Is the Tacoma enough truck?

[Buliwyf]

I like the idea that everything you need fits in a backpack.

I carry that idea over to my camper, and it's served me well. I just want AC, a shower, and walls now. Paper plates and cups, toss them in the campfire afterwards.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Paper plates and cups, toss them in the campfire afterwards.

Just goes to show we all adapt. This would not work in the west this summer since we've been under fire bans pretty much since May and continue to many places. So you'd have to carry out all your trash. This is really SOP anyway, campfires are hit or miss (not just backcountry, including commercial campgrounds like this year) so do this stuff long enough you eventually figure out a way to wash & reuse.

 

[Buliwyf]

Yeah,I'm east coast. I think we always have a fire, unless boondocking.

 

[jasmtis]

This is not the case in the mountains of Colorado. My Tacoma feels big compared to my Hilux. Although the turning radius of rack & pinion I have to admit helps, any time you have wheel base and track width more than a CJ2A you're doing mutli-point turns on switchbacks. Either way you have to accept pinstripes are part of using your truck. But sometimes even the little bit of size of a F150/C1500 makes squeezing in tree and rocks uncomfortable. We even see it with 100/200s over 4Runner/Tacoma, inches do add up. But it depends on how far you want to push it on trails. Most dirt roads and mild trails are doable in anything as long as you have clearance, it's the mild to harder stuff where it matters.

That's the bottom line. Everything is compromise. I long ago accepted that 120"+ wheel bases are acceptable to have a bit of elbow room in the cab and a pickup bed. Some guys feel the same about a wagon over a FJ40. I personally don't want to deal with dragging around toys so I adapt my outfit to fit within the constraints of a Hilux/Truck/Tacoma. The overhang is what I really notice, I tend to hang up more than Cruisers and SUVs and since I don't yet have a rear bumper I have to be careful not to tear off things or dent the box.

Yup, same deal in the Pacific Northwest. I tend to have a lot more fun in my Rangie than my Tacoma just because it's much smaller and easier to see out of(plus the paint is already ruined). I find myself in low range more often to navigate tight trees without needing to worry about the clutch than I do for technical terrain. You could squeeze a full size through a lot of these spots but it would be no fun at all. Although I guess if you're towing a side-by-side on all your trips anyway a full size would actually make sense. I've personally never liked the idea of towing something to the trails, having to end up where you start removes a lot of the exploration flexibility and just seems to add steps/complexity to every trip but to each their own.

 

[Clutch]

We are lite campers. A good sized tent, sleeping gear, couple 5 gal water jugs, firewood, and food. I'm used to cutting weight and fluff as a backpacker. I don't need 3 tables, 2 awnings, and enough food to last an Armageddon. Kids don't take toys. They love to play with whatever they find. Or if we're near water, they spend the whole day playing.

I used to take my bikes (road or mountain). But even gave that up for a pair of trail running shoes. Keep it light, go far, and have fun.

Hell, my setup is minimalist compared to most of my dirt bike buddies, they all have travel trailers and toyhaulers.

I personally don't want to deal with dragging around toys so I adapt my outfit to fit within the constraints of a Hilux/Truck/Tacoma.

Don't you ride mountain bikes and ski?

I've personally never liked the idea of towing something to the trails, having to end up where you start removes a lot of the exploration flexibility and just seems to add steps/complexity to every trip but to each their own.

I do like plunking around in the truck, but find it very limiting and slow compared to where I can put a mountain or dirt bike. Never fails, I'll be out in the truck and see some single track out of the corner of my eye...and can't go zipping down it like I would on the bike.

So...what I like do is go base camp at different areas with the truck...and dissect with one of the bikes whether it be pedal or motor. Did that yesterday...parked just off the main road in area I haven't explored yet...and rode the bike back in 80 miles. So much easier dealing with washboards on the dirt bike than in the truck..."ohh is that some single track I see off to the side there!?" Braaaaap!

 

[jgallo1]

I went through this same situation. I had a 16 AC tacoma OR. It was great for just me or 1 other person. My Dog is 90 lbs, so he was not very happy in the back of truck, he even thought the front seat was little small.
I also thought the bed was tight for general hauling.
I now have a dodge 2500 ctd, the dodge is an amazing truck. It is made for towing & hauling. It is great when you have big trails. Tight trails, the common grocery store parking lot, etc.. can be tough.
Personally, I think if you have to figure out what you do the most and what suits you the best. I also recently purchased a DBCB, long bed tacoma OR. If I like it I might sell the dodge.

