Buying 2021 Tundra, few questions before I pull the trigger for you guys!

Hey all,
Just joined after lurking here for probably over a year (never got around to it). I am currently looking for a 2021 Tundra. My finances all are in order and I have my reporting date for the government in March. I currently live in Oregon and unsure of where I will get stationed before I ship out, so I would ideally like to snag one before I leave to take advantage of the no OR sales tax. After test driving all full size trucks the Tundra just seems like the best. MPG kind of sucks and the interior may be dated, but man, it drives so well and the 5.7 really has some get up and go. The other ones I drove just seemed like meh interiors and were overall less impressive to me, especially when you consider the Tundra hasn't changed too much since 2014. Also, I have a 2013 FJ and beat to hell 1997 T100, so I may be biased towards Toyota.

Anyway, I settled on a 2021 4x4 Limited, with the double cab and 6.5 bed. I realized after talking to a dealer and seeing their inventories that this may be a hard one to find-especially when you consider I am more or less dead set on the Army Green color with either a tan or grey interior. After the discounts (recent graduate, manufacture rebate, etc) and Costco auto program deal, the truck looks like it will be about $44,000 (give or take) with the TRD off road package, the premium package, and spray on bed liner. The limited really seems to have the sweet spot for me in terms of options and amenities without all the unnecessary junk I found in the GMCs, Rams, and Fords (although I would love ventilated seats!). I also need the 6.5 bed, or else I would have snagged the crew max hands down but they only offer it with the short bed. After test driving some and playing around with the online configurator, I noticed something that may seem super miniscule but it bothers me. On the online configurator and the spec sheet for the limited double cab, it clearly shows and lists that the second row has their own set of vents, located in the back of the center console. I attached a photo to clarify. However, after looking at the few double cab limited trims nearby, they all have a flip out cupholder instead. Contacting Toyota resulted in a generic response that did not help, and the dealer isn't much more useful either.

So, the vents are moderately important to me. Not only am I buying a $44k vehicle so I want the options to be exact, I also drive with people and my dogs a lot. My mastiff gets hot easy, so it is nice having a dedicated set of vents to point at him anytime it gets about 75* haha. Anyone who has a double cab can shed some light or info on this? I don't know who else to ask. Also, I noticed the double cab doesn't have a rear window defroster. Any experiences with this causing issues or does the interior defrost pretty well?

Thanks in advance guys! Excited to get my truck, although it may take a few months of waiting :/

 

I could be wrong and I haven't looked in a while , but I believe the 6 seater (front bench) that you talking about , with the flip down cupholders and steering column gear shift, is on the SR5 trim levels not the limited. I would assume the Limited is a 5 seater with the center console/shifter and rear vents on the back of it like you have in the picture. And I don't think you can get the 38 gallon tank with the 6 seater, only the 5 seater trim levels.

 

Hmm the limited I want and test drove have the front bucket seats (5 person seating). That is what is confusing-the builds online and the spec sheet all say that there should be rear vents, but the double cab limited trims I have seen with the bucket seats all seem to have the cupholder on the back, not the vents. Attached an SR5 trim that has the exact same little cupholder thing I have been seeing on the limited ones. Am I going crazy?

 

Oh I see what your saying. Yeah it’s sucks because none of the online pictures show anything different. I wonder if they put the rear vents back in the B pillar like my 04? . Although I didn’t see any in those pics...

 

Pretty sure I didn't see em either. Looked around in person and at pics of others and nada. Very strange too, since it's not just an error with their image, it lists it in the spec sheet too.

 

Possible that the “rear vents” are under the front seats.

 

I just bought a 2021 limited double cab and can confirm that there is no rear vents. Pretty sure you can only get the front bench seat only on an sr model. Anything that's gets sr5 upgrade gets bucket seats

 

I don’t know about the ‘21 or ‘20 (I’ve seen few things on the lots recently in ‘21’s that had me going “I didn’t think THAT was an option in that trim”), but no DC prior to those years left the factory with bucket seats, a floor shifter, AND vents in the back of the console. A lot of times the photos online are still pre-production models.

I ALMOST modified my 2008 DC to put vents back there. The rear piece of the console is an easy swap, and the duct piece that runs under the console is easy enough to get. The issue that stopped me was cutting into the lower part of the air distribution box to tie into it and getting the dampers to work correctly so air wasn’t ALWAYS blowing out the rear vents. I didn’t have the energy to go that far.

 

That's a bummer.

