Why are access cabs so hard to find?

EXACTLY!

 

Access Cab FTW

 

One of the few things (maybe only thing) Fiat does correctly with their truck line is that they offer the best cab/bed options:
Regular Cab/Short Bed (6' 4")
Regular Cab/Long Bed (8')
Quad Cab/Short Bed (6' 4")
Crew Cab/ Shorter Bed (5' 7")
No "Access Cab" clamshell door bullshit.

I have the Access Cab, but only because the Regular Cab wasn't an option. Still, I understand what drives the decision, a vehicle represent the second largest purchase the average person/family makes and most need a vehicle to provide as much flexibility as possible.

 

The 4x4 access cab with manual and utility package may be the perfect truck

 

I agree

 

I don't understand the allure of the DCSB at all...never have. I personally would rather have the longer box than the extra room in the rear seats......I don't have a truck to haul people around.....I'd buy a 4Runner if that was the case. I suppose a DCLB would be the best of both worlds, but it's just way too long for me. I wish Toyota made an Access Cab Limited. I've used many Limited trim pieces on my Access Cab Sport.

 

I had to ‘order’ my access cab, there were none on the lot. If I ever get another I’ll buy access cab again, perferably a manual.

 

DCSB was not my first choice but was the only way to get a Manual Off Road.

 

I miss my old access cab .. but I like the extra space of the double cab.

 

Correction, was the perfect truck..no longer available.

Sad.

 

Comments like this are hilarious, as if a 6' bed is a gargantuan workhorse, and a bed one foot shorter suddenly becomes useless. FYI, most people who actually use their trucks for work scoff at the little Tacoma's tiny 6' bed. The Tacoma is a play truck. It's fine if people want to use it as a work truck. But it is marketed as a "lifestyle" truck. DCSB is great for me. Haul the kids around. Load up the back with sleds, bikes, firewood, etc. I get some want an AC, but as apparent by sales numbers, most prefer DC's. Fortunately, Toyota still makes both.

 

I guess you could say that access cabs aren't very....
.. ..
......
........
. . .......... .
Accessible?

 

This attitude of I want to show off and take all my friends, urban cowboy, 4-door short bed trucks is why we are getting reduced payload, towing and sedan engines instead of proper trucks.

 

I've done that cross-country on a motorcycle, really fun.

 

I'm glad you like your truck, and apparently working it, and maxing it out on all levels of capacity. I'm sure your manhood is not in question here.

I've got 2 kids. And volunteer with some local youth programs. I need the passenger capacity. I also camp, bike, ski, etc. and like throwing stuff in the truck bed rather than getting 20 different Yakima attachments for an SUV. A truck like the Tacoma is perfect for me and the bed size is great. And mine is stock. No Foose rims or 6" lift here. I am married--no need to impress anybody.

I do agree on the payload, though. Wish that was up more towards 1,500 to 1,800.

 

You can't sleep in a 5' bed. Well, I can't anyways. And the double cab long box is toooooooo long for wheeling tight trails where turning radius and break over angle counts.

That's why I have an access cab.

 

Right, and that’s good that there is a config for you. On one hand, I’m super pumped you have a Tacoma in any way you can. Maybe if this config didn’t exist, you couldn’t own one, you would have had to get something else to accommodate your family and all the stuff that goes with it. On the other hand, I wish this trend wasn’t happening, wish you would have just stuck with the minivan. Because would a minivan not have suited your needs perfectly? Your mindset has convinced you that you need a truck...and this trend causes a shift in what Toyota think people want in a truck. Because there are a shitload of people like you. Toyota makes money... it’s win win. It’s just that those people want a lifestyle truck for a life they don’t lead, a square peg molded specifically for the person who wants to be, but cannot. A truck purpose built for massaging a lie... a feeling, like that you are a single, renegade loose cannon adventurer like me...

 

Because when I take my family of 4 camping, they need a place to sit.

 

Ditto!

But really this gets to the paradigm shift between what trucks have traditionally been(IMO still should be) and what marketing makes them into now instead. They've been loaded up with options to cater to the masses who could never justify owning a truck otherwise. Essentially, targeting the Outdoorsy types with the "Look! one vehicle can fill all your needs" mentality.

 

It’s just surprising to me that the access cabs are in that short of demand. Maybe it really is just a CAFE thing. In the past, Toyota has produced regular, extra/access and 4 door, all 3 available, and even though there was a shift in demands for each configuration over the years, they were still bought and loved.