I know that this is technically not a question about the outdoors but it does have to do with getting me places to fish. I have

[BamaCreekBum]

I know that this is technically not a question about the outdoors but it does have to do with getting me places to fish. I have decided that I want a newer model Toyota Tacoma.(2005 to 2009) I want a 4x4 with th TRD off road package. The question is should it be an extended cab or double cab? The bed is shorter on the double cab and I'm keeping my 1997 4Runner. What do you think?

[Jim in Mo]

I Think American.

[pascal]

Get the extended cab. It'll be less fuel consuming and easier to parallel park. If you are getting the v6, you might want the crew cab however since the v6 while already be light on fuel. But now isn't a great time to buy a foreign truck. It'll be more reliable, but if you bought american, such as a chevy or dodge, you can get some HUGE discounts right about now. Buy an 08 to 06. Don't buy new, as American cars have high decripitation (it'll be worth less when it's time to trade in, and new cars decripitate much faster than used cars. Don't forget to ask for the Carfax report. It'll tell you all about the history of the truck.

The bottom line is: get a used 08 to 06 chevy extended cab 4x4. It will haul more than a toyota, and take you and your boat to the water faster. You'll have some pocket change left to buy some cool bling for your truck, or a lot of lures. Get a v8 on it, and make sure that it has optional rwd.

[jay]

A full size chevy or ford will get just as good of gas mileage as the toyota. Small trucks with a v6 have very litte to no advantage over detroit v8 steel.

fyi, the toyota double cab has two bed length configurations. I believe the long bed is the same between the crew and extended cab

[rabbitpolice88]

I agree with Jim in MO, Get an American truck. Keep Americans working, have some pride in what you drive knowing that an American made the truck. I prefer Chevy Silverado it is a single cab 4wd and I get about 18 to 20 MPGs around town.

[buckhunter]

extended cab with longer bed.

[chuckles]

If you're carrying people a lot get the crew. If you haul stuff a lot in the bed and use the extended cab for tools, guns etc. it will do just fine but the extended cabs are not comfortable at all for people in the backseat.
I love my Silverado Crew Cab.

[BamaCreekBum]

I agree with the American made cars being heaper but Ive had bad experiances with American made trucks. I'm about to start college and I do not want to have to spend money on fixing a vehicle. I know the Toyota is reliable. My 4Runner has almost 150,000 miles and all I've done is change the oil. Also, the i-Force engines for Toyota are made within 30 miles of where I live. I'll be helping my local Alabamians. I also heard the prius will be made in the U.S. also. Just something to think about.

[BamaCreekBum]

I do drive a 2006 F-250(which is my dad's) and he owns three American made vehicles. Yukon(mom's car) old chevy which is the work truck and the Ford is for heavy stuff. So I'm not one of those guys who doesn't appreciate American made vehicles. Thanks for your answers.

[NolanOsborne]

Solid choice IMO, I looked at getting a tacoma, alot of money, and im about to go to school so i nixed that idea.

[ken.mcloud]

to the question-
get an extended cab, in my experience the beds on the D-Cab's are pretty much useless and they get pretty crappy gas mileage.

to rabbitpolice, jay, and jim in mo:

How exactly do you define "American"?

The Tacoma's are built in the NUMI plant in California (a UAW shop). An OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of the parts are made by US suppliers (a lot of them UAW shops also). The suspension, engine tuning, body work and various other American-specific parts are designed in Ann Arbor Michigan by American engineers. (most of them I personally know)

I haven't seen a study like this for the mid-size trucks, but consumer reports did a study where they tallied the % of parts that are actually built in the USA for all the major full size pick-ups. (i.e. building parts somewhere else and them shipping them here and assembling them doesn't count). Here's the ranking from most to least American:
1) Toyota Tundra
2) Chevy Silverado - a lot of Korean and Mexican parts
3) Ford F-150 - a lot of Canadian parts
4) Dodge Ram - a lot of Mexican parts

Having worked in the industry, I suspect a list for mid-size trucks would be very similar.

So what exactly do you mean by American? It can't be putting American laborers and engineers to work? It must just be that the company was started in our country? Or that it is our government who bails them out when they do a horrible job of running their company?

I drive an old Chevy, so I am by no means saying that everyone has to buy a Toyota. That being said, you are kidding yourself if you think that you are somehow helping America by buying a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge. It was probably true back in the 70's, but not anymore.

[jbird]

Bottom line is, the bottom dollar goes back to Japan. I suggest you do a little research and see how much money Toyota donated after 9-11. NOTHING! Ford, GM, and Dodge donated MILLIONS in money and vehicles. This after Toyota posted record sales the month before. Yeah, that's American. I'd also suggest you get on youtube and search "ford, chevy, dodge, toyota truck challenge". Watch a few of those videos, and see how well your beloved Jap-crap truck fares. It's ok for them to reap millions in profits off of us Americans, but when tragedy strikes, where are the foreign manufacturers? Google the CNN report on actual figures, then get back on here and talk about your definition of "American". please

[BamaCreekBum]

Bottom dollar does go to Japan. I agree. Then it goes to American workers. You can't argue against that. by the way, youtube can be biased. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean you have to call them crap. I asked a question and I appreciate the answers i got. I will most likely go with the extended cab of "Jap-crap" as you call it. Its a Japanese name but alot is made here. Also, I would bet that my 1997 4Runner will last longer than an 09 ram, silverado, or F150.

[jbird]

Guess you didn't watch the videos. That's 'real-time' video of the Toyota's bed almost falling off the f'n truck. Betcha' didn't check the CNN story either, huh? Cuz' the media loves the big 3 SOOO much, I'm sure they're biased too, right? And, I'll gladly take your bet against my F-150 w/ over 150,000 miles. Gladly.

[ken.mcloud]

jbird-

You messed with the wrong engineer on this one buddy.

first off, Bamacreekburn is asking about the tacoma, you are talking about the tundra.

Secondly, your beloved youtube video is of a phenomenon called resonance. It is also well known to be cooked up by the ford marketing department despite its "viral" appearance.

Now here is the bit that they didn't tell you, every truck ever made will do the same thing if you excite it at the proper frequency. This occurs when the the primary eigen mode (a.k.a. first resonant frequency) of the frame is excited by wheel input.

All the other trucks will do the exact same thing, just at different frequencies. So, they designed the speed they were going, and the spacing of the bumps to almost exactly match the primary eigen mode of the tundra's frame. If I were to run that road at a different speed (specially chosen to match the ford's resonant frequency) the ford's bed would "almost falling off the f'n truck", and the tundra would look like a rock star. Same with the chevy and the dodge, and every other truck ever made.

What you saw had nothing to do with the "toughness" of the truck, it was a carefully planned demonstration in vibrational dynamics specifically designed by ford marketing to attack the tundra because it was stealing so much of their market share.