Tacoma Double Cab Standard Bed or Long Bed?

[Joash]

Is the standard bed better for offroading? Does it give you enough room to sleep?

Also is it better to get manual or automatic transmission?

[Finlay]

the TRD Off-Road Double Cab only comes with a short bed. TRD Sport, Prerunner and SR5 are available with the long box.

The bed itself is 5 feet, and with the tailgate extended is a little over 6. Probably not long enough to sleep in without some work. You could make a case that the short box is more maneuverable and has better clearance; but I don't know that an extra foot in length is that much to overcome.

I like the manual in the Tacomas and that is what I have. It's a decent transmission. The Auto is also good transmission, and arguably better than the manual in many respects. Choose based on your preference - they have their good and bad points.

[bat]

Can someone tell me why Toyota did not have the e-locker in the long bed .

[Finlay]

You can get a long bed with an E-Locker, just not as double cab.

I got a TRD Sport, because I plan on adding lockers later and anyway, the LSD is more useful to me on snowy commutes than a locker is.

Plus the hood scoop makes it go faster.

[Joash]

It's complicated because choosing one option or another means you can't have certain features.

I definitely need the double cab.

I would prefer the long bed, just to have more room to haul stuff and possibly sleep in the truck.

I'm just wondering about giving up offroad capability since the TRD Off Road doesn't come in a long box set up.

It also looks like you won't get a manual transmission with the long bed. Does it matter which transmission you get for offroad ability?

Now I'm even more confused when I hear that you can't the e-locker on the long bed double cab. Is there any advantage to having the factory e-locker or does it not matter and this is something that can be added later or done without?

[Finlay]

There are solutions to sleeping in the truck - Bed Tents, RTTs and Flippacs for example.

I'm pretty sure can get the manual in a DCLB sport and SR5 trims - you might have to order it in, or shop around.

You don't say where you're at - but you should know that the Toyota build-your-own thingie on the website is zipcode restricted. The truck I bought also couldn't be made according to that thing, and yet there it is in my driveway. The only way to know is to talk to a salesperson who knows how to find them. Not all of them do, so you should shop around.

At the risk of being all Zen, the e-locker is an advantage when you need a locker. At all other times, it doesn't do much. So, are you planning on spending a lot of time in situations where a locker will make the difference ? Then you may have to compromise some other feature to meet that need. If you aren't, then it might be expendable in favor of getting some other feature you would use more, like a long box.

A locker can be added later on, at some expense and effort, but then, if you plan on doing any real wheeling, you'll need to open up the diff to regear anyway.

[highspeed]

There is a ton of great advice here in response to your question. The only thing I would add is that you should test drive both the long and short beds. I thought I wanted the long bed but after driving it I felt it was a bit too long and difficult to back into a parking spot. If I was going to drive a truck that long I would get a used Tundra...
After many months of hashing out the same things you are I bought a 2012 Tacoma DCSB TRD off road and I'm very happy with my choice so far. I went with the automatic trans but I was tempted to do the manual with the quick shift kit. In the end it seemed like the auto was a little more reliable.
If sleeping in your truck happens frequently get a long bed or Tundra, you can add the ARB locker later.

[Containerized]

I'll weigh in... obviously, for length reasons I didn't consider the double cab long bed (which would not fit within the load marks in a 20' container for shipping) but even if I could, I've driven them and I think the extra 10-15 inches of length matters if you'll ever be maneuvering in a city. Sure, if you're in the middle of Iowa, who cares how long your truck is. But, in the real world (which, for me, includes various urban environments), it matters. If you are going to do an RTT, you should be able to do it with either bed. Also, the payload for the long bed is not really any higher (hence lower per square foot) so you get more space but not really more carrying capacity.

[Martinjmpr]

IIRC the long bed DC is only available with the slushbox. Also, it's LOOOOOOONG!! Seriously, it's got like a 140" wheelbase - about on par with a Suburban or an Excursion. IOW, it has the turning radius of an aircraft carrier. On tight roads, that could be an issue.

The short bed DC has a much shorter wheelbase (127") which makes for a more maneuverable vehicle. And if you absolutely need the ability to carry passengers + the ability to sleep in it, you could also look at a 4runner which has an even shorter wheelbase at 109" (that's the reason I went from an extended-cab Taco to a 4runner.) The nice thing about the SUV is that there is no wall behind the back seats, meaning the seats can be flipped down when you want sleeping space and flipped back up when you want passenger space.

The downside is the same, there's no wall, so you can't separate the "clean" interior from the "dirty" cargo area.

As for the slushbox vs. manual debate, you will hear passionate opinions either way but it really comes down to what your personal preference is. My thought is that if you aren't sure, just get the slushbox, because if you really wanted a manual, you wouldn't even be asking the question.

[Kermit]

Shorter wheel base will be better offroad, can always get a roof mounted storage box on the cab to carry more stuff (light weight items that is) however the more things you have on the roof the greater the air resistance while on the highway...personally I try to keep stuff off the roof.

If you keep your gear simple, you don't have to carry too much. I tend to pack my truck with back packing gear....lighter means better which equals going faster.... The heavier the load, the greater chance of breaking the vehicle.

People on here would laugh on how little I carry in my truck, practice the K.I.S.S method, and all is well....

I like to keep the (dirty) gear separate from the passenger compartment...trucks are better than wagons in that respect as Martin says...we own both, and I always grab the truck for adventures over the SUV...

Personally prefer manual transmissions over slush boxes, as I feel they offer more control both on and offroad...and there is just something about shifting your own gears... one can reach a state of nirvana while perfecting the proper gear selection...

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