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Intro

Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by snowcruiser, Jan 13, 2018.

  1. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:00 PM
    #1
    snowcruiser

    snowcruiser [OP] New Member

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    Hey Guys! Old Toyota head here but new to Tundras.

    I've been on IH8Mud for 15 years, former mechanic and have had lots of yotas over the years. Currently have a 1996 FZj80 (since 2002) and the lady has a 2007 4Runner. Looking at 3rd gen Tundras to possibly replace my 2001 Duramax with 250k. The Dmax runs like new and has more power and torque than I know what to do with. I can tow 5k without even knowing its there and get 20 MPG while doing it yet I feel like I'm in my living room! I truly love everything about the truck but the stink. I'm over that and considering newer diesel trucks with newer emissions gear. The HD Rams have the nicest interior out there but the build quality is junk with open recalls and horror stories of trucks stuck at the dealer. No way I'd buy one without knowing the history or a warranty. The new Duramaxs are awesome but $$$ and I'm not ready to spend 60-70k on a new diesel truck. The half ton GMs and Fords don't do it for me so being a Toyota guy I drove a Tundra. Great machine, lots of power, decent handling and I love the Double Cab but can't stand the black interior, carpet, dash, door panels etc., and not too excited about 13mpg. Other than that I'd be in one already but given those two things I'm on the fence.

    Are there any other former diesel guys out there that can convince me the Tundra is worth it? I live on a small farm and do a lot of shorter trips (5-10 miles), a few longer trips each year (2k miles+) and tow 5-10k pounds every few months. The 3rd gen definitely drive nice but still on the fence if its worth the cost over my Dmax. Thanks all!
     
  2. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:03 PM
    #2
    Prostar 190

    Prostar 190 SSEM #9 I would rather be water skiing

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  3. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:03 PM
    #3
    buckeyes1975

    buckeyes1975 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_ /¯

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    Welcome from OHIO
     
  4. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:06 PM
    #4
    Steve6

    Steve6 New Member

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    Welcome from Arizona
     
  5. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:12 PM
    #5
    T-Rex266

    T-Rex266 Elon approved Staff Member

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    NewImprovedRon and ColoradoTJ like this.
  6. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:12 PM
    #6
    TXMiamiFan

    TXMiamiFan SSEM #3 and tractor extraordinaire

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    Welcome from Colorado
     
  7. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:13 PM
    #7
    Y0TA PR0

    Y0TA PR0 Dirt biking & fishing

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  8. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:13 PM
    #8
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    ColoradoTJ likes this.
  9. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:13 PM
    #9
    Casper3

    Casper3 New Member

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    CT/OH
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    Welcome from Ohio
     
  10. Jan 13, 2018 at 1:17 PM
    #10
    Areith762

    Areith762 Go Avs!!!

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    .- -. - .... --- -.
    39.944182, -104.760113
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    2017 Blazing Blue 5.7L CM SR5 4X4
    DAP Tune, Katskin interior leather, ESP rear under seat storage, door sill protector, door edge protector, TRD Pro shift knob, heated seats, all weather Tundra floor mats, driver side a-frame handle, Tundra trucks center console emblem, clear bra protection, Bushwacker fender flares, paint match front bumper caps, paint match rear bumper caps, paint match mirror caps, ProComp 3/1 lift, 20" Fuel wheels, 33-11.50/R20 Falcon tires, black TRD Pro badge's, black Tundra tailgate badge insert, TRD Pro headlights, Recon smoked tail lights, Recon smoked 3rd brake light, Roll N Lock tonneau cover, Line-X bed liner, Tundra bed mat, Cobra led remote alarm/remote start, N-fab tube steps, factory match window tint, TRD Pro grille -paint matched, paint matched hood bulge, TRD dual exhaust, Black out exhaust tips, led interior lights, led plate lights, Spyder smoked fog lights, TRD Cold Air Intake
    Welcome from CO. A good friend of mine owns a 2009 Duramax. It is a very nice truck, but unless I was constantly towing, I would take my Tundra over his duramax. I have always loved Toyota trucks.
     
  11. Jan 13, 2018 at 6:28 PM
    #11
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    Calibrated Power 5 Tune pack, Allison 1000 tune, PPE deep trans pan, Cold/Hot CAC pipes, Banks CAI, PCV reroute, resonator delete, S&B 62 gal fuel tank, B&W GN hitch
    Here is my take on your situation:

    Wouldn’t happen to be in Colorado are you? I offer my camper which is 7200 empty or my flatbed (up to 14k) to any CO member that wants to see “what’s it like in a Tundra” towing experience. Sounds like you have some pretty good weight to tow and could test that out before purchase nonetheless.

    Another idea, is keep the DM truck you have now. The truck is not worth a whole lot anyway regardless of condition, use it for work only, buy a Tundra for the lighter duty stuff. Don’t be fooled, the Tundra was built for work, and does it well.The only downfall is towing 9K+ at over 9000 feet of elevation. It will be breathing pretty hard at the top of a pass.

