6' bed with AT vs 5' bed and a manual?

5 ft beds on trucks are less beds and more an open trunk.....I think that's smaller than my caprices trunk lol

For the auto vs manual debate, it really depends on the truck. Typical small truck? Auto. Bigger truck with a properly low first gear that can be skipped when you're not loaded up? Then the manual is fine and not a pain when towing.

In reply to Antihero:

If it had a cover, the 5' bed would be 40 cubic feet, the 6' bed is 48. Double that for a cap.

I vote mt 5'. I like shorter wheelbases for maneuverability and I perfer the aesthetic as well. Will probably have a better departure angle too. Berkley autotragics.

Another vote for the manual. Taco's with a manual are good clean fun on a rough dirt road. Resale should be higher down the road as well (if that's a factor) since so few are being produced.

At least Toyota and Nissan give you the option with the V6. I will be in the market in a few years (my 96 4Runner is approaching 290k miles) and would love to cross shop with the GMs, but no manual is available in the V6 trims.

I've had a passel of F-150s with 6.5' beds, one with a 5.5' bed, and an F-250 with an 8' bed. I will never buy another one with a 5.5-footer. It's just too small, you can hardly fit anything in there with the tailgate closed, lumber is a PITA to haul. I think 6.5' is a good compromise. The 8-footer was nice, but I rarely need that much bed.

One nice benefit of my current "truck" (aka my wife's Expedition EL) is that I can fit 4x8 sheets in the back with the hatch closed. I know an SUV is no good for hauling a bike, but for a lot of other stuff, it's really better.

Tom_Spangler wrote: One nice benefit of my current "truck" (aka my wife's Expedition EL) is that I can fit 4x8 sheets in the back with the hatch closed. I know an SUV is no good for hauling a bike, but for a lot of other stuff, it's really better.

And I found my next vehicle. Thanks for that.

Tom_Spangler wrote: I've had a passel of F-150s with 6.5' beds, one with a 5.5' bed, and an F-250 with an 8' bed. I will never buy another one with a 5.5-footer. It's just too small, you can hardly fit anything in there with the tailgate closed, lumber is a PITA to haul. I think 6.5' is a good compromise. The 8-footer was nice, but I rarely need that much bed. One nice benefit of my current "truck" (aka my wife's Expedition EL) is that I can fit 4x8 sheets in the back with the hatch closed. I know an SUV is no good for hauling a bike, but for a lot of other stuff, it's really better.

There is no 6.5' option here - it's 5 or 6 for the Taco or the Frontier.

If you go 6 speed Manual on the Taco and intend to do any towing make sure they fixed the reverse gear ratio. It is hilariously wrong for backing up a 5500lb trailer. At idle it does about 10mph backwards so you are Constantly slipping the clutch. You can put it in 4Low to alleviate that but then it sucks to turn. There is a kit to trick the trans to go into 2Low that I never got so can't confirm if it helps.

We were just talking here at work about trucks and everyone agreed that the trade-offs involved with smaller trucks were the main reason they don't sell as well as full size ones.

Would an F-150 ecoboost or one of the new Dodge diesel 1/2 ton trucks work as well?

This neatly solves all of the problems I have with the small bed for $800 plus some hitch money but also solves the actual need for a pick-up truck whatsoever.

I still need something that could tow that down a rutted dirt road in bad weather but that could seriously be anything at all including the E46 wagon or Outback I already have. Maybe the problem is I just want a new Toyota truck. Must reflect on needs vs wants. __rebooting___

If you just want a V6 standard shift Toyota pickup because...well, because it's just what you want, that's perfectly valid. If you're going to make a payment on a vehicle, do it on one that makes you smile even when you're writing that monthly check. If the short bed makes you happy buy that and find ways around the hauling.

Maybe your reboot should be "I want a 5' bed truck. Tell me how I can haul/do XYZ"

KyAllroad wrote: We were just talking here at work about trucks and everyone agreed that the trade-offs involved with smaller trucks were the main reason they don't sell as well as full size ones. Would an F-150 ecoboost or one of the new Dodge diesel 1/2 ton trucks work as well?

^This x 1000. Had occasion to rent a Crew Cab Frontier and a Quad Cab Ram 1500 back to back about two months ago. The Ram just did everything better, including get better fuel economy (HEMI w/8 speed auto FTW). The only compelling reason to choose the Frontier over the Ram was the smaller size made it easier to maneuver in tight spaces and easier to load because the bed rails weren't chest height (Why are full size trucks so dang tall nowdays?) Get the Manual shortbed and buy the trailer, or just buy the trailer and keep your money for other stuff..

