I have truck commitment issues--Tundra vs Ford

Wanted to follow up as I said I would. Towed my camper for the first time with the F350. Pretty happy with the F350 over the Tundra. My tundra did fine, it's not a huge camper but the F350 simply just does it better. An in all fairness it damn well should do it better.. I'll attribute alot of credit to having 10 speeds vs 6 as it just doesn't feel like it's struggling, ever, where the Trundra would need to Rev alot more to stay in power. The second most notable is the rear suspension.. It no longer bounces nor feels like jello back there ( that was with a WDH and Sumo Springs on the Tundra)... Now I know there are all kinds of aftermarket things to help the tundra like air bags ect.. But let's face it the rear leafs on the tundra are a joke... It felt very stable and just more so, like there wasn't much of anything going on behind me. Everything is subjective obviously. Alot of guys swear the Tundra does great with a 30+ foot 8k+ trailer behind it.. but personally I'd never do it...

Wanted to update this since I've done a few additional tows since. Recently did a 500 mile round trip with my new larger 32' 8~k Travel Trailer. An averaged 9.6 going up an 8.6mpg coming back..

 

I think "great" is a personal perception thing, depends where you are, what you tow, how you tow, etc.

Using the right tool for the right task is key, HD trucks just tow that much better than any 1/2 tons.

 

This.

Also, what a terrible comparison; you can't seriously compare the performance of a 1/2 ton's leaf springs to a 1 ton. I'd be more interested about the performance of another 1/2 ton under the same conditions.

 

I am up in NH so we have a fair amount of up and down terrain. It's not the rockies but it's certainly not flat.. This was just a short trip on reletivly flat highway an my milage counter was in the 13's but I suspect it will be down around 10 on a longer more strenuous trip up into the mountains.

 

Very impressive a 1/2 Ton 12 year old design Tundra is compared with a 1 ton F350. In reality there should be zero comparison. The F350 should decimate the Tundra in towing and no shame to the Tundra. Keep an eye on the F350 death wobble it sneaks up on you, be careful with your running board treads they pop out if you twist your foot getting out, have your cameras replaced just before warranty expires as they fog over. Don't forget if you use a storage facility to get a unit with nothing in front of it as the F350 has no turning radius. Get Forscan and adjust your TPMS alarm to 40 psig so you can lower you tire pressure to 45 psig so the truck doesn't beat you shitless. Good news you have transmission cooler so you are in good shape there.

 

Yeah .. I realize it's not a fair comparison. An yeah I'm not a Ford fayboy or Toyota or anything else.. Owned many brands.. Toyotas have been great to me. This truck may very well end up being a POS. People asked and I replied with my review.. sorry it hurt so many feelings around here ....

 

My daily drivers from 1999 to 2015 were F350 diesels. They tow great and you can fill the bed with whatever you like. I just got to a point where I wasn't pulling a trailer all of the time and wanted a smaller truck. The Tundra felt like a sports car to me after 16 years of Super Duty's and the reliability can't be beat. The Tundra works for almost everything you would want to do with a truck but there is just no comparison to a one ton for heavy hauling/towing.

 

My 2nd gen Tundra shares almost the same dimensions as my Ford Excursion. It surprised me when I had them parked next to each other. The Tundra is much lighter than the Excursion which makes a big difference in handling. That's why it feels like a sports car in comparison. The Excursion feels like driving a bus.
I get about the same fuel economy with either one. The Excursion has a 7.3L diesel so it's not too bad on fuel. Diesel fuel is now about 20 cents less than regular unleaded in my area so it's cheaper to drive the Excursion for now.

 

The 7.3L engine is fairly efficient for a V8 diesel since there is not much in the way of emissions equipment. I really liked mine until I drove the 6.0L, that was until you hit the 6.0L's 120K service checklist that everyone knows about with that engine.

 

That's the reason I'm so glad I have the 7.3. I don't mind that the 7.3 is slower but at least it will last. I only have 105K on mine.
Sadly the 6.0 was a disaster. You don't see too many stock 6.0's on the road anymore.

