Researching my first pickup truck

Hi everyone,

So appreciative to have found this gathering place…. I have been researching my first pickup truck for a LONG time. I have run almost 25 years with a minivan (modified with air bags inside the rear springs), hauling ungodly amounts of video equipment initially, and then once retired from my career, over to tools, lumber, bags of concrete, what have you. I have become defacto ‘family repair/remodel guy’ - bouncing from one family member’s home to another. Before retirement, at least I got a few days off every week!

It is time to jump to a pickup truck (the van will soon hit 250,000 miles and has earned it’s rest, having done an amazing job).

Currently bouncing between MD and NC, spending more time in coastal and Western NC than up north. I am in my mid-60’s now, and TheDarlingWife has signed off on me getting a NICE (lightly) used Tundra. I’m thinking to wait for one with panoramic sunroof and roll down rear window. My understanding is that any truck including those features is necessarily from 2022 or beyond, and would be from one of trims 1794, Platinum, Limited… xxxx Pro? There’s a lot to know, isn’t there?

I am going to search now on my first few questions, and post into the forums if I can’t find answers. Looking forward to sharing and learning. I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! To minimize the probability of engine problems, I would go with a '24 or newer. I'm pretty sure all have the roll down rear window. The nicer trims should have the panoramic sunroof, I believe.

 

I would get a 2021 and not newer-just my .02. My buddy senior Toyota tech for 30 years at same dealer is finally retiring and wants to buy his last truck, but he says he would not buy the newer versions of either the Tacoma or Tundra as he does not think their life span will be what the previous engines are capable of. Again not hating on the newer ones, but I keep my vehicles a long time!

 

Welcome to the forum and you've come to the right place to learn the ins and outs of a Tundra and then some. The roll down back window is standard on all Crew Cab 2.5 & 3rd Gen Tundras, double cabs have the small sliding window that you see on most trucks. The Pano roof is an add on package with the Gen 3's. As you mentioned a lot of the higher trim levels seem to have the Pano roof but not all depending on how it was ordered. I'm not sure if it can be optioned with the SR5 trim level or not. Another thing to do is go on Toyota's site and build your own Tundra. You can build it multiple ways and compare the different trim levels which will give you an idea of what comes standard on trims and the diffrent packages are out there.

 

Welcome and good luck in your search!

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Thanks everyone! Yesterday I had my first test drive on an almost-new Platinum (15K on it). Wow it is big inside. I am curious as to how a vehicle ends up for sale with so few miles on it. (I did see listed connected devices include the name of a doctor... that's interesting). My wife speculates that the dealership might have it on the lot as a loaner vehicle.

Current thinking... Turbos worry me. I am 'reasonably' mechanically inclined, and I just feel that smaller capacity engines being pushed harder is not a winning combination. Haven't turbo units always been a bit of a weak link within the power plant?

My new truck is going to add miles fairly quickly, as I have a maintenance route for family member's homes that are on points of a triangle - the sides of that triangle are 360 miles and 500 miles. (NC is a huge state going E-W!). The comfort of the Platinum trim is amazing, but I'm inclined to veer away from a V6 + turbo's with $50K+ price tag, and go back to this : V8, conventional lungs, 100K or less on it, but get after a comfortable interior and the more modest earlier sunroof. That I think would have me going after something prior to 2022, but with a high level trim. Best I can tell, since 2022 there have been NO Tundra's built with V8's.

The Panoramic roof and roll down window are a big attraction for me - I love convertibles! - but not when these 2 features add up to an extra $30K to the price tag and obligates me to run a complex and more highly stressed power plant. (interesting too that people are no seeing any significant fuel efficiency gains with the smaller but boosted engine).

I have a question about the (belt-timed) 4.7 V8 vs the later, chain-driven 5.7 V8's, but will post that in a better forum thread.....

Thanks again for the great guidance!

 

Welcome from Nevada

 

'22 and later models will not have a V* option at all. The older 4.7L V8's are much older and will most likely have a lot more miles than you are looking for. I think it is a wise precaution to lean toward the 5.7L V8's, even though you can't get the panoramic sunroof.

 

Welcome!! Honestly, a 20 or 21 Platinum or 1794 will have all the niceties, not the big sunroof, and have the most reliable powertrain. For me, I don't think its worth rolling the dice on the new turbo powertrain to get a bigger sunroof.

 

Thanks again. I see that Adaptive Cruise Control (great for older drivers doing long distance) arrived in 2018. The early version mentions the word 'radar'. It was then refreshed in 2020, if I have my facts straight. Does anyone have comparative experience of the first versions vs the 2020 version?

One more thing to clarify - chasing around the internet for an answer to this - if you need the 6 ½ ft bed for tools, you are going to be looking at the reduced crew/cabin configuration - is that correct?

 

Not sure about the difference between adaptive cruise control in '18 vs. '20 models, but the 1794 and Platinum trims only come with a 5 1/2' bed. The double cab will have the 6 1/2' bed, but the back window will not fully roll down.

 

All the adaptive cruise is radar based in the Tundras. Don't get hung up on the verbiage.

In the 2018-2021 Tundras there are a few items of note.

1. 2018 is the last year to have a factory auxiliary transmission cooler. 2019+ do not have one, but you can add one yourself.
2. 2018 and 2019 have two different 5.7 v8 options. Flex fuel or non flex fuel. If you can avoid flex fuel do so. Especially if you have dreams of supercharging. I believe in 2020 they eliminated the flex fuel option.
3. There is a larger 38 gallon tank available on the 5.7 Tundras of that era and you definitely want it. The package it was in varied by year, but you want to make sure. Don't just trust the seller saying that it has the larger tank.
4. 2020+ added push button start and apply/android car options. They also eliminated the antenna on the passenger front fender and the CD player.
5. Correct, for the 2.5 gen trucks you cannot get a 6.5' bed on the crewmax.

 

Yes you lose cabin space and rear window down function.

I'm older and have a '21 SR5 4x4 and don't use radar cruise ... actually the only TSS ( Toyota Safety Sence) I use is blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert, and pre collision set on softest setting and it only went off once.

I would never trade the Crew Max cabin space for bed space even though the 6.5 bed would be handy toting dirtbikes with bed closed.

Furthermore, there are numerous buttons and lights on my rear view mirror and I have no clue (or care) what they do. Old school my man!

 

Just an FYI for the OP, Blinds spot is not part of TSS. It's in a separate package, whereas the cruise and collision stuff is standard on all toyotas.

 

Thanks I did not know that.

 

Same, I think the only LIMFAC with a 2nd Gen Tundra is Fuel economy, Also get one with Apple Carplay/Android Auto for navigation as it works great with Google maps and Waze.

 

Welcome from NC