In reply to ultraclyde:

My reboot might be "Can I tow 5k in the snow with an E46 M3"

Seriously, a new small truck with car comforts makes a lot sense to me for a bulletproof, comfortable all-weather, one-size-fits-most vehicle but at the end of the day it's a utility item. It isn't any fun on its own, it's an enabler. I hate paying real money for that but you can't get the jet ski to the river, the engine for the locost home, muddy bikes / dogs / ??? , etc if the truck is also a project. So, yeah, I might talk myself into writing a big check for a compromised truck-like thing-a-ma-jig this time instead of bringing home a sketchy thing from CL and spending all winter making it run right. I probably will never love it - like I never loved the Silverado. But, damn do I miss having it here. I just hated working on it.

Huckleberry wrote: In reply to ultraclyde: My reboot might be "Can I tow 5k in the snow with an E46 M3" Seriously, a new small truck with car comforts makes a lot sense to me for a bulletproof, comfortable all-weather, one-size-fits-most vehicle but at the end of the day it's a utility item. It isn't any fun on its own, it's an enabler. I hate paying real money for that but you can't get the jet ski to the river, the engine for the locost home, muddy bikes / dogs / ??? , etc if the truck is also a project. So, yeah, I might talk myself into writing a big check for a compromised truck-like thing-a-ma-jig this time instead of bringing home a sketchy thing from CL and spending all winter making it run right. I probably will never love it - like I never loved the Silverado. But, damn do I miss having it here. I just hated working on it.

I totally get that. When it comes to trucks I want reliability first and foremost. I bought the ugliest, most mechanically solid, COMPLETELY unmodified F250 I could find on Craigslist. Everyone wants to tell me how to how I can make 1000ftlbs with it. I don't care. The last thing I want to think about when I get on the interstate after a long weekend of racing or boating is whether or not I can get home. I'm always dead tired and I just want a no-drama, reasonably comfortable trip home.

Which brings me back to why I prefer autos in truck, LOL.

06HHR wrote:

KyAllroad wrote: We were just talking here at work about trucks and everyone agreed that the trade-offs involved with smaller trucks were the main reason they don't sell as well as full size ones. Would an F-150 ecoboost or one of the new Dodge diesel 1/2 ton trucks work as well?

^This x 1000. Had occasion to rent a Crew Cab Frontier and a Quad Cab Ram 1500 back to back about two months ago. The Ram just did everything better, including get better fuel economy (HEMI w/8 speed auto FTW). The only compelling reason to choose the Frontier over the Ram was the smaller size made it easier to maneuver in tight spaces and easier to load because the bed rails weren't chest height (Why are full size trucks so dang tall nowdays?) Get the Manual shortbed and buy the trailer, or just buy the trailer and keep your money for other stuff..

Ditto. "Back in hte day" I went from a full-size 4.3 V6/5spd ECSB to a RCSB Sonoma 2.2/5spd. Despite being half the size and having a third of the capabilities, they got the SAME fuel economy. Our 06 still gets the same or better economy than all but the diesel colorado/canyon.

Bobzilla wrote:

06HHR wrote:

KyAllroad wrote: We were just talking here at work about trucks and everyone agreed that the trade-offs involved with smaller trucks were the main reason they don't sell as well as full size ones. Would an F-150 ecoboost or one of the new Dodge diesel 1/2 ton trucks work as well?

^This x 1000. Had occasion to rent a Crew Cab Frontier and a Quad Cab Ram 1500 back to back about two months ago. The Ram just did everything better, including get better fuel economy (HEMI w/8 speed auto FTW). The only compelling reason to choose the Frontier over the Ram was the smaller size made it easier to maneuver in tight spaces and easier to load because the bed rails weren't chest height (Why are full size trucks so dang tall nowdays?) Get the Manual shortbed and buy the trailer, or just buy the trailer and keep your money for other stuff..

Ditto. "Back in hte day" I went from a full-size 4.3 V6/5spd ECSB to a RCSB Sonoma 2.2/5spd. Despite being half the size and having a third of the capabilities, they got the SAME fuel economy. Our 06 still gets the same or better economy than all but the diesel colorado/canyon.

