Thinking of switching from Ram to Tacoma, need advice

I agree with all those points about the Tacoma (except for me it’s fine comfort-wise), I meant an airplane in the sense of size.

 

Maybe the old model Rams. The newest ones (5th gen) have been amazing. My 2019 is the first year of the 5th gen and they really got it right with just about everything.

 

Everyone else has hit everything pretty well. It really is just personal preference. My truck is slow, wheezy, and shifts strange. I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world.

My only real piece of advice to you, don't just settle!
It'll be much tougher to find the exact truck you want, but it's out there. Had to go hundreds of miles away to find my truck, but I smile every time I see it. I'd be kicking myself everyday if I just threw in the towel and got a double cab.

 

That pretty much covers it. I had a 4th 2500 between two Tacomas and now have a 5th gen 1500. The Rams both had far better interiors, better ride quality, better drive-ability (automatics) were more comfortable, etc. The ‘21 ACLB MT Sport was the perfect sized truck and had adequate comfort and quality but the engine is absolutely gutless. You get poor performance coupled with poor fuel economy.

 

The conundrum the OP has is there is no such a thing as a DCLB with a manual transmission; personally I'd sacrifice the rear bench before I'd sacrifice the tranny.

 

I wouldn't get rid of a crew cab 5.7L 4wd ram 1500 for an access cab tacoma. Mileage difference is inconsequential but you will miss the extra interior space and the V8 power.

A 2019? I really wouldn't get rid of it then. The newest rams are very nice.

 

Wow, Im surprised no one told him yet that he MUST skip the Sport for the OR cuz of the locker....LOL.

OP, when I was looking, it was tough to find any TRD sports in manual. Plenty of ORs though. I opted for an auto sport cuz it was about the only thing available with almost zero options (which is what I wanted). That might be different in your area. Just thought Id mention it.

 

Good to know. Thx.

I also just realized something… got a torn right rotator cuff. No surgery anytime soon. Might cause problems shifting

 

Yep it’s really apples to oranges … comparing those two. The Ram is better at everything but cost and size

 

Size, yes… cost, well I bought it brand new Oct 2019 for $38,500. Just about the same as the Taco today!

 

I'm not sure I would get rid of the Ram either. I recently traded in my 2014 Ram 2500 for a TRD OR DCSB 4x4 MT, and while I LOVE the new Tacoma and am happy with the trade, I'm not sure you would be. My reasons for trading were these:
Ram had a huge lift on it and 37" tires, making my mileage 10 mpg. The lift was so high that the tailgate was at chest-level, which made it a real pain to put stuff into the bed. I had bought the truck for towing my race car to the track, but I am no longer racing, and hence no longer towing. So I really wanted to downsize to a truck (still need the ability to haul stuff in the bed) with better mileage and easier-to-access bed. Also, my very first car when I was 16 years old was an '85 Toyota pickup, before they even had Tacomas, and it was a MT. So, for nostalgia's sake I wanted a MT Toyota pickup again!

Like I said, I love the new Tacoma and would have made this trade all over again. However, there are a few things about the Ram that were better than in the Tacoma, and mine was a '14. I'm sure yours has all these features and more.
1. Lots of space. The Ram was absolutely palatial inside compared to the Tacoma. However, my teenagers have sat in the Tacoma back seat, and neither of them complained about the lack of space.
2. Trailer brake controller. While I don't plan on towing as much as I did with the Ram, I still might do so on occasion. The Tacoma has a harness for an aftermarket trailer brake controller, but the Ram was really nice in that it was integrated into the head unit, along with the various saved settings for what you were towing (my race car was towed with the "Heavy Electric" setting).
3. Infotainment system. I listen almost exclusively to satellite radio, and I loved the Ram's feature that remembered your favorite songs and notified you when they were on. Also, I had my own music on an SD card so I could listen to that when nothing good was on satellite. The Tacoma doesn't have SD card functionality, but it does have a USB input so I could use a USB drive, or listen to music off my phone via Bluetooth or Android Auto. Still, it was lot more straightforward (to me anyway) to be able to just insert an SD card with the music I liked.
4. Large bed capacity. This isn't really a big deal to me, but I definitely had more bed space in the Ram than the Tacoma. I don't use the bed a whole lot, and your needs might be different. As others have said, if you get the MT you're locked into getting a 5' bed. I was more than willing to give up that extra foot of cargo to be able to shift my own gears!
5. Auto-locking tailgate. Tacoma comes without this, but it's easily rectified by buying the OEM harness and installing it yourself, at a cost of $130 and about an hour of your time. I have this on order, so it won't be an issue in about a week. For now, though, I miss it!

Your reasons for downsizing the truck weren't as impactful as mine, and I wonder if you wouldn't miss those features and more. Still, the Tacoma is a really nice truck, and I'm actually enjoying its smaller relative size to the huge 2500 I used to drive. And if you REALLY want that manual transmission, a Tacoma is really the only way to go. The only other pickup currently on the market with a MT is a Jeep Gladiator, which I wouldn't buy if it was the last car in the world.

Here's a pic of my Ram and Tacoma which I took just before leaving the dealer with my new Tacoma. It was a bittersweet moment for me!

 

Manual access cabs would probably be harder to come by than double cabs. It took me half a year to get my double cab manual (California). Most of the manuals seem to be allocated to the East Coast when I was looking for my '22.

Access cabs are only be available with the TRD Sport package in the US, and the TRD Off-Road package in Canada.

I usually get 18-19 mpg mixed 50% highway in highway speeds. I accelerate rather quickly.

My friend's Ram 1500 interior felt way more spacious. But it's a full-size vs mid-size.

Most of the Tacoma's power would be found up top.

I managed to be comfortable in my Tacoma and I drive 70 miles per day. I think it comes to the individual's preferences and body style.

Overall I like it. It's a fun truck to drive. It does what I want it to do: off-roading (plenty of 3 wheelin' and wheels stuffed in my wheel well moments in my stock truck) and tow my sports car.

 

I'm thinking the SD card is pretty outdated technology and if the Ram still offers it, it won't be too long before it doesn't.

 

Yeah, I get it. What can I say, I'm old-school. Come to think of it, my Ram also had a CD player tucked into the center console!

Oh yeah, that's the other thing that was cool about the Ram. The CD player and SD card slot were both in the center console but still accessed by the head unit. I thought it was a pretty cool design, tucking away those devices that you don't often need to interact with, and therefore not taking up hardware space in the middle of the dashboard where space is at a premium.

 

Trust me, I get "Old School", my current car (until I pick my new Tacoma up on Tuesday) has an in-dash 6-CD player AND a Cassette Tape player.

 

Yeah, we're about the same age, so we know that old-school tech. The first car I ever owned had a 6-CD player in the trunk, so you really had to choose ahead of time what you wanted your music to be!

The very first car I ever drove when I was 16, my dad's car, was a Toyota One Ton long bed (it was called that probably because it held one ton of payload). This was mid 80's, a full 10 years before the Tacoma was even invented. It was a manual transmission also, which is why I had to get the current Tacoma when I decided to downsize my Ram. It looked almost exactly like this (white camper shell and all!):

It had a cassette in the dash, and AM/FM radio, that's it.

 

piece of junk

 

Recently traded my DC Ram for my first DC OR Toyota. Reason.....my boy drives in 2 years and figure the Tacoma would be a good first vehicle.
Pros: supposed durability/longevity
Maneuverability
Ease to drive

cons: definite power difference
Gas mileage should be 3-4 mpg better for what it is

Overall for what I generally used my Ram for this fits the bill. In 2 years depending on what Toyota does with looks and performance I will consider buying myself a new Tacoma or seriously look at the new Canyon.

 

I made the switch earlier this year from a 2016 RAM 2500 with the 5.7 Hemi and 4.10 gears. It had about 125K miles and was a good truck. I owned other Dodge/Ram trucks and they have been good to me.

I no longer needed the full-size truck and my primary reason for switching was to get a manual transmission. I dislike autos, particularly in a truck. If a manual transmission were not an option, or there were other options aside from the Gladiator, I would not own a Tacoma.

I needed a 6 foot bed and my only choice was the Sport. I am meh towards the Tacoma. I knew what I was getting into, and the lack of power is not a surprise. I would say the highlights are the joy of driving a manual transmission and the fuel mileage is decent. I left it stock other than an ARE canopy and I am averaging about 22 MPG.

What I dislike the most about the Tacoma is the crappy assembly. Toyota fit and finish has gone downhill. The truck is not tight and within the first 1000 miles I developed various squeaks and rattles. These seem to be more a Tacoma thing then with other Toyota vehicles. I was recently at the dealer for 10K mile service and looked at a 4Runner while I was waiting. That seemed to be assembled much better. The new Tundra was a disappointment, and I would say assembled more similar to the Tacoma than the 4Runner.

My Ram after 125K miles was much tighter and built better, and the 2009 Camry we have with 225K miles is much better as well.

My final words and advice, think hard about your decision. The Tacoma is over-rated and seems to be more suited for those that off road a lot and like to modify their truck. I doubt you would be happy coming from a 2019 Ram.

 

Thanks.. that’s a really good point of view. I’m starting to lean more and more towards keeping the Ram and maybe buying a used 6spd manual some years down the line. Then I’d have the best of both worlds.