Birdy. If you stay away from top of the line optioned out luxury models of the Tacoma, you can find really nice samples in your price range.
2WD, single cab four cylinder 5 speed manual trucks go for half the price of fancy four door V6 models, and the four banger will get 25 MPG.
Today, the Tacoma I4 makes 159 HP. The Toyota pickups I owned through the '80s and '90s only made 95 to 100 HP. Yet I was able to drive them up the steepest Idaho mountain roads loaded with four dirt bikes, half a dozen rifles, two burly men, and enough food, beer, soda, fuel cans, and camping gear to get four of us through a three day weekend.
And on many occasions my Toyotas came home from the hills loaded with 1/2 cord of wet juniper and another 1/2 cord on the trailer behind.
In a couple minutes on Autotrader.com I found an 07 Tacoma 4 cyl 5 speed standard cab with 70K on the meter for $10,500. At your budget you could get quite a bit newer and or throw in 4WD in case you find a mudhole on you adventures.
If you have cameras, optics, and guns you wish to keep under lock. I would advise an extended cab.
While my experience is with Toyotas, and I love them. My daily driver is a 92 Toyota PU. But everything I said about the Toyota is also true of the Nissan Frontier, if you can find one. Demand is lower on the used Nissan, and they usually sell lower than the Toyota.
