Official 2022 Tundra 3rd Gen Thread

I think their Ike challenges and long distance towing, among other tests add value. They put almost 8k miles on it, but in general I agree. They don't get into the weeds often. They seek clicks cause clicks pay the bills. You don't get mass volumes of clicks by being so granular.

BUT my "telling" point was that they kept the Raptor for a yr. Still have the TRX I believe. There are trucks that keep folks captivated. Maybe the Pro will meet that mark, but doubt it.

 

Yeah, the Ike challenges and towing tests are good. Most of their other tests aren't worth much because the TFL guys don't know enough about actually using a truck to run the tests properly. The off road tests are a joke, those guys couldn't pick a line to save their life.

The reasons they kept the Raptor and the TRX are for exactly what you mentioned, clicks. People aren't interested in boring, reliable, get the job done trucks. They want fast, flashy, whizzbang trucks. Same reason TFL doesn't keep a basic F150 or RAM in the fleet for very long. They didn't keep a 2.5 gen Tundra long either iirc. I don't think selling the Tundra says anything about the truck, it says alot about the target audience of the channel.

 

I don’t really watch their stuff. I can’t believe the following they have given how little they actually know about trucks or how to drive them off road. They’re entertaining for a lot of people, but it’s not really for me.

 

I tend to agree. For the most part, I like Nathan. He seems to know the most about vehicles in general. Outside of him, Roman, Andre, & Roman's son...they're more entertainment factor hosts than knowledgeable "experts" I would say. It was super evident when they showcased a 90's S10 Blazer as an "affordable, reliable offroader" on one of their IG stories. Roman's son said, "Parts are so plentiful for these that it makes repair super easy." My thought was, "Yeah...parts are plentiful because there are so many of them junkyards around the country!" haha

It was painfully obviously in that moment that they didn't actually know what they were talking about.

 

Not really, it's the nature of their business to get the next thing. There is no point in them keeping a truck for a year or more.

 

Andre has an XLT powerboost F150 that they have shown on numerous occasions, but it's his personal vehicle. As for the RAM, that model is getting long in the tooth so there is really nothing new to show.

 

Exactly. They've done all the testing they could do. No point in keeping a vehicle for years to test reliability especially as automotive journalist. Also what's more exciting and will bring in more viewers, a Chevy Silverado ZR2 with the 6.2L V8 or Toyota Tundra Limited w/o hybrid? I'm sure when the Tundra TRD Pro comes out they will get one on their hands for a full test as well.

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cci07mgphbK/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
This may be worth keeping track of. I always like their stuff and they build their trucks nice.

 

Thanks for sharing. Loved their content but never subscribed to their YT and had forgotten about them since their South America adventure.

 

I test drove a nicely optioned SR5 a few weeks back and loved it. Finally got the wife and kid to the dealer today and they gave us a Platnum for a nice long drive. Wow. It was amazing. The Platnum wasn't even on my radar (have been planning on a hybrid Limited with no options other than sunroof) but boy was it nice. I really loved the black headliner, the fake piped in sound track sounded fantastic and the power running boards were a huge hit with the missus. It was black and looked absolutely stunning.

I need to find more money...

 

The whole money part sucks. Lol good luck, you'll get the one you want when it's right for you!

 

Roman's son (Tommy) is very annoying on multiple levels.

 

He's terrible in front of a camera, though that can be said of all of them. Tommy specifically just feels awkward to watch though.

I empathize a little more though after watching their stuff recently, youtube is a young persons game, you've gotta invest time and money unless you have some special skill or possession that no one else has. Being passionate about cars or trucks is worth very little.

 

If you listen to Tommy talk about Jeeps or other cars he follows closely, he can spout off boring details as well as anyone else. He corrects Roman on names, engines, and configurations all the time. But speaking to the granularity of a product isn't what sells Youtube views. Look at Speed Academy. They went deep dive on their builds and openly admitted that their model doesn't work for the masses, and it's the mass viewership that pays the bills. Now they do quick builds and more mods to cars instead of long videos about K2 swaps.

I think it was mentioned in here that 1 mil views equals 1,500 bucks.

TFL's podcasts are more detail oriented and deep dive and speculate, and those are shared also on YT. However, TFL's content built for YouTube is built for entertainment with auto knowledge sprinkled in. It's a balance, stay entertained but teach about the auto.

Also, any mass produced vehicle 10-20yrs old is going to have lots of parts available. Regardless of its dependability.

 

I like TFL because it's mostly comparison tests. Same road, same day, same line, same trailer, same road laden and unladen. There's some good info to be gleaned IMO, particularly (to me) MPG towing at high altitude. We are always over 5400ft and trailer over Ike, Vail, Kenosha, Wolf Creek, Coal Bank, Red Mountain.

Along with Tim Esterdahl's laden and unladen reviews I can get a picture about if it's worth it MPG-wise to move on from the reliable 4Runner V8's and the 5.7 Sequoia.

 

I’ve had the truck two weeks now (March build) and just noticed this today. So far this is the only QC issue I’ve spotted in 350 miles. A bit annoying and will take to the dealer to address if it continues to worsen or happen to other windows

 

Had this in my then brand new 2016 Tacoma. Dealership ordered the replacement rubber trim on two occasions and it’s still not fixed. So i gave up.
Hope you have a better luck than me.

 

apparently this is a common issue

 

I pushed mine back down into the lip and moved on with my life. Is there a gap, yes. Is water going to get in there regardless, you betcha. Am I going to complain to my dealer about it, nope. My only QC issue so far I've complained about is about the yahoo that installed the wrong color inner door panel on my left rear door!

 

show us this door panel

 

Correct one has gray accents, wrong one is all black. Dealer has correct one on order but no ETA unfortunately. It would bother me more if it was a front door but since a rarely look at it .. it's .. meh.

 

lol, what the hell. Where is the QC for these trucks, this is unreal

 

Damn… QC must be non existent in the factory man.

 

That’s a Friday afternoon build before a long weekend.

 

Was actually a Tuesday. I think you all are more bothered by it than I am.

 

Oof even the dealer PDI missed this one

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV9gEDYECIM

 

They probably thought they were still building pre-production models apparently

 

I find this to be pretty hilarious. I’ll be checking this whenever mine comes in.

 

Yeah. I laughed when I saw this and had a good chat with me sales person. Was on order that afternoon so when it comes in, I'll have them replace it. No big deal to me!