Spenser said:
The Pizza Wagon (2007 stripped, regular cab tacoma DD) came with solid rear window, and dealer is offering to install, at his cost, replacement with Factory Sliding Window. My concern is that I leave the truck in back road turnouts and weird places fishing for brook trout or generally tramping around. I have seen people say that the slider is broken easily and can be pried open with screw driver from outside. Anyone have issues with them, especially on the newer body style Tacoma? They seemed tight and not readily broken into while looking at some on existing trucks.
I've always had a shell, but I will warn you that when I put a slider onto my '99 Ranger it noticeably increased the wind noise in the cab. Something else to consider. I should point out it was a cheap, generic 2-piece slider, not the factory 1-piece slider that would have cost another $50 or so. The factory item might have been quieter.
As far as security, the older style of 2-peice sliders could be popped by sticking a screwdriver into the gap where the two panes come together and popping the latch out with a hammer. Don't know if a newer 1-piece slider might be more resistant to that due to the latch not being directly underneath the gap where the window closes.
Honestly, though, it's not terribly difficult to break into a truck, especially if it's parked out in the boonies where rocks are plentiful and where nobody would notice the sound of a window being broken. If you're really concerned about security, I'd get a stout box and bolt it to the bed, put a good hefty lock on it and that will probably do you just fine.