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Toyota Tacoma vs. Ford Ranger, Part XII
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You have friends???? (j/k)
I am seriously considering one next year, and I would love to hear your experiences!
Also if you have the cap for the back what do you think of that too would help.
Here's something I noticed at the dealer - they had a nice double-cab with a cap on it, but I noticed that the bedliner was under the rail, and I'd really only want one with an over the rail bedliner. So my real question is:
Does anyone also have a cap with an above the rail bedliner? The dealer said it may make some noise when your driving because the seal isn't that tight, but I don't believe him. Anyone have this setup? Thanks!
I'm happy to say I still have, still like it, and have had NO PROBLEMS with it.
Let me repeat that for the Toy crowd: I HAVE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS WITH THIS RANGER IN SIX MONTHS AND 8500 MILES!
Gas mileage has been a consistent 17-18 MPG, and most driving is high-speed highway.
In comparing this Ranger to the 1999 Tacoma I had, I would favor the Ranger in the following areas: Ergonomics, seats, stereo, transmission, ride and rear doors. The Tacoma gets the nod for: engine sounds and wind noise. Everything else is a wash IMHO.
BTW- Changing the oil and filter is a pure pleasure compared to the Tacoma. There are NO skid plates getting in the way. Yes, I do have the skid plate package from Ford. The oil pan and filter are WAAAAY up in there, and skid plates are not needed under the pan. the filter is right next to the pan, and hangs straight down, so you don't have oil dripping all over the place when you remove the filter. SWEET!
My Taco is nearing 1 year old (10 month), with 19K miles, highway, city and weekend offroading. And I have absolutely no problems with my Tacoma. None of tbunders' water in the cab when it rains, rattle in the dash, etc.
One question: how fast do you drive on freeway to get 17-18mpg?
I've ridden in a Ranger once...2WD from the looks of it, probably the cheapest model, from a rental company. It had obnoxious yellowish plush interior, looked really cheap and felt cheap. But my grudge with Ford is not just because of Rangers: it seems that Fords' ideology is "Get them out the door first, work out the bugs later". It shows up every year.
And changing oil on Tacoma isnt that bad at all. Yes.....you have to remove the skidplate (Oh my god!!!! You mean I have to turn wrenches just to change oil?!?!? Grow up, will ya. If you don't want to get down and dirty with your truck, take it to Jiffy Lube and let some 17yo highschool dropout do it for you) if you want to do things right, otherwise you may get oil in the skidplate. Filter is easily accessible from the drivers side wheel well: just remove the inner resin cover, and filter is right there, you don't have to be a contortionist and try to get to it from below.
But I'll give Ford that much credit: they designed it easy, from the sound of it.
Its not that I mind wrenching on my vehicles when required, but Ford has clearly demonstrated that there are alternatives to NEEDING skid plates that have what, EIGHT bolts holding them on that MUST be removed to change the oil. Its not about wrenching, its about TIME! SHEEEEZ! What's up with the ATTITUDE?? No need to respond like a butthead!
Anyway, my oil/filter changes now take about 1/2 the time as on the Tacoma, and are cleaner to boot.
I am a student at MSU school of Chem Engineering, and school is gonna kick my [non-permissible content removed] here for a few years. I don't know when I said that I wanted to take you on in a prerunner, thats suicide, but you still said you'd outwheel a 4x4 trd and thats BS. Anyway, I am quite surprised that Im not any hotter over this so i guess its not as big a deal to me anymore. I am serious as a heart attack about doing it in about 3 years,though, when I take a break from school. Im taking a huge road trip and your place can definitely be one of the stops. We'll bet a steak on it.
Just a reminder that every Thursday you can join the Subaru Crew for a chat session from 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET. Stop in to talk about Subaru or just to say hello!... Hope to see you there!!
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as for gas milage: not too bad, not too great either. I get 19.5 or so when I stick to 70 average speed, 18 when I drive 80 all the time.
I don't actually recall the gas mileage I got on my '99 Tacoma, but it was never over 20. I will also freely admit to having a lead foot, which doesn't help gas mileage, but I sure like surprising some of those "sporty" cars when the lights turns green.
BTW- we also have a 2001 Expedition that we've had for 19 months and 18K miles. No problems with it either.
Toyota = No problems in 85,000 miles
Ranger = No problems in 8,500 miles
I kill me!
1988 Ranger - 161,000 miles. Total repairs = radiator, water pump, transmission seal.
2001 Tacoma - 20,000 miles. No repairs.
I will drive the Ranger over the Taco everytime if it's available because it's more comfortable, more powerful, better A/C, rides better, handles better and fits the driver better. Everybody else does too, which is why it's always out.
