Tacoma Confessions

[CBone]

Just a note on the FWC option with a Tacoma. I've got a 2013 Taco, 4 door and a FWC on the back. We love it for all the reasons Robbie mentioned. It's great to be up off the ground, warm and dry and for those reasons, we can camp more comfortably year-round. Nothing better than waking up to fresh snow, sitting in a heated camper, eating your oatmeal and then heading out for a day of cross-country skiing or whatever your preference is.

Also happy to show you my setup Robbie if you want to see options.

 

[AxleIke]

I have a really dumb question, sorry:

I'm having trouble understanding the tow ratings: ie: 6500 lbs for the 2nd and third gens.

Does that mean total weight, or tongue weight? For example, could you tow a car hauler with a 3500-4000 lb rock crawler on the back with a taco? I realize it wouldn't do 80 up vail pass, but would you be asking too much of the drive train? Trailer would obviously be braked.

And, from that video, it would seem that the second gen would be better for towing, since the torque peak is at a much lower RPM. Seems like with the third, you'd be just sitting at 4k the whole time, which isn't much fun from a tiredness standpoint (I find a ton of noise in a vehicle to be wearing on longer journeys). Plus, you can supercharge the 4.0, which would probably help with the passes.

Just curious, thanks.

 

[DaveInDenver]

The tow rating is based on GVW, combined trailer and cargo. For my 2008 it's 3500 normally or 6500 with the towing package. Tongue weight is 650 lbs, which is the minimum recommended ration of 10% of GVW. If your trailer is lighter then you may choose to increase tongue weight up to 650 lbs. Not sure how a weight distributing hitch factors in here.

In Colorado the weight that requires trailer brakes is 3000 lbs. I don't think my truck came with a controller even though it does have the trailer package, which appears to me to be the factory receiver hitch and a 7-pin connector. I think the 3500 lbs is the bumper hitch.

So yes, in theory, a car hauler and a crawler may be within a Tacoma's ratings. I would think just barely but I dunno. Of course the question is would this be comfortable, probably not. And whether it's really safe is in my mind questionable. At 6500 lbs the trailer would outweigh the Tacoma by almost 1000 lbs.

Also the ratings AFAIK don't differ between A/T and M/T, although from my experience even 2,000 lbs with a stick is asking it to do a bit much. Not that it can't but 1st isn't really low enough IMHO to get the weight moving on a regular basis without wearing out your clutch. But that's just my observation, no real experience.

 

[powderpig]

Been a bit since I have been reading this, Thanks Cbone. I will take you up on it, in the near future. Waiting to see what will happen with VW and all that stuff. Then will look at when they will want to buy back, I am thinking it will not happen till fall. Drove the Baby Dmax again a couple weeks ago. Really like the package, and if the new ones have the 8speed auto for 2017, that will be real sweet for helping with Fuel Economy.
Then it will be looking at Campers, Crazy how many different companies make slide in for Trucks. I even found one that will set you back about 60k for the Tacoma and Colorado size
truck(it even gets real crazy for the big trucks and I am not talking about the earth roamers).
I guess in America, one can get anything they want with enough credit, or :-(
I personally can not see the prices people are paying for the Tacoma and similar sized trucks(yes, I know i am looking at the cost on the Colorado as well). But even what I am seeing for used prices these days, it is just nuts what people want for used pieces of junk, with a Toyota name attached to it. And only a few vehicles have I seen prices that high prices are justified.

 

[OilHammer]

I personally can not see the prices people are paying for the Tacoma and similar sized trucks. But even what I am seeing for used prices these days, it is just nuts what people want for used pieces of junk, with a Toyota name attached to it.

Sounds a lot like most people's opinions on Colorado real estate, which is absolutely true if the bottom falls out right after you bought at the top. If the market continues upward, then your best bet to minimize paying, is to lease that Tacoma. (I've probably posted this before, but don't feel like searching for it.)
You may very well end up 2-3yrs down the road with equity, or at the very least, a small sum of money per year spent. That game generally doesn't apply to Chevy, just the Japanese popular models.

I had never leased a car before last year, but when I really sat down and ran the math, we are paying something like $100/yr in interest. The depreciation schedule to me, was very reasonable, and something I would have had in a buy situation too. The very best part of leasing to me, is being able to walk away if the car is damaged. The lease companies take a risk that you won't have Carfax logs and the corresponding depreciation...but a few seasons of hail here and you quickly realize that's a loser's bet.
One more point....leasing on a brand new model is also a good idea. It's a good way to get out of a lemon of a new car if they turn out to have rotting frames and the used market won't touch them at the premium price.

So, take a look at the MF (money factor) and the depreciation and see if a Lease deal makes sense.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Can you do modifications on a lease?

I'd pay cash if it was me. Which is what I did and why I ended up with a 7 year old Tacoma. But it only had 42K on it when I bought it! I don't like financing any depreciating asset and barely like financing one that's appreciating.

Which reminds me, don't leases come with fairly stiff mileage penalties? I'm putting on average about 1K on my truck per month. It's just so much less stressful on the highway that we're driving all over the danged place now. It's already been to Seattle, Moab, Phoenix, Omaha and will be ticking off New Orleans and St. Louis later this year as well as perhaps Albuquerque.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Just a note on the FWC option with a Tacoma. I've got a 2013 Taco, 4 door and a FWC on the back. We love it for all the reasons Robbie mentioned. It's great to be up off the ground, warm and dry and for those reasons, we can camp more comfortably year-round. Nothing better than waking up to fresh snow, sitting in a heated camper, eating your oatmeal and then heading out for a day of cross-country skiing or whatever your preference is.

