Tundra as a family car? Does it make sense

Really towing with the idea.

Currently have a sienna and the wife really wants to start taking the family out on road trips, exploring and pulling a pop up. I'd like to stick with the tundra and sienna but those are hefty car payments. An alternative would be to trade in the sienna for a tundra and then have a beater for work.

Thoughts? Anyone using the tundra as a family vehicle? Pros-cons? What would you have done differently. Any accessories to get right off the bat...

Appreciate it

 

we use ours for a family vehicle. it works perfectly for our needs. if it fits all your kids and crap, youre good to go! we got a used softopper for longer road trips just in case it calls for rain. thats the only accessory that i'd recommend.

 

Tundra is not the easiest to park in crowded places. It is big... all the time... parking, city streets, drive thrus, you get the gist.
Choose wisely.

 

Gas mileage is absolutely horrible. Love my tundra but definitely wouldn’t be ideal for being the only vehicle in the family.

 

I raised 2 kids in a 2005 DC.
Never a problem.

 

It's a step up....literally. So as long as they dont mind the extra height getting in. Crew max would have more room, I think the extra cab is still enough room. I get good gas mileage with the 4.7 and have no problem parking. Unfortunately the 4.7 became obsolete after 2010 I believe.

 

It will be expensive to operate around town due to the gas mileage and parking it isn't the easiest but you can get more exercise walking from the farthest away parking places. Also you and the family may be better protected in the event of an accident with another vehicle than say with a Sienna. After my last accident I wanted a full size truck again...

 

Do you live in a city or a congested area or travel through it often? As others have said, it's big but it's not impossible. I've paralleled parked mine multiple times and squeeze through parking lots and drive thrus. Obviously you risk the truck getting dinged or scratched.
Around town driving, the MPG sucks but it is what it is. I'm sure you're not naive with truck things.

End of the day, I don't think you can go wrong with your plan of the Tundra. Plus the bonus, if you decide it's too much, the resale value stays very very high on these trucks!

 

great family vehicle if you can afford the petrol!

 

I disagree. It is no worse than my 2014 Chevy. We use mine all the time for family stuff.

 

I have used Tundra Crewmax's for the last 5 years as a family vehicle.

Now, I only have one kid with a second on the way but it's been great for family trips ('16 SR5 4x4) for room, carrying capacity, comfort, etc. If anything we tend to WAY over pack the thing because you just can.

The gas mileage sucks, yes, but my wife and I have good paying jobs so I don't really think too much about it. If fuel economy is even on your mind I wouldn't get one.

The Tundra is great for car seat space, especially the gigantic rear facing car seats today. Having said that the Tundra SUCKS when it comes to the rear doors and trying to get a kid out of a car seat in a parking space. The doors are so damn big you have to park on an end island spot in order to be able to get the kids out of the seats comfortably. Or, my wife has to come hold the door so I don't bang the car next to me and you try to squeeze in. This issue makes parking difficult at times.

It's also as others have said just big. Driving it around all the time is sometimes a pain in the ass, especially in a city setting.

I do like the idea of being in a large vehicle should an accident occur, especially with kids.

 

How are you packing? Maybe Im Overthinking it but are you using the truck bed-storage within the bed? A cover? That's what I'm missing....

 

I think it works great depending on the age of your kids. At this point in my life, I have one big football player who is 6’4” 240# and a lanky runner who is coming up on 6’ fast and growing like a weed. When the four of us go places as a family, we always take the Crewmax. I have a fiberglass Leer tonneau that locks that truly makes the Tundra useful even for carrying stuff around. When the boys were younger we had an Odyssey minivan and loved that too. The power sliding doors made loading the car seats a breeze and when the kids were older they could just walk right in to the van. Anyway, for younger kids I’d probably lean towards the Sienna. As the kids get older, I think the Tundra CM offers a lot of space and a huge buffer between bickering siblings on long trips.

 

If you want the best of both worlds, more or less, there is always the sequoia. No problems towing or hauling people or toys. We love ours!

 

One important thing to note about the Sequoia, It has significantly less headroom than the Tundra. 34.8" on Sequoia vs 39.7" on the Tundra. I didn't believe it either till i was shopping and sitting in the Sequoia with seat all the way down and leaned back a bit and I still hit my head on roof. Tundra is perfect.

