I was stuck with a 2wd '00 Ranger for a long time and after a few months on active duty, I could afford a new pickup.
2wd was out of the question as I can't remember the number of times I got that Ranger stuck. I used to off-road a bit when I was younger with my dad in a '77 diesel Scout II. That truck was bone stock and I remember it taking some nasty abuse.
I had a lot of fun then, and would like to be able to do similar. Now, I would never put any stock modern pickup through what that scout did, and my goal is not exactly serious rock crawling or technical trail driving- I just want something that will get me back into somewhat difficult locations for car camping and hunting.
I knew Toyota's reputation and was looking mostly at used 01-04 Tacoma xtracab v6 trucks. I hunted for 4 months without finding any clean examples with a manual transmission and under 60k miles that weren't sold by the time I could go see them.
Somehow I ended up with a brand new '08, pictured here in an AAFES parking lot right after I picked it up.
All the local dealerships had in v6 manual 4x4 were TRD. This one must be a promotional TRD or something, with the black wheels, "Rugged Trail" rubber, and mountain sticker. Not really necessary, but whatever. I think I got a decent deal on it.
My question here, are there any problem areas I should watch out for or replace immediately on this pickup? I doubt it will be as tough as an older taco, but folks will always say the last model was best. I would like to own this one for a while, however, and hope it holds up. I have not been able to do any trail driving yet on my way across country, but imagine there might be some opportunities once I am moved in at Huachuca (near Tuscon).
Thanks in advance.
2wd was out of the question as I can't remember the number of times I got that Ranger stuck. I used to off-road a bit when I was younger with my dad in a '77 diesel Scout II. That truck was bone stock and I remember it taking some nasty abuse.
I had a lot of fun then, and would like to be able to do similar. Now, I would never put any stock modern pickup through what that scout did, and my goal is not exactly serious rock crawling or technical trail driving- I just want something that will get me back into somewhat difficult locations for car camping and hunting.
I knew Toyota's reputation and was looking mostly at used 01-04 Tacoma xtracab v6 trucks. I hunted for 4 months without finding any clean examples with a manual transmission and under 60k miles that weren't sold by the time I could go see them.
Somehow I ended up with a brand new '08, pictured here in an AAFES parking lot right after I picked it up.
![truckandroad089.jpg](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/nihilsum/truckandroad089.jpg)
All the local dealerships had in v6 manual 4x4 were TRD. This one must be a promotional TRD or something, with the black wheels, "Rugged Trail" rubber, and mountain sticker. Not really necessary, but whatever. I think I got a decent deal on it.
My question here, are there any problem areas I should watch out for or replace immediately on this pickup? I doubt it will be as tough as an older taco, but folks will always say the last model was best. I would like to own this one for a while, however, and hope it holds up. I have not been able to do any trail driving yet on my way across country, but imagine there might be some opportunities once I am moved in at Huachuca (near Tuscon).
Thanks in advance.