Also happy to show you my setup Robbie if you want to see options.

Carlton, we need pics..

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

well I am back.. Been thinking about this a lot, the darker gray is really growing on me and I am seeing all the colors all over town lately.

Since I am going to change out the wheels and go with bigger tires, I think I will want a 3" lift vs the 1" with the TRD PRO.

Also I will want towing package, sun roof, technical package, etc.. Funny the only thing I don't care about is the leather seats.

So I think I may get the TRD Sport with a bunch of stuff.. I may have to order, exactly what I want.

Have you seen this bumper? Insain's super cool.. I am leaning toward this. ToyTec carries them.

Hope Christo has made his Slee step sliders by this fall for the 3rd Gens.

 

[CBone]

Here ya go Chris. And Robbie, happy to provide interior shots if you're interested. I purchased a shell and outfitted it based on experience and lots of travel and nights in the camper, including building cabinets to hold camping gear and a dinette that converts into a nice twin bed, in addition to the queen-sized bed "upstairs".

These pics should probably go in a Trip Report, but this is from this past weekend. Since the mountains get so crowded on three day weekends, we headed to the prairie, had a great time.

 

[CBone]

And you know it was a good weekend when it pains you to pull into the driveway, but your rig looks like this

 

[LXBRADY]

Cbone, that is one cool set up.

 

[rover67]

Bad to the C-Bone?

 

[OilHammer]

Can you do modifications on a lease?

I don't like financing any depreciating asset and barely like financing one that's appreciating.

Which reminds me, don't leases come with fairly stiff mileage penalties? I'm putting on average about 1K on my truck per month. .

Everything is negotiable in a lease if you go to a broker (I recommend Centennial leasing). We wound up with a 3 yr lease at .000013 MF with 12k mile/yr allowance and their residual value was high. Those 4 things are key to a lease making sense or not. If you would buy new anyway, those rates make leasing work. If you buy used, they may not. It's just a math game. What I did, was look at used "x" 3yrs old and saw what they were selling for and used that as the market depreciation. The lease company was spot on, so I figured at a .3% interest rate to lease instead of zero for buying was a worthwhile risk. Remember, you are only financing your depreciation, NOT the whole car. So payments are less overall, and the lease company now assumes risk to car value should something happen to it (hail, flood, wreck). Our mileage penalty is something like .15 cents a mile. So if you go over by 9k miles, you pay out $1,350 at the end of the lease. Well, 9k miles hits depreciation about a grand on a car you own, so pretty much a wash.

This sounds like a thread derail, but it's not. A tacoma or 4 runner are some of the only cars that hold residual value enough that a lease option might make sense. Mike told me that most of his Toyota turn-ins came back with equity...meaning at the end of the lease, they pay YOU to take the car back or you have the option to buy out the lease and sell it yourself.

 

[AxleIke]

Wow, really good info on the lease option. Thanks! Always was told not to and I never bothered to do the math.

 

[OilHammer]

There's a bunch of stuff to a lease that isn't talked about too much. For example, if you own brand x and it happens to compete with brand Y, sometimes brand Y will give you cash discounts to lease theirs. Dealers don't typically disclose that info, which is why you go to a broker.

 

[MDH33]

I dig that setup Carlton. Especially now that we're doing 3000 mile family trips just to see mountains and desert! Hmm, Want to trade for a nicely built 60 series? Nooo. Will be keeping the cruiser. But Kim has been thinking about trading in the Tundra for a new Tacoma. Might have to start looking at those campers too.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Thanks Carlton! Those pics are awesome. yes more please and interior..

How hard would it be to drop the camper at a camp site for a few days and wheel? Would it be worth it or too much hassle?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Thanks Carlton! Those pics are awesome. yes more please and interior..

How hard would it be to drop the camper at a camp site for a few days and wheel? Would it be worth it or too much hassle?

This is crux of bed mounted campers. We're trying to add a small tent trailer to our fleet because of this. After 15 years WilderNesting we'd like to be able to set up and lave camp to drive the truck.

The Four Wheel Campers I think are just held in with 4 turnbuckles and jacks can be fitted to load and unload the camper. But I'm not sure it's designed to be used stand-alone like that. It may not be stable if you crawl up into the over-cab part and the floor may need to be resting on the truck bed for support.

 

[nakman]

I think the whole setup outside the bed would be pretty rickety, don't think you'd want to even jump in the back with it only on those legs. Certainly for sleeping you'd want to back the truck back under it.. I honestly don't think it's that practical- outside of Slickrock CG it'll be tough to find a level spot where you'd want to deploy the landing gear, and level enough to be able to lift it high enough to ease the truck out from under the camper. I could see a back tire hitting a hole or rock and just shifting the bed right into the camper, like trying to put a boat on a trailer in the waves.

the whole beauty of that setup is the simplicity- put a rock under the low tire, set the parking brake, commence camp out. If you want to leave the camp behind and take the truck out then drag your trailer, or just set up a tent.

 

[Blindranger]

Im pretty sure that the floor needs to be supported so once off the truck you cannot stand inside the camper if its up in the air.