Tundras live: Agree to disagree (a lesson in civility)

Lol, correct.
I basically built grid of rebar, 24" squares and wiring it at almost every joint.
The pad will be roughly 800 sq/ft

 

How's the night shift crew doing this Friday?

 

Real good, quiet so far!
You?

 

Quiet for the most part. There've been a few weather related hiccups and some holdover issues from earlier in the day, but nothing that warrants rallying the troops. I'm just trying to keep occupied/distracted.

 

Good plan

 

Doin' good; been kinda a long day... Had to drop some $$ on the '08 for a Lower Oil Pan (thank you local dealer) and had to replace the 'D' shift solenoid in the tranny

 

Oof. Unplanned mechanical expenses are never fun, but it's cheaper than replacing the rig!

 

It's a little harder to swallow given the fact that I've got a '21 that just turned 5k miles this week. I'd really prefer to be spending my time in that, but about 85% of what I do involves transporting my dogs around, which is why I kept the '08 after purchasing the '21.

It's funny cause I see these threads pop up all the time about guys pondering spending $15-$20k on an 08 Tundra, and I'm constantly thinking... 'Hell, I'd sell mine to you for $8k if you don't mind a couple of seat tears, some dog hair and 2 or 3 punctures in on the door panels'

 

I can tell you this, the pro interior of the Taco is tough enough for dogs as long as they aren't being destructive. Stella rode with me a lot, and even when she'd be impatient and dig at the door or seat there was no damage. Let somebody snag the older truck and use the funds to cover your maintenance and fuel in the Pro for a couple years.

 

I was gonna say, he already replaced the rig! Lol

 

Heck that ought to cover fuel, maintenance and my armor

speaking of which, I finally got an update...

So, I placed my order 11 weeks ago; at the time of the order, they were saying 2-4 weeks on skids and 4-6 weeks on sliders...

Recently the website was showing 4-6 weeks on aluminum skids and 'about' 8 weeks on sliders...

Today they told me sliders and cat guards are done and ready to ship they are just waiting on the trans skid and that it should be finished and the order shipping out end of next week or first part of the following week.

Normally, I'd be getting impatient, but for some reason I'm just hoping everything comes out nice and their attention to detail was top notch.

I know a few dudes on the 3rd Gen side of the house are getting impatient w/their stuff, and it looks like RCI may be having an issue w/slider fitment on the ones for the 6.5' beds. A few of those guys initiated their orders before mine, so I wonder if the design flaw didn't create some hiccups for them production wise

 

It could have, but they've also run several sales. I'm guessing the hiccup and an influx of new orders has caused unplanned delays. The RCI sliders I had were rock solid, but the welds weren't stacked dimes or anything. I didn't really care as they were ablative/consumable items, but some might complain about the less pretty welds not being cleaned up. I got them coated and ran it with no worries.

 

So, here's the full story of this process.

In 2019 I bought a new 4Runner Limited to replace the '08 Tundra.



...even got a new K9 transport kennel to keep it clean and transport the dogs safely. Plus w/the window all the way down and a locking kennel travel, etc.. was going to be super easy Plus a little better gas mileage, etc...


I start driving the thing around, and I just don't really care for it. It was a nice rig, but it just wasn't me. I didn't care for the narrowness of the interior, and with the dog box in place it always seemed way too occupied.

I told the wife on several occasions... I should've just bought a new Tundra, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Well, a little over a year later, I still wasn't use to it; and I never really got comfortable in it. In fact, every time I was in it, I just wanted to be in my Tundra.

I tried to get the wife to take it to replace her Pilot, but she wanted a new Subaru. So, when prices shot through the roof, the dