Man, I Need a Real Truck!!

[billb3]

You will be surprised what it takes to make a "real truck". I was in the market a little over a year ago for a new-ish truck under 20k. Knowing that I was someday going to be hauling wood I decided on a Toyota Tacoma crew cab based on value, mpg, payload, etc. I quickly found out that it was NOT a real truck. The rear springs are useless!

Even with four adults and a couple suitcases in the back I would hit the bump stops on anything but the most minor bump. I found the hard way that I was going to have to dish out $$$ to beef up the rear suspension and found the bed size to be impractical for hauling a lot of wood. A trailer would have to be my next purchase which would be even more $$$.

In light of the upcoming $20/gallon gas hike I made a decision that I am going to trade the Tacoma in for a 40mpg compact car. Between gas savings and the slightly lower car payment I will be saving $250 per month.

I have a line on a late 80's Chevrolet K30 dually dumptruck that has a rotted dump body and needs new front fenders and a rocker panel. My old man owns an auto repair shop so we will weld up a new dump body and have some fun fixing it up. Overall it will cost the same as it would by beefing up the Tacoma and buying a used trailer. Except now I'll be saving $250 per month and getting 40mpg! And I'll have a mean dumptruck that will tow/haul anything whenever I want!

If it had the TRD suspension and Bilsteins it wasn't made for hauling wood, it was made for climbing rocks.
Also can climb out of Providence pot holes where other trucks and cars disappear forever.

It turns out that the Tacoma is just not a truck when it comes to payload. I don't have the TRD package but it turns out Toyota has a TSB out for trucks under warranty. If your under warranty and complain enough they will give you new springs for the rear end, basically the same spring with a built-in helper. It just doesn't hold weight....period.

Just last weekend I had myself, my wife, and our son in the truck. I'm a little husky at 5'8 and 200lbs, and she weighs way less than me. Our son is only 5 months and weights in at a mighty 16lbs! Anyways we had an overnight bag and the diaper bag in the cab, and a used cheapy Walmart gas grill plus three bags of trash in the bed.......and it was squatting On some good bumps on the highway you could feel it bottoming out.

Unfortunately with the way they make trucks these days, unless you buy a full size 1/2+ ton truck....its not a truck. The 80's/90's Tacoma's, S-10's, etc are way heavier dutier than todays "mid-size" pickup trucks.

They used to be.
Toyota just bought mine (00) back for the frame rust problem.
Gave me 14K.

Don't think I'm using it on a new Tacoma. Really don't want a mid or full size and if I wanted a truck that drove like a car I'd buy a car.

Probably buy a tiny hatch back that sips gas and find a beater truck and register it just part of the year.
Maybe in a couple years Ford will sell the F100 here or Toyota will downsize the Tacoma.

 

[OhioBurner©]

Here's my wood hauler. 1985 F250 ex cab longbed 6.9 diesel. Best truck I ever had, Does everything I've asked of it.

[]

With a small load of oak.

[]

Love those old 6.9 IDI's. Not going to pull like the modern diesels but they work just fine and much simpler to fix. I know a few still around here with several hundred thousand on em and almost 30 years and still going strong.