Just did a 10 hour road trip in 2021 TRD PRO, first impressions for future buyers!

Hi all! I posted prior on my first impressions from the first few hundred CITY miles with my 2021 TRD pro here

I wanted to give more impressions after just doing 10 straight hours on the road for a long road trip form FL to NC.

These posts were gold for me when car/truck hunting so wanted to pay it forward to future community members


The good

• That sound! I cant say enough of how incredible it is. I already liked it from the first few hundred miles in the city but its even better for long trips. Anytime you are cruising between 70-90 at 1750-2250 RPMs its subdued with no drone. When you are passing someone or just speeding up it reminds you of how powerful the engine is with that burly roar.
• The dynamic cruise control is great. I found myself using it way more than I thought I would. My wife's palisade has the same feature but I felt like the tundra did a better job slowing down in a subdued fashion when someone cut in front of me.
• Cabin space is amazing. With dynamic cruise control I could actually cross my legs, bend my knees up and just lounge while driving.
• Smooth ride! When you get up to speed it is very "cloud like" at times. Minor imperfections on the road aren't felt, big holes are barely acknowledged. Once in a while though a elevated piece of road would hit the back tires just right and send the whole truck into a bounce. It was subtle and not a big deal but it prob happened once every 30-45 min.
• Taking phone calls from the Tundra was perfect. I spent a solid couple hours on the phone with no audio loss.
• The amount of space in the backseats when folded up is amazing, what I found super convenient was the amount of space between the 2 front seats to let you easily reach into the back seat area and grab something.

The not so great

• I posted already but the seats were rough at times. I got a cushion that made things better on my lower back but I do feel like the seats are too short, don't go low enough and are missing more tilt up on the front section.
• My truck came with the all terrain tire upgrade which are nitto ridge graplers. I got a decent amount of road noise from the tires that I am attributing to the style of tire. My MPGs were also 15pmg even though I was on the highway 95% of the time, also I think due to the tire. I am going to take these off and put on Michelin LTX (torn between AT2 and defender!) to see the difference. If anyone wants to buy these ridge grapplers DM me!
• I am still trying to figure out what it is but there is a subtle high pitched whine. I think its the AC but was going to dig in some more. It was only audible when there was no music or any other noise in the car so not a big nuisance.
  
• I did with the lane keep assist that my wife's palisade has. Its nice when you are eating some fast food to not worry about steering for a few minutes. On the tundra its just an annoying buzzer vs actually steering the car.

 

Good write up. The wife and i did about 1200 miles in mine this year when we ride the Blueridge Parkway from the beginning in Cherokee, NC to Virginia. Then we did the Skyline Drive and went into West Virginia. The ride in my Limited was great the whole way. Hopefully we'll be heading to Florida in November. What part of NC did you come visit?

 

The subtle high pitch whine, if occurring under throttle. Is the gasket that is just before the throttle body. It's It's cheap fix with a gasket from a Sequoia. The Tundra has a gasket with a grid like wire structure. It can cause whine and its when the throttle is applied.

 

Buy some seat jackers for more tilt on the front seats, IT HELPS TREMENDOUSLY !

 

Never heard of these before. Very interesting. Im wondering how much these would help me seeing im only 5'8". I wish the pedals in these trucks were adjustable.

 

I'm 5' 8" and its like night and day, my wife is 5'11" and she loves them as well. I did both my front seats, expensive but the quality and comfort are well worth it. Desert Does It is the name of the company.

 

you were right! That is what it was. I realized it is the worst when the cruise control is adjusting. It doesn't bother me much so its good to know that its not "something wrong"

 

We have been traveling from Central Texas to Central Alabama (13 hours) 3 times since summer started. I hate my seat, but my other half loves the seat. She say it feels better than her highlander. I think her highlander has a better seat pad. The ride for me is almost flawless space, speed, and comfort (for the most part). I hate the speed control and that damn lane departure feature. I may try a seat pad to help me as we plan another trip to Alabama. Thanks for the information.

 

Me too, unless there's some temporary need. But I just turn it off. Traveling is much more pleasant without it.