What would you do different? I'm getting a new truck.

I don't see how any of that is necessary for fire roads and gravel

 

My mpg is slowly going down as I add more things lol. I was around 18-19 in town, stock tires and wheels. Added 275/70R17 Load C AT tires and new wheels and now I’m at 15.5-16.5

I originally wanted a face lift and a camper shell but now I’m not sure if I do lol it’s my daily. Spending $250/month on gas

 

No real regrets. Just not sure if I had to do it over I maybe would have gotten an Access cab. Usually it's just me in the truck but I was taking my mom and sister places every week at least once for a while. I decided to get a 4 door. Now she is in a nursing home and who knows if it's going to be a few months or permanent. The need for more than one passenger is going to be much less now. I may have not needed extra seating in the future but it still might come in handy and having that secure space for items is good too.

 

If I was a single guy with no kids I would do the ACLB configuration. @BumfukKansas I would suggest upgrading tries and suspension. I'm not sure what kind of camping you do, but either a a tonneau cover or a soft topper would be great for additional storage. Both are easy to remove (or move out of the way) if you need your full bed. Definitely get a bed mat.

 

maybe the color but everything else is fine and I'm glad I went with the trd sport

 

Lol I don't think some of the youngsters here know what this OP is going to do with his truck. I do, as I have been to the middle of Nowhere, Kansas and the middle of nowhere in Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada and many other states.
I feel this guy's truck will only be clean the day he drives it off the lot. He will use it as a daily but "daily" to him is going to his garden or his cow or maybe into town to the drugstore. His trips could be weeks on end and on dirt and gravel. He will be by himself with his dog.

I know guys like that. I have a friend in Wyoming that I met several years ago. We still write real letters back and forth because he has no credit cards or email or smart phones. He has a small ranch and will go out for weeks at a time to do ranch stuff. No, he does not have a Taco lol, he has a 20 year old Ford F350 diesel single axle with chains on all four tires and the chains stay on his welded up headache rack. He has a front bumper that weighs 500 lbs lol so if he hits a deer it's no problem. I don't think he has ever washed the truck and it is beat all to Hell but is in top running condition. I feel this guy follows the same pattern. My friend send me a poloroid picture last year of a mountain lion he killed that was killing his cows. He tracked it two weeks before he finally got it and he did it on horseback...
THese guys are a dying breed.

 

Aren’t tacoma’s just for looks in general? haha just kidding but if you really need to do work, a Ford with an 8 foot bed blows a long bed taco out of the water

 

It's not, if the gravel or the fire road is travelled or it's just a day trip. There are lots of places out there that you can go for days and only see a few people. It's a pain in the ass to change a flat on a hillside in freezing temps on a gravel road. Get a tire that gives you the best chance. This guys plans to use his truck like others only dream about and that is to explore.

 

SR5 ACLB 4X4 V6/auto. Get 'em to throw in a bed mat & mud flaps. Done.

from some old retired guy....

 

You seem to be extrapolating quite a bit of info from that post.

 

I wish I would’ve gotten a manual. I don’t hate the automatic but I wish I would’ve looked harder and gotten a manual. I really wanted “leather” and the tech package so I got that from the start. Not sure if sr5 have that option, if they did I probably should’ve gotten that route and saved some money. Like others mentioned, people buy trd versions but then swap out the suspension. I’ve changed the suspension, added heavier tires and so on. I could have saved the money getting an Sr5 4x4 and started building that. But in the moment I told myself, this truck is perfect why would I change anything... then ta da! I joined TW and I started watching YT videos, the modding began

Other than that, I don’t have any regrets. This is my first truck and I got the long bed. Now that I’ve been spoiled, I would never get the short bed

 

I bought the 3rd gen access cab w/tow and very happy. A few times a year I wish I had better back seats but I'm not a taxi service so generally I go with them, not them with me. Then I don't pay for gas. ;-)

When I went truck shopping it took several months of intense research. I created a table on a large notepad of things I *must* have (such as 4x4, manual trans, tow pkg) then *niceties* (leather, JBL stereo) then things that are deal breakers (white). Then I looked at every dealer for every mid-sized truck on the market, made a page for that make/model, called to make an appointment with a salesman, told them up front that this is not going to be a hard-sell thing, I have a list of things I want and will be test driving every possibility, and we can either make this a good experience or a bad one...it's up to them. I made sure to have them take me to a place I could test the 4-wheel drive also since I had never owned one. Every salesman told me afterwards that it was the most enjoyable experience they had with a customer and wish everyone was as well prepared as I was.

After driving at least half a dozen different trucks over several weeks from each dealer, I settled on either a Frontier or Tacoma. What pushed me over the edge was the resell value of the Toyota. Then I began negotiating on price. I wouldn't pay destination charges or for any dealer-installed stuff like the mud mats that they put in it. Plus it had been on the lot for most of the year already since not many people apparently want a manual access cab. Settled for out-the-door at $30,552.00 (which was a great price!)

Good luck!

 

I would not do anything different...It is usually just me in y truck - but my dog does tag along. The 4 doors are a big help - as he is strapped in and he likes the windows. I have the short bed - and for me it works - we have a horse farm and if I'm really needing more space I hook up a trailer. I need mine to maneuver on our trails and the short bed works wonderfully (the long bed probably would make tight turns a bit more difficult but not sure. Good luck.

 

Not at all. I have been to the places he lives and travels. If you are going to do it with just a dog, you need to exist on your own. This guy is the opposite of the IG guys lol. Plus, I am close to his age and am around older guys all the time. Are you? Oh, I could be completely wrong too but I don't think so but if I am.... I apologize in advance.

 

i would have got the LED headlights. these are a must if you ask me, there are no aftermarket headlights that can match the looks or performance of the OEM LEDs. now i am going to have to spend $1600 to upgrade them myself when it would have been a $500 option from the factory.

 

Awesome GSD dude. Kinda curious how you have him strapped in. I have one as well that rides in the back seat and wondering what type of restraints you're using.

 

Looks like the dog really loves the truck

 

Love mine. Even better with the tonneau cover. Just another old retired guy.

 

I would spend the extra money on the Off Road. For me, it has cool toys that I like to play with but are more difficult, and expensive, to add on.

 

Great companions as you obviously know (nice friend you have there) and a must to keep them safe...there are people I might not strap in, but my GSD...safety is a must (LOL). We use his agitation harness (SHC) and then use a climbing carabiner and strap to attach to his harness. We had the agitation harness made years ago (25 years I think - for our first GSD) by some Amish folks . We do the SCH (protection, tracking, obedience) with our GSDs. If you are not familiar with those harnesses - look up Schutzhund Agitation Harness - Leerburg makes nice relatively inexpensive ones (probably 100 bucks or so), and you can get the climbing carabiners and short connecting rope/straps from a nice outdoor shop that outfits climbers (my son climbs - so he takes care of that stuff). Good luck and thanks for sharing the pic!