Toyota fan since 92 looking for 1st Toyota truck; now on 2nd truck

We bought our first Toyota, a new Camry, in 92. Wife drove it. School bus wrecked it in 97. I drove a used Ford truck.

Bought our second Toyota, a new Camry in 2001. Wife drove it. I drove a different used Ford truck. We had kids. I sold the truck.

Bought our third Toyota, a new Sienna, in 2006. Wife drove it. I drove the Camry.
Sold the Camry in 2015. Bought a 2012 Ford F150 Supercrew. I drove the used truck but it was a NICE used truck. Sold the truck in January 2018 to buy our fourth Toyota, a 2013 Highlander. Guess who drives it? Not me. I bought a LEAF to commute.

The Leaf is great during the week. But I had my truck for the weekends. And I'm getting a dog again finally. I look at the Leaf and say "oops."

Having realized my mistake, I'm looking for a truck again. I prefer a 2nd gen Tacoma Access cab, 2009-2015. I was looking at a 5-spd manual with a I4. I use a ham radio, and a emergency response friend, the guy who got me into the F150, said I'll have 3 needs and just 2 hands. He also said I'd regret not getting 4WD. (I occasionally hike and hunt in rocky, muddy places, and I appreciated the 4WD when we had 2 weeks of snow 2 years ago. That being said, 99% of my driving is on asphalt and I rarely am transmitting on the radio.)

The kids don't travel with me. It will be the dog and me or a buddy, the dog (another buddy, right?), and me.

What say you? I4 or V6? 2WD or 4WD. Shaken or stirred? Neat or on the rocks?

 

Welcome!

I love my V6 4x4 Access Cab (extended cab).

 

I’ve got a 2013 AC I4 manual 4x4 and the back seat is great for small stuff, not sure on what dog but it might be a tight fit. I got it to commute and I love it.

I also have a 2012 DCSB V6 4x4 auto and while the bigger backseat is nice and often used the power is night and day from the I4

F you get an I4 get a manual. I had a 2012 reg cab 4x4 auto since I couldn’t find a manual and I sold it 6 months after I bought it because it was a turd with the auto

 

2015 AC, 4x4, V6 6spd here. Love it.

If you expect even a possibility that 4wd will come in handy, get it. Efficiency doesn't suffer much in my experience.

I4 is undoubtedly an excellent motor, however, the extra power from the V6 is appreciated as I occasionally tow (and pull out my buddies jeep ).

And lastly, shift your own damn gears.

My 2 cents.

Look forward to seeing what you get.

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

My present vehicle is sale pending, plus some $$$ are coming my way, so I'm narrowing the choices down.

Two private party sales on CL both tickle my fancy. a 2009 A/C V6 4WD with 163,600 miles and a 2010 A/C V6 4WD with 132,000 miles. The 2009 has a faulty fan (owner sending VIN to check TSB) but comes with a set of mounted rims. The 2010 has a canoe/kayak rack. Oh, what a lovely problem to have, to decide between rigs.
Ixnay

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Well, the 2010 is gone apparently, but the 2009 owner just lowered the price. Makes the choice easier, doesn't it.

 

Pulled the trigger. Used to be a painting company's truck. Mostly clean. Could use a little love and will shine brightly. Anybody need a ladder/lumber rack?

Previous rig went to a guy who had cash ready before I did. So I drove 4 hours to get this. Probably does more for me than the other would have, i.e., I wanted more bells and whistles and this has them.

Need to replace the right rear tail-lamp assembly as it is pierced and gets flooded. RockAuto $62-75
Need to replace the mudflaps--Weathertec $80
Mount my ham radio--time
Clean and detail--time
Seat covers--CoverKings ? $100

125,600 miles
V6
6-speed MT
TRD Off road
4WD
Assorted bells and whistles.

After a 6-month hiatus, I'm back in a truck, continuing a fine tradition since 1990-2001, 2009 to present.

 

Sold the rack. Ordered a Bluetooth. Ordering new lens, mudflaps tomorrow.

 

Thanks. Been enjoying your videos. Pulled my OEM skid plate off today for easier access to the radiator drain for a flush. Now I see why people replace the skid plate so quickly. I think paper plates would be more effective.

 

Thanks man! Sounds about right for the factory skids.

 

Welcome! My vote is for a v6 access cab 4wd!

The i4 access cabs with the 5spds are great trucks as well though, so cant go wrong either way. I have a 5spd i4 with 240k miles on it myself, couldnt be happier

 

Finally some photos. Need to wash the rig so only interior work. Got the Weather Tech rear liner today, so finished the radio install. Used a mag mount, so ran the antenna cord through the rear split. Bought a bar from https://MattGeckoLEDs.com to keep the slider shut. Used velcro on the remote head set to keep it from prying fingers. Meanwhile, Weather Tech keeps the extension cord tucked away and safe Go .52!

Also, using the Aux port and a Knivio Blue Tooth to catch up to the 21st Century. Amazoom has the Knivio for $36. Good solution, IMO.

Buying a used TRD aluminum skid plate to augment the OEM pie tin. I rarely go off road, so logging skid roads are about as wild as I get. Changed the coolant last weekend, and the remaining fluid changes are due. Next photo will be in the fall when I get new tires.

 

I've had lots of fun with rusted bolts. Tonight, I installed LED lamps into the backup lights. I'd previously replaced the cracked RH tail lamp. It was a cinch to remove. Removing the LH lamp broke a screw and broke the bottom housing because of rusted bolts. So now my LH lamp is held in place by the top screw only.

The light output is better, if cooler. Humans see warm lights better than cold lights. But the LED seems to shine further than the incandescent. You can sort of see in the attached image. The LED is on the left. The right (incandescent side) seems to create more of a halo and disperse its light. Or maybe I'm getting cataracts early.

I installed LED headlights in December. I notice a minor difference between high beams and low beams. I also notice that the area immediately in front of the truck is dark. So I turn my fog lamps on. The LEDs cause any reflective surface to phosphoresce brilliantly. I can see speeds signs way down the road. Also, note to those desire to swap out OEM on a 2010, the tab near the fender is a pain to get. You're working by touch.

 

Welcome to TW

 

Congratulations looks good

 

Swapped out the OTC LEDs. The autoshop LEDs, $20, were not worth the price for me. Bought some JDM ASTAR Extremely Bright 2000 Lumen LEDs from Amazonia. Bright? Heavens yes. The original LEDs did not light up the ground. The JDMs are a vast improvement. First photo is the passenger-side first LED. Second photo is the driver side with the new LED. I can actually see stuff at night with my mirror and in the camera. What a novel idea!

 

Last week: running boards
Today: MESO LEDs map lights, dome lights, replace broken LR tail lamp