Gladiator vs Tacoma IMO

[XJhawk]

My best friend has a 2018 Tacoma Off Road.
He has had a significant amount of problems with it.

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[Jt-wrx]

I mean legroom is only better on the Gladiator because of its more upright seating but the Tacoma is better in nearly every other metric for front seat space. I'd even argue legroom is better just because the gas pedal is in a more natural position vs the Gladiator.

But you are right the current gen Tacoma is a dent in Toyota's "bulletproof" truck armor... especially the manual transmission because there's a not uncommon surging issue in 2nd and 3rd that went unaddressed for a few years. Why bother when they're only 5% of sales I guess. Had the diff whine in the new rear end as well that I was told is totally normal despite being able to force some nasty harmonics every time at 55mph.

Also that AT was just flat out poorly geared. Every Tacoma should have had the 4.30 rear end.

don't forget you gotta get in and out of that little hole everytime you drive it, the chin to chest, slump side scooch and bang your leg off the dash swinging in...don't be in a hurry to jump into these taco's, i had a 2019 for nearly a month before taking delivery of my JT, they are not in the same league for daily family livability and comfort

they put a poorly tuned peaky motor with poor transmission programming in it that is almost unbearable on its own accord, the kids did not enjoy the back seat at all, i didn't like sitting on the floor at all, nor the slump/scooch/bang ingress/egress bullshit...don't be 5'10 or taller for these little trucks imo, i'm 6'

had a friend with one of the last gen 4.0's that had better transmission programming with 5 spd auto and it towed better than a gm 1/2 ton at the time with the 5.3 6-spd auto

so they really messed up going to this new v6, as they lost all the good stuff about the truck when they did, you just had to survive the daily livability but at least had a solid truck powertrain

 

[Sportsbiz]

During the time I worked at 5.11 as a Marketing Manager, we partnered with Toyota who gave us a 2017 TRD Pro. Partnered with other brands and built it out and brought it to SEMA that year (Cooper Tires booth). I drove this for the next year and a half, including a trip to Overland Expo West (pic shown was on that trip, in Anza Borrego). This thing was a dog. Grossly underpowered, even after regearing to 4.88's it struggled to handle the weight of the overlanding build. I will say it handled on highways nicely. But, in general, my JTR kills it in power and off road capabilities, and I think the Gladiator is more comfortable for long drives. Granted I'm a wee man.

 

[GladiSD]

Sold my 2019 TRD Pro Tacoma Automatic to be here. Took 12 hours to sell because of fanboys, but I cannot believe I lived with that truck for 14 months.

 

[PyrPatriot]

from the Taco forums, they say they're capable of 90% of what the Jeep is, so it's truly a solid competitor.

I don’t think it’s 90% capable when your talking off road only. I think the Tacoma can do 70% of what the Gladiator can do, which is more than enough for most people.

Exactly. If a Rubicon gets you "everywhere", a stock Jeep JL/JT sport gets you 90-95% of the places a Rubicon can go, and a Taco gets you 90% of that, well Taco really only gets you to 80% of the places a Jeep can go.

Yeah I think the Tacoma is due for a refresh, but they are still selling very well so maybe I'm wrong.

I see WAY more 4Runners in KY and never any Tacomas on the trails. Wranglers (mostly JKs) on the trails by far, outnumbered only by damn side-by-sides

The Gladiator isn't SUPER spacious, but it's comfortable enough

You dont want it to be. If you are being swung side to side as you articulate and need to come down hard, I want there to be less travel from me to hitting the pillar or center consol. Longer flight travel means greater force upon impact

I hope the Jeep will make it 250k without any major mechanical issues not caused my operator error. But I’m willing to give up tried and true reliability at this point for the fun points.

Someone got 600k+ on their V6 in a van. I expect 300-400k from my Honda, not my Jeep. 250k will be needed though as I am already looking to put 35k in the first year!

The Rubi is the top off-roader without question and even the ZR2 Bison isn't going to compete with a 4:1, live axles, and a pair of lockers. Thing is, the Rubicon is the only way to get those from the factory.

