I’m looking to buy an extra cab, 4x4 truck for short, no more than 1 week, fishing trips. I’ll be towing a small boat for fishing the bays off the coast of Oregon. I’m a little over 6 feet tall, so I’ll need something big enough so I can sleep comfortably in the back. My main criteria are fuel efficiency and reliability. I’ve made a short list and here are the trucks I came up with:

1. 4 cylinder Tacoma
2. 6 cylinder Tacoma
3. T100
4. 1st gen. pickup, late 80’s, v6 or 4

I like the body style of the 1st gen. pickups the best, but I’m not sure if the v6 has enough power or fuel economy. So, I would also consider an engine swap – taking out the stock engine and replacing it with a 4 cylinder Tacoma, but I haven’t done any research on the cost or possibility.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jay

 

I'd get a 6 cylinder tacoma. I got my 95 extended cab last month for $3600 and even though I have put a few thousand extra dollars into it it could have ran great w/o anything extra.
It has a ton more power than a 4cyl and a lot more than a 6 cyl older pickup. It tows great and I have got no less than 18 mpg and as high as 21 mpg over the last couple thousand miles.

 

my buddy has a 96 taco 3.slow, and its got way more power than my 4 cyl.
he sometimes sleeps in the back of his truck when we go camping. he is 6'2" and makes it work... just gotta drop the tailgate to make room.

 

I like the newer tacos with the 3.4, more than enough power in such a small truck. 3.slow is to slow imho, and the 4cyl has like no power but great economy.

I drive a T100 3.4 and while it does have some pep it is somewhat slow, but it being a larger truck HD truck I dont mind. I could have bought countless fords that were a bit bigger and had more power but 12mpg hwy doesnt appeal to me.

If I had to do it all over again I would look into a used tundra, or probably a taco if I didnt need the bed capacity the bigger yotas offer.