2015/2016 New 3rd gen Tacoma Debut in Detriot

[toylandcruiser]

I ended up with the leaves instead of coils on my 2014 3500. I didn't even price that option...looks expensive.

You can choose what you want?


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[DaveInDenver]

What's old is new again. The 1961-1972 Chevy C10 truck had coil rear springs and trailing arms. I think leaf springs were an option.

 

[bkg]

I ended up with the leaves instead of coils on my 2014 3500. I didn't even price that option...looks expensive.

Only available on 1500/2500. 3500 stayed with leaves.

 

[Clutch]

What's old is new again. The 1961-1972 Chevy C10 truck had coil rear springs and trailing arms. I think leaf springs were an option.

Yes sir, that used to be the hot setup for running Baja, before people started fabricating their own...they would harvest those.

I hope the new Taco has a 1700 lbs payload that way I can put a pop up camper in it.

I wouldn't do a popup camper without at least a 2000 lbs. payload...but that is just me. All of the Tacos now, that have FWC's are over loaded.

 

[Flagster]

Yes sir, that used to be the hot setup for running Baja, before people started fabricating their own...they would harvest those.



I wouldn't do a popup camper without at least a 2000 lbs. payload...but that is just me. All of the Tacos now, that have FWC's are over loaded.

This is my main complaint with US small pickup offerings. Payload is awful!

If offered, I would get rid of my Tacoma and GMC 3500 and get a hilux/ranger/navara etc with a true one ton payload and downsize to one truck.

My tacoma has a dismal 1300lb payload...that is exactly 150 gallons of water give or take... or about one week of water use at my house in N. AZ.
My GMC can haul 525 gallons from the haul station which means once a month trips. If I could get a 2200lb payload and have a "do it all" small truck I would buy it in a flash...

http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux/features/performance/payloads

 

[DaveInDenver]

All of the Tacos now, that have FWC's are over loaded.

This is the crux of my displeasure with Tacomas, really all the small trucks. The old Pickup/Hilux used to have a small rated payload (which as near as I can tell was mostly due to legal reasons) but it was possible to still be safe even if you did exceed it. Mostly it was the springs needed to be fairly soft to achieve a decent ride because it seemed to me (as I often have) that the frame, axle and brakes were sufficient to handle more. It was just slow.

It's more systemic now where 7 leaf spring packs only fix one issue, the frame itself doesn't have the margin to handle more. This is partially why the 4Runner can handle more, it's built on a more substantial frame. The brakes aren't that much better than the old truck but the truck itself weighs more, so again, less margin.

To call it a 'lifestyle' vehicle doesn't change that the 'lifestyle' it's mostly used for does in fact require a more substantial truck for a lot of people, even if they don't know it. Sure, as a kid hauler it's fine. But not for anything more.

 

[p nut]

Let's rename this thread to the "********-Chat" thread.

Ok, interesting question--especially for those that are less than happy with what they've seen so far. Who created this new Tacoma? Toyota or consumers?

The Tacoma is more than suitable for the majority of the buyers. It has enough capacity to handle what most people use it for. To say that the frame's too weak or it's nothing more than a kid hauler is pretty silly. If your needs exceed the capacities, you need to A) buy another truck B) spend $$$ customizing, or C) Move.

 

[Clutch]

Let's rename this thread to the "********-Chat" thread.

Ok, interesting question--especially for those that are less than happy with what they've seen so far. Who created this new Tacoma? Toyota or consumers?

The Tacoma is more than suitable for the majority of the buyers. It has enough capacity to handle what most people use it for. To say that the frame's too weak or it's nothing more than a kid hauler is pretty silly. If your needs exceed the capacities, you need to A) buy another truck B) spend $$$ customizing, or C) Move.

Ha!

Hard to say...like which came first the chicken or the egg?

Toyota did create the Tacoma first... and then found the consumer? Not sure why they went away with the HiLux frame..all they had to do is to spec the US version with different springs.

I am fine the with the payload for the most part since I augment it with a trailer. Though a 2000 lbs pay load would be nice.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Ok, interesting question--especially for those that are less than happy with what they've seen so far. Who created this new Tacoma? Toyota or consumers?

The Tacoma is more than suitable for the majority of the buyers. It has enough capacity to handle what most people use it for. To say that the frame's too weak or it's nothing more than a kid hauler is pretty silly. If your needs exceed the capacities, you need to A) buy another truck B) spend $$$ customizing, or C) Move.

When something common such as mounting a Four Wheel Camper exceeds the truck's GVWR, then it's maybe not the consumer who is driving the rating.

I think the key is when you take the GVWR and subtract the given curb weight you see that the Tacoma has a similar starting rating as my truck but has gained a lot of fat, which eats up the payload capacity.

My 1991 is rated 5,350 lbs with a stated curb weight is something like 3,485 lbs and in actual use my truck weighs just shy of 4,000 lbs. Mind you that is with a WilderNest, ARB bumper and XD9000 winch and OME suspension. So with a passenger and myself I still have 900~1000 pounds of payload available, e.g. can carry a 1/2 ton of stuff. According to OME I actually have +400 lbs over GVWR since I run heavy/heavy, so since they go to great lengths in Australia to get engineer certifications I believe it and have little doubt the chassis could tolerate it. Either way the available payload as stock was 1,865 lbs.

