Tacoma sport TRD vs Silverado v8 vs F150 v8

I also do car camp when doing other activities like you mention, but I tend to be a light packer. All my gear easily fits in the taco and when I have to bring big toys I attach a trailer. I would like to try overlanding, but we don’t have big open spaces where one can do that in my area.

 

Eh. I have camped with only a sleeping bag, can of beans, and a lighter. It was fun in its own right, and I'll certainly remember one of those trips as having experienced the absolute most gorgeous sunrise I have ever seen in my life, but it wasn't exactly the most relaxing. Its hard to get back to work the Monday after one of those trips. Woe be to the fool that tries to assign me a task when I'm grouchy and sore.

Meanwhile, my little trailer has a sink with hot water, a propane stove, a decent queen mattress, and a little table with an L-shaped bench for those times I don't feel like fucking with the bugs. A weekend spent in that and I'm one of the chirpiest, happiest, most energetic fat bastards to come waltzing in Monday morning.

Real camping is fun and all, but I'll take my fake camping anyday.

 

if i had to do it over again i would probably go tundra or an f150 with the 2.7l or 5.0. the main reason would be for the interior room as i have a family of 4. other than that i think the only reasons you would *need* a 1/2 ton is either the extra towing capacity or the bigger interior for a family. the smaller tacoma would be great for a city dweller, or camping/off-roading by yourself or with 1 other person.

 

Not exactly apples to oranges, I'd suggest test driving, you can't really compare a domestic to non domestic let along 1/2 ton to 1/4 ton.

 

It depends on what you want to do with the truck. I just traded my 2015 Sierra which mechanically is identical to a Silverado for a 2020 Tacoma. I only traded because the Sierra was too big to fit down most of the trails that we like to camp off of. If I lived somewhere that didn't have the trails we do in Colorado I'd probably still have the Sierra.
I can't speak on the other options, but with a half ton Silverado/Sierra you'll get more bang for you buck as far as luxury; the cab is way nicer, sound system is nicer, the ride is nicer, way more power. I also got better gas mileage(usually 20-21 highway at 70mph in the mountains) I can barely squeeze out 19mpg in the Tacoma on flat ground.
All that said, if you do go for a Silverado or Sierra, I would try to get one built in the US or Canada. Mine was built in Mexico and had a lot of problems (most of which were sorted out under warranty). If you look on the Sierra/Silverado forums, people with mexico built trucks have the same issues and guys with US/canada built trucks don't have hardly any.
Good luck!

 

Depends a lot on what configuration you would get too. My DCLB Tacoma is 4" narrower and 4" shorter wheelbase than the tundra config I would buy. Tacoma is also 4" narrower than the current F150 and about the same wheelbase options on the short end, although the F150 and Tundra go up to higher wheelbases if you want a super long one. Size may not be as much of a difference as it looks, although the width does make a difference on tight trails and in tight parking lots. It also makes the cab much roomier.

My Tacoma is set up for adventure at the expense of fuel economy (low gearing, supercharger, extra weight)... but I averaged 19L/100km over the last few years. It tows a utility trailer with ATV's or snowmobiles very well, but fuel economy suffers. Towing a light trailer over mountains my worst recorded tank is 31L/100km. Even completely stock, full size trucks offer comparable fuel economy to a Tacoma. Often better when towing. Also depends on the config and engine options selected, of course.

Where the Tacoma shines is reliability. I don't know much about third gens, but my 2012 second gen has been great. I've done routine maintenance plus about $1000 in actual repairs and it has never left me stranded (except the time I got 2 flats and only had 1 spare, but not really the trucks fault). A friend of mine has a 2015 F150 with the 5.0 V8, it has fewer miles on it, and he has spent over 20k on repairs since the warranty ended. Not a lot of engine work, but pretty much everything else.

I find it frustrating that a Tacoma gets roughly the same fuel economy and is pretty close to the full size trucks in price and size. I think that's why people like to compare them. But they're really quite different... it's reliability and adventure vs capacity and power.

 

I drove a raptor w/6.2 the other day so now I am horny in that direction.

 

Can’t go wrong with the 6.2l and the 6 speed(assuming the trans is the same as the F250 with the 6.2). I had a 16 F250 with the 6.2 for oil field service I put 160000 miles on it, mostly off road while hauling 4500ish pounds of tools and stuff. That truck was the most reliable vehicle I’ve ever seen, unfortunately the fleet manager made me trade it for a 2020 this summer

 

A Ford 250, a Razor off road toy and a Jeep Wrangler would be idea but I really don't want to maintain 3 vehicles to replace my Taco.

 

I have a 2018 Ford F-150 with the 10R80 10-speed transmission and it has been nothing but trouble for 43k of its 48k miles. Every time I take my truck in for service or warranty, I see 4 or 5 pallets of 10-speeds waiting to ship back to the factory. My truck has spent over a month at the dealership for transmission issues over 2.5 years. Still not right.

 

My eyes are bleeding...