SR5?

I went SR5 and I do go off-roading quite often.

Main Reasons for the SR5 not OR:
1) I wanted to build my truck exactly how I wanted. I wanted my own suspension setup and my own locker set up. My own HU and speaker set up. To me it wasn’t worth spending extra dough on stuff I’d replace. The extra stuff is nice however not worth the upgrade.

2) the price. I got a hellava deal on the SR5 4x4 and that allowed me out of the dog house with the wife.

But that’s my reasoning both are great options.

 

Have had my sr5 2wd for almost 12k miles now. Does well on regular 2wd trails, has taken me to Vegas a few times with no issues, gets good mpg.. what more could I ask for besides 4x4 for more difficult off roading? lol

 

Where I live most all the tacomas I see are OR, including mine. If you want the extra bells and whistles go with the off road. If you live some place where the snow falls I would suggest the OR.

 

Dude same here

 

We get some snow here in WV, but not large amounts and I also do not need to drive to work as I live next to my office. I am very pleased with all the responses to this thread and have learned quite a lot from it and other threads on this site. I am very grateful for your time and input. I just have to wait a couple months for a house to sell and I will hopefully be in the market for an SR5; the only thing that might change that would be an exceptional deal on a TRD OR or Sport. I have come to learn that trucks with all four of the following (4 x4/ AT /long bed/ crew cab) are hard to find in all the trim levels. Most dealerships I have seen only have one or two total if any all.

 

FTFY

 

Why? I live in a snow state and while I do use 4wd, nothing specific to the OR trim gives me any advantages to other 4wd’s. You do not want to engage the rear locker when things get slippery.

 

20 +years?? Definitely get the SR5.

Why?? The OR is awesome, no doubt!

But here's the thing, It's not like it won't need any repairs for whatever reason some 15+ years down the line.

And here's the deal, the heart of the offroad and all it great gadgets besides the rear-locker, which and of itself is a serious contender for expensive repairs, is the electronic brake booster.
It's what makes ATRAC possible and a marvelous piece of tech, but when it goes bad, or if anything in it goes bad, it's sold as one piece that can cost $5-6k last time I checked! Ouch!

I've heard of some that claim they can make individual component(s) repairs, but it's still a pretty penny, and not something you want to spend high $$ on a 15+ year old vehicle.

I have an SR5 and plan on unloading it to my fav grandson some 8-10 years from now or when the 4th gen rares it ugly head and he'll have as much FuN offroad in it as I do, It's just awesome does everything I ask of it.

But, I need something I can maintain on the cheapo for as long as possible. I know, I know, I should've got the 4 banger 4x4 but the gadgets get the best of me sometimes too and then I made the (big) mistake of sticking my head on here just before purchase and didn't want to be treated like the redheaded step child.

Anyway, we can go on & on forever about this, but the bottom line is COST! Cost overtime, yeah, all of that time.



Hope that helps some!
Cheers!

 

Hammer. The less things to go wrong is definitely in my thinking with planning to keep one for a long time. It is also a reason for going Tacoma over Tundra. Gas, tires etc. will be less to maintain for a Taco over a Tundra. The same with an SR5 vs. TRD OR.

 

IF I had been more financially responsible, I would have gotten the 4X4 4cyl banger. It is a TOYOTA original bullet proof gem. This here V-6 I drive is a luxury (Lexus) design and it is packet with tech and things that can go BOOM!

If not properly assembled.

Take the overhead cams, it's got four two on each side, with seals front & back, anyone of them that can potentially leak oil and when that happens, its R&R engine ouch!!

But that's not all. It's also got DS4 direct fuel injection, the latest and greatest.
The brains behind that is a HPFP that cost around 1k+ $ skillful labor to diagnose and R&R. This (DS4) also brings out the possibility of carbon buildup on the intake valves, another huge ouch!!
Lucky for me I'm not afraid to clean her out on the hwy.

Yeah, I should've got the 4 banger, a real TOYOTA made for my kind of live long & reliably style.
A buddy of mine has a '12 SR with the 4 banger, uses it to supplement his income with Uber and he just piles on the miles with no concerns at all of any kind of unexpected repair surprises lol!

But he's smart. If I had been as smart but still wanted the little extra hump that you get from the V-6, I should have just got the 4 and added a turbo, and gotten the best of all the world!

Cheers!

 

I have an SR5 that I bought last month and have no regrets with it at all. I plan on keeping this car until it dies, similar to you, and have no thoughts that I won't still love it in the many years to come. I do offroad and did consider getting the offroad or even TRD Pro, but nearly everything on them would have been something I'd replace since I do heavily modify all of my vehicles. The only thing I do wish my SR5 had was leather, but other than that I have not a single regret.

 

As I previously said, I would get an SR/SR5 having to do it again. However, component reliability is NOT one of the reasons. Even the brake booster. Land cruisers have the same thing, and have had them for years. Not an issue on those, although the first years of the 100-series did have a few failures. But overall, not a problem. Even the auto climate control, BSM, etc. Never heard of one going out. Zero worries if I decide to keep this thing for 20 years.

 

Because you will never see "SR5" and "overlanding" in the same sentence.

 

What, my SR5 ain't an overlanding rig?

If I didn't tow, it was just me and I didn't have to deal with traffic, I could see going with an AC cab SR with a 4 cylinder and a manual transmission.

 

you can add an aftermarket diff lock I think? I love my SR5 and if anybody with a trd off road wants to play follow the leader offroad, I bet I can get most places they can.

 

ARB air locker could easily added. It's not "cheap," but when I calculated the price of one versus what I got my SR5 for, it all made sense.

 

Trds in the Vampire state were $10k over SR5s

 

You can add DIY Clazzios leather seat covers, they look great from what I have seen in the thread.
I almost pulled the trigger on a set, but I'm in the thick of heat 90% of the time and would end up putting a beach towel on it anyway. But who knows, I like they way they look heheh!

That is if the TRDOR can even get their locker engaged or released without breaking anything lol!

But yeah, you can ad ARB front, rear or both and beat the TRDOR easily. But I wouldn't recommend a front without a solid axle, our new modern cv axles don't seem to play nice with a front locker.
ARB is the leader and well made, possibly much better then stock oem but that's just IMO.

And I have no regrets at all on my SR5 purchase. The fact is when the new TOYOTA TSS came out, I actually considered trading for (TRDOR if need be) it as i'm a big fan of safety like bsm, but I just couldn't justify replacing my perfectly working 4X4 long bed truck. I could add that (safety bsm) too. The aftermarket makes some cheap ones, but I might wait for an oem.

Cheers!

 

Well....it doesn't have a roof top tent affixed.

I feel the same as you - if I didn't need it to tow it would be a 4 cylinder. I towed my boat over much of the Great Lakes area with my '01 2.7L - that truck was a trooper, but I had a line of cars behind me on the hills.

 

For sure, if I didn't have a family, I'd most likely have an AC. But I would still keep the V6. MPG is about the same. I don't tow much, either, but extra power is nice on high elevation mountain roads (especially ones in Colorado). I think reliability is really on-par. 2.7L had teething issues earlier on as well. In my opinion, the 3.5L will be a very reliable engine, as was the 4.0 and 3.4.