    I wouldn’t be looking at anything but Limited or higher trim packages. Have you looked at the 1794 Tundra packages? Sounds like you have a LT in that generation of GM (leather upgraded). If you don't like the interiors of the Tundra, you will have to come to terms with that. I loved my interior of my SR5, and with the higher grade packages available, something should fit your needs. This is where you spend all your time. Interiors are important to me.

    Towing, I would limit that to no more than 75-80% of the max GVWR. So in other words, not the 10000 lbs every so often probably isn’t the best plan, especially if you have passes to go over. With your HD truck now, going to max GCWR isn't an issue.

    Newer diesels are pretty nice. You definitely do not have the “diesel” smell when driving (and know exactly what you're talking about). They are expensive, and maybe I am a better negotiator than what I thought. Almost everyone I have talked to have been in the 65-75k range. I was under 60k for a nicely loaded SLT.

    Now you can't do the short trip crap with newer diesels. You will be in regeneration hell forever. I do not daily drive mine, and would never recommend it anyway on any common rail diesel. I have a co-worker that has an 01' CC LB DM with 160K on it. He has had his fair share of issues, but in the overall picture, not bad. He has done head gaskets (that was his fault though), belt tension pulley assembly broke (which caused the truck to overheat...head gasket time), and the idler arm, which I told him to go with an aftermarket set up to have the solid steering. I am doing after my warranty is up, and he did injectors at 145K miles.

    Would I buy another Tundra? Honestly, in my current situation, no. I tow a lot. Last year was almost 14K miles alone. My heaviest load has been 17200 lbs. The DM pulled like a dream, and more impressively, stopped and controlled the load like a boss.

    SD outside Sturgis. TT loaded up to 8200 lbs. We were coming back from a CO-ID-MT-ND-SD-WY-CO trip.

    gmc1.jpg

    GMC3.jpg

    Would I buy another Tundra if I didn't tow as often, daily driver, needed a top performer in the 1/2 ton market? Damn right I would...in a NY minute. That is what I did for 89K miles on my 12' CM, and enjoyed most of the miles. Don't be fooled, they can work. Here are some of my honorable mentions:

    NM trip, up in the norther mountains. Some very hard towing. I was surprised. So. Beautiful. Trailer loaded to 8500 lbs. We had full water and the homestead bathroom sink. I dipped into the 6 mpg.

    nmt.jpg

    Jeep and trailer, depending on what I bring, 9K lbs plus

    toy7.jpg

    02 TA, no motor or trans in this pic. I had a oops at the track at 95 mph with traction and RPM went where I didn't want it to at full pin. Car like this was 3000 and trailer was 2650 lbs. Rather light load.

    toy6.jpg

    Hauling a Rock Buggy over from the SW part of CO. Ended up in one of the worst blizzard conditions in my life, except in Montana and Wyoming. This Crawler is 4475 lbs and my buddies 18" trailer is 2550lbs

    toy5.jpg

    This was the heaviest load with the Tundra. I have no idea what the weighed, and said I would never tow this weight again with a vehicle not rated for this load..it was dumb. I bent the L brackets on my Load Distribution Hitch, and I have the 1200 lb bars. I'm sure my trailer was maxed out, and It can handle 11000 lbs. I towed this up to the mountains from the mountains (my mountain property) to his property. We loaded these logs with a tractor, and three guys couldn't roll them off. We had to cut in place to get off my trailer. I have a picture of the logs, but Photobucket has my pics in lockdown (pig fuckers). You can see on the back, the rather large log sticking out, there are several of them at full trailer length you can't see. This was the last day for my Equalizer brand LDH. Had a lot of good miles with it.

    I had to go up several rather steep dirt roads to get to his property, and this load in 4Lo was dragging my truck backwards. Only thing that saved my ass was the rather large 12" trailer brakes and a NFG attitude. The traction control did its job, but the brakes were hot.

    toy4.jpg

    I was hauling crushed concrete to the recycling center. I had so much in this dump trailer, it overloaded the hydraulics. I had to hand shovel a good portion out cussing like a sailor the whole time.

    toy3.jpg

    Small skid steer. This was the biggest one that I could rent with a 1/2 ton. It is 4100 lbs and 3K for trailer.

    toy2.jpg

    In closing, good luck with your search. Trucks are expensive now from the last time you purchased the 01 DM. Do your research like you have been doing, and I'm pretty sure we will be seeing a new Platinum DC Tundra in White (fastest color) soon. I would also just keep the 01 DM if you have the room. It really isn't costing that much in the big scheme of things, and you can use that for the 10K loads.
     
  12. Jan 13, 2018 at 6:33 PM
    #12
    TXRailRoadBandit73

    TXRailRoadBandit73 YOTAS,RAILROADER,RÖKnRÖLLN',BEER,MAX/GEMMA

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    None yet
    Welcome from Texas
     
  13. Jan 13, 2018 at 7:02 PM
    #13
    Vendeta2k

    Vendeta2k Distinguished Member Of The Cement Club

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    Welcome!
     
