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When I decided to get a Tacoma I wanted a 1st gen for it's smaller size. You all know how rare used Tacomas are in the N.W. I looked for months, told used car dealers what I wanted, only one called back to say they were hard to find and had I considered a Nissan Frontier which he didn't have either.

My brother kept reminding me I needed a new vehicle, I had a 1970 Mercedes diesel with a serious body rust issue (I still sold it for $575 on craigslist and didn't have to fire any shots). He wouldn't ride in it.

I looked on the web and found a white regular cab at a dealer in the next county to the north (saved on sales tax ) and decided to go with 2nd gen. I like the larger size now having had a 1978 2wd. It's not so big that it's a problem and the extra room in the cab is nice.

 

I know, it's ridiculous how rarely you see 1st gens for sale around here!! Crazy. I guess everybody that already has one is as obsessed with theirs as I am? Wow. That almost sounds kind of cult like and slightly scary.

Sounds like you found some positives in the 2nd gen, that's good! Although I don't feel like we really need it, extra space inside is never a bad thing! I just hate how wide the newer ones are in terms of the exterior. I know I've ranted about that many times on here before, but here I go again. On the narrow windy back roads, a wide truck is NOT what I want to be in. We already have a super compact truck, and even in that, we still have some close calls trying to maneuver past others on those narrowest of narrow roads.

Surely you know what I'm talking about being a fellow PNW-er? All the logging roads and other back roads around here, that lead to the super cool hikes and stuff - don't you get those "oh shit" moments every now and then when a random RV (that shouldn't even be on that road anyway!) or super massive wide truck is coming at you, and there's nowhere to pull off because you've got a cliff on the other side of you? That's my biggest downside with the newer ones - those moments. Sure, it's not like it's a daily thing, but when you are in the situation, those extra few inches seem like they could make the difference between backing down (yes, reversing!) potentially MILES of terrible road until you find a pull off, or being able to continue forward. And that could really be a buzzkill on vacation. I prefer to keep moving foward . That way, I can get to the hiking destination that much sooner (often, only to chicken out of the hike anyway, due to irrational fear of snakes & cougars ). But then we get to get back to wherever we're staying and start drinking that much sooner, and see if the hot tub is any good. See, there is a method to my madness everyone! Eye on the prize!

 

one BIG reason the second gens don't seam as bad as they first appeared to be is all other trucks have equally gotten bigger too so by comparison they are the same percentage smaller then other trucks as the first gens were to trucks built during their time.

but quality and long life durability wise they are just trash designed to fail after the warranty runs out so you have to buy another one just like anything else built new today

 

I don't know about calling them trash designed to fail. That seems like kind of an extreme statement.....

But I totally agree about how all trucks are getting bigger and bigger, so the comparison of an old Taco to a truck of that time vs. a new Taco to a truck of this time seems accurate to me, too. Just too bad. Not everyone wants a massive truck, yet manufacturers seem to think we ALL do.

Just gonna have to convince K to sell me his '04. Don't you agree Keakar? C'mon, back me up on this buddy!

 

I've never had a problem with the size of my Tacoma.

I used to have an F250, I had to fold in the mirrors to get between the trees more than once. Oh there was a problem once, contractors building a house partly blocked my driveway. As I went past a chevy pickup my F250's mirror trimmed the mirror off the chevy as I was watching the neighbor's fence (didn't even knock the F250's mirror out of adjustment). Another time I got the fence, but no problem the contractor had to build them a new fence when the project was done, I wasn't the only one to have a problem getting past. Too many people think if there's no place to park just leave it in the road.

Oh and F150s have gotten smaller. Small trucks and large trucks are converging on mid-size.

 

Really? F150s have gotten smaller? Are they comparable to newer Tacos in size now? And Ford stopped making Rangers, right?

Then the Chevy small truck is the Colorado, right? Is that comparable to newer Tacos in size? Then there's the Nissan Frontier. Those look similar to newer Tacos in size.

