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Build Thread: Sixstringsteve's 2002 Tacoma double cab: Carlos

sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
Or I could just keep this truck and keep enjoying a rig that'll go anywhere at 17-18 mpg and still do 85 mph on the freeway.
 
Box Rocket

Box Rocket

bored
Location
Syracuse, Utah
I've had a bunch of different rigs and my '03 taco has been the most versatile. I think you should keep this one. I'm with you, rockcrawling is not the primary focus for me and my Tacoma does the "overland" and camping stuff so well and gets acceptable mpg while doing it. And when there is some rockcrawling, it actually handles that way better than I ever thought it would.
 
L

LT.

Well-Known Member
Location
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Six-

I have enjoyed your builds and have often wondered when you were going to tire of this rig and build another one. It seems to me like you have held onto this one longer than most. Just like you I also dream of building another rig and often wonder what I would build. Buggy, expedition rig, stock ect, ect, ect. What I keep coming back to is that my current rig doesn't get used as much as it should. Why replace it when I don't use it often enough? I guess my point is that, sometimes we just need to be content with what we do have. Be happy with the memories while building, and wheeling. A new build sounds enticing from time to time but, if the current rig works, why replace it?

I have groaned thinking about the money I have spent building a rig just to turn around and sell it for less than the sum of the parts. Keep what you have. Honestly, what could be better/more usable than what you have already?

LT.
 
N-Smooth

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
I like that you're comfortable with the whole not caring about "crawling" deal even though it is a shame. I'm all about trying different vehicles until you find the right one. If nothing else, it gives the rest of us reading material from your build threads and then we can laugh when you sell that vehicle and move on.

I'm honestly amazed that I've had my jeep for 5 years this month. The little thing just keeps going and not requiring too much $$$ to keep me interested. As long as you're having a good time with the vehicle you have, maybe keeping it is the right choice...?
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
xj_nate said:
I like that you're comfortable with the whole not caring about "crawling" deal even though it is a shame. I'm all about trying different vehicles until you find the right one. If nothing else, it gives the rest of us reading material from your build threads and then we can laugh when you sell that vehicle and move on.

I'm honestly amazed that I've had my jeep for 5 years this month. The little thing just keeps going and not requiring too much $$$ to keep me interested. As long as you're having a good time with the vehicle you have, maybe keeping it is the right choice...?
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My truck is just fine. I think I just get bored in the winter and want a change of weather, and instead change my vehicle. The only rig that would be better for me is a newer one, and even that is debatable. I just don't need something as built as this, but I'm realizing it doesn't hurt too bad to have it built up like this. Worst case scenario, I'm always prepared for whatever trail is ahead of me.

I bounce around hobbies even more than vehicles, and I'm always thinking of the perfect vehicle for my current hobby. I think that drives a lot of my vehicle sales. If I sold this, I don't even know what I'd get, so that's a good sign not to sell it. It's a great vehicle. I haven't put a cent into it for 8 months, and I know it'll go 8 years without needing anything major (except maybe a steering rack).
 
TJDukit

TJDukit

I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S.
Location
Clearfield
Funny you say you don't need one as built as Carlos. In the end it's such a mild yet capable build that allows you to do pretty much any kind of wheeling your heart desires. It's not over built for much when you look at it. For the type of rig it really is it seems like it's built perfect. You can wheel some of the more difficult trails in Moab if you want to thrash it or travel the swell and leave you not worrying if you are capable enough.

Even if you built another rig I bet you would regret selling Carlos simply because you aren't limited to the mild trails you are more interested in. Being more interested in the mild trails isn't a bad thing but in the off chance you get invited or have an itch to do a more difficult trail that is right in line or maybe at the limit or Carlos you can do it without worry.

Personally in your spot I don't see the logic in doing another build for some of the following reasons.

It does what you want it to do really well.

It does things you aren't so much interested in anymore really well as well.

It will even do some tougher rated trails you might not see yourself doing right now but might end up doing again anyway pretty well.

It gets you down the highway at a decent mileage pretty well(better than my Jeep)

It's new enough to not worry about the mileage(I think) it is a Toyota after all and will see many more miles.

Number one reason is you love this rig more than plenty of your previous rigs because it suits you and your wheeling style better. I'm sure you still love to get out and ride in a buggy or a well built rig with someone just like any of us would but you love this truck and it has served you better than any of the rigs you have owned since I've known you as well as the ones before I've known you.

To me Carlos suits you perfectly even if it's the small part of me that knows you will want to do more difficult trails again eventually at some point down the road(that's just me and my "if I dont have to be afraid of body damage it's not fun" mentality speaking though)

If none of this makes sense you can blame it on the 6 pack of high quality non-Utah beer I've had tonight.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
TJDukit said:
Funny you say you don't need one as built as Carlos. In the end it's such a mild yet capable build that allows you to do pretty much any kind of wheeling your heart desires. It's not over built for much when you look at it. For the type of rig it really is it seems like it's built perfect. You can wheel some of the more difficult trails in Moab if you want to thrash it or travel the swell and leave you not worrying if you are capable enough.