You get all but the lockers in a Sport Max Tow. adding lockers is a few grand, but much less than the difference in price between Rubi and Sport

Toyota seems to sell a lot of Tacos and they hold their value well.

overall, yes. Even on the Toyota rides around KY/TN I only see 4Runners and Land Cruisers.

I also hate the look of super wide tires/ wheel offsets (Drives me nuts). I see plenty of wranglers around my house that have crazy wheel offsets. Its almost like, people don't understand what wheel offsets are. Mix wide tires/ wrong offset and trail mud and you will have the entire side of the rig covered in mud

Same. I am picking up a used set of Quadratec CJ Retro rims for the proper width for 35/12.5/17 tires. But only because they are a great price with only few thousand miles on them and still have the boxes. They will make my tires stick out about 3/4-1" though. My current setup with OEM wheels works, I just run them at 26-28psi cold to get proper contact and they rarely if ever go above 30psi driving (which they them per chalk test dont make complete contact, losing about 1" of tread on each side)

Note: while front lockers are "somewhat over-rated"; the sway bar disconnect has been very useful in traversing ruts and large obstacles in a stock Rubicon. I used the Rubicon front lockers in the mud and super steep hill climbs, otherwise, in regular dirt, they adversely effect the precise steering I need to have to put my tires exactly where I want them.

Never encountered a situation where I needed lockers and never seen someone with lockers get unstuck by having theirs on. I have been up on 2 opposite tires and was still able to drive forward on open diffs. How? idk. But it's happened twice with someone confirming I was teetering on 2 wheels stopped and drove forward.

 

[Jt-wrx]

jeeps brake lock differential bdl is how you did that, it's pretty slick

 

[PyrPatriot]

jeeps brake lock differential bdl is how you did that, it's pretty slick

I had an earlier JT, that didn't come with the Trac-Lok differentials system. Would the Brake-Differential Lock work the same? And yes, it is pretty slick, and wonder how it compares to lockers

The Trac-Lok® anti-spin rear differential is a torque-sensitive mechanical unit that works to maintain traction in slippery or rough conditions. Trac-Lok automatically distributes the available rear torque to the rear wheel that provides the most traction, thus helping to reduce wheel spin caused by lack of traction in the other rear wheel.

And reading up on the BDL, now I see why me giving it a LITTLE bit of steady throttle during 2-wheel sent me going forward quicker than I was used to.

 

[Jt-wrx]

un-related, the bdl needs a little drama to engage, ie; wheel spin, stay in it, steady wheel spin on one side will eventually get the brakes applied to that side so the power goes to the other, based on wheel speed differences from each side...the trak-lok will just reduce the amount of wheel spin/time on the rear to get the bdl to engage and do it's thing...ie; making a right turn on a street where the inside tire wants to spin, trak-lok will get to that quicker than the bdl system can, you don't need trak-lok offroad, handy on the street though, i'd rather a true-trac for the street but have just decided to live with the open diffs and bdl as when it matters it will work, real lockers offroad just reduce the drama as there's no spin or all spin, so while climbing something tricky for example, the bdl open diff. jeep will get up it but you'll see the drama in wheel spin where a locked jeep can crawl up with hardly any drama...they both get up though

 

[PyrPatriot]

BDL in action. I was on 2 wheels in muck-mud



During smoother operations and picking a better line I go through without any issue

 

[Jt-wrx]

you crazy offroaders, nice to know what i can do if i ever need, mine will deal with some muddy/snow forestry/lease type hunting situations and animal recoveries, so pretty minor compared to that, was able to test it in deep snow with a mid level crust bone stock on the skinny 31's and couldn't believe i went through a field that would have planted my half ton instantly, the dang thing just chugged on through giving it moderate wheel speed and i could have sworn only way it could was with all 4 spinning, it was after that i learned about the bld system and now we're way up in the air on 37's and 4.88's so i'm sure the drama will be a fraction of that and likely go through a lot deeper snow too, anyway, it impressed the hell out of me in that early test