 

I don't know about Colorado's size.

Frontiers are similar size to 2nd gen Tacos.

Ford stopped selling Rangers in the U.S. to force people to buy F150s or Tacomas. They are still sold in other countries. I believe they have always been made by Mazda.

 

Been digging in the dirt, on our sloped area just inside the new gates. Trying to decide what to do with the area. It receives tons of foot traffic, so the grass would never grow nicely there. Just weeds. So I'm thinking about putting some stones down to do a short path or slight steps from the edge of our deck down to the main man gate. Such a weird, annoying little area - it's sloped, and with a crawlspace window right there we always have to be thinking about where the water is going to go

Maybe I'll post a few pics and see what you guys can come up with for ideas! We have a billion of those stupid manor stones, so we were thinking about using some of those to try to do something there. But I'm having visualizing anything cool.....

 

might do best with a brick pathway over a sand bed so its solid and low maint but drains well and stays where you put it

 

That is the best answer. Brick paver s look great as well.

 

The Ford Ranger and the two door explorer were also sold under Mazda nameplates, with some codesign and manufacturing. The ranger and explorer used to share many components, but not sure on current production.

On the other hand, while I like the size of my 94 toy pickup, my '11 Access cab is great in all respects aside from the terrible gas milage. But it will tow a trailer and climb hills and not get stuck like my 97 Ram 1500ST 2x4 on wet grass.

I have to wonder if the dislike of the size of the 2nd gen is partially sour grapes due to cost issues.

Howard

 

Disliking their size and disliking their cost are 2 separate issues.

Here's some pics to illustrate why I don't want a super wide truck. When headed out on this road after a day hike, we passed a caravan of Jeeps loaded with tons of gear, clearly heading in to stay a while. We got lucky and crossed paths with them at a good spot. Otherwise, we would have been reversing for a while.

I remember one time that we actually did have to reverse for a while. We were up in the Mt Hood National Forest, headed up a "new to us" rough road to check out a group of lakes in a remote area. We were on the cliff side, and the driver coming towards us was on the "inside". But he wasn't stopping or backing up. The last pull off we'd passed was at least a mile back, maybe more.....sure felt like more, because we wound up reversing that whole distance, with a cliff on the passenger side and me looking out the window at it like this the whole time Calling that a buzz kill for what shoulda been a fun summer day to play outside is definitely an understatement. And that was in a truck that is far skinnier than any of the new trucks, period.

 

Backing up is part of adventurous traveling. I had to back up 3/4 of a mile to where I could turn around once on a snowy road when I couldn't continue. Standard cliff on the outside. I back up in low range.

 

It's true, that's part of the adventure I suppose. Good way to look at it.

But that's the only part I really don't like, as far as rough road adventures. The rest is fun/worth the thrill even when it gets scary in other ways, but backing up really sucks. Seems like the cliff side is always on my side when that shit happens.

 

eric and jen decided to get a scooter after all

 

Skinniest engine operated mode of transport around! Great idea! Except where does Dolly sit?

 

on the handle bars silly, thought that was self explanatory

 

At least for me the cost isn't on the radar. I'm not loaded but It's simply the death of the mini truck (in this frigging country anyway) by all brands that pisses me off... and what really pisses me off is the bad ass Toyotas that are still made in other countries that we can't get here!!! Especially the straight axle trucks!!! Makes me mad thinking about it haha.

 

I think the first manufacturer ever smart enough to sell a 40 mpg front wheel drive true mini truck would see record sales.

not everyone needs to haul 10k lbs around or have a truck the size of an H1 hummer

the old 30 mpg mini trucks were perfect as a general runabout to haul a few groceries or furniture and lumber for home projects

I wonder if I could put my Tacoma body on the yaris chasis and drive train ????? seriously, THATS the truck build I would do if I ever could, find something in a 40 mpg car and throw the body away to add the Tacoma body on its chasis and drive train

 

vW had a 40 mpg mini truck with the diesel rabbit pickup circa 1980