Why do you own a first gen Tacoma?

I camped outside of Whistler, BC on the way back, and got this picture of a cement block at the beginning of a MTB trail not far from camp. I really REALLY wished i had my mtb with me at the time. Other than being super super super busy and touristy, I've heard whistler has got some amazing mountain bike trails, not to mention skiing. That said, I think you could go literally anywhere in BC and find good MTB trails, I saw them hanging out of pickup trucks all over the place.

If you want to do a 4wd trip, look into the Backroads Mapbooks ( https://www.backroadmapbooks.com/ ), they've got really good maps of the area. I ran into one guy way up north that laid out week long trip for me in BC in like 10 minutes on the hood of his truck with one of those. I really want to go back, getting home was a little rushed.

 

I love how tiny they are compared to newer trucks which is nice especially living in the city, but also they just grew on you. As long as you take care of it somewhat it will never fail you

 

Right on man, I really wanna go to whistler but I feel like it would be just so crowded at the bike park and town, which is why I’d like to get over to coast gravity park over near Sechelt, from what I’ve seen seems like It’d be pretty mellow with just as much amazing MTB trails and honestly a sicker bike park.
Same for any 4wding, I mean I realize I’m a tourist at these places and I do the touristy stuff sometimes but I usually like to immerse myself into the local culture and go where they consider good because they know it better than Instagram lol, if that makes any sense,I’m not trying to sound pretentiousi just feel Whistler is like aspen, I didn’t go skiing at aspen but on a road/ski trip last year I drove into aspen and it was just crowded and busy. After deciding I went to Telluride instead, man what an amazing little ski town. It was so chill, I went on a week that a college was in town for a trip so the bars were full of rowdy college kids, but even then it was still pretty chill and the skiing was way better compared to anywhere else around Breckenridge and vail area, in my opinion, without the busy craziness of Breckenridge and aspen. Not sure if you’ve been around there or not but I would recommend telluride over any where, for the small town and skiing combo it’s just an amazing place
Thanks for the link, will definitely be needing one of those books soon

 

Yeah, a lot the popular places are getting really crazy these days. I find more and more the entire purpose of my trip is to get me as far away as I can from people. If you can get setup to be a little bit self sufficient (it doesn't take much -a cooler, some water storage, some food, a stove...), you can get way out into the national forests and be away from everyone. That's where I find it to be peaceful.

That said, if I'm going somewhere to ride or whatever, I'll put up with the crowds for the experience. That's where I'm at with most of the national parks - There's some really cool stuff, but you have to tune out the crowds to enjoy it. Not all of them are like that though. I have added "go off-trail backpacking in Denali" to the bucket list - that'll be super remote.

I'll have to check out Telluride, been through it once on a motorcycle trip, didn't have time to stay. Aspen is crazy expensive though every time I've been. But where else can you get a $12 happy meal?

 

I love that they're small, simple, utilitarian and tough as hell. Their lineage, going all the way back to the 1947 Toyopet SB, is obvious and it even predates the Land Cruiser. They have a tightly-assembled high quality feel I've never experienced in another vehicle. Every time I get in, it's a reminder that this is a non-disposable lifetime vehicle.

The manual transmission and transfer case are superlative, up there with the Mazda Miata for gear-rowing pleasure. The direct steering, gearbox and growly 4 cylinder remind me of old British sports cars too, @Old n' slow. Especially when I roll down the side windows and open the sliding rear window for a convertible effect (minus the bald head melanoma risk). They are so maneuverable and fun to drive, especially off-road. I feel like I've achieved my purpose in life when I'm off the pavement, out of cell phone range camping out of my little regular cab Whitey.

There are so many 1st gen standard features that became "mods" on 2nd/3rd gens: theft prevention tailgates, gas cap holder in the fuel doors, functional mudflaps that actually "flap" over obstacles instead of split into pieces, double-cardan rear drivelines, leaf spring shackles that point the right direction (down), cab mounts behind the front wheel wells not in them, 1800 lb. payload capacity, etc. It's as if 1st gens were designed to be used as pickup trucks and later generations were designed to be passenger vehicles with vestigial truck beds.

 

Back in 2006 I was driving around town in my wrangler with my son who was about 8 at the time. I was making a right turn on a green light at an intersection. Coming out of the turn I went to straighten the wheels but the truck just kept turning right. The steering box had failed. With no time to react I hopped the curb and crashed into a tree, tweaking the frame. Luckily, I was going pretty slow and nobody got hurt. I guess I was even luckier that it didn't happen on the highway!