 

[greenMarine]

This was my 2019 Tacoma, bought new in November 2019 - sold End of July 2020 - hated this truck ----- the fact is 5.13's are accepted in the Tacoma community to Run 33's and required for 35's - this fact alone makes it a none starter to build one. Moreover, the list of modifications to run a 35 are endless, and quite expensive. Mine never left the 265/65/17's that came on it fuel economy was a dismal 16 mpg with the bumper and the O.M.E. 2" kit. The pay load was trash, it sucked as light duty tow vehicle and as a daily it was a pain in the ass. I'm 6' and getting in and out was also ridiculous - the final straw was trying to get the caster and camber to act right with the $600.00 SPC Upper Control Arms I added. THe trans and the V6 do not play well together - it was a good looking truck - I had fun building it - but had a hell of a lot more fun selling it and walking away - it was a fun little rig on light overlanding trails... I didn't even bother to test drive the JT before pulling of the lot - after two weeks in the JT and about 2,000 miles down - I can easily say that after 26,000+ miles on the Tacoma - the JT vs. the Tacoma is a non-starter - the tacoma is trash - at this point all mfg's are making reliable vehicles - Toyota no longer has that part of the market cornered.

 

[Jt-wrx]

my thoughts exactly, a glorified popcan on wheels riding on the back of ages old reputation it no longer deserves

i only spent a month in a 19 taco crew/long/4x4, mind you it was a rental after my ram was totaled, i drove everything else of interest in the segment, the colorado/canyon's would be a far better choice than the taco, the zr2 specifically, but there's no truck in the segment that can take 35's and upward as easily as the JT, everything else will struggle to do 33's even but even without that consideration, the taco doesn't feel like a truck, it feels like a 90's honda civic with a lift, the gm twins feel like little trucks, about twice as robust and worthy, i'd take a honda ridgeline and put a 2" lift and 31-32's on long before i'd consider a taco, i don't wheel to wheel, just hunting truck duty and a ridgeline would get it done with a bit more clearance and tire and easily have the best livability in the segment, having said that...try and pry the JT on 37's/4.88's with manual transmission out of my hands now...so in love

 

[greenMarine]

i'd take a honda ridgeline and put a 2" lift and 31-32's on long before i'd consider a taco,

I agree with everything you wrote except for extolling the virtues of the ridgeline.

 

[DirkG]

I agree with everything you wrote except for extolling the virtues of the ridgeline.

A "lifted" Ridgeline is less than a stock Gladiator. One of the more popular lifts is the 1.5" front / 0.5" rear Traxda lift. Yes, this Ridgeline is considered "lifted"...

As someone who's owned 6 bulletproof Acuras, but realized I needed a truck, I was initially drawn to the Ridgeline. I spent hours thinking "how the hell am I going to make this thing actually look like a truck? Does it even perform like a truck?" Not much aftermarket support. I felt like there were way too many compromises. Then I looked more into the Gladiator and never looked back.

IMO the Ridgeline is for a 60-year-old retired dude who hits Home Depot on the weekends.

 

[Jt-wrx]

agree, it's a top choice in mid size segment if your offroad needs are minimal, as in forestry roads, or the odd field to retrieve your deer, and yes a comfy grandpa mobile, for those of us who demand more off-road chops, or convertible, or manual transmission, or want big ass tires...well, the ridge is out, and looks wise the ridge turns lots off as it is not very truck looking, incredible vehicle non the less, just not for most mid-size outdoor oriented peeps

there are better examples of lifted ones without the dumb bars/boards hanging down off it, little taller tire, 2", seen a white one on hunting show go in and do a late season moose hunt, they put it to the test and even stuffed a moose into the thing but ya, better choices for that sort of duty, the ridge was surprisingly capable though, that was quite a show, when i mean late season, winter, snow, cold af...they have a surprisingly capable awd system for that lighter duty snow/muck, and near full size cab size and comforts

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