Buying Advice

My cousin had a 1st gen 4wd and I was really impressed with its pulling abilities and driving in the hills where I live in SoCal.

I'm looking to get a dump trailer 6x12x2. So not one of the giant ones but still pretty tough to pull up a dirt road when loaded.

Would a 1st gen do what I want?
Are their certain years/models to avoid?

I see some nice looking trucks but all have over 200k on them, so I would do better to get the 4.7L engine with timing belt cause easier to change than a chain on the bigger engine?

Any help/advice appreciated

Thanks

 

Most everything you could ever want to know is in this thread by forum member @shifty`

https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Difficult to truly assess if the truck can pull what you want without a trailer weight and what exact setup the potential truck will be however.

welcome

 

I'm not a first get connoisseur, but generally a regular cab, long bed, 4.7L 2wd will have the highest towing and payload rating. (I would never by a 2wd because of where I live, but that's how it is). An access cab, regular bed, 4.7L should be close if you want a little more space and close to the same rating. If I'm not mistaken, most of them will have a tow rating of around 7k lbs if you get the tow package.

As for a dump trailer, 6x12 dump will usually have at least tandem 5200 lb axles and are rated for 10k lbs or around 7k carrying capacity. Empty, they usually weight a little over 3k lbs. So as long as yo didn't fill it to the max, you would be ok, but dump trailers are hard to judge unless you are loading by the bucket and know your general material weights. They also make smaller single axle dumps that are lighter, but I find them somewhat useless. The truck itself should handle it ok if the load is well distributed, but it will most likely squat a fair bit; IME, dumps are pretty tongue heavy.

 

Depends what you are hauling in it? But generally I would say no. That’s a 10k trailer. That’s not the truck you should buy with the intended purpose of pulling a dump trailer.

 

It will tow the 6x12 dump trailer with no problems...as long as you don't put anything in it. Also keep in mind that if you pulled something that heavy your fuel economy would probably be on par of what a 70's Ford with a 460 V8 would get. But if you're still dead set on towing heavy, get yourself a pair of firestone airbags, trailer brake controller, 4.10 ring and pinion, and swap back to the small stock sized 245/70-16 tires. At both the beginning and end of the day, it's just the wrong truck for the job.

 

Exactly why i moved to 2nd Gen and the 5.7

more towing capacity

the 1st gens are lackyin that department if you’re hauling anything significant

 

The 1st Gen Tundras with the 4.7 are wonderful trucks. I occasionally tow 5,500 lbs with it but watch the trans oil temp closely and expect 10 mpg v the typical 15. For heavier trailers I use the 90s F250 with the 7.5L engine. I want to keep the Tundra running happily for another 250K miles, not abuse it.