 

[jasmtis]

I do like plunking around in the truck, but find it very limiting and slow compared to where I can put a mountain or dirt bike. Never fails, I'll be out in the truck and see some single track out of the corner of my eye...and can't go zipping down it like I would on the bike.

So...what I like do is go base camp at different areas with the truck...and dissect with one of the bikes whether it be pedal or motor. Did that yesterday...parked just off the main road in area I haven't explored yet...and rode the bike back in 80 miles. So much easier dealing with washboards on the dirt bike than in the truck..."ohh is that some single track I see off to the side there!?" Braaaaap!

Ok I can certainly see the appeal of that. I should really start bringing my mountain bike on more trips, now that I'm thinking about it I have no good reason not to. I could still do thru-routes but make camp earlier and explore the area on two wheels.

I do really like my Rover as a midpoint though(it's not a pristine Range Rover Classic like you tend to see, total trail beater. I was looking for a Disco, XJ or YJ as a trail toy but when a mechanically-solid, cosmetically-beat RRC popped up for $2500 it was too cool to resist). It's compact, nimble, street legal and can fit a few people with gear if you toss some stuff on the safari rack. The effective size difference with the Tacoma is huge because I'm not nearly as worried about driving through brush or cutting it close to trees and rocks.

 

[Clutch]

Ok I can certainly see the appeal of that. I should really start bringing my mountain bike on more trips, now that I'm thinking about it I have no good reason not to. I could still do thru-routes but make camp earlier and explore the area on two wheels.

I do really like my Rover as a midpoint though(it's not a pristine Range Rover Classic like you tend to see, total trail beater. I was looking for a Disco, XJ or YJ as a trail toy but when a mechanically-solid, cosmetically-beat RRC popped up for $2500 it was too cool to resist). It's compact, nimble, street legal and can fit a few people with gear if you toss some stuff on the safari rack. The effective size difference with the Tacoma is huge because I'm not nearly as worried about driving through brush or cutting it close to trees and rocks.

I like to do it all...but it is pretty rare that I only take the truck. The truck is the means to get the toys to the trail head. Love my Tacoma, and I make it work...but yeah there are times I wish it was little bigger. Haven't been on the bike for 2.5 months...healing up from some injuries, so was using the truck in the mean time to plunk around. Man...forgot how much I prefer the bike over the truck for back country travel. Just zip through stuff that would of given the truck trouble, actaully a few spots I went through even the "small" Tacoma wouldn't of fit....plus it would rattled my fillings out skating across the wash boards. Don't even really feel them on the bike, kept on thinking yesterday...so glad I am not dragging the truck down this.

Couple few guys there doing just that, trucks and campers parked just off the main road. While the bikes, quads, and SXS's are on the back roads and trails.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Don't you ride mountain bikes and ski?

Yeah? I suppose you mean the reason the Tacoma and the '91 before it work for me is skis fit in the bed and MTBs in a hitch rack don't seriously tax power and space them like a dirt bike or side-by-side would? The slight size advantage of a Tacoma over a full size off road comes into play getting into base camps, too.

 

[jasmtis]

I like to do it all...but it is pretty rare that I only take the truck. The truck is the means to get the toys to the trail head. Love my Tacoma, and I make it work...but yeah there are times I wish it was little bigger. Haven't been on the bike for 2.5 months...healing up from some injuries, so was using the truck in the mean time to plunk around. Man...forgot how much I prefer the bike over the truck for back country travel. Just zip through stuff that would of given the truck trouble, actaully a few spots I went through even the "small" Tacoma wouldn't of fit....plus it would rattled my fillings out skating across the wash boards. Don't even really feel them on the bike, kept on thinking yesterday...so glad I am not dragging the truck down this.

Couple few guys there doing just that, trucks and campers parked just off the main road. While the bikes, quads, and SXS's are on the back roads and trails.

I'm not sure what gen you've got haha but I would hardly call my Tacoma small. My Rover is a perfectly reasonably sized SUV and it has over two feet less wheelbase, over three feet shorter and almost half a foot narrower than my DCSB Taco. Still, I find that it does a great job of covering everything I need out of a vehicle. It makes a good commuter, it's plenty capable to do some exploring and even though I wouldn't really buy it with plans to tow often I usually have something old and European around so it's nice to be able to legally and safely tow a car or SUV on a trailer.

