1st truck in 30 yrs

Hi everyone! As the title states, I'm looking at getting a truck and I have a ton of Q's.

I'm a consumer reports member and it seems that Toyota is paying them under the table (joking) because all of their products seem to get great reliability scores as well as the "recommended" rating.

However, in the truck dept the Ram 1500 comes out on top. I'm not sure what's going on there b/c Ram isn't known for reliability. I'm confused there.

Is reliability overblown? What I mean is; has technological and mechanical development come to a point where even the lowest reliability truck is still considered pretty good?

To confuse it even more, I'm not sure I even need a truck. All I want to do is tow a motorcycle (I do that currently with my lexus GS430), to buy/move furniture, pull a trailer that weighs approximately 7000lb and go for camping trips with my family. I'm thinking a large SUV maybe more practical b/c in a truck the things I put in the bed will get dirty when taking a dirt road etc...?

I'm not loyal to any brand, so any of the manufacturers would be fine; all I want is a reliable truck that will last 15yrs just doing regular maintenance.

Also, I'm not willing to spend 80k on a vehicle. If I were I would be getting a raptor or trx.

I'm also open to putting a supercharger on the Tundra for more oomph...

I was thinking of the Kia Telluride but I've heard a lot of bad about direct injection engines.

Should I wait for the new 22 Tundra coming out? How's reliability for a 1st year production vehicle, even coming from Toyota?

Anyways, thanks for reading this all and please send me links to other threads that have discussed my concerns. I'm not wanting to re-invent the wheel here.

PS; what oil do you use? joking

 

First off - WELCOME!
Secondly: you need a truck….trust me.
Thirdly: 30 years??? Bro, I’m from the south….that’s almost unheard of. Most guys get their first truck at 16 or at least by college! That’s how most of us Cajuns do it….gotta get those boats around somehow! LOL

and finally: Toyota is known for its reliability, hands down. You’d be surprised how little you care about all the tech when your buddies are complaining about spending more time in the shop than on the street and you’re running smooth at 200k. In my opinion, every brand is a mixed bag…but with brands like Toyota, you have less of a chance on getting a bad one, however slight (I haven’t crunched the numbers….so can’t show proof myself) but it seems illogical (financially wise) for a brand that’s made their name based on ONE thing to try and do what everybody else is doing.
of course….people are idiots….so I could be wrong LOL

I’m running smooth in a 2012 and haven’t had any problems save for the AIP that’s plagued some tundras….I did have to ride through floodwaters up to my upper bumper so that may have contributed LOL

good luck and happy hunting, sir!

 

Welcome from AZ

 

Welcome to the money pit

 

Welcome from Ohio

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! Consumer Reports may have ranked the Ram on top due to the new model's tech, fit, and finish, but as you know, one look at their reliability scores and you start second guessing them.

The Tundra will easily do what you're wanting to do even without the SC. I don't know how the SC will affect the reliability so I would research that first. There are steps you can take to add oomph without spending $5k+ on a supercharger.

 

Welcome from Nevada

 

Not to mention the added maintenance/fuel costs on a SC.

 

Welcome

 

Welcome from NY.

 

If you are thinking an SUV would suit your needs better, then I strongly suggest looking at the Sequoia. Same motor and transmission, better auto 4x4 transfer case, and better ride due to IRS.

Will handle 7,000lbs easily. No way would I tow 7K behind any mid size SUV. Have towed 5K’ish behind my old Cherokee and my 4Runner, and could definitely feel it more than I liked.

 

Ram 1500 reliable? NOT!! I had a 2013 Ram 1500. At 67,000 miles or so the tranny went out in it. Needed a total rebuild. Luckily the dealer did it under warranty. Plastic bits and pieces were breaking as well. I had issues with the Ram 2500 I had before my Tundra as well. The brake control module went out. I replaced it, and they're expensive. The next year it did it again. I found out they had some bad problems with those, and there are tons of them on ebay, the bcm's that is.

I've had Chevy's and Fords too. Problems with both. Chevy's I had all had issue's with water pumps, alternators and lights. The front headlights on them kept going out, running lights too. The Fords I had were problematic too. I had an F350, '99 if I recall right, had issues from day one. Front hubs, oil leaks, death wobble......etc. Every time I switched brands I had issues. No matter how meticulous I was with maintenance, I seemed to always get problematic trucks.

I looked at Toyota, but for some reason never really considered them over the years, until this year. Now that I finally made the jump to Toyota, I'm happy so far. Hopefully, knock on wood, I'll have a lot of trouble free miles. I hope you do as well.

 

Really? I got yas all beat. This 2021 Tundra is my first truck in 40 years....
I bought it cause my sons got rid of theirs (and they regret it).
Every family has to own a truck in it. It wouldn't be American if not.

 

I agree with ak Sequoia is a great "truck" amazing ride, quiet, roomy, better turning radius than the tundra.
I had one for 11 years and 120k miles and never had a single thing go wrong. The guy that bought it has 230k on it and it still starts and runs like brand new.

 

Man, I can’t imagine not having a truck for 40 years. Got my first one at 17, tried to drive a car only once….couldn’t do it.

 

I went through a mini van stage when my kids were younger, and we were doing sports. I drove a Honda Odyssey minivan. Worst years of my life, vehicle wise. As soon as my kids started driving their own vehicles dear ole dad traded the minivan in on a pickup.

 

Welcome from So Cal

 

Ooh yeah.

 

Hey now,,, I love me some Sienna action. If only I had the AWD and a supercharger, it would be the perfect sleeper. There is a lot of satisfaction passing BMW's on the outside, kekeke I'm still sad it overheated and blew the head gasket; it's an engine out repair and thus immediately totaled. We're picking up the new 2022 Sienna AWD when they become available; it's got electric motors on the rear wheels and torque vectors the power for better handling and gasp, cornering.

 

Welcome