tundra purchase year reccomendation

i want to get a tundra due to its reliability and towing power however i want to get one that best suites my needs and cant seem to find a straight answer

here's what I'm going to be using it for

1.four-wheeling up rocky roads in Colorado i.e. up to 1 foot difference in ground on below each tire
2. towing a 4000 pound trailer up i70 from denver i.e. towing at highway speeds up a 7 percent grade
3. camping in the back with a shell in as low as -15 for skiing the next day
4. plenty of room for modification i.e. i want a bullbar on the front and led foglights
5. i want it to last i.e. as long i keep up with maintainence it shouldnt start major wear until 300,000 plus

from what i can see ive been looking at a 2005 to 2006 first gen or a 2011 to 2013 2nd gen but again i dont know which exact year

thanks in advance.

 

And I want a pet dragon but here we are.


On a more realistic note, especially with your use case and the fact that you’re looking at a 15-20 year old vehicle, I would be more interested in the maintenance history than the model year. That said, organic compounds rot with age. The newer, more likely the better in this case.

 

Epic first post.

but ditto what ZB said. What you want is a tall order. This site likely wouldn't exist if those vehicles grew on trees.

 

Old V8 Tundras are easy to get to 300k miles. All you need to do is to buy it new and keep up with maintenance.

 

+1 for a Time Machine.

 

I use my ‘21 in the same way—off-roading, camping, hunting. You’re gonna need bigger tires. A 2” lift up front will let you fit 35s. I’m running 285/75R18. Some of those CO service roads are pretty gnarly, but they can be fun if you’ve got extra clearance and don’t mind buffing out some pinstripes when you get home.

I agree with the others who say to find the newest, lowest-mileage 2nd gen truck you can afford. If you can get into a 2018, that was the last year the 2nd gen Tundra came with a factory external transmission cooler when tow package-equipped. And you’ll definitely want one if you’ll be in 4Hi at altitude.

I had to add an external cooler to mine, as Toyota dropped it from the tow package in 2019. I do like CarPlay (only on 2020+ trucks), and the TSS (toyota safety sense) stuff doesn’t bother me too much. Dual climate is nice because my wife wants it 5-10ºF warmer than me at all times. (Dual climate was added to the SR5 trim level when equipped with the TRD Off Road package, along with a plastic fuel tank skid plate and LED headlights.)

Buy as new as possible, and maintain it like mad; you’ll have the best chance of seeing 300k that way.

 

I have a manual climate in my '19 DC SR5 + SR5 Upgrade + TRD Offroad.

 

I think dual climate was added to SR5s with the TRD OR package in 2020

 

All of this is virtually irrelevant if we don't know, how much do you want to spend?

 

I think that may have been the SR5 Plus Package. I have dual climate on my sport.

 

my only concern with a 2.5 gen is thats when they added more tech and sensors to it, i.e. less easy to work on if I wanted to change spark plugs for example I would rather take it to a shop if I have to take apart a bunch of stuff just to get to them

don't get me wrong its nice to have all that but from my experience I don't know about anyone else's is that all of that just adds more issues

do you ever work on youre stuff or do you take it to a shop to get it done?

 

What does this mean?

All the rest of your "requirements" can be met by a Tundra of any year.

How much do you have to spend?

 

I do all my own maintenance, and my truck has never been back to the dealer for anything. The only thing it has been to a shop for is an alignment after I installed new suspension. Tundras are very easy to maintain. Lots of space and everything is where you want it (except the alternator and starter, lol…but I won’t have to worry about those until around 200k…)

My truck has CarPlay and the Toyota Safety Sense sensor up front. That has nothing to do with me maintaining fluids and changing spark plugs or the serp belt or tensioner, etc.

Get a 2014-2018 SR5 that doesn’t have BSM if you’re worried about that stuff.

There is also the concern of 2007-2013 Tundras having head gasket issues…

That’s not something you want to have happen with an aluminum block…