Fairly critical take on how Toyota has repositioned the Tundra

Per truck, you're probably right but they also sell a helluva lot more lower trim models vs higher end. Volume probably nets the bulk of their profits.

 

In my post I literally said that I be the highest volume seller is a limited crew cab and that they probably sell very few SR double cabs. Maybe SR5 will be the highest volume.

I rarely see anything but crew cabs in any truck made in the last 5 years. Even the contractors around here are mostly running CC long beds.

 

I was a teenager then didn't really care all that much why they put them there other than I hated backing trailers into tight storage places and like them for that. I was always taught to never pull in reverse and never saw them used for recovery.

 

Yea I think tow hooks weren't really a thing on pickups until the 90s. First I can think of that comes to mind is the 88-98 chevy platforms

On our old farm trucks when I was in h.s. if we needed tow hooks , or anything else for that matter we just welded shit to it lmao. It was a 1965 f100

 

But if you have a trailer and are in reverse you aren't pulling , you're pushing

 

Dad? Is that you?

 

I know everyone is mad about what is or isn't on the new model but look at aftermarket for the tacoma. You can make that truck anything you'd like at this point. Trucks are very specialized based on what you're using it for. Daily, toy hauler, off road, just want a truck crowd. Shared platform should eventually mean more aftermarket (in normal supply times) at various price points to make a truck that best suits your individual needs. Will it last 20 years? Who knows, but that's how long it took me to rack up 300K on my LC as I jealously watched people doing V8 conversations while dropping a 60 series body on an 80 series frame.

 

The new Tundra is 100% marketed for grocery getting, but it will also tow far better than the old 2.5 gen. Where the new 3rd gen is worse than the 2.5 gen is for off roading. But isn't Toyota typically pushing the Tacoma for doing that since it's smaller? It will be interesting when the Tacoma comes out with a new gen, I think it'll see a push to off roading capabilities even more to help differentiate from the Tundra. When I bought my Tundra I honestly couldn't see the point of a Tacoma - Tundra is far more capable, had similar fuel economy, and if those few inches were important I'd be in a Corolla not a truck. The new Tundra points to a small shift - staying on the pavement get a Tundra, whether that's for towing/hauling or just driving the kids around; head off road and get a Tacoma. Likely a smart market decision from Toyota to try to cater to a wider audience.

 

As I age the low hanging fruit are irresistible for me to leave alone lol

 

I can say with great certainty that I’ve never owned a truck (and I’ve owned lots) with front tow hooks. And I’ve had a use for them exactly 0 times in my life. I don’t take my truck off road, I don’t own a boat, nor do I care to do either of those things. I own my truck because I’m a tradesman who has to provide my own tools, so I carry about 400 lbs of tools in the bed of my truck. My most recent truck purchase (2500 Ram CTD) was because I tow a pretty heavy (~9,000 lbs) travel trailer to wherever I’m working. Since I’m getting off the road because 60ish days a year in my own house sucks, I no longer have the need for the utility of a 3/4 ton truck, but I do still need to carry my tools. So, I’m ditching the Ram and going back to a Tundra. The job sites I work at all have at least gravel, if not paved contractor lots, so 4WD is not needed. Im definitely squarely in the “upgraded” SR5 crowd. I want creature comforts, but I despise the idea of a glass roof. So, price-wise my SR5 is right in base Limited territory, and will suit my needs perfectly.

 

Your Ram doesn’t have tow hooks? I’m always seeing those puppies getting pulled out front first on the beach pulling a giant fifth wheel sunken in the sand. I understand you don’t need tow hooks,(I’d venture to guess that one day you still may) but here nor there. Living in a snowy climate alone would maybe have you feeling differently. I guess my thought here is, should your lack of a need for tow hooks dictate that all tundra owners don’t get to have them whether they need them or not? It’s not exactly a pricy component. Heck, even just give us an opportunity to buy some as an add on.

 

I think they are just working at making stupid commercials. They forget who is buying trucks.

More idiotic Tundra commercials:

 

I’m not saying my lack of need for a tow hook should dictate anything. In fact, I’m a solid supporter of them being an option, whether stock or aftermarket, with maybe a pop out panel or something along those lines. My Ram actually had tow hook delete on the monroney sticker, and I never paid attention to it after that. It has pop out panels in the bumper, so if I wanted tow hooks, I could have them. Which, again should be the default option on the Tundra. I’m actually planning on moving to the mid west here in a couple of months, so my tune just might change this winter. If I wind up needing or wanting tow hooks, I’ll admit my folly publicly

 

Minnesota here and checking in. Nope, not the case. 4WD maybe but not front tow hooks.

