If your Ram has the 5.7 and you weren’t happy with the 2013 Tacoma.
I say, do not trade. The 2020 Tacoma vs a full size Ram w/5.7 isn’t even a fair comparison.

Pick the one that fulfills your needs the best. Keep or buy that one.

 

there are 2 MT pros where I’m at right now. Both over 50k though. 2019 and 2020

 

Same with Chicago traffic. I like manual, but not in Chicago rush hour traffic. It doesn’t even have to be rush hour in Chicago and there is still traffic.

 

If money is the motivating factor, you're better off trading for a beater and waiting it out. IMO even the Tacoma won't be immune to a price drop esp with Yellen talking about wanting to raise interest rates

 

OP:
I was in a similar situation. I sold my 2019 Tacoma for several thousands over what I paid for it. I have a different vehicle that I use as a daily driver, so I was in no hurry to replace the Tacoma, but I started to shop around anyway.

When I tried to buy a TRD Pro manual, I was told by a Toyota inventory manager that realistically, I was not going to be able to get into a 2021. The waiting list is too long in my region. So, I went to cars.com and found a manual transmission Pro, in-transit to a different region (e.g. a few states away). I called the place and I was told that it was still available and that it would arrive sometime in June. They even showed me the VIN number. I could not believe my luck!! I was so excited. Then reality set in when the sales person casually said that it would be a $7K over MSRP markup. I was also told that I was lucky, because had I been calling from California, it would have been a $10K markup.

My local dealer, has no markups for in-state residents and $5K markups for out-of-state hopefuls. Others have mandatory accessory buys, but even with all that, allocations for '21 TRD Pros in my region have been depleted. It would be easier to find gold in my backyard than finding a '21 TRD Pro manual at any price in my region. I considered a loaded TRD Off-Road, but those go for full MSRP and not that plentiful either. So I decided to wait, but that didn't last long.

During the holiday weekend I was driving by a Jeep dealership and I remembered that Jeep had come up with a truck (Gladiator). Just for kicks, we stopped by and they had a few on the lot (like 7 or so). I drove a manual Rubicon, which was nice, but realized that on a vehicle that heavy, a manual was not going to work for me in general (there goes the manual Tacoma). I test drove an 8-speed auto Mojave and was very impressed. My wife flat out fell in love with the Gladiator. We went home and she could not stop talking about it. The following day she persuaded me to go back for another test drive and even offered to help pay for one if we bought one . That had never, ever happened before with any other vehicle . . . ever. They offered ~$5k off MSRP and the rest was history. Had I waited and traded in my Tacoma for it, it would have been another $4K in tax savings. Anyway, we're super happy with this thing.

BTW, late this year or early next year is the soonest anyone expects for prices to go back to normal. However, it could be much longer than that.

 

My 2017 has never been a big fan of being driven on the highway.

I come from the IS350 life and around here 80mph was standard and comfortable. Not a chance in this truck.

70 tops for me and at that speed, my Tacoma doesn't have enough torque in 6th gear to fight the wind resistance.. so 95% of the time it stays in 5th gear. That's not exactly an engine power issue though... it's a gearing issue. 5th gear is plenty tall as an overdrive gear and 6th gear... forget it... it's unusable, don't even know why they added it. Combine that with taller heavier tires and the issue is even worse.

If you are going to keep stock tire size you'll be fine. If you are going for taller tires, be ready to either live with it or regear to 5.29's to make 6th gear usable again. It all depends on how much highway driving you use.

Again, engine power isn't the issue here, nor is the tuning of the truck (I have OVTune and it helped in every day driving but not much on highway). You need to regear.

 

KDMAX tune on a 3rd gen takes all the driving issues away, no transmission issues hunting for gears and more power. Drives like a different truck.

 

Yes, you should

 

It’s not that bad

OP - good luck finding a MT in Houston. I bought mine back in 2017 and it sat on the lot of 2 months, paid 30k OTD for it... it’s crazy pricing these days

 

The Pro comes in other colours besides the 'special' exclusive for one year only colour. After a year, the exclusive colour becomes much less exclusive as it spreads to the rest of the lineup. That's good news for you though, because it means you don't have to buy a 2021 Pro just to get yourself in a Lunar Rock Tacoma. You should be able to get a 2022 Off Road, Sport, SR5 in that colour.

 

yeah the 5.7 is a good engine. The newer rams are nice trucks as well, too bad its chrysler.

 

Chebby.

 

Yeah if you have to drive in rush hour in a big city it isn't very comfortable.

 

Don’t listen to all these MT guys, they’re like vegetarians.

Just test drive the thing under similar conditions to what you plan to use it for as previously recommended. I have an automatic ‘19 OR and it’s fine. And another great piece of advice already given, definitely trade the thing and buy something else if you’re getting that much for it. But know this - these trucks are a very different driving experience from full sized. I went from a Tundra to the Taco and it had a hard time adjusting. I really missed a lot of the comforts and power of the Tundra.

I’d been driving full sized trucks my whole life. These midsized trucks are a whole different animal. They have benefits of their own. If they suit your purposes then great, but you need to know what you will be giving up in exchange for those attributes and make sure you’re ok with the trade.

 

I have the manual off road it’s slower than the auto .The transmission is clunky as poo at times . If you are seriously thinking getting one with the manual it’s a better choice over the auto it can’t decide what gear it wants .I would test drive both and see what suits you best . Best of luck

 

If you didn’t like the 2nd gen on the highway you probably won’t like the 3rd gen. Test drive it first

 

A bicycle would be better than that Ram1500. Take the extra 11k and “Run Forest Ruuun...”

 

I wish my manual would hold speed in 6th on hills. I have to drop to 5th for almost any incline

 

Get the taco pro, but when you do get the KDMAX or the OVtune done