TRD off road package a good value?

[danmedeiros]

My wife and I planning on buying/building our 1st expedition vehicle. We have settled on a Double Cab short bed Tacoma 4x4. We do not plan on doing any rock crawling or "extreme" trails. I work for a conservation organization and spend most of my work week on logging roads/trails. On the weekends the truck will be most often used for backcountry skiing and climbing trips, and surf vacations to baja. Offroad ability is important but we will be realistically spending a ton of time on the highway.

We are new to this game and where wondering if it made sense to buy a basic SR5 4x4 double cab and then modify it to fit our needs with aftermarket parts or would we be better of buying a TRD Pro or off-road package? If we did go the aftermarket route would would be your must-have upgrades?

Thanks!

Dan

 

[danmedeiros]

I should also add that we are in our early 30's and have a pretty tight budget to mod the truck. Rather spend our cash on going places if possible!

 

[DVexile]

TRD OR compared to SR5 gets you a few useful things you might like for a price difference of $1.5K:

- Rear locker
- ATRAC and DAC
- Suspension
- Inverter with outlet in the bed

Now you can of course add a non OEM locker, but given what you say you drive on I doubt you ever would. So with the OR you'll get a locker built in and some day it might help you. Or perhaps you'll never use it on the roads you take and it is a waste of money.

ATRAC is a fancy brake driven traction system for helping get unstuck in 4LO. DAC is a downhill assist which makes it easier to get down steep slippery slopes. Again, these help get you out of stuck situations. Many people would say with a little practice you don't need DAC at all. As to ATRAC you can get half way there on an SR5 with a simple electrical mod which will enable the SR5's TRAC mode in 4LO. Not quite as refined as ATRAC but TRAC in 4LO will also help you get unstuck.

As to the suspension, especially for an expedition vehicle, I think most people would say the TRD OR suspension is nearly as useless as the SR5 suspension. You are going to replace it anyway. That said, some people do the swap pretty much straight off the lot and sell the TRD OR suspension parts for a few hundred dollars.

OR comes with nicer tires, but they still aren't great. Again you could swap them right off the lot and sell the practically new ones off your truck for a few hundred dollars.

A non-offroad thing is some people really like the TRD seats better than the SR5 seats. But that is not universal. The inverter is pretty low power and for an expedition truck you'd probably just add your own anyway.

Really the biggest savings would be to forgo the SR5 package and get a base or the Convenience options. That will save about $2K compared to the SR5.

So there really is no easy answer. Personally SR5 compared to TRD OR I consider the OR to be worth it simply because I do think I'd like the ATRAC, DAC and locker. I can recover some of the price difference reselling the suspension and tires I'll be taking off anyway.

 

[FJR Colorado]

IMO, the TRD Pro Off-road package is a decent value and enables you to have your basic utilitarian mods protected under warranty.

The regular TRD package is somewhat dubious in terms of value.

Either package will hold up your re-sale value.

Good luck!

 

[v_man]

This question gets asked every other month , or the TRD vs. Sport question ...

...my thoughts from previous threads on this topic...

TRD over rated IMO . For the extra 4k spent you get an aftermarket suspension and a computer locking rear diff. Take the 4k savings and put in an ARB and lift , you can get one installed for less than 2k and YOU get to select when you need it , not a computer , plus you get an on board air compressor to air up tires .

The tow package is also a joke . You get an oil cooler , trans. cooler , and a tow hitch . Unless you towing at max capacity everyday those coolers won't even be fully active.

If it was me I'd get a base model V6 , maybe a couple of years old , for around 23k . Then with the money you saved on TRD you put in an ARB, 2 inch lift , winch , and a little bigger tires . Build the truck the way you need it , not the way Toyota thinks you need it .

 

[Stone_Blue]

I was gonna say, if this was for a 1st Gen Tundra, then NO, the TRD is NOT worth it...But Taco, yes... :thumbsup:
I still cant understand why Toyota never offered the electric locker as an option AT ALL, for the Tundra...

 

[Saharicon]

The wife and I were in almost exactly the same situation last year. We ended up picking up a 14 DC OR last August.

We are just about to take it in for the 15k mile service. It has been from Delaware to California. We have been spending the last 3 months exploring every canyon, valley, and mountain in the Death Valley area. The truck has performed flawless.

This is also our first expedition vehicle, however I did use to have a modified Jeep TJ for serious rock crawling. I didn't buy a Rubicon when I bought my Jeep because I knew I would change all the stock benefits. That rig was for hitting black and red trails at off road parks though.

With the Tacoma we plan on building it for long term overland use. A lot of time will be spent on highways, a good amount of time is spent on gravel, forest, BLM, and national park backcountry roads. Every now and then we do get into tight spots, but nothing some solid driving and recover gear cant handle.

We also just picked up a expedition built trailer off of here and the truck tows it great! We are taking it for a big loop around the Death Valley backcountry this weekend.

I recommend the OR package and if you hit the trail a lot look at swapping the suspension out, get some armor, and learn the truck. Stock vehicles are very capable as long as you aren't baja racing every where.

