Living with a 2wd standard cab pickup

[GIO]

I have been looking at a very basic 2 door 2wd standard cab Toyota Tacoma. I like the idea of having something super simple that will probably run forever. Money really isn’t an issue but we have been simplifying things over the past few years and shooting for early retirement so rather not drop 40-50k on a wiz bang quad cab rig. 

 

Wife has an SUV for the little ones and family trips. My main concern is Weather and storage. I live in the South so not much snow, mostly ice and some muddy roads headed to the range. 

Might just be feeling nostalgic but the thought of manual windows and a stick warms my heart. Also want to throw my smart phone out the window, play an “album” from start to finish and block all the cable news shows but that is another rant...

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated,

 

Gio 

[Mcfoto]

This was my desire but Grandma wanted backseats for the littles and since my truck’s main job is boat hauling, I was sold on 4wd for slippery boat ramps (which I haven’t needed once). I got a Tundra which two years in has been an add gas and drive machine. I was told the only 2 seat 2wd Tundras are sold in Texas where they are built. 

 

My my suggestion would look at places that specialize in work trucks (fleet sales). They mostly come in white but they usually have the stripped down versions.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Mcfoto

[Sarge]

You can order a Tacoma just like any other brand. A buddy ordered one because he wanted a standard transmission. I think it was 10-12 weeks wait 

[TonytheTiger]

2 hours ago, GIO said:

Might just be feeling nostalgic but the thought of manual windows and a stick warms my heart. Also want to throw my smart phone out the window, play an “album” from start to finish and block all the cable news shows but that is another rant... 

I'm not old enough to know what the "album" part means but the rest of that sounds great.

[GIO]

Tony - lol, they used to have these big round Frisbee looking things that Music came on. Bands would expect you to listen to the entire thing, read the lyrics and pass them down to your kid brother or haul them around in Milk crates until your future Wife makes you throw them out. Then when you hit 50 you want to re-buy them all...And a crappy little pickup with a stick shift.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone.

[Beef15]

I have a fullsize regular cab truck.

 

Times it sucks: I have a young child, taking the whole family more than a couple hours one way is lame, taking a couple grown men more than a couple miles starts getting cramped. Going anywhere that requires more than a back pack of stuff and encountering precipitation, the inconvenience is exponentially increased by passengers.

 

Mine is 4WD, times I'm glad to be able to get out and lock the hubs: when driving any direction other than straight ahead with steady speed on any sort of slope on wet grass or mud, sure it'll probably go, but it will be shredding a lawn or making ruts, of course it is handy for the occasional ice and/or snow.

 

Times I've been glad I have a standard cab: When I bought it it saved me about $10k, that is the only advantage it has ever had over an extended or quad cab. I bought it thinking it would keep me from carrying around junk I don't need all the time, it probably does, but I have pretty much regretted the standard cab ever since.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Beef15

[GIO]

Thank you Beef15. Good points to consider. 

 

[rishii]

I owned that truck, a Toyota 2wd, 4 speed manual, crank windows with the 4 cylinder 22r engine

low maintenance and simple that I could fix it myself

replaced it with 4wd, 5 speed manual, extend cab

the 4wd I never needed it until I did

the 5 speed stick is my anti theft device because the kids now days don’t know how to drive one

and the extend cab is great, not quite big enough to hold an adult, but it big enough to hold groceries, jackets and the other stuff that won’t fit behind the seat of a standard cab 

[revoman]

I own all 4-wheel drive vehicles and I always remember what my dad told me. “It is better to have and not need than to need and not have” Saved my bacon a number of times when caught in blizzards and 4-wheel was the only things getting around.