Even if you built another rig I bet you would regret selling Carlos simply because you aren't limited to the mild trails you are more interested in. Being more interested in the mild trails isn't a bad thing but in the off chance you get invited or have an itch to do a more difficult trail that is right in line or maybe at the limit or Carlos you can do it without worry.

Personally in your spot I don't see the logic in doing another build for some of the following reasons.

It does what you want it to do really well.

It does things you aren't so much interested in anymore really well as well.

It will even do some tougher rated trails you might not see yourself doing right now but might end up doing again anyway pretty well.

It gets you down the highway at a decent mileage pretty well(better than my Jeep)

It's new enough to not worry about the mileage(I think) it is a Toyota after all and will see many more miles.

Number one reason is you love this rig more than plenty of your previous rigs because it suits you and your wheeling style better. I'm sure you still love to get out and ride in a buggy or a well built rig with someone just like any of us would but you love this truck and it has served you better than any of the rigs you have owned since I've known you as well as the ones before I've known you.

To me Carlos suits you perfectly even if it's the small part of me that knows you will want to do more difficult trails again eventually at some point down the road(that's just me and my "if I dont have to be afraid of body damage it's not fun" mentality speaking though)

If none of this makes sense you can blame it on the 6 pack of high quality non-Utah beer I've had tonight.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. Carlos is the perfect rig for me. I just get bored in the winter time. I'm not wanting to build another rig, that's for sure, but I know I wouldn't be able to leave a stock vehicle alone. I just wish I got 4 mpg better, and drove like a stock truck around town and on the freeway. That being said, I really only daily drive this rig in the winters, and in the summer the mpg won't really matter since I'll only use it for camping.
 
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sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
After driving my truck to work today, I think the only thing I'd like more than my truck is the newer taco, and even then I'm not sure if I'd prefer it. Looking on fuelly, they'd only get me 2-3 mpg better, so I don't think it's cost beneficial.
 
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cruiseroutfit

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
Lets assume they do get 3mpg better (which is optimistic based on my experience traveling with similarly built/loaded 2nd gen Tacoma's, our fuel stops are within a ~gallon) but let's go with 14mpg and 17mpg just to be fair. Let's further assume you drive the truck 10k miles per year (which is a comfortable estimate but likely high considering you have a dd?). Furthermore, let's assume the new truck with even a light build is going to cost $5k more than the value of your current truck. It would take just over 13 years for the fuel to payoff. Drive more miles and the time goes down proportionately, spend more on a new truck and of course the fuel savings could stretch into the 20+ year range. I laugh at that reasoning.

I know you and I have had this discussion in the past but I just can't see the merit or value in my life of spending so much time building something, just to move it on to the next guy. Not only are the hard costs and important factor but my time is even more so... I've got hundreds of hours into the 100 Series and until I have hundreds of trips accomplished with it, I don't even want to consider something else or at least not selling it to start something else (always a fan of keeping them :D). I've got my Tacoma soft-listed to a few interested parties and I'm still almost hesitant to send it to a new home because it has been such a killer truck and it is dialed, to repeat that with another truck could cost $10-15k on top of the purchase price. The opportunity costs lost by spending Saturday's in the garage or weeknights rushing to get done for a trip are not something I'm willing to endure. Too many places to see and go to always be building the 'perfect rig' or the 'rig that will get me out'. Obviously this isn't aimed at you entirely (you do get out a bunch) rather more of a rhetorical conversation about the buy/build/sell/buy/build/buy/build/sell/sell cycle that I see so many go through. I get the 'thrill of the build' but don't let your excuse be "if I had xyz build I would get out more" :D
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
agreed, good info Kurt. I don't feel like I'd get out more in a different rig, I'm getting out as much as I can. My "getting" out is changing though. I don't foresee any rock crawling or even much 4lo in the next year. But, with only using it about 6-8k a year, it doesn't really matter if I'm driving a 4x4 in 2hi most of the time. The effort to sell this, search for a new rig, and then fix all the PM stuff the previous owner neglected, is exhausting just thinking of it.

I don't want to build another rig, I hate the time and expense it takes and I don't need anything bigger than 30-31" tires. I just think I could get by with a stock rig from now on. That being said, it'd still probably cost me more money just to get into a stock rig only to get roughly the same MPG. The only thing I would gain is highway manners and everything being stock. There's a certain simplicity that comes from a rig being close to stock (probably more in my head than anything).

If I could trade my current truck for a stock 2nd gen double cab taco in great shape, I probably would. However, this is my baby and it's never left me stranded at all. I would only be gaining freeway and around town manners, and I would be losing a lot of capability if I ever decided I needed it.
 
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