Top of Five Fingers - Southern Sierras

Titus Canyon - Death Valley NP

You can see everywhere we have been HERE.

 

[danmedeiros]

Thanks DVexile! Awesome explanation. Is the Tacoma e-locker any good? I use the one on our work land cruiser quite a bit when driving muddy hills and would definitely want one.

 

[danmedeiros]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone! Any recommendations on upgrading suspension? What are the other goodies are must haves?

I am also trying to decide between the manual and auto transmission. I drive a manual truck at work but the auto would be nice for all those highway miles. Is the auto durable enough to trust to in the middle of nowhere while looking for surf in Baja?

Dan

 

[plainjaneFJC]

The e-locker is very effective.

 

[Tylerhasaphone]

I think its an excellent value. One thing often over looked with the TRD (off road or sport) package are the seats. Much more comfortable in my opinion than the base seats. Not only that but i think they look a lot better and are a much nicer material. Plus if you plan on getting in any off road situation rear locker is such a nice thing to have for those just in case situations or in case you get the more hardcore trail bug down the road. Highly recommend trd off road over base!

 

[Saharicon]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone! Any recommendations on upgrading suspension? What are the other goodies are must haves?

I am also trying to decide between the manual and auto transmission. I drive a manual truck at work but the auto would be nice for all those highway miles. Is the auto durable enough to trust to in the middle of nowhere while looking for surf in Baja?

Dan

Check out Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Old Man Emu, and All Pro Off Road.

For reference to above, mine is an auto. Haven't had a problem with it.

We do have the Tow Package which adds oil cooler, tranny cooler, HD battery, 130 amp alternator, etc.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Check out the Toytec ultimate lift. Its the most bang for the buck IMO.

 

[DVexile]

I've been a manual transmission guy for years, nonetheless I'm in the process of putting in an order for an automatic on my 2015 Tacoma. For off road there are pluses and minuses to both depending on the situation. In some cases the directly connected drive train of a manual is an advantage, in other cases the fluid torque converter of an automatic is an advantage. These days the various fancy ABS and throttle controls built in to an automatic (DAC being an example) can give you a bit of the best of both worlds in an automatic. The mileage advantages of manual transmissions are no more these days as well. Certain traction assist functions aren't implement on the manual Tacomas because you can't do throttle control with a manual transmission. Lastly the 6 speed manual on the V6 Tacoma hasn't had great reviews from a user perspective. Many people feel it isn't geared right and despite having 6 gears ends up not feeling as good as some 5 gear transmissions. All that said, the Tacoma is one of the few trucks left you can get a manual transmission in so if you are deeply in love with a manual it is your choice. But if you don't have a strong reason or desire for a manual then I'd say just get the automatic.

As to suspension there are lots of good choices. As general advice for an expedition vehicle I'd say you are going to be replacing the rear leafs for sure. And when you replace them be sure to get a leaf pack meant for a heavier load (OME Dakar, All Pro Expedition). I'm actually thinking I'll just have a custom leaf pack made by Alcan for mine since I will always be running with a heavy load and might as well have a spring design with that in mind. Many people will recommend an OME suspension (Nitrocharger shocks, 885/6 front springs, OME Dakar rear leaf) as a capable and inexpensive setup at around $1K. Normally that would be good advice, but be advised there appears to have been a slight change in the rear axle area of the 2015 Tacoma which makes Nitrocharger shocks not fit anymore. Also, if you think you are going to be hitting long runs of washboard then a monotube shock will handle the heat better than a twin-tube shock like the Nitrochargers.

Lastly, as to lift... On the Tacomas past about 2" of lift and you can start to have some problems. Your CV boots may start to wear because the increased axle angle results in rubbing on the boot. You may also start to get drive line vibration issues in the rear. You will probably have trouble getting good alignment with the factory UCAs as well. You can address all of these problems, but they are annoyances you can avoid by sticking to a max 2" lift. That said, from no lift to about 2" of lift you can run up to about 31.7" tires (265/75/16 or 235/85/16) but if you want to go to 33" you need about 3" of lift. So you see a lot of people lifting to 3" despite the possible problems because they feel the need to run 33". Of course once you get to 33" you might still have rubbing problems at full travel (so trim those fenders), you will probably need different UCAs to get good alignment and you'll have lost torque due to the bigger tires and so may want to regear your differentials. In summary at 2" lift you really do just change springs and shocks without much risk of issues. At 3" to fit those 33" tires on you potentially have a cascade of changes you *should* make to "do it right". So consider that jump in lift and tire size carefully.

Oh - and in case you've been under a rock there is an all new 2016 Tacoma coming out in the fall. So decide whether you want the last model year of the 2nd generation (2015) or the first model year of the 3rd generation (2016).

 

[Nullifier]

For me personally I would buy a base and upgrade suspension, gears, and lockers. But since you have a limited budget get the trd then to a small mud terrain upgrade to good offroad tires in similar size to stock. It will take you anywhere you want and then some. So you can focus on setting it up to haul your stuff.