 

Dating myself here , but remember when these used to be the solution for the t9w hook debacle??? Lol had a set on my 87 blazer. Drill some frame holes , bolt them on lol

 

Doesn't Jeep still use them? Haven't looked in a while. But see Jeep I understand. Those transmissions go out in any position. Hard to get behind them when they're backed into a parking spot or garage.

 

You're missing the thin metal retainer!

 

If just bolting or welding on some tow hooks onto the new tundra like those hooks was the answer I’d be a whole lot less disgruntled. Of course the frame location in relation to the bottom lip of the front of the truck is tucked up and away so using them would rip the front bumper apart. (Some may argue that could improve that front end) They at least need a solution like cars have with a removable panel on the bumper to screw in a recovery point. As for snow and tow hooks, my brother was glad he had some on his Chevy when I had to pull him out of a snow drift a couple winters ago. He was buried to the frame.

 

What part of the country you in Silver? Don't they plow there or did he go off the road?

 

Im in northeast PA. They plow, although out on the country roads where I’m at that’s the last place to get plowed and the wind drifts the roads right back closed again at times. He has a farm road that runs along his property and that’s where he got stuck. 10’ off his driveway of all places.

 

I'm just gonna leave this here

https://www.tundras.com/threads/the-great-tow-hooks-conspiracy-thread.99931/

 

A conspiracy so vast that 1 thread does not suffice!

 

All I can say is if you're down to fighting over tow hooks, it's a damn good truck. I can't get over window switches that stop working when the window is down or engines that throw codes from cylinder shutoff gimmicks on other brands that I can't get to the positive of having tow hooks

 

Pfft, tow hooks. Who needs em?

Speaking of which, think about how infrequently the truck bed is used.... Maybe it'd just be better to delete that too....

 

Another view point for grins is that any half ton is not really a work truck and really hasnt ever been , 1500-1800lbs of payload isn’t shit

real work truck type trucks are in a different class, 3/4 , 1 ton or more

so why have a rough ride etc for Home Depot trips , towing boats and small campers around etc , all of the current 1/2 tons do just fine with that. Watching the gen three run up the hill in that tfl video not even breaking a sweat with 8-9k was pretty impressive.

they are trying to satisfy everyone, that never works but I think they did decent this time around

now, the QC issues have got to be resolved asap for me to buy one

 

At the start of the tow hook conversation I was thinking back to my buddy’s old 78 Ford F-250 with a big block 460. In the mid 90’s he was pulling everything with that truck. Just went to look at the stats: Tow rating was like 8,000 lbs. 239hp @ 4000 rpm (70’s all throttled back) and 375ft lbs of torque @ 2,400 rpm. Gas gauge read in GPM.

not really a point just found it interesting. That now we’re worried about all this when that was the 3/4 ton back in the day.

 

How often does one use a spare tire? The tow hooks is a HUGE miss only because the TRD off road package or PRO does not have them. The other models no hooks no problem. The decision was simply some Toyota executives looked at the data point saw they could profit by X amount of savings per truck which gives them a bigger bonus. Let’s not get into smaller bed frame, smaller interior, while the truck has grown wider/longer and larger turning radius. So now your stuck on a narrow trail can’t turn around and can’t go fwd. I don’t go looking to off-road but hunt and fish. Being hours away from help is why I bought my Tundra. Im in a truck market in 2 years and maybe looking at a Ford which pains me to say. Shoot maybe by then Honda will tweak the Ridgeline. Throw a twin turbo on their V6 beef up the suspension. Payload is similar already. Honda stealing market share from Tundra would be hilarious.

 

there is nothing wrong with looking at the ford, they have nice rigs.

i test drove a powerboost recently and it runs like a raped ape . It needs some more refinement but has a ton of nice features, generator , etc.

I decided I wanted a new tundra for my 5th, or that GMC refresh AT4 6.2 with a borla is really talking to me , ha!

 

have you driven a refreshed AT4? How was it? Are they still deleting the fuel management due to chip shortage? Or was that just early on?

 

I’m talking to dealers to get a test drive at this point , they just came out

I’ll report back when I get in one