ok
im a college student lookin for a 4x4 taco to hit the dirt in, but i also have to drive from oklahoma to cali and back twice a year so im also looking for fuel economy. due to cash on hand, im thinking 80's or 90's models but im kind of new to the tacos - my dad has an 88 4runner but thats about as close as i've been. Are there any years that were better than others, or years that sucked more than others? tips, anything accepted
thanks  

The best combo you could get would be found in an 85 simply because it was the last year of the solid axle front end but also the first year of fuel injection.  If you cant find an 85, i would suggest going a bit older so you can still get the solid axle, even if it is carbuereted. The solid axle is just way easir/cheaper to work with than an IFS plus it wheels' much better.  These trucks are great off road with a little work and are mega cheap and easy to work on, plus they get decent mileage and most come stock with 4.11 gears, i would also definatly recommend getting one with a manual tranny.  

Depending on what kind of wheeling you are doing and how much lift you want is going to play alot into what kind of toyota you buy. After 95 toyota came out with the tacoma which has rack and pinion steering and a strut setup up front. The problem I have ran into is that when I tried to find a lift over 3-4 inches the kit needed to have custom coilovers in order replace the struts which equals big $. Also if you can't find the much searched for 85' yota with fuel injection and a strait axle the years prior to 95' have much more in the way of strait axle conversions than the years after (and are less complex to convert as they already have a gear box and not the rack and pinion setup). 85 is the first year toyota switched over from carb to fuel injection so keep that in mind when looking. Also I would look in Cali for a yota as I have lived in the mid west and seen what the winters do yotas out there (may they rust in peace). I have still yet to put any form of lift on my 98' tacoma and I am very happy with how it performs. I made the trip from here in FT Bragg, NC to Colorado over chrismas and was getting around 24 mpg and I can still go chase my buddy's jeep around behind our motorpool with no problem. Hope this helped good luck in hunting for your yota.