32 gal tank listen instead of previous years' 38 gal

I believe most cars when the gas light comes on, it doesn’t mean the tank is actually empty. They usually come on a couple gallons before the tank will actually be depleted. I bet Toyota just has the light programmed to come on a lot earlier than normal because I’m seeing similar results from others. So theoretically, if your light comes on at 18 gallons, then you should still have roughly 4 gallons of gas remaining in your tank if you have the 22gallon. I’ve seen a video where someone filled up when the gas light came on and only filled up about 26 gallons on the 32.2 gallon tank. I believe it was from TRDJon on YouTube.

think of the gas light as just a warning you should get to a gas station asap instead of it telling you it’s empty.

Please correct me if I’m wrong.

 

Toyota has a conservative reserve, always has, no matter the gen , I have the 38 gallon tank and it has a 8 gallon reserve easy

think about towing mpg worst case and they have accounted for that.

 

Tundra’s gas tanks have always been soooo long, even the small gas tank, so the minimum level is still a large volume of fuel. 6~8 gallons had to be like 2-3” of fuel in the large tank.

 

I agree with the aforementioned thought that the reduction in capacity from 38 to 32 gallons was definitely a move to boost the payload numbers in my opinion. The increase in payload from the previous model is minimal as it is. Every pound of payload they can muster helps them save face on their “new and improved” design. The better gas mileage just makes it that much easier to justify that move without looking stupid.

 

I think it's less about payload and more about hitting a range goal. "We want X number of miles per tank (not counting reserve) and based on MPG estimates that will take Y gallons plus reserve." The more fuel efficient the vehicle the smaller the tank gets.

It plays into the brain games of fuel economy. Can't tell you how many people out there think that their new car is better on gas because they used to fill up every week, but now they can go 10-14 days. They don't think about the fact that the new vehicle could have the same exact MPG, but if it has a bigger tank they pat themselves on the back because it's longer between fill ups. Had a buddy that I tried to show his new truck wasn't any better on gas than his old one, just had a bigger tank and he just could not get past the fact that he filled up half as often. Completely ignored the actual cost. Love the guy, but not his brightest moment.

People are dumb, so as long as it "costs less" to fill the tank then they think they are a genius. Look at all the bitching about the "scam" that the 38 gallon tank "only holds 30-32 usable gallons" and tell me that those same whiners wouldn't be howling about how expensive it is to fill the truck up if it didn't read empty until the true 38 gallons. For one, they'd run out of gas and complain that it was somebody else's fault, and for two they would be howling that it was costing so much to fill up the tank. By only being able to put in 30-32 gallons at a time it kept the price of a "full tank" below $100 when gas prices were moderately reasonable.

Point is that there are lots of factors that go into the tank size of a rig. Range, fuel efficiency, payload, balance, and the marketing/idiot factor all have a role, I'm sure.

 

You're right and that's what everybody who knows what they're talking about has been saying in this thread and in every other gas tank thread since the inception of the forum.

 

Except towing. My guess is it is probably pretty equal to the 5.7 with a trailer hooked up.

Ram has a 33 gallon tank with their Ecodiesel now. I am sure that has the best range for a half ton with or without a trailer.

I bet a 2.7 Ecoboost with the 36 gallon tank us about as good as it gets for a gas engine. They really do get excellent mpg’s