 

Is the new 2020 highlander an option for you (OP)? They just did a redesign on it this year and it is really nice.

I have the exact same setup you do. 2015 Sienna. 2019 Tundra. That covers all bases and potential situations most people would end up facing on a daily basis. As mentioned above. The Tundra has mileage is poor compared to other options. So you and your wife would need to run the numbers mathematically on that part of the equation versus the beater option.

 

Same towing specs as the tundra?

 

My wife has made my Tundra the family vehicle over her Volvo XC60, which I have no problem with....

 

Did you make it back in and drive away in time before that car caught up to you?

 

I've got a Undercover hard cover. I wanted a cover where nothing can ever get a wet. I had a tri-fold cover prior and it always leaked like crazy.

 

Sorry as much as I love my Tundra, and my wife loves her GX460, they suck too much gas.

If I would do it again there is zero chance I would get another V8 Toyota for my wife, and probably any Toyota in general.

When it comes to Trucks and SUV's Toyota is just too far behind everyone else in efficiency and we put well over 20k miles on both of our vehicles every year.

 

Yes. The one without the moonroof offers a lot more headroom. They don't have the headroom listed for that on the website.

 

I left a double cab Tacoma to get into a double cab tundra because we found out another would be added to the family. I kind of miss my LX470 over anything but they are just too hard to find at a good price.

Soooo then you dont really love them if you would never drive them again lol...

 

Don't drink the cool-aid of manufacturers MPG ratings. In the Real World there isn't that much difference on the cost of MPG between vehicles in that class.

Lexus GS460




Lincoln Navigator



Cadillac Escalade



Now for the Tundra

Toyota Tundra



Ford F150



Chevy Silverado




So assuming a 2.5mpg advantage over 22,000 miles per year at $2.50 per gallon you're talking about $596 per year, or $49.66 per month.

Not much of a difference at all really. $50 a month?

And either an F-150 or a Silverado is typically going to cost you more on MSRP.

Neither get close to the 20+mpg average they would have you believe.

 

As many have said I think the biggest drawback is gas mileage if you drive alot. An it's size depending on your situation.. Like I can barely squeeze it into my garage. But in terms of a safe, reliable vehicle with lots of room. Plenty of power for toys. Compfortable ride, resale value. I don't think you can go wrong.. Not to many bells and whistles, but that's also preference. My wife's new Limited Platinum Hilander makes my truck feel very basic.. But it's a truck . I came from an extra cab Tacoma an trying to get my kids in the back was a joke..Now I have tons of space..I love it.

 

Yup why I got a SR5 instead of a Limited. Headroom is important for me.

 

Not sure if this is accurate but you can get an idea.

 

As you see from the various responses, it depends on where you live and drive. When my family was young I had a Chevy full size crew cab as my family car. I live in a rural area and rarely had a problem parking. My wife had a very short commute so she drove the truck to work and I drove an econo car for my much longer commute. When taking the family out we used the econo car when possible, and for longer trips the truck was perfect because it had comfortable seating and room to carry anything anyone wanted to bring.

 

I don't know if anybody has mentioned it - but be weary of payload issues. I have a '13 CrewMax, and with my aftermarket skid plates, I have about 1200ish lbs of payload left. I have 5 people in my family, and right now it isn't a huge deal - but as the kids get older, that payload disappears in a hurry. I think currently if the whole family is sitting in the truck, I am down to 490ish lbs of payload left. If we take gear/luggage anywhere - then we are nearing the limit. We are bigger than the average person, so as my kids get older, I won't legally be able to take them anywhere with any gear.

Just something to consider (that most people don't).

 

We use the Tundra as the family vehicle. We had a Honda Odessey minivan, but my wife was putting 40,000 miles a year on it, most of the time just her driving it (work miles driving between facilities). So we decided to trade the van on a Prius so she can save all the gas budget during the week, and then when we use the Tundra as a family vehicle on vacations the gas budget is already there. The crewmax has more leg room in the back than the minivan had. Only complaint from the kids is that the van's seats could recline, the truck not, but it is not a major issue. We have all the room we need for luggage and can go wherever we want.