That does sound really nice though, a dirt bike will probably be my next toy. Even if I decide I'm not a fan of the base camp thing as I understand in Washington State you can plate literally anything as long as it's got proper lights fitted and I've got backpacking gear so I could even just leave the truck at home sometimes.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Clutch has a 1st gen XtraCab Tacoma, which is considerably smaller than our 2nd and 3rd gens and feels different not having ridiculously large pillars and all the plastic inside.

 

[roving1]

The size/weight of the truck really doesn't become a factor unless you start getting into the very technical rock-crawling (Rubicon-like trails) or straight-up mud bogging. For nearly all of the 4x4 'trails' I have come across, if a Tacoma or 4-door Jeep can fit, so too can a fullsize or 3/4 ton (albeit with more pin striping).

Everybody says this but they must never have to sit behind the full size vehicles taking forever on every obstacle or tight squeeze. Where there are forests or switch backs or rockfall this can be a problem. You hardly have to be on the Rubicon for a full size to be an issue.

Still plenty of reasons to go full size and plenty of trails where it is not an issue but to say you need to be at Rubicon levels to notice is ridiculous. Just having to turn around on a trail with a blockage is almost impossible with a full size a lot of places w/o backing up a long ways.

 

[Dalko43]

Everybody says this but they must never have to sit behind the full size vehicles taking forever on every obstacle or tight squeeze. An where there are forests or switch backs or rockfall this can be a problem. You hardly have to be on the Rubicon for a full size to be an issue.

Still plenty of reasons to go full size and plenty of trails where it is not an issue but to say you need to be at Rubicon levels to notice is ridiculous. Just having to turn around on a trail with a blockage is almost impossible with a full size a lot of places w/o backing up a long ways.

Actually, I find that most in the overland community claim the opposite: that fullsize trucks have limited access to trails because of their size.

In all of my travels around the northeast, I just haven't found this to be true. I haven't traveled extensively out west, so I can't speak to that. I do know people have posted videos of 3/4 tons going over Black Bear Pass. Perhaps someone can point out some areas out there where a 3/4 ton truly can't fit.

But here in the northeast and Great Lakes region, if a 4runner or Tacoma can fit, so too can a full size truck. Really, the only trails that I can think of where a fullsize would be hindered due to size and/or weight would be some of the old skidder and snowmobile trails....but those are usually off-limits to highway vehicles anyways and you're better off getting onto an ATV if you want to go down them.

 

[phsycle]

Everybody says this but they must never have to sit behind the full size vehicles taking forever on every obstacle or tight squeeze. Where there are forests or switch backs or rockfall this can be a problem. You hardly have to be on the Rubicon for a full size to be an issue.

Still plenty of reasons to go full size and plenty of trails where it is not an issue but to say you need to be at Rubicon levels to notice is ridiculous. Just having to turn around on a trail with a blockage is almost impossible with a full size a lot of places w/o backing up a long ways.

That's true. Running trails in SW Colorado, which is already nerve-wracking with a mid-size Tacoma, would've been hellacious in a full-size. There is one YT video of some guy in a clapped out Ram 2500 going over BBP, but there is a reason why mid-size trucks, Jeeps, RZR's and bikes are ideal for that trail (and others around there). It was like Wrangler city around those trails. My Tacoma was the biggest vehicle I saw on the trail, actually.

 

[roving1]

But here in the northeast and Great Lakes region, if a 4runner or Tacoma can fit, so too can a full size truck. Really, the only trails that I can think of where a fullsize would be hindered due to size and/or weight would be some of the old skidder and snowmobile trails....but those are usually off-limits to highway vehicles anyways and you're better off getting onto an ATV if you want to go down them.

Agree to disagree I guess. I grew up wheeling in MI. Lived in New Hampshire and Mass for 12 years and have wheeled some everywhere in the US and Canada except the Southern states. While I enjoy off road challenges my vehicle was always my daily driver and usually just a small lift and 31-32" tires not a dedicated crawler or anything like that. Obstacles that either impede or outright block full size wasn't that uncommon. Even full size K-5 Blazers had issues in our groups. Again I never was really on super rock crawling stuff. Just fun trails and camping.