Forget Mileage, Check $

I am a new Tundra owner, and mileage was a factor constantly raised when comparing the Tundra to anything else. To me, mileage is really a proxy for $, so I made this little chart while shopping. It is amazing how little difference in $ the MPG makes unless you drive a lot more miles. I drive around 12k miles/yr, so that is where I began the comparison. Granted that the numbers add up over the years, but Mods and upgrades need to be pretty good to have any kind of a reasonable timeframe for payback. If I keep my tundra for 5 years (which I certainly plan to do), I would need to find a mod that costs $2000 or less and that is guaranteed to give me 3+ MPG just to break even.....Or I can keep my foot out of it sometimes

 

I did something similar when buying.

Tundra was $45k CAD
Sierra was about $65k CAD

I drive less than 10k kms (6000 miles) per year.
Gas averages about $1 CAD/litre (call it $3 USD/ gallon).

If I assume the Tundra gets its city fuel economy of 18L/100 km (13 mpg) and the Sierra gets its highway fuel of 10L/100 km (24 mpg), it would still take 25 years for the Sierra to break even - assuming it runs that long...

 

There are no mods to gain mpg. Only decrease is possible.

No one should worry about a few mpg if they are driving a $40k vehicle.

 

This is only part of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), though. Basic maintenance costs are lower with the Tundra, and trips to the dealer for issues and warranty work to correct those issues is not free. It takes you away from work and interrupts your life while you are dealing with it, and those issues always seem to pop up when you are already too busy.

I saw studies that took the basic maintenance costs into account and the Tundra had the lowest TCO, which made me feel better about the MPG's.

 

People always say this but you're allowed to need a truck and still want to minimize your cost of ownership...

 

I mean, you could swap out the whole body for carbon fiber, or remove the bed.

 

Sorry I need translation. Not sure what we are talking about.

 

Just another case of someone trying to pinch pennies when they're spending dollars.

 

That's exactly how I read what OP is saying...

 

My 2002 Tundra 4.7 access cab Limited grade gets a solid 15.0 mpg all around driving and about 17.0 mpg on extended trips. It has over 270,000 miles on the clock and was paid off in 2005. The new Tundras are larger and look great but my 2002 still looks and drives like new. If gasoline remains near $2.00 per gallon, i would not hesitate to buy a new Tundra crew cab with the 5.7 if I have to replace my 2002.

 

I drive about 25 miles one way to work, 90-95% highway driving and depending on how heavy my foot is feeling that morning, I always get between 17-18.5 mpg in my 2020. Very happy with that tbh and with gas prices so low, I really don't even think about it.

 

MPGs? That's why I have this

 

I read the original post twice and could not understand if it was a question or a suggestion or a solution or justification , etc. ...

maybe my brain is not at %100 today some days I need a synopsis more than others.

 

Is that an 1100 Shadow? I had the same bike before it was stolen and crashed.

 

You must be an engineer or an accountant.

 

I had an 1100 shadow Sabre for 3 years was fun For awhile! Oddly when you leave your dangerous job and meet a lady you care more about risky hobbies -__-

 

That's exactly what that is. A 2003. I know exactly what yours sounded like with those V&H pipes, I want them for mine so bad.

 

I look at it this way, I purchased my 20 Tundra sport for 48k, i only drive it 7k-8k miles a year. Those miles are usually due to vacations, so i consider the money i spend on fuel as part of my vacation fund. I only fill up my truck about 15 times a year I only do 2 oil changes a year, which i do myself, so i save there. If the truck needs to go in for warranty, no big deal, i don't use the truck during the week. I save all the way around really. Besides if we are spending the cashola that we spend on out trucks then we should not be questioning the MPG of out trucks. Just drive them like you stole them and pay the price for fuel. Its all good and a hell of a lot of fun driving our trucks .

 

I ride my bicycle as much as possible for obvious reasons !

When shopping for a good used 1Gen Tundra RCLB V6 I came up dry ~ found a cherry V8 model and bought it for a fantastic price.
I asked my compadre about the MPGs on his Toyota Taco ~ he says;
"It doesn't really matter since I only drive a few miles each year."
Those are my sentiments exactly ~ 10 years and 20K miles later the cost of fuel doesn't mean that much to me.

 

I came out of a 2014 Silverado into a 2017 tundra.

Honestly, my tundra mileage sucks compared to the Silverado, but my Tundra is never in the shop.

Yes, my Silverado was under warranty so it didn’t cost me, but I’d rather have my truck in the driveway instead of waiting on a recall in the shop.

Is the cost of the tundra more in terms of MPG...you bet. However,when factoring in other things I don’t have any issues paying the difference.

 

I tell the Ford fanboys on another forum to talk to me when they can come up with something other then MPGs to knock Tundras.

 

I’ll take our high San Diego gas prices any day in exchange for the SoCal second hand car/truck parts market. The Craigslist/OfferUp free sections are as close to 24k gold as you’ll get!

 

Engineer, but no disrespect to accountants ....I was just a bit shocked to see so much focus on mileage in all the youtube vids and threads on Tundra forums, with no mention of how little difference it makes in the wallet compared to others, and considering your $40K+ purchase. Good points here also about TCO. One key thing that allowed me to upsize from my Taco, was the excellent resale/trade-in value. That is worth thousands of $ alone. I was trying to point out that the focus on MPG seems misplaced IMHO........

 

The V&H pipes were a beautiful thing. They were installed when I got the bike so never knew it without them.

 

Even if I found a $2000 used yaris that got 40 mpg to save fuel, even if I never drove the truck the fuel cost difference probably wouldn't even cover the insurance of the second car let alone the other expenses

The only reason I would like more mpg is to drive farther between fillups. Need to retrofit that 38 gal tank someday

 

https://youtu.be/ipDmsxQVxIM

 

Wow. Was that recent?

 

Right now we are at $1.89-1.99 in northern Minnesota. Depending on if we change presidents that could change....

 

This.