Buying a new truck, can't decide! Help!!

[danmedeiros]

Hi Guys,

My beloved and overworked 94' 4runner is about to **** the bed at 300k miles. I plan on buying a new toyota 4x4 within the next three months to replace it. My problem is I can't decide which truck to get. I am looking at either a 1). Tacoma DCSB offroad, 2)Tacoma DCSB and adding an ARB locker, 3) buying a new or slightly used 4runner and adding an ARB locker. Both tacomas would get a campershell.

I work for a land conservation organization and drive logging roads and steep trails several times a week. So I need some off-road capability. Not interested in rock crawling but have needed a locker and a could have used a winch several times in the last year.

My wife and I are backcountry skiers and drive up to the snow about 30 days a year. I live in santa cruz and surf about 150 days a year. One of the best things about my 4runner is the the ability to lock up skis and boards inside the truck. I am way stoked on the Tacoma offered but with it's 5ft bed I'm not sure I could put even my 6ft shortboard in there at an angle.

I also hunt and have basically destroyed my 4runner's interior by putting recently shot deer and pigs in the back. We heat are house with wood and hauling it around in the 4runner is also problematic.

Anyway pretty stuck and can't decide. What are your thoughts?

Dan

 

[p nut]

DCLB with a shell. Add a locker if necessary, but the "auto-LSD" thing works well.

 

[bkg]

Budget? Kids? Parking situation? Pets? Own a trailer? Use for work? Shortcomings with current rig (aside from hunting)?


Since you like your 4runner, I'd be hard pressed to recommend a Tacoma LB... Need more info.

 

[danmedeiros]

Budget is about 33K. No kids......yet. Thankfully wife still in her 20's. Have a dog who recently had diarrhea in the 4runner. That would have really sucked if it was brand new. I do not own a trailer and do not really have space to park it. Garage is small and filled with gear so current truck lives outside.

Thanks!

 

[danmedeiros]

Do the non TRD offroads have the auto-LSD thing?

 

[p nut]

Yes, I believe all trims come with auto LSD. By the way, TRD Offroad isn't an option for the LB.

 

[danmedeiros]

Yeah thats what is hanging me up. I guess I can add all of the off-road stuff on my own but seems way more expensive to do so

 

[WhiteH2O]

I have a GX470 and love it over having a truck, but for what you are saying, a truck sounds like the right choice for you. Also, the A-TRAC really does work quite well. You can have one wheel in the air and still be able to drive away fairly easily. It isn't like having a locked dif, but if you aren't rock crawling, it should do the trick.

 

[bkg]

Budget is about 33K. No kids......yet. Thankfully wife still in her 20's. Have a dog who recently had diarrhea in the 4runner. That would have really sucked if it was brand new. I do not own a trailer and do not really have space to park it. Garage is small and filled with gear so current truck lives outside.

Thanks!

Do you plan to keep new vehicle for 300k? Plan for kids and (more) digs in future, if so? Commute in a lot of traffic and have to park in tight spaces? How important is mileage?

Regardless, I have a hard time recommending TRDoff-road unless you like chrome.

 

[danmedeiros]

Hoping to keep it until it falls apart. Just bought our house in Santa Cruz, CA. Real Estate here is insane so no plans to upgrade. I don't commute. Mileage is important because we drive 600 miles a lot of weekends.

 

[calicamper]

I have a very nice Sequoia great machine way safer than my 4runner. But to be strait up. If I didnt need the butts in seats the Tacoma would be my choice. Long bed 4dr is a long machine but.... A bed cap around here Santa Cruz SF etc is harder to get into than a quick smash and grab. Yep nothings safe stored behind auto glass around here.
Kid space between 4runner vs Tacoma back seat is minimal difference. Wouldnt be enough to be a deciding point for me. Given the really really good after market stuff like Icon suspension and ARB air locker I would seriously consider the basic ride knowing I could build a really nice truck thats better than a TRD.

 

[DVexile]

It sounds like a truck is a better fit for you than an SUV if you've got bleeding dead animals or pooping live animals to deal with.

If you want to go 300k and ever expect to have kids then I'd agree you want the DC. If you are confident it will only ever be two of you then the AC with the 6 foot bed is of course an option but it sounds like you've already thought this through and DC is what you need.

As to your ski conundrum you'd want to check fit carefully, but the Tacoma has a rear sliding window that would allow you to put skis in the back sticking into the cab in situations in which you are worried about theft. I'm not sure how practical it is to drive around that way and so some sort of roof rack might make more sense for general transport (with a lock for the skis, they must make such a thing right?).

There are lots of opinions on whether the TRD OR is "worth it" or not. My opinion is that if you are going to do an SR5 trim package anyway that the price delta to TDR OR ($1500) is well worth it for e-locker, ATRAC, DAC, better ABS and brake booster and nicer front seats (most people prefer the TRD seats to the SR5 seats). If you aren't into interior bling and are going to go with a base level trim package then the price difference between "convenience package" and TRD OR ($3300) is significant and perhaps doing your own mods makes sense from a price perspective. Of course if you really plan on overhauling everything and want a front locker then of course the calculus is a bit different and TRD OR makes less sense. From your description of your needs it does sound like the TRD OR will do all that you need, and even if you decide to change suspension paying $1500 for a rear locker, ATRAC, DAC and nice seats is not a bad deal at all. You can sell the TRD suspension you take off for anywhere from $300 to $500 as well.

Last is the TRD Sport option if you want to go DCLB. In this case I think it makes more sense to go SR5 and just upgrade what you want. Sport doesn't bring anything very useful to the table for off road compared to SR5.

So if it were me and assuming you want a "nice" interior:

1. DCSB TRD OR with shell after figuring out how best to handle your ski situation. I think it is very solvable, but figure it out ahead of time.
2. Otherwise DCLB SR5 and upgrade suspension and locker.

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[Plannerman]

^x2. What he said. Yes, you may upgrade suspension in the future, but having a factory locker is amazing. My best friend opted for the SR5 to "save money." Three years later he still has been unable to save up the money for the ARB and compressor and install. He regularly tells me he wishes he would have purchased with factory locker.

 

[Area52]

DCLB with a shell. Add a locker if necessary, but the "auto-LSD" thing works well.

Exactly what I have and set up for similar conditions as OP, minus skiing.

 

[BlindingWhiteTaco]

dcsb with a canopy and locking roof box.