  14. Jan 13, 2018 at 7:22 PM
    #14
    Alloutdrs1

    Alloutdrs1 New Member

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    Andrew
    Virginia Beach, VA
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    17' Tundra SR5, 12' Tacoma TRD offroad
    Welcome! These Tundras tow and work very well, mine is my business truck so it works a lot. I am averaging closer to 14.5/14.7 over 19k miles so far. Truck has been flawless, I was on the fence at first about a Tundra as well. Found this forum and @ColoradoTJ put my mind at ease, listen to his advice. Here are two pics of mine towing two of my heavier loads, the truck and trailer are about 6800lbs and I'm not sure about the skid steer but I'm thinking maybe 7k with the trailer maybe more. Its a buddies and he couldn't get it out in the snow with his 2wd 2500 so Tundra yanked it around, never missed a beat.

    41575.jpg 20180104_145210.jpg
     
  15. Jan 13, 2018 at 7:40 PM
    #15
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    Ha I remember those conversations.

    The Tundra doesn't disappoint if you remember it is a 1/2 ton truck. I struggled coming from built diesels that could pull Vail Pass at whatever speed I wanted. Once you realize you don't have a diesel 1 ton anymore (or the damn headaches of owning a diesel), the Tundra experience is awesome.
     
    NewImprovedRon likes this.
  16. Jan 13, 2018 at 8:32 PM
    #16
    blue16

    blue16 New Member

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  17. Jan 13, 2018 at 8:35 PM
    #17
    831Tun

    831Tun heartless Bastrd

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    Welcome from Ca.
     
  18. Jan 13, 2018 at 11:11 PM
    #18
    Marty McFly

    Marty McFly Nobody calls me chicken!! Except when off roading

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    Welcome from SoCal sir :hattip:
     
  19. Jan 13, 2018 at 11:24 PM
    #19
    Ely010606

    Ely010606 New Member

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    Welcome from So Cal
     
  20. Jan 13, 2018 at 11:33 PM
    #20
    4x4_Angel

    4x4_Angel Perfectly Imperfect Tomboy....TTC #132

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    Welcome from Texas
     
  21. Jan 14, 2018 at 4:13 AM
    #21
    rons23

    rons23 Get The Led Out!!!

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    Welcome from Obx
     
  22. Jan 14, 2018 at 12:13 PM
    #22
    Toyotoholic

    Toyotoholic -4Life-

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  23. Jan 14, 2018 at 12:38 PM
    #23
    Toyotoholic

    Toyotoholic -4Life-

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    If you tow 5-10k with the Tundra you will be lucky to get 8-10mpg. A diesel will always win the mpg battle. That said, its probably the only thing that is debatable. I tow my machines (6k-8500#) 10-12 times a year and have no problems with my truck, or the gas I have to put in to run it. I wish I could get the TRD supercharger and all be a non-issue, but that's not available any longer. Bottom line is the Tundra is an excellent all around truck for continuous low to medium towing with the occasional heavy tow within it's ability, but at the length of it's arm. Continuous 8-12k of towing will require the stench of the blue smoke. Exclude the obvious mileage difference, and there is no better choice for a truck, than the Tundra.
     
    ColoradoTJ likes this.
  24. Jan 14, 2018 at 1:30 PM
    #24
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    Calibrated Power 5 Tune pack, Allison 1000 tune, PPE deep trans pan, Cold/Hot CAC pipes, Banks CAI, PCV reroute, resonator delete, S&B 62 gal fuel tank, B&W GN hitch
    You can still get the supercharger, just not through TRD.
     
  25. Jan 14, 2018 at 1:34 PM
    #25
    Toyotoholic

    Toyotoholic -4Life-

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    Magnuson right?
     
    ColoradoTJ[QUOTED] likes this.
  26. Jan 14, 2018 at 1:37 PM
    #26
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    Yepper.

    Someone just got wood....
     
    Toyotoholic[QUOTED] likes this.
  27. Jan 14, 2018 at 2:04 PM
    #27
    Toyotoholic

    Toyotoholic -4Life-

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    Sparks Toyota I believe installs the Magnuson and honors it's warranty as an option on trucks they sell. If I was closer I would take my wood there and get it done. Still want the TRD though.
     
    ColoradoTJ likes this.
  28. Jan 14, 2018 at 2:09 PM
    #28
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    Calibrated Power 5 Tune pack, Allison 1000 tune, PPE deep trans pan, Cold/Hot CAC pipes, Banks CAI, PCV reroute, resonator delete, S&B 62 gal fuel tank, B&W GN hitch
    It’s the same supercharger. I’m confused?
    Sparks is an awesome dealership from what I’ve heard.
     
  29. Jan 14, 2018 at 2:16 PM
    #29
    Toyotoholic

    Toyotoholic -4Life-

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    It's the aftermarket twin of the TRD. So it's something they were very confident in. For me, No local dealerships are interested in installing anything other than factory TRD.
     
    ColoradoTJ likes this.
  30. Jan 14, 2018 at 2:19 PM
    #30
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    Calibrated Power 5 Tune pack, Allison 1000 tune, PPE deep trans pan, Cold/Hot CAC pipes, Banks CAI, PCV reroute, resonator delete, S&B 62 gal fuel tank, B&W GN hitch
    More of a warranty issue then for you. Totally understandable. That’s one big chunk of cash if something goes wrong.
     
    Toyotoholic[QUOTED] likes this.

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