Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Joined the Taco Truck Club

Been thinking about picking up a new truck. Don't do anything that requires full size and this was sitting at a local dealer. Test drove it on Thursday and it was still there on Monday so I went ahead and brought it home. 2011 Tacoma PreRunner the TRD Sport and Convenience package and yada yada yada. Not real high miles at 61,000. Previous owner dressed it up quite a bit.

First thing I'll be doing is selling the cap and putting part of the funds towards some decent step tubes. Anyone have a decent feel for used truck cap prices? Other than that it will stay as is at least until I get the first winter under its belt.

Those of you already in the Taco Club - anything to look out for or be aware of?

Dat's purty. You'll like it.

Mine is a '95 when they were mini trucks. Love it.

I'd go with "sliders" instead of step tubes.

Same function, but provide more protection for the frame.

those caps are mighty handy. i'd keep it if i was you. it doesn't detract from the looks at all.

Sweet looking ride.

Love the black on black look, referred to as "murdered out" by today's youth.

Welcome to the club.

I'd leave it as is unless you need to haul big stuff.

That looks like a Yakima rack on the topper. If it is, there's all manner of handy accessories available.

The topper and rack we're well over a grand. You'll be lucky to get half that in the classifieds.

I second the the two "keep the cap" (camper shell where I come from) folks. Mighty dry storage when needed. Can usually come off easily enough with a friend for moving fridges and such.

Beautiful one you got there. DOn't know crap about 2011's but if they are like most other model years expect about 200K more on the motor and minor maintenance on other things. My 2001 purchased at 130K has 215K or so on it now and oil analysis shows all normal in the motor.

Good luck with it and welcome aboard the ship Tacoma.

Geno

That's a very handsome ride you have there, tastefully accessorized. My BIL has a '00 Tundra that has given him excellent service, he has no plans to replace it anytime soon. Toyota's are very high quality vehicles and give many years of trouble free service, owners are very loyal to the brand. Congratulations and good luck with a really cool looking truck.

Looks sharp, I'm thinking more people will be going back to a mid size pick-up these days now.

Nice truck. I bought a 2015 Tacoma in May. My only complaint is that it doesn't have a outside thermometer or compass. I had an F-150 so I miss the size but, like you, I just didn't need a full sized truck. I also like the improved gas mileage- 21 MPG. I still haven't warmed up to the back-up camera.
I bought a used Leer cap for mine and paid $500. If you're patient you should be able to get that for yours too. Caps are kind of a pain in the winter, the back window is never clean.

I have some tube steps I could be talked out of.....

Thinking more along the lines of N-Fab nerf bars...

That thing on the front is called a damage multiplier. It'll get pushed into your bodywork causing even more damage.

I have the same on my recently acquired Tundra, a close looking big brother of the OP's Taco and it will protect my truck just as it did on my last one. My chancing of hitting a deer are 1000 times greater than a hard vehicle hit. I will take the guard any day.

Those of you already in the Taco Club...must be some tiny sobs .I get in .....an with the seat all the way down....I see headliner....it needs a sun roof open 24/7 imo

Keep the cap. Use a utility trailer for anything that won't fit with the cap on it.

yes as a matter of fact I am a little bitty guy


and I certainly don't appreciate you bringing it up on an open forum where people like Isaac and Steelhead see me as being 10 ft. tall

Avoid parking in the desert southwest in high summer.

GTC

Tons of vehicles get hit by deer; the theory of the brush guard is it will prevent a deer from taking out the radiator and disabling the vehicle. One of my brother's friends hit a good sized mule deer and indeed it was still driveable afterward.

Now how it would fare against a 300 lb whitetail, I don't know

Looks like you got a good one. Good job. I'd go with leave the topper on it.

I only use mine to wash my windshield

WTF is a topper??

That cap with the rack system probably cost better than $2,000 new, don't sell it too fast. Try it for a bit and then make a decision...........

IIRC the ARE cap on my 2011 Tacoma set me back $1700 and it's far from that fancy.

Enjoy the new ride.

Sweet looking truck, I would keep the cap & brush guard and add the side nerf bars with anti skid tops and call it good.

I have the N-Fabs on my 2011 Tundra and they have worked very well. I highly recommend them for someone looking for some type of step.

I will also chime in on keeping the ARE. You may regret selling it one day if you go that route.

I had a 99 Tacoma and got wonderful service out of it. I had to replace the dome light and the contacts in the starter in 13 years of ownership.

Good looking truck and it's rigged out right IMO. You don't live where EDM lives without one. My dad's personal best is 5 smacked in the road in one day.

Brush guards have kept me on the road at least three times when hitting deer - all out of town or state. Would have been real inconvenient without them.

Keep topper.

Fugk nerf bars.

Nice truck. You'll never buy anything but Toyota from this day forward.





Travis

that rack system on top will come in handy too

I wouldn't get rid of it.

I'd love to have that truck

Well, it's become the official truck for ISIS terrorists--may want to keep an eye out for any ragheads hanging around the driveway.........


Casey

One of my 2 Taco trucks...this one has 219K on it...

'05 has 121K........get some mud on yours.........

I've never had a Taco. Just full sized Tundras of which we own two. First is a 2004 loaded Double with a "topper" and 276k. Next is a 2015 Platinum also with a topper. My wife traded in her Ford 2002 van because she wanted the 2004 truck which was my driver. Now everybody is happy. Fac running boards and no deer catchers. Yeah, once you own a Toyota it's hard not to.