The Taco is reliable, no question, but so is the Ranger, and it's a hellova nicer truck.
Anybody who doesn't like Fords, just hasn't owned a Ranger. IMHO
I out grew the Ranger and my father is now using it as a daily driver.. My current truck is an F250 SuperDuty.. (dang, one problem.. Idle Air Control at 31k miles), currently has 45k miles on it..
So, I guess my SuperDuty isn't quite as good as the Ranger I had (because of the IAC fixed under warranty), but is definately not a problem or unreliable vehilce.
Too bad Yankees don't design Jeeps anymore. Now, the Germans do it....
pluto- funny how you failed to mention the wrangler tied the tacoma-- and what's this? it wasn't even locked? a non-locked vehicle tying a locked tacoma? now that isn't quite fair is it? oh yeah, in your eyes it probably is. you'd have to be a liberal thinker to live down there, eh?
sad- ill be waiting. seriously. no hard feelings. go look at a liberty and just open the door and climb inside. listen to the solid clunk the doors make when closed. it's a little sherman tank. you'll see what i mean. heck, drive one. for $20G's, you can have yourself a base model with the 210 horse power monger V6, a/c, 5-spd, 4wd, and a real transfer case with direct connection. a no brainer for me when comparing your 2wd to this. add some real tires and call it a day. just my opinions though.
Time to tone it down a bit and move on
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However, the wrangler is really a purpose-built vehicle. It doesn't have nearly the versatility that the Tacoma (or any other compact pickup) has.
Hope to see you all in the playground that is my back yard...............Steelman.
03 Tacos get std abs, no official word on the throttle by wire as of yet.
truly an awesome vehicle. best looking jeep ever built imo.
interestingly enough, the Rubicon comes stock with 245/75/16 tires. the same exact size stock off-road equipped rangers get. 30.7 inches tall, just like the 265/70/16 the tacoma gets, but just a little thiner. and it gets the new goodyear mt/r's. a wicked looking tire. i kind of wished i had got those instead of the BFG's, but logical thinking has cooled my jets of trading tires with less than 600 miles on them.
Not to stir up trouble, but a guy I know was visiting a friend of his that is a Toy dealership owner who showed him the cover of a brochure that talked about a new Tacoma TRD 2. He wouldn't let him open it, but the cover said 32" tires, larger fuel cell, f/r lockers, and 3" more travel and more gc. Oh man this could be cool, but I seriously doubt its seriousness.
The mtr's are a great looking tire. That seems to be the biggest thing going now in the off road rubber dept. now. Even though you will certainly laugh about this, I am thinking of getting a set when I replace the BFG MTs for winter tires. I have to have mud tires and I have yet to get stuck while I am the only 2x that parks at the particular deer camp. I go thru lots more than my dad's Z71 with stock ATs.
tighter turning circle 34.4 vs 35.9
Less Width 66.5" vs 71.1"
I'd go with the Rubicon Wrangler 8o) NOT .....
short wheelbase: Yes there is one....and I totally forgot about it. So there goes the "I'll do a zero point turn where Tacoma needs a 3-point turn" tbunders' arg, at least for regcabs. The trouble, of course, is that RCs don't have a V6, nor they need one, since RC Tacoma is not an SUV but a truck in its' best.
comparing a jeep to any toyota is laughable. that's like comparing a 5.0 mustang to a V6'd stratus. the jeep scene is above and beyond what the toyota scene will ever be. heck, the liberty has more aftermarket parts available for it than the tacoma already. that's pretty sad. companies know people will buy the jeeps and actually take them off-road. tacoma owners haul coolers down to the beach and complain about the coolers denting their beds. i guess if i came up with an SMC composite bed for the tacoma i may have something, eh? stil lmao.
Tacoma RC 4x4, with SAME tires (31s) as other Taco 4x4s. Yes, it has a bench seat....what good are buckets in a single-cab truck?
2.4L I4 that is offered in 4x2 model is bulletproof.
2.7L I4 in the 4x4 version is bulletproof too, has not had any sludge problems, and has been around for a long time. Making things up again, aren't we, bundy? By the way, I'm still waiting for all those busted up pencil-thin A-arm cases. Show me some proof.
If you want to badmouth regCabs, prove it. Go to TTORA boards and issue a challenge to Iowa members with regcabs (or someone nearby) in your Liberty.
Then we'll see.
What are the aftermarket parts you speak of?
