Why not a Tundra?

Yes

 

If I needed to pull over 8k lbs, I'd be in an HD truck.
If I thought 16mpg in a domestic was wildly better than 13 in a Tundra, I'd skip the Tundra.
If I wanted a truck that would have problems so I could have an excuse to trade it in in a couple years, I'd be in a domestic.

 

Haha love that, yea I don’t want another truck in a couple years, or even a few… looking to make a purchase and stick with it … thanks

 

Can you share your pre and post cooler trans temps? Does your truck live in 4LO a lot on the ranch?

Also, where is your youtube channel? This Wyoming Ranch Tundra sounds amazing - I want to see vids

 

There's your decision then.

 

Absolutely. I could see a "day in the life" channel of a ranch in Wyoming being a huge channel

 

It's a common misconception, but the gear ratios in the transmission make up for this. Tundras are not low-geared.

And to the people complaining about maneuverability, the Tundra has a smaller turning radius than other full size trucks.

 

Reason to not buy a tundra (or any truck):

-You hate having friends or family asking to haul stuff on your vehicle
-You don't need much camping equipment
-Think off-roading is overrated
-Don't need a work able vehicle
-The streets in your town have no potholes
-B**** about MPG/affordability
-Suck at parallel parking/have bad spatial awareness

I could go on but it's late

 

haha, classic! Yea none of those came to mind but you’re right. Funny I haven’t been asked in a long while to move someone’s junk … (with Tacoma - which will prob become my wife’s daily drive unless she insists on a third row - Sequoia then!) …. just jinxed it.

 

My 4Runner will get stuck in mud or have a tire in the air long before my Tundra because the Tundra has more clearance and its Open C Frame keeps tires touching. If the trail is wide enough Tundra all the way.
Owners need to spec their trucks for offroading or towing. In between you accept compromises.
The numbers posted by manufacturers are nothing more than a pissing contest and people buy into it.
If you are towing what is in the picture all the time and frequency - move up a class.

 

1. Other trucks have more power, acceleration, modern features, factory locking differentials, payload, fully boxed frames, and (imo) better styling.

2. I still own a 2021 tundra because it is still way better. No auto start stop. While not the most, it has sufficient power/acceleration/payload for me. Power can be added by supercharger or gearing. Lockers can be added. Most reliable truck on the market.

 

I get 10.5 mpg cause of the lift, pedal commander, stillen cai, BAMuffler and my driving habits but wouldn't trade it for the world.
I can use this truck as a coffin, especially since I have a company truck and I only drive this on the weekends.

 

My only complaint is the low payload. I tow a travel trailer so I have to be super careful with how I load the trailer and the truck. Once underway, however, it tows really well.

 

Not sure why you quoted me on this. I gave may opinion and what I would and wouldn't do with it. I'm not planning to debate it in the OPs thread.

 

Honestly, if you already have a Taco and that serves all of your power and capacity needs, then no, a Tundra is not actually an upgrade. There is lots of cons and pros for each platform, but IMHO, the cons are subjective.

 

I’m not mechanical so I’m not the one to ask about transmission temps & frankly, I just want the truck to work & I don’t need to know how it works. In August 2020, during the pandemic, I smashed up my daily drive truck & went to my regular truck dealer for another one. There was not much to choose from. He set me up with the Tundra I’m driving now. It was used but only had a couple of thousand miles on it. I needed a truck, didn’t have time to wait around for a special order & I bought what was available. I figured if I didn’t like it or it fell apart I’d trade it back in. This Tundra I came home with is lifted, has 285/65R18 BFGs on fancy rims, air bags, a transmission cooler, tri-fold tonneau cover, husky floor liners & came with the goose neck hitch already in the bed. It had no rust & looked like it had never towed anything. The rear seats & the floor mats were still wrapped in factory plastic. The only down side is the truck has no spare tire but I don’t like to change tires anyway so I can live with that. It has also given my family something to tease me about (grandma is in a kid’s lifted truck).
So far, it has been a work horse & everyone has been pleasantly surprised! I should add, I drive it to my office in town daily. In the winter, I usually haul feed to a pasture to get unloaded when I’m on my way into work in the morning & I unhitch the trailer at the driveway entrance/exit before I hit the highway.
There are other trucks on the ranch, and the newest is a 2022 RAM 3500 dually 4x4 crew cab diesel with the Laramie package to mainly tow the big stuff & for the granddaughters to tow their horses around to various high school rodeos since they are too young to get CDL licenses (at least they look good when entering the parking lot & I know they are safe when flying down the highway on their way home).

There’s no YouTube channel. I don’t want a bunch of ‘hunters’ wondering around the pastures.

 

Where is the fun in that?

Kidding aside did upgrade my tires pretty soon after purchase and have never been able to get more than a 1.5MPG increase even if I baby the thing so figured why not just drive it in the way that best suits the moment.

 

Everyone on here complaining about the low payload. Are you talking about the numbers on the sticker, inside the door that they had to put on because of politics? Are you afraid it is going to break in half if you go over the limit? The only weakness in the tundra preventing good loads is the weak springs and that can be fixed with a trip to a spring shop and a leaf added. Tundra's are not built lighter than fords, dodges or GMs. I will have no problem carrying a 1000 lbs in the back plus the tongue load of a trailer. I was carrying and towing more with my '13 Tacoma than some of you are willing to do with this monster of a truck. Good lord!

