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Which midsize truck to buy?

Fester

Fester

Active Member
I need to buy a used extended cab work/personal truck. I'm looking for something 2000 or newer and less than $18,000. It needs to have decent off road capabilities. I'm thinking of a Dodge Dakota or a Toyota Tacoma. I like the idea of having a V8 because I will need to use it to pull a trailer occasionally. The Tacoma is probably more capable off road and will get better mileage though. ?

I see some of you on here have Tacoma's.........what do you think?
Any Dakota owners?

Thanks.
 
H-K

H-K

INFIDEL
Supporting Member
Location
SLC UT, USA
Fester said:
I need to buy a used extended cab work/personal truck. I'm looking for something 2000 or newer and less than $18,000. It needs to have decent off road capabilities. I'm thinking of a Dodge Dakota or a Toyota Tacoma. I like the idea of having a V8 because I will need to use it to pull a trailer occasionally. The Tacoma is probably more capable off road and will get better mileage though. ?

I see some of you on here have Tacoma's.........what do you think?
Any Dakota owners?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

If I wanted it to last, I'd get a Tacoma. If it had a full warranty and I wasn't planning on keeping it after the warranty runs out, I'd expand my selection to other makes, possibly Ford or Chev. I had a '96 Tacoma and it was a damn good truck. I beat the hell out of it in Moab many times and it was very resilient and very capable, relative to other vehicles with the limited mods it had. The only problem I had with it was the cab rusted on one side where the body mounts are. The pucks (2" lift) ended up punching through the cab. However, I think this was some kind of freak-isolated-incident-phenomenon-thing as I've never heard of anybody else having this kind of problem. I'd buy another one and in fact, I'm considering buying another sometime next year.

Mods tacoma had: 2" body lift with sheetmetal trimmed to fit 33x10.50 Thornbirds...not much

As far as towing goes, I think the 6 cyl does okay, but you might wish you had more power on those hills.
 
81Ramchargerman

81Ramchargerman

Registered User
Location
idaho falls
Y the Taco over the Tundra???

Just to clarify...that is what I would recommend...don't have any personal experience with them persay, but they are a damn nice truck...
 
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KToy

KToy

Well-Known Member
Location
Herriman, UT
i got 15 average in the tundra. i get 14 average in the sequioa.

towing i got 10 in the tundra and 9 in the sequioa. the tundra pulled better.

i towed my rockcrawler which is 6000 pounds with the trailer to moab and never went less than 65 MPH. it towed awsome and it stops well too.

tows just as good if not better than my father in laws 3/4 ton gmc.
 
H-K

H-K

INFIDEL
Supporting Member
Location
SLC UT, USA
AtTiLiA said:
well actually i would buy a tundra over a taco anyday. i loved my tundra.
Click to expand...

Tundras are nice trucks, I just don't have any experience with them. I have two friends who just bought '05s and they like them, but as far as longevity, reliablility, capability, they can't speak much to that yet...
 
TRD270

TRD270

Emptying Pockets Again
Supporting Member
Location
SaSaSandy
Tundra's are great until you have to foot the bill to replace the starter, it's under the intake. Ohh auto only no thanks. Tacoma is the way to go Dakota's are pieces of ****.
 
T

TOYchris

constant changes
Location
Provo, UT
mid size truckq

how big of a trailer will you be pulling? If I were you, I would check out the 4-cyl taco's too. The 2.7 is a good engine, and will get better mileage than the 3.4. But if you need the power, I can see the v6 being the only option. Then you can trd supercharge or STS turbocharge it! I know some people are always pro-bigger engine, but if you need a truck to drive back and forth to work and occasionaly pull a small trailer- I would rather have the gas money!

just my opinion.
 
Fester

Fester

Active Member
I need to pull a couple of 4-wheelers and possibly up to 4 occassionally so the 4 is out.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I love my '01 V6 Taco... I haven't really towed anything with it, but I think it would do pretty good with a couple 4wheelers behind it. 4 of them & a trailer might be alot, but I think it could still manage.

I get about 18-20 MPG with a manual & I don't drive slow. The 3.4l is really impressive.
 
KToy

KToy

Well-Known Member
Location
Herriman, UT
with my 96 taco i towed 2 dirtbikes in the truckbed. then a trailer with 2 4wheelers and 2 dirtbikes at 85 no problem. the v6 can tow like 4500 pounds.
 
Fester

Fester

Active Member
Thanks for all of the info. I'm going to start looking for something next week and I'll probably start with used Taco's. Anything I should watch for? Did all of them have a selectable locker in the rear or was that an option?
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Yep, only in TRD Tacos. Not sure what year the TRD package was first available, but the older ones don't have the option.

Want to buy my '01 Taco? I paid $17k... books at $14k, will sell at $14k.

:eek:
 
Fester

Fester

Active Member
Lets have some details. Miles, trans., condition, locker, options, etc.?

I would like an extended cab, 5 speed, fairly low miles (under say 60 or 70k), locker, and I'd prefer white black or silver, but I guess gold would work.

I still need to drive a couple of different rigs to see what I want. I've never even sat in a Taco so I'd need to do so before deciding on yours. I'm also starting to consider a full size becuase of the amount of equipment I need to carry and to be able to tow another rig in the future.
 
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