Thinking about buying a taco

The 1994 Toyota Pickup was available with two different engines. The base engine was a 2.4-liter I-4, which got 117 horsepower and 140 ft.-lbs. of torque.

https://itstillruns.com/1994-toyota-pickup-specs-7583707.html

 

Heck I use to even pull a 2k pound camper with my 94 4cyl 4x4 with 31's and factory gears back and forth to deer camp. I really need to test drive one of these trucks and I'll have all my answers.

 

I have a 2011 Regular Cab 4x4 5Speed and love it, but here are somethings to consider.

1. Bench seats are not for everyone, I changed mine to buckets from a 2011 access cab and it was the best change ever.

2. Regular cabs have little room for storage, so a camper shell is super usefull for throwing crap into. I added some of the storage cubbies from a double cab behind the seats for gear.

3. 4Cyl with 31"s thats fully loaded with camping gear, 2 humans a dog and supplies for a long weekend is totally noticeable vs an empty truck. Climbing long highway hills is a struggle especially at elevation.

Pros:
1. I get between 21-25mpg.
2. I can make u-turns easily, park in tight spots and drive this truck like a car.
3. Don't have to haul friends. LOL.
4. Was a good deal. Bought the truck for 16k with 42k on the clock.

Outside of that I would purchase a Toyota over anything else, just gotta figure out which one is the best for you.

 

None of those are deal breakers for me. I like toyota and my uncle was VP of the Toyota mfg facility not far from m . I currently own a 2019 4runner so I'm familiar with the quality.
This will be a work truck running around locally with very light loads and occasional use on weekends when I don't wanna get my good stuff dirty.

 

I'd probably definitely put in bucket seats lol

 

You can find buckets in Reg cab. My 2013 4x4, reg cab, auto has buckets in it. It is no rocket ship but with just me and the bed unloaded it does just fine. A few times every year I haul some camp supplies up to millinocket, ME area from Mass and it does ok. Am I going to pass someone at 70+ mph, probably not. Am I going to cruise at 65-70 all day. Yup.

Get a cap or tonneau cover because you will need stroage space because reg cabs have NONE. I'm about 5'10 and I have to slide the seat to the back wall, so not much fits behind there.

It's been a great little truck, parks eaasy, fairly small & light so I can take some areas of the trails that even big bro trucks get stuck in while in ME.

 

Don't know about the manual trans models, but my "13" Reg. cab 4X4 came with factory buckets & console, I think that's about the only extras they' offered on reg. cabs.

 

Sliding rear window...

 

You’re probably aware, but if you’re wondering about the engine bay space and power of the 4.0 V6, it’s the same motor that’s in your 4Runner. The 1GRFE.

 

I've decided it's definitely going to be a reg cab 4x4 2.7 MT. The reliability and engine bay space is too important to me. I'll regear it if necessary. Its probably going to end up with 33's and gears at some point.
Now the next chore is to find one with under 100k miles and $12k with a clean frame.

 

Welcome to TW ​

 

Thanks Lynyrd!

 

When I bought the 4runner I picked magnetic grey and love that color but I also really liked the Barcelona red so maybe if I get really lucky, I can find a Barcelona red taco. Beautiful color!

 

As narrow as your search is, don't let the color be a deciding factor, under 100K & $12K in a reg. cab 4X4 MT? They're out there, but not every day.

 

Yeah color won't be a deciding factor. I've only found 3 in a 200 mile radius that meet my criteria. One actually had 60k miles

 

So I've emailed dealerships about three trucks I'm interested in. Got replies from two of them asking me what I'd like to know. I requested pics of frame and undercarriage from both. One didn't reply back and the other had his tech bring the truck in and put on lift and snapped several pics for me. Unfortunately the pics were terrible and didn't really answer my question if it had a solid frame or not. The guy said he wasn't a tech but that while it had a "little rust" on it, the frame looked solid to him. Ugh! I feel like he made the pictures look bad on purpose so he could force me to come and look at it and steer me to something else if it was too bad for my liking. Also when I I requested his best out the door price he asked me if I'd be financi8or paying cash. That's so aggravating as it SHOULD be the same price regardless. One of the few files I could make out looks like it may have a hole in the metal. The truck body looks perfect although I know most do with the rusted frames.

 

The truck is a one owner with a very detailed service record and one of the entries was replacement of the rear leaf springs which kinda made me think it was due to rust.

 

They're the worst in the world for stealing! You can buy a clone of my $700 Stihl chainsaw off of Amazon for like $150. They're junk but the factory stihl parts will bolt right on in place of the Chinese junk

 

I would not buy a Taco thinking it will be like your early 90's vintage trucks. A 1st Gen Taco with a 2.7 would be much closer of a match. Sure they ditched gear drive tcases, searviceable wheel bearings, hubs, etc. but at least they were built with similar dimensions, frame strength, and ground clearance.

I think a TRD locked Taco goes good off road but they are not built like the previous models. It is built like a mini van.

I'd recommend some seat time before committing to one. A TJ isn't exactly made like a Swiss watch but they are a pretty good contender. Not a big fan of the Chrysler automatic in the later vintage TJ.

 

I'm stuck on what to do. I am getting ready to start up a pest control business in April as soon as I finish with all the required licensing. I'm buying this truck specifically for that use. I probably could get by with a wrangler for that business but it certainly wouldn't look as professional as a truck or get the mpg the tacoma would.

I also own a power washing/construction business which has been our primary income for the past several years and is what I use my super duty for. But that business has grown and I'm to the point I need to expand to at least two trucks running a trailer each.

My thoughts are to buy the tacoma and use it for pest control but also use it for the power washing business pulling a 1200# trailer whatever day I need two rigs out. Actually the trailer pulling the hot water machine would weigh around 3500# but the super duty would get that trailer.

Actually if I stopped running the 16' enclosed trailer and all that equipment packed in it, I could sell the super duty (I hate diesel trucks) and I could get by with a gas engine. So maybe I'll end up with two Tacoma's, a 4 banger and 6 banger lol