For five years, I have been driving a 2003 Tacoma 4×4 V6 with a series of terrible truckcaps. We bought a truck in 2013 when we accepted the fact that we needed to stop putting livestock in our Nissan Versa. Those of you who know me in person or who meet me should ask about what it’s like to drive a Nissan full of ducks from Randolph to Craftsbury in a compact hatchback.
From the start, I loved everything about the truck- I loved being able to drive in mud season, I found that I was able to improve my car propriaception with the vantage point that the cab offered me. With a cap on the truck, we were able to move sheep safely, move manure, move supplies, move trash, move everything. In 2014, I moved myself from Brookfield to Essex Junction and then to Williston. Then we filled the truck every morning and moved to the home we bought.
We have gone through many repairs and updates. The frame and many frame elements were replaced in 2014 when a rust hole was found. We have a sweet custom rear differential case after the original developed a hole. There are some zipties on the bumper. It’s a Vermont vehicle.
But now we have a stock trailer so we can move more than a few sheep at a time. That trailer and sheep together just about hit the maximum towing capacity of the truck. Before I learned about motors from Matt, I assumed that towing too much weight damaged the engine. Now I understand that it actually grinds down the breaks and strains the engine cooling capacity, while putting strain on the frame and suspension as well. Since we will be transporting sheep to Maine, we need something newer, more powerful and more reliable. The Tacoma has never let me down, but I don’t want it to kick the bucket somewhere on Route 2.
So I sold it for $2400 today to Craftsbury Garage, hoping that I can keep a few dollars local as we go to find an F150 with the right array of options- good for towing, but no fancy bits.