Sell me on the tundra

Get the Tundra. When I was looking to get back into a truck from my 4Runner, I got a Taco without even considering the Tundra because I didn’t think I could afford one. 3 months later, I got rid of the Taco and got my Tundra. No regrets whatsoever. I’m a small dude and I felt cramped in the Tacoma.

 

The way vehicle prices are going today. If you get rid of the Tacoma for a trade-in value your selling yourself short. I bought my 2020 Tundra in January for trade-in value and it's gone up about 10k now. I'm keeping my Tacoma, bought it new in 08 and has 125k mi. But I love and don't regret getting the 2020 Tundra.

 

Over the last 20 years, I have only driven 3 beaterish 1990s toyota trucks, besides the last 2 years when my T100 was too far gone and I inherited my wifes JK jeep.

I wanted a tacoma so bad since 2005, finally this summer it was time!

We test drove two double cabs, and there was no way the family of 4 would fit. I was devistated! The salesman said a Tundra would be a good fit for our family. I wasnt sure.

After fuming for 2 weeks, I gave in and we went to see a Tundra that the salesman said had come in on a lease return 2 hours prior. It was only a doublecab (not the crewmax), it only took 5 minutes for us to all fall in love with it.

Ive had it for two weeks now, and after all that, the gas mileage is no worse than any of my old compact Toyotas! Thats more important here up in Canada, where our current government is completely inept and virtue signals monthly with new carbon taxes, everything is far more expensive. I am averaging around 16l / 100kms.

Im looking forward to building up, and then spending the next 10 years bombing through the mountains in this rig!

Edit to mention : I know some guys with the new turbo f150s, and they are all averaging over 15l / 100kms as well on average.

 

Big trucks will always cost more to operate. As the fuel cost elevates everything else will follow. Fuel cost always determines the cost of living.

 

Shouldn’t be selling myself short on the taco, I paid $32k out the door over a year ago, dealer will give me $32.5 for it, so when I get prorated on Ext warranty that is built into my OTD price I would have basically test driven the taco for over a year (minus fuel) and got paid $2500 to do so. In addition, I’d be paying hardly no sales tax to get the tundra.

 

My 08 Tacoma is still worth what I paid for it. Amazing

 

I had an '07 RCSB that I loved. Kept it for 9 years and wish I still had it. Got the hots for another Vette so I traded....Sold the Vette and bought a Tacoma. Really liked the size if it, handling was excellent, appearance was super, engine was "OK' but the transmission (automatic) sucked....absolutely ate crap. Bought a new TRD PRO.... HAPPY, HAPPY!

 

I have had 3 Tacoma DBL cabs. 04,08 and 17. The drivetrain in the 17 V6 was horrible. Over the years the Tacoma just got too cramped to me! Bought a 21 Tundra Crew Max and it was the best decision I ever made. Gotta have a V8 if gas mileage is not an issue.

 

Everyone is entitled to an opion, that's what makes this country great. I believe your giving the bean counters waaay to much input in this Tundra thing. ICE design is proven through experience and on a dyno.
No car manufacturer will change build specs / clearances on an engine unless there is some fatal design flaw.
Toyota specifically wants to push the reliability thing with their name.
They would never cut costs on power train application that would hurt reliability.

 

Trust me, I'm with you. But where did my air-to-oil cooler go and why? It was a good idea for years and now it's not? Lots of reports in this forum regarding temps in the 230-250°F range unladen.

 

There is lots of talk about temps but how many failures have there been requiring warranty service???

 

Seriously if you are that concerned, put a transmission cooler in, they aren't that expensive.

 

Kids, dogs and a boat. Made the switch and never regretted it for a second.

Unless you are a full-time Moab rock crawler, there is no downside to that trade.

The Tundra excels in every other aspect and conceivable situation, zombie apocalypse included. Especially compared to the turd gen.

 

If taking the original cooler out was a bad thing there would be reports of many failures by now. The whole cooler thing started when someone devised a cooler kit and sold it on this forum.

 

I bought my 2014 limited with 8k miles, it now has 102235 miles with no issues. I had a tacoma before too but im not as tall and I loved it as well. The amount of space, power, towing capacity which I didnt know I would need until I purchased a travel trailer years later was worth it. Go for the tundra.

 

Look, I know you know how much verbalized bull shit goes on within the internet.
All these guys complaining about transmission overheats? I'm betting most are shills just staring shit up.
When I brought my 21 Tundra in for it's first check up, I asked the manager about a few things and the cooler thing being one of them.
He said there were no issues with the lack of a tranny cooler so far from the Bay area where I live.
I ragged on him about not having a grab handle on the driver side and he agreed they should of left it on.
I ordered the thing and installed it in 15 minutes, now I can clean the roof of the truck or wind shield with ease.
He said no one is coming in to get a tranny cooler.

 

You sold yet?

 

If you have to be sold or convinced, then you just ain't ready for the level of awesomeness that is Tundra!

 

For sure, just need to get it done!

 

I made close to the same switch as you. I went from a 2020 double cab TRD OR Tacoma to a 2014 crew max tundra. I have 2 kids, age 3 and 9. After a few road trips and a year of ownership we thought the Tacoma was just to small. I traded mine in for a 2014 crewmax Sr5 with 65k miles. The only “regret” I have is I wish I would have got a 2016+ for the updated cluster and 38 gallon tank. Size isn’t much different because I had the DCLB Tacoma, the MPG isn’t much different for my daily drive it was 17mpg taco vs 13.5 tundra. Long trips I’m about 18.5 taco and 16.5 tundra. I do miss some of the new things the Tacoma had like the radar cruise, CarPlay, wireless charger, etc.

 

You didn’t realize you were 6’ 3” when you BOUGHT the Taco??

 

It was ok early on but as time went on the knees above hip seating became uncomfortable.

 

Has anyone had any repairs that got expensive, such as the cam tower leak, or air pump failure?

 

That’s the difficult thing about short ride-along test drives. You never get a great feel for the truck in 20 minutes. Especially with the salesman rattling off inaccurate stats about the truck in the passenger seat the whole time. I always request that I get to take more time and get a chance to show my wife at home. Alone.

Honestly, I don’t even view the cam tower leak as a real issue in most cases. Seems like it’s usually just seeping a tiny bit and doesn’t affect the performance of the truck in any way. There’s a huge thread on it. Just looks like a bunch of barely wet spots. Maybe I’m totally wrong on that, but it’s NOTHING like my Yukon XL that drinks a quart every 3k miles. And according to GM, that’s in spec!

 

The one thing I like about our local GM dealership is I told them I definitely wasn't buying a Sierra and they still wanted me to take it for an overnight test drive. When I bought my Tundra, the salesman just rode along with us for two hours but he said it was the most interesting test drive he'd ever been on.

 

I love my crewmax. At 6'4", every vehicle i have ever owned had the driver seat back as far as it would go. I actually move the seat forward in the Tundra. Tons of room. You won't regret it. And average mpg will vary with where you live and the terrain. I average 13-15.

 

Gotcha.

 

No kidding huh??

 

I have a gen 1 tacoma and a 2021 Tundra - I drive the tacoma probably once a month and prefer the Tundra for size, ride, towing, and the v8. Get the Tundra.