My 2008 Tacoma GVWR rating is 5,500 lbs and its given curb weight is 4,105 lbs (I have not yet weighed it to know for sure but it's all stock but for a 150 lbs high rise fiberglass topper). So what it seems to me is the ratings haven't grown with the size, which is not trivially larger dimensionally. But it's also gained a whole lot of stuff inside and out, plastic trim, a dozen computers to control every danged thing. My factory service manual for the 1991 is two books, the 2008 will be four. Factory available payload is 1,395 lbs.

It's clear to me that Toyota anticipated this with the Hilux. The current version has a 2,710 kg GVWR for an XtraCab SR5 4x4 pickup. That's 5,975 lbs. The stated curb weight for this truck is not dissimilar to the Tacoma at 1,855 kg or 4,089 lbs. But the margin is larger, actually similar to the old truck, the factory payload is 1,886 lbs.

I dunno if it matters or not, a lot of people seriously abuse their Tacomas and I don't know that they fail at any higher rate than Pickups/Hilux. But I don't remember anyone ever talking about dented cabs until the Tacoma.

 

[calicamper]

Anyone notice that actual published weights are becoming a thing of mystery? Something clearly has changed with our GOV mandated data given I've noticed just in the past couple of years auto makers are not clearly publishing the vehicle weight and its GVWR weight. For example it took me over 10 minutes digging to find one truck 3rd party website that had the new 2015 Colorado truck weights. But they don't have the GVWR. And Chevy basically posts nothing of value period on their website regarding their trucks. Its like the people they are selling to are trading up from a Honda Civic and don't need any sort of technical info on their trucks. LOL

Only number I could find was
V6 crew cab 4329lbs
OK found actual numbers on Cars direct they show 4400lbs for the Z1 V6 crew with a GVWR of 6000lbs
This is what I would consider the most modern of the mid sized platforms today. That lands in the 1600lbs range.
They list 1490 for bed capacity.

TRD crew 4x4 shows as curb weight 4100 and GVWR as 5500 - 1400lbs
They list the 2015 TRD crew as having 1305lb bed capacity.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2014/03/2015-chevrolet-colorado-saves-weight-but-is-it-enough.html

For kicks a F150 is curb weight 4800lbs and GVWR of 6500lbs = 1700lbs I figured it would have been more but the F150 is almost as limited as the Tacoma and the Colorado. LOL

Keep in mind any builder who offers larger pickups do not want their little truck matching their big truck on payload numbers. Toyota won't ever let the Tacoma get rated at numbers that nearly match the Tundra.

 

[DVexile]

Yeah, well those are nice numbers on the internet - but the manufacturers don't stand behind them at all. Go look at a door sticker or an owners manual. For a DCSB TRD OR V6 the door sticker will say around 1050 lbs. The owners manual says just 1040 lbs for a V6 4x4 DCSB. GM was caught red handed this past summer completely making crap up about their payloads. They removed bumpers, center consoles, seats and damn near everything else when measuring curb weight so they could publish BS payload figures.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Just checked, my 2008 door sticker says GVWR of 5,350 lbs. That is also what my 1991 door frame says, 5,350 lbs. According to my owner's manual for the 1991 I have a payload of 1,100 lbs in addition to two passengers. The 2008 owner's manual states it's 547 kg (1205 lbs) inclusive of passengers. It looks like in 1991 Toyota assumed an occupant to weigh 200 lbs (since my payload with 3 occupants is 900 lbs), so the comparable number would have been 1,500 lbs. Dunno the specifics about how these numbers are generated but I would guess the 1991 does also weight quite a bit less and they put in a lot of data about how to fit a slide-in camper and where to make sure the center of mass is relative to the axles. Sort of like they expected one to actually use their truck. ;-)

 

[plainjaneFJC]

I thought Ford was the one that was doing that?

Yeah, well those are nice numbers on the internet - but the manufacturers don't stand behind them at all. Go look at a door sticker or an owners manual. For a DCSB TRD OR V6 the door sticker will say around 1050 lbs. The owners manual says just 1040 lbs for a V6 4x4 DCSB. GM was caught red handed this past summer completely making crap up about their payloads. They removed bumpers, center consoles, seats and damn near everything else when measuring curb weight so they could publish BS payload figures.

 

[Clutch]

This is the crux of my displeasure with Tacomas, really all the small trucks. The old Pickup/Hilux used to have a small rated payload (which as near as I can tell was mostly due to legal reasons) but it was possible to still be safe even if you did exceed it. Mostly it was the springs needed to be fairly soft to achieve a decent ride because it seemed to me (as I often have) that the frame, axle and brakes were sufficient to handle more. It was just slow.

It's more systemic now where 7 leaf spring packs only fix one issue, the frame itself doesn't have the margin to handle more. This is partially why the 4Runner can handle more, it's built on a more substantial frame. The brakes aren't that much better than the old truck but the truck itself weighs more, so again, less margin.

To call it a 'lifestyle' vehicle doesn't change that the 'lifestyle' it's mostly used for does in fact require a more substantial truck for a lot of people, even if they don't know it. Sure, as a kid hauler it's fine. But not for anything more.

I wonder how much different the HiLux frame is, could simply boxing the Tacoma frame make equally as strong and physically be able to handle more payload. Or is the gauge of steel totally different as well? Remember, they share the same front end suspension components now. The cross members look darn near the same to me.

The Tacoma frame is mostly boxed except the bed portion.

 

[p nut]

I thought the frame reinforcement plates took care of flex issues. I can't find it now, but there were some that actually welded on a plate on the INSIDE to fully box the frame. Not sure how much of a difference it made.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/tacoma/frame.html