One TRD Pro, One Guy and One Year...a report out

I passed one year with the truck last Friday. Finished a 170 mile tow with my trailer for the weekend and took a pic...

I would have driven closer to 16k or 17k miles the past year if not for Covid.

The "Total Average" MPG is for the entire year, including 1,300+ miles towing, countless hours idling while waiting for a kid activity to get done (2-5hrs a week) and a crap ton of 7-8mpg city driving during the Covid months. When I've hand-calculated the mileage compared to the computer, it's always been 0.5mpg high, so call it an even 13mpg for the year. The annual MPG is about what I expected. I do a trip on a regular basis that's just over 100 miles from my home. It feels like my truck had a "break-in" break through about 3k miles ago and I'm within 5% of what my F150 got on the same trip. That's pretty impressive given the F150 had shutters in the grill and some plastic trim in the bumper that routed air around the front tires to create a bubble. If I keep it at 60mph, my display will show about 18-19mpg over a period of time. Very nice and very competitive IMO.

There are a ton of quirks with this truck. I could list a dozen things under a WTF Toyota category. Stuff like the lack of transmission cooler, no thought put into the usability of the truck (including ergonomics) and lack of storage. But when I sat back and looked at it all, I realize Toyota is a lot like Apple. They are not innovative, timely or necessarily very competitive with the broader market...and never will be. But their products will work and be reliable. So when it comes to comparing the Tundra against the competition, Toyota has zero fucks to give. Once I realized that, all the small things stopped annoying me.

Overall, I still really love the truck. Of the 10+ vehicles I've bought new during my lifetime, I've never had one go an entire year with zero issues. That completely blows my mind. Then again, I've never owned a Toyota.

Ironically, one thing I love about this truck can be credited to Toyota's lack of innovation. It still feels like a truck. My 2016 F150 was super refined (especially after I put on a set of Bilstein shocks) and it drove like a car. The ride of the Tundra is very good, but you can still feel the truck lurking under the leather and Fox shocks. I like that...

That is all...until next year

 

That ^^^ has always worked for me.

 

My 2012 F-150 Lariat was very comfortable and rode like a car too, main reason I bought it was how “smooth” it was. But it had so many little issues over the 120k miles I owned it I just had to dump it.

Indeed I liked the simplicity of the Tundra and the fact that I wanted a truck to be like a truck. I’ve had zero issues with my Tundra in the 18 months I’ve owned it which is rare (only other vehicle that was problem free was a 2001 Honda Civic)

 

I am coming up to 1 year ownership as well on Nov 15 th, I have 85,000 km or 53,000 miles on it now and about 40% of the miles are on rough logging and oil field roads. I have had no issues either. I idle a lot, basically my truck runs all day. I would say that when driving my gas mileage is close to what I got with my 6.2L Raptors but idling the 5.7L is not as good on fuel...TRD PRO is a smoother ride than any of my last 3 Raptors.

 

That pretty much explains my position 100%. I realized a long time ago that there was/is a VAST difference between how the big 3 market trucks, and how Toyota markets trucks.

The Big 3: "Here you go, a truck that can tow more than anyone else, and it has features, AND it rides nice, AND it gets great mileage, etc. Reliability? Uh....hey look here at this auto-parking feature!"
Toyota: "....you said you wanted a reliable truck. Here you go."

Take towing, for example. On paper, my 2020 Tundra can tow a few hundred more # (10,100) than my 2013 F150 (9300). I know tons of people who have F150's that can tow more than mine can, according to their ratings.

With that said, I ALSO know tons of people who have towed what their ratings say they can tow....and then traded in their trucks for something bigger because "it didn't feel stable." I've towed anything from a 16' trailer loaded down to a small (18') RV to test, and while I could tell it was there, it felt one HELL of a lot more stable than my previous truck did. I have no doubt that my truck *can* tow more (not legally, of course) but Toyota doesn't play those games.

Mileage is the same. If I drive it like I stole it, I get 13MPG. If I loaf along on the highway, I get 17MPG or so. That is EXACTLY what Toyota says it will do - actually it's a bit better. (13 city/17 hwy/14 combined) Meanwhile, Ford says my 2013 was supposed to get 15 city/21 hwy/17 combined. The *ONLY* time I ever got close to that was about the first 5K miles - and it had 3.31 gears and I was TRYING to get best mileage, and I got 18.5. After about 20K miles, it stayed locked at 16, and that was it.

I don't need the most features or the fastest truck, etc. I want one that has what I need (and some stuff that I want), gets decent mileage, and has plenty of power, AND is reliable. Toyota checks all the boxes.

 

^^This was my exact mindset when I bought my Tundra.

 

I like the zero fucks given attitude of the trd pro tundra.

alot...

that said it checks all of my boxes without costing north of 70k:

good approach angle... yeah departure sucks but it’s a truck
Good shock and spring package from factory
4x4 with proven trail tech ( like a trac)
Good to excellent power
Sustained reputation for reliability
Low gear ratio
As much old school tech as I could get:
Hydraulic power steering, mechanical fan, port fuel injection
Durable leather seats
Enough room for family
Tow more than 5k

Thing is just awesome. It does everything very well .

 

I’m a recovering Ford addict. The Raptor was my dream truck for years. Now I pass one on the road and wonder if its heading to the dealership for service.

 

Same here actually.

 

I have a friend who bought a new F-150. Within a year he was having to add a quart of oil before he could make it to an oil change. Ford dealer told him that was within tolerances. He endured that truck for years. He now owns a 2018 Tundra SC long bed that he bought new. He works the heck out of it and tows a lot. He absolutely loves it. Zero issues, of course.