 

No I shouldn't have taken a rant. I had a F250 6.7L which towed fantastic but drove me absolute nuts with the ride etc. Ford dealership support etc. On flip side my brother has one drives it every day and loves it. He doesn't tow anything.

 

sold mine, loved the truck, hated the maintence and constant recalls. Dealer support was crap, had to be appeoved by ford first. The 6.7 was a blast of power and towed like a train! Just long term i didnt trust it

 

I have a 97 F250 XLT with a 7.3 and only has 116k miles on it. It's chipped (Hydra), leveled with new springs, has the factory tow and off road packages. I have replaced the transmission, all the front end parts (springs, ball joints, universal joints, brake calipers, brake pads, shocks), exhaust with the 3 inch down tube, out to 4 inches, double DIN retractable face plate, new speakers all around and a plethora of small improvements and refresh parts. I went to open the door and the door handle broke. That did it. I wanted a truck that I didn't have to repair all the time and that one little thing made up my mind. I have two 4Runners. We bought the 3rd Gen (1996) 4Runner first and then traded it in on a 4th Gen. Bought a 4th Gen but liked the old 4Runner so much we just kept it and put a snow plow on it. I thought about another F250. Our neighbor has one and has really put some miles on it and it has been a good truck. Then I found out she had to feed it some kind of diesel fluid and that doesn't sound like something I want to for possibly the next twenty years. Every Toyota we have had has been terrific. I have another friend that bought a top of the line Dodge and it's been in the shop more than it's been out, literally. It's having display issues and it can't keep a charge in the battery for more than two days. Ford has had fire problems for decades. They also have a lot of recalls. Their transmissions on the new Mustangs have been an abysmal failure. I just don't trust Ford engineering anymore. I didn't even think about the Jeep, That new Jeep truck is just butt ugly and they have major front end suspension issues. A friend bought a Tundra Limited and it looked pretty good. The more I thought about his Tundra the more sense it made to look at a Tundra. I am tired of working on the F250 as much as I like it. I just want a nice truck that I can get in and drive. I don't want to be taking a truck to a dealership for warranty work. I don't want to worry about if the display will work or the battery is going to be dead or if it's going to catch fire sitting in the garage. If I work on it I want that work to be to make it nicer or to improve it's performance, not just to fix stuff. I got a 1794 and am looking at headers, a lift, hidden winch bumper, new wheels, 33 inch tires and a bed rug. I already ordered a new topper. I need to sell the old truck. That's an emotional issue that I need to deal with but I love my new Tundra.

 

I have the same issue but not pressing. In 5 or so years, lol. Used late model Tundra, build it to long travel? Used late model Raptor, build it to long travel? Go older and proven and build it out? For me, the right suspension can go on anything. Engine and drivetrain reliability will decide.

 

So I drove my Excursion yesterday and today I drove my Tundra. The Tundra really felt like a sports car compared to the Excursion. There was one interesting difference. I don't sense the amount of speed while driving the Excursion like I do the Tundra. 70 mph does not feel as fast in the Excursion as it does in the Tundra. The Excursion takes a bit more time to reach 70 from a standstill. The Excursion seems to get going from 45 to 70 faster than the Tundra though, probably because that's when the turbo kicks in nicely.

 

Weird when I am doing 65-70 in tundra on the highway I feel like I’m frozen in time. Like I’m never gonna get there. 80mph feels more like 70

 

Well I am back…..
I dipped my toe with the TRX for a while. Put about 41000 miles on it. Was only in shop once for leaky gasket on supercharger.
Was a good truck for most part. Didn’t feel well made, but the Horses sure were nice.

picked up a 23 tundra capstone on Wednesday
Level kit on it and some toyos
Plan to black out roof.
Ice cap white

really like it so far

 

I'm a little underwhelmed with the huge grille on the new Tundra. Everything else looks cool. My Excursion might be going away since I don't trust the reliability of its electrical controls. I won't be letting my '91 Toyota Hilux anytime soon.

 

I had that issue on a 2018 Mustang. Also had a 2018 F150 for 3 months that was a total POS. Both had bad electrical issues. Never again.