 

You realize if you have an accident towing, the very first thing DOT will look at is your truck and trailer capacity stickers? I've stood on the side of the road and watched the process after a buddy was in a not-at fault accident. He was hit in the rear of his landscaper trailer, jack knifing and dumping his equipment all over the grassy median and yet the Staties and DOT were more interested in making sure his Ram 1500 wasn't overweight with 2 zero turns on the back... I've even heard cases where insurance has decline coverage because people were egregiously over their towing limits.

Nobody in this argument is saying the truck will break in half. Our issue is most people don't want to kill themselves, their family or a random stranger. Driving well beyond the payload and trailering max is stupid. A 10 minute drive down the road with 400 lbs too many of roof shingles is one thing. Towing a TT with a 1000 lbs hitch weight, 5 passengers and gear in the bed when your payload is 1375 lbs is another.

Toyota fucked this all up and in the process put all their towing/payload customers into a box...

 

I hear ya, I chuckle at the chicken littles around here constantly whining about 'over payload'....these same guys are afraid to cut the mattress tag.
No one should be grossly overloaded, but a small/moderate camper and a boat, etc are hardly an issue. DOT won't say sh!t.

 

But the fact that it's Towing Champion™ makes up for that.

 

Whoa wait, we can do that and not have a Swat team converge on our location?

 

He was a commercial owner. Very different situation. In most states they check commercial regularly, but I guess in others they wait until you are in an accident.

Only if you are stupid. Modest upgrades can make a Tundra that's carrying 1.5x (maybe even 2x) payload a lot safer than a stock one carrying what's on the sticker. In all cases it's up to the driver to ensure that he is driving within the vehicle's limits at all times.

If you really want to be safe you'd never tow a big trailer period (thinking tall-long camping trailer), as they are much more precarious than a typical vehicle. Heck a pickup is much more precarious than a sports car for that matter.

 

I wouldn't chance it.

 

The one component that makes all 1/2 ton trucks unstable is their lack of proper suspension. If you put 1000 lbs in the back any stock 1/2 ton, they will squat and the ride will be wishy washy. Go around a corner and the truck leans a lot more. Putting an extra leaf in the stack (like they should have from the factory) fixes a lot of this roll effect as well as improving lateral stability. I'm not suggesting that your truck will become a one ton but it will be nicer to drive and safer if you are hauling a load or pulling a travel trailer. a WDH is supposed to help stabilize and transfer the load, not do all of the work. 80% of truck owners don't use their trucks for truck stuff and expect their truck to ride like a Cadillac. If you are one of them, you are the reason trucks have gone soft.

 

It's a lot more than soft springs.
A 3/4 ton and up truck has heavier duty everything. Frame, axle, brakes, more lugs, 10 ply tires designed for higher psi, etc.
That said,...yes, toughening up your suspension will help with dealing with a heavy load, but I wouldn't suggest that it means you should exceed the truck's rating. Because you haven't toughened up all the other parts of the truck that are also taxed under load.
If you have a 1500 lb payload rating, tougher springs will help manage 1500 pounds a little better. Tougher springs doesn't mean you now have a 2500 lb rating or capability.

 

I am highly skeptical of this claim. Insurance has to pay. Always. It exists because of negligence. The only thing they can not pay for is insurance fraud (causing an accident in order to collect $$).

Remember the guy who cracked his Ram 3500 in half because he overloaded it by putting too big of a truck camper in the bed, cantilevered off into infinity? His insurance is paying to fix the truck.

The one case anyone can find on the internet of someone being charged is the guy pulling a yacht with a Super Duty with a 19-ton GCWR with no commercial license (entering a roadway with this load is illegal without a CDL) and no trailer brakes. This is a WILDLY different situation than a Tundra owner pulling a TT with trailer brakes and a WDH within his tow rating and GCWR but with tongue weight that puts his truck over GVWR.

I daily my truck. I commute to work with lots of gear in the rear seat. We use it for dispersed camping, hauling, hunting, and general exploring. When it gets used for truck stuff, I’m typically near or above GVWR. But neither axle is overloaded. I don’t use my truck like an HD rig. But being somewhere between GVWR and what the axles are rated to safely carry is not a concern for me.

 

If you need the payload
Just my opinion: titan XD Gasser

I came from a domestic diesel. Ram 2500 Cummins with a manual transmission.

Yes I miss it. It was beyond freaking cool truck but it was a glorious motor wrapped in a Chrysler product.

Everybody with a GM diesel that I know has the same issue.

The heavy duty Ford seems to be a little better. I just have a thing about Fords and not a positive thing.
now:
If I’m moving something heavy, I use a trailer.
I put on the transmission cooler. It was an all day affair, but was not overly complicated.

And although I miss the street CRED that I get with the boys down at the physical plant where I work, the tundra has been a much much better truck.

My ramblings

 

Hey all.

I miss my duramax sometimes but I’ve had my 2019 for 2 years now and I love it. I put in a tranny cooler and bags so I don’t clap the springs. Best thing about the bags is the Daystar cups they ride in. It releases the air spring so the axle can articulate when off roading but re centres when taking a load.
We tow heavy and I have to be aware of where I’m putting weight in the truck and trailer. WDH is critical.
Finally, the look of the truck is the best of all the tundras of all time.

 

Right! You said exactly what I was thinking so we are on the same page. I totally agree that it's never going to be a 3/4 or 1 ton truck but it should handle it's max load without squatting and behaving wishy washy. After adding a leaf to my truck, it did not make it a noticeably a rougher ride unless you drove on rough roads and even then it isn't that bad.