I own a 1st gen tacoma because while I was looking for a replacement truck my son spotted this one owner 01 DCSB with only 40,000 mi on it at a local Ford dealership. We were driving by on our way to see another truck when he excitedly told me to pull over! At the time I didn't know that I wanted a tacoma but it checked all the boxes, especially reliability. The truck search was over. The taco now has over 244,000 miles on it and is still going strong. I figure if the motor kicks it before I do I'll just swap it out. Never going back!

 

But also because nobody makes a small truck anymore. I love that I can tuck it in to narrow places and get out of tight spots.

 

I was 6 months old when my father bought his 96 Tacoma new, we then bought the 01 Tacoma new. Never had major issues with either. I got the 01 when I turned 16. And it’s been with me ever since. It’s the perfect size (to me). Handles well. And it’s dead nuts reliable. (My dumbass tore it apart to restore and build it, but hey at 300k she was ready to go another 300k easy)

my father missed the 01 so much he bought a used 02 in 2014 with 60k and as of now it’s at 175k with no issues. They’re just solid little trucks.

 

I bought my Tacoma new in 2002. I've owned nothing but Toyota since 1983 and this is only my third Toyota. It's a simple single cab 2wd and I love it. Looks like the day I bought it and I will keep it forever. I'm considering treating myself to a used luxury car to be driven very very seldomly and I'm torn between which one gets the garage! That's how much I love my truck!

 

After almost 10 years of ownership my little taco does everything I ask of it. It is super reliable, super cool and fun to drive.

 

I bought my first one (a 2003 XtraCab Prerunner) because I needed a better mountain bike and home improvement store hauler. I bought the second one (2004 XtraCab Prerunner) because the first was so practical and cool.

Mark

 

Versatility and simplicity. I bought my first one a 2001 2.7 base cab 4X4 manual in 2010. I then came accross a 2003 2.7 base cab 4X4 auto in 2016. This year I found a 2003 2.4L base cab 2WD So now we have 3 Gen 1 Tacos. My wife thinks Im nuts!

 

Dude, you win the regular cab war! I concede, I've only had two at once.

 

Yeah man. Great story! Congrats on the standard cab awesomeness as well.

 

Y’all make so many good points so I can’t really add anything but wanted to share an image of my stable. Trucks are spread out between my sons and I. My wife is pretty sure I’m nuts as well.

 

I fell in love with when I was a kid and my step dad always bought them and since growing up I seen them in the streets and get me super hype of them and reminds me of the 90s when everyone had there Tacoma in pictures that’s what made me fell in love with them and now owning one that it’s lifted it’s my dream thank you Toyota te amo I love what you to me

 

Listen to New orders blue Monday while driving your Tacoma fella so nice reminds you of the 90s

 

I bought my v6 Regular Cab truck new in 1997, I love the small size and powerful supercharged motor.

It’s been pay off for years now 18 or so and doesn’t matter how many miles I add, they are free miles with no payment.

Each year or so the truck gets more powerful with different addons.

It will kick the new Tacoma, the new 4runner and any other truck in its class very easily and will kick a WRX easily too

It’s actually amazing the potential the power it can make with longevity as part of that equation.

Will NEVER SELL THIS TRUCK

 

can i just take a moment to say, I really want your truck lol

 

I would probably still have my 86 4Runner if the motor didn't blow and my wife started calling it Christine. Bought a 5 lug and drove that for a while but always wanted a 4x4. So I went back in the market for a 4x4 pickup. I knew I wanted a pretty new truck since it'd be a daily driver, but I knew I didn't want the 2nd gens that had just come out. I don't ever like being the beta tester for a brand new model design, and I especially didn't like the bigger size. I didn't care if it was an Xtracab or a doublecab, but I found a great 2004 TRD 4x4 DC. I'm glad I found the DC, but it wasn't until years later when the wife and I had a couple kids that it was evident the DC was the best choice.

I've had it ever since. It's since been turned into a trail only rig, with maybe some home depot runs in there, too. I wasn't sure at first I'd like it since I still have fond memories of my 86 4Runner, but I've come to love the truck, and like Garth Algar says about his underwear, "at first it's restrictive, but after a while it becomes a part of you."