Yeah, there's an unfortunate issue of the small trucks being smaller and more maneuverable, but significantly worse at being a truck (for very little gain other than the size difference when parking).

I hear you guys on the small truck thing but I just sold an '04 Duramax 2500HD because it was massive, unwieldy, expensive to maintain and getting a little long in the tooth after 7yrs of pulling stuff. I also sold the giant enclosed trailer so there is no need to tow more than 10k any longer.

The new Taco is 268HP, 275 ft/lbs, 19/24MPG, and tows 6800lbs. Basically, the same as my old 4.7L Tundra with 20% better fuel mileage. For me - smaller is a good thing as long as it's "big enough". Which is debatable with either bed option so maybe the smaller bed, manual trans and applying the savings to a utility trailer is an acceptable compromise. I'm going to go drive the AT version tonight then wrestle with it more.

Ya know... some people just go buy stuff. Not me. I have to work it over for weeks before I can pull a trigger.

In reply to Huckleberry:

It wouldn't hurt to test drive a full-size half ton or 2 as a middle step between a Taco and a 3/4 ton.

My two cents.

If you are buying it for the utility and the towing, get the utility version with the 6' bed and the auto. It's a truck. You are buying it to do truck things. You don't want to fuss with it. You aren't going to drive it to enjoy the experience or to make that perfect downshift into the Lowes parking lot. A 6 speed isn't going to turn it into a sports sedan, but will make it more of a pain to tow with. At the end of the day, it's still going to be a truck.

These cents are worth what you paid for them.

I sort of hate my Silverado. I love my wife's FJ. The biggest difference in driving experience is the transmission.
It's literally the difference between keeping one forever and selling the other one.

ultraclyde wrote: I like manual transmissions. In sports cars. In a truck they aren't fun, they're just work.

I can vouch for that. I've put over 225k on my 5-speed truck. Sick of rowing gears.

Can see the benefits to having an automatic transmission in a full size a truck for hauling lots of weight, does make it a nice experience. Personally, for a small truck I much prefer manual though - I am actually about to seriously look into getting a used 2WD, V6, 6-speed manual, 6.1ft bed Nissan Frontier, don't need or want a quad cab version.

To me transmission choice is also about maintenance and longevity concerns, much easier and cheaper to take care and rebuild a manual transmission compared to an auto. Plus one of my reasons for wanting a small truck is for having a lighter offroad semi-prerunner/overland expedition capable vehicle... Besides the manual transmission vehicles being lighter, you also have the capability to start your vehicle's engine with a manual even if your starter dies... if your starter fails with a traditional automatic you're stuck until it's 'fixed' or replaced.

Really liked my former 98 Tacoma (4 cylinder, 5-spd manual, extended cab) - light, tough (oh the things I did with that truck....Evolution Autocross school Phase I course being one of them...), and handled pretty nice once suspension modded - it was setup even better for heel and toe from the factory than the FR-S is...near perfect pedal placement. Loved driving it. My dad has the next gen Tacoma after mine, specced out similarily to how mine was and I HATE driving it. MUCH BIGGER and heavier vehicle, the accelerator pedal position absolutely sucks in it and the shifter feels worse than the manual in the older mid 2000's Camrys... Such a HUGE downgrade in driving experience with the manual compared to the previous gen I had. Only things going for it is that it has a nice ride quality and is still 'Tacoma' tough...I'd ride as a passenger in it all day and enjoy it but you'd have to put a gun to my head to force me to drive it anywhere for any length of time...absolute last vehicle I'd ever voluntarily drive.

The newer used Nissan Frontier is the last compact truck it seems...have yet to test drive one though. Tacoma's are now the sizes of previous generation Tundra's... Is it too much to ask to have a small truck that weighs no more than 3,000 lbs be produced...

not that anybody wants to do more work to a new vehicle.. but can you retrofit a 6 foot bed?

Vracer111 wrote: The newer used Nissan Frontier is the last compact truck it seems...have yet to test drive one though. Tacoma's are now the sizes of previous generation Tundra's... Is it too much to ask to have a small truck that weighs no more than 3,000 lbs be produced...

I hate to tell you this... but the Frontier and Tacoma are exactly the same size, have similar options, power and price once you go to the trouble of laying it all out. The Nissan's interior feels like the 80's though and the plastics feel brittle. Toyota just updated theirs so it's fresh and made out of good tactile feeling stuff. Otherwise, in the dark you couldn't tell them apart.