Poozer roofrack? Pretty lights? Extra-strength grocery bag hooks? Lip-stick holder?
I wonder how many more of our offroad vacation tripswill be ruined because
we have to spend 3 days of the trip helping some rockstacking mallrunner back to
the trail head !! 8o)
No tow hooks ! ? guess we'll have to put the wench cable around the cab !!
*Comparing a Jeep to any Toyota is laughable.
Oh Really ! I've seen some very nice FJ's on the trail ?
More aftermarket parts for the Liberty? OMG, prove that. I am looking at performanceproducts.com under liberty suspension products they sell. The ONLY thing there is airbags. Then under "performance upgrades", the only thing there is K&N stuff. Brake upgrades -- colored brake calipers. LMFAO.
Wasn't it your link where a guy said "Karen and Tim have been L.O.S.T. members from the beginning. They have a 15.75" LLL after thier Lift and Tires. They used a 1.5" internal puc with a .5" on top spacer in the front and a 2.5" puc in the rear. They have recently added some 265/75/16 Goodyear MTRs and have ARB Air Lockers front and rear. This is about as good a setup as you can have at the moment!"
Read that last sentence. I guess your favorite website just told a lie, huh?
;-)
The main appeal to me was the fact that it had that military look and utility to it. (however military folks don't use them to get groceries).
All that said, if I was given either one, no doubt I'd take it in a second and love it.
plus, if you listen to some on this board, the Tacoma is a better off-road vehicle than the Hummer..
My thought is if you took the Ranger or Tacoma, and spent and additional 15k on it to customize to the specific type of 'off roading' your interested in, (off road racing, rock crawling, mud bogs) you'd end up with a far better vehicle and still be cheaper than the Hummer.
Also, even the original Hummer was not that good for certain tasks: too wide and no flex whatsoever, kinda like some of those Liberties on tbunders' site.
See msg #420 in Jeep Liberty Troubles forum.
It is getting really deep in here.
I am amazed at how many of you all think off-roading is the end all, be all, duty any vehicle is blessed to perform.
Of course, maybe steelman needs it, according to his messages. However, who here, like me, doesn't give a rats (butt) about off-roading?
Fine..lets say it's not about offroading. What practical applications does H2 have? Yes...it can seat how many..8 people? It sits high, it gets 13mpg, it's heavy......Chevy Suburban with a 50K price tag.
So it's primary duty is what now? Haul people? I wonder how many people you'll see loading H2 with rocks and lumber, etc. Can you give a practical reason (aside from keeping up with Joneses or because I can) to buy H2?
Now personally, I'm not much of an off-roader either. If a vehicle I'm looking to purchase happens to be good in the dirt, then so much the better. -but it's not a quality I generally shop for. I think the Liberty was a good move by Jeep, and for a "mainstream" SUV, it, like the Xterra, is probably a very competant off-roader.
The Hummer argument is interesting because IMO, there's only 1 reason people buy a Hummer, whether it's the original hummer or the new H2: Image. Nobody spends that kind of money to beat the hell out of a vehicle off-roading. So really, I'm glad that GM introduced the H2 as I'd rather have people buying that instead of the original Hummer since it's smaller and takes up less room on the highway, and is probably easier to drive. (less likely these people will get in accidents)
Hummer (H1)
$98,681 - $116,560
Hummer (H2)
$48,800 - $51,375
Eagle nailed it, it is all about image. But calling it a mall-runner/grocery getter is just plain off. However, don't you have to take your Tacoma to the grocery store once in a while, too?
The exception here is that if you can afford a $50k truck for whatever reason, you probably are not the one doing the grocery shopping.
"I wonder how many people you'll see loading H2 with rocks and lumber, etc"
I wonder how of many trucks with TRD stickers ever get "custom pinstriping" or even a bit of rock stuck in their tread.
Price is not a practical reason to buy H2, but a mere advantage to buying H2 over H1.
Oh, I forgot. We took our Expedition (didn't own the Ranger then) and actually took it off-road a few times (we were there mainly for mtn biking). Suffice it to say that an Expy is not a very good off-roader, but we had fun anyway.
I know lots of guys that run tacomas in the ground a moab, and they have never had to stay up all night fixing something. Is there a link to this Hummer club with pics of them at moab? I gotta feeling it was something like a great white shark in a bathtub. Some think that money will accomplish anything. I wonder if they drove or if their chaufers did?
Those things are tanks, I will concede that. But there is one type of offroading that they SHOULD not be allowed to partake in and that is rock crawling. No flex, and the length of a suburban. Again I would like to see pics of the Hummers in moab.