Hmm that seems like it may be too much for me too. That's a major bummer as the rear vents were really helpful.

 

Too add, the spec sheet does list the limited DC as having rear vents.

 

Yeah. It also says my TRD Pro has a urethane steering wheel (which it does not - not that I’m complaining on that one).

The DC do have rear vents - under the front seats are ducts that pipe air to the back seat. But there’s nothing in the console.

As for no rear defroster, I never had an issue there. But I also had tow mirrors so if I couldn’t see out the rear window I still had plenty of visibility behind me from those.

 

That might be just generic, for instance when I was looking at the sr5 trim it would say the truck has bench seat on the spec sheet, but there was another line that's says sr5 upgrade comes with bucket seats. Seems like they are too lazy to edit the specs and just add things

 

Ah ok, good to know. Kind of a bummer though. I also noticed on some SR5 models there are two vents at the very bottom of the center console, but that seems just like it is for that trim.

Probably what it is.
Thanks for the answer guys, this was driving me nuts. If only Toyota made a crew cab 6.5 bed, I wouldn't have these issues!

 

Are there still vents under the driver and passenger seats pointing toward the rear cab?

 

Yep, the vents under the seat are still there.

 

Pretty sure you will have to order the Army Green if you want the tan or grey interior. I was looking for the same truck for a bit but they all only had black interiors. I eventually decided not to get the Army Green color in the end though.

 

Unless you haul a dirt bike or a 4-wheeler with you everywhere you go, you probably don’t need the 6.5 ft bed. I’ve had a 5.5 ft short bed in some form or another since 2007. I haul crap all the time and I’ve never wished that I had a longer bed. I just lower the tailgate and strap it down, which you should probably do anyway. Alternatively, you could get a folding bed extender.

If you haul a dog and passengers around often, you’ll get more use out of the CM.

 

Bingo the only time I had ever wished I had a 6.5' bed was when I was sleeping in the back. Otherwise my Honda rancher fit fine.

 

I'll add to this...I have a black TRD Pro. Black interior. And live in W. Texas. This is a Crew Max. It is currently the family hauler and do-everything vehicle.

In high ambient temps above 90F, I almost forget to check the vents because the interior cools off very well.

 

Interesting, didn't know the color combos were so uncommon. I knew green was tougher to find, not the interior. This actually saves me another thread: can dealerships custom order your trucks? I asked one of the salesman and he said no, but I also didn't press him (and also am aware that salesman aren't always right!). If they can that would save me a ton of effort!

Unfortunately I am 6'2 and camp probably twice a month during the weekends and need the longer size bed to fit in. Outside of disliking the stubby look of the Crewmax and short bed, the 5.5 bed seems to short for the things I normally do with it. I am restoring a house and barn and outside of plywood, dry wall, beams and posts that extra foot makes a world of difference. Although at this rate if I can't find a double cab I may have to broaden my search criteria.

 

They can if they have one in allocation and Toyota accepts the revisions the dealer requests. Depends where in the queue it is. Some dealers wouldn't even tell me you could order one, but two of them did. You can't just pick and choose things like other manufacturers though. And with production delays with COVID, timeline seems to be anywhere from six weeks to four months to get one semi-special ordered. I tried this initially, but got tired of waiting.

 

Very good to know! The limited seems to almost always have the packages I wanted (premium and off road package) plus the spray in bedliner, so that works for me. I wil go harass my dealer this weekend to see what they say. They keep telling me Tundra's fly off the lot

 

I'm not sure where in OR you are, but I'm almost positive you can buy in WA and when you register in OR you don't have to pay the sales tax. Maybe that will help broaden your search of dealerships to see what's available.

 

I just moved up from a TRD Off Road DC to a Limited crewmax. I pretty much wanted to pull the trigger on this upgrade for awhile after seeing the limitations for me. The one down side for me was a smaller bed, but I am like you the limited met me in the middle. I had a SR5 TRD 4x4 in second position if the limited I wanted was sold. I had one picked and it sold the day I called in to come in a test drive.

The good thing (except for my bed cover) almost everything I had on my 2015 was able to be transferred to my 2021.

Note: the DC does not direct vents like the crewmax, but they have under seat vents directed to the rear.

Either way, good luck and thank you for your service!

 

Interesting, I guess the Tundras selling like hotcakes is true. I am actually federal LEO, not military! Same crappy pay though

I live right outside of Portland, I didn't know that! i will look into it a bit more, thank you!