I'd like to get a "real" replacement bumper for my 09. Has to carry a winch and be able to smack brush and trees offroading w/o damage. If nobody makes one made of anything but tin, I'll build my own.

Sweet! Floor pans and a HyLift are all you need now.

Yep!

What made you go with the 2wd? Really cool looking truck!

I don't think ARB uses tin.

Check out Rocky Road Outfitters.




Dave

Will do, thanks Clark.

Nice looking rig- I'd keep it just as is, add what you want.

Get a 50cal an mount it in the bed,and head overseas!

Probably be branded a puzzy, but, I haven't locked a truck in while traveling on a road in years so I figure whats the point. As far as hunting goes I run down a couple field roads and park the truck then its all ATV to get into anything sketchy. I'm thinking 4x2 with a little sand in the back (and not driving like a retard) will more than cover my needs. We'll see whether I was right soon I suppose.

The TRD comes with an air lock rear axle, so you'll have a solid locked rear axle on demand.

Had a bud who hat this set up with his prerunner and really liked it.

Not 4WD, but way better than a conventional axle.

Virgil B.

It will. One of my four Yota's was a 2wd TRD (Wife's), and I never needed more than the diff lock to get out of anything, even on the beach. Of course, I never took it in the really bad places.

I had a 2010 2wd taco before I traded it in for my present 2012 4wd,it wasn't difficult to get stuck until I put 500 lbs in the back.

Fair enough. I don't see a problem with it, just don't see too many that aren't 4x4 anymore. I've had plenty of 2wd trucks. As long as you know what you're doing, you'll be fine.

Keep an eye on the frame for rust, especially where the springs attach. I know rust is a way of life for you in the north country, but having your frame rust out at 170K is not cool. It happened to my oldest son's 99, and it spent most of it's life in the south. He now drives a GMC.

Just got out of the dealer last night. I am trading my 2013 off on a new 2016.

Trading this one in on the second pic.

Mack, nice looking trucks. I have the big brother to your bronze Tacoma in a bronze colored Crewmax Tundra.

Have they released the engine specs for the new Taco yet?

3.5L V6 ATKINSON CYCLE WITH DUAL VVT-I, 278HP @ 6000RPM/265 LB-FT @ 4600RPM, 6-SPD AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION,
4WDEMAND: PART-TIME 4X4 SYS W/2-SPEED, &, ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED TRANSFER CASE, AUTOMATIC LIMITED-SLIP
DIFFERENTIAL, OFF-ROAD TUNED SUSP W/BILSTEIN SHCKS, LOCKING REAR DIFF; MULTI-TERRAIN SELECT, CRAWL CONTROL;
HILLSTART ASSIST CTRL,

16"MCHN CNTRST ALLOYS W/P265/70R16TIRES


Says 19 City and 24 Hwy

Good looking Yota and I would definitely keep the camper shell, not only does it look good but great for keeping things out of the weather.

Welcome to the club. I have a 2009 TRD Sport 4WD. Great trick overall. But I just found out that ISIS wants to steal my truck. Might need to buy a lo jack

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/these-toyota-trucks-are-strangely-popular-with-terrorists-%e2%80%94-heres-why/ar-AAfdpSX?li=AAa0dzB&ocid=iehp

I have an 09, Access cab,6 spd manual, just at 160K now, been good other than a front wheel bearing went at 140k. I put a topper on it as I travel with the dog, carry all manner of hunting & fishing stuff in there, sleep in it on fishing & hunting trips in all manner of weather.. Tow a 14ft boat or a 5x8 enclosed decoy trailer, no issues with either, way better than the 92 was in that regard.
I couldn't wrap my head around the TRD package, just an SR5.
I did put the ARB winch bumper and a Warn winch on it. The mount on these is complicated, not a simple one like my old 92 was. Had to put a levelling kit on it for that. Not cheap, but, I tend to go places when I need to when hunting, that a winch is sometimes a requirement. I put 275R75/16 on it, they kiss the frt flaps sometimes backing up, depending on the tire brand.

ARB's are nice and sturdy, and air bag compatible if you care about such things. I've got one on my 2002 double cab. Handles chit well. I whack all kinds of crap with it off road, and it's fine. Rear ended a Dodge Dakota years back with it. Screwed up the ass end of the Dodge pretty decently. Only damage to the ARB was a somewhat crushed bumper mount bracket (the crumple mount which makes it work right with air bags). Bought a new mount from ARB, and all was good as new. No damage to my truck.

Here's one on one of the 3rd gen Tacomas.



But with an ARB (or other heavy metal bumper), it's a lot of weight, and you'll need to start thinking about heavier springs up front to handle the weight and keep a nice driving truck that can handle the off road bumps. On mine, factory springs were 550 lbs. I'm now running 700lb springs on my King Coilovers. And it rides great and handles whatever I throw at it.

Thanks. the 278 HP is a boost over what the 4.0 put out, but I was hoping that they'd tweak the 3.5 to get closer the the output of the Chevy Colorado's 305 hp. Torque is pretty much identical between the Taco and Colorado.

On the other hand, Toyota seems to have pretty clean drivelines and get a decent percentage of their power to the wheels.

You can slice it, dice it or whatever, the Toyota will be alive and well when the Colorado is someone else's distant memory.

As a Toyota owner I won't argue that point, but for selling purposes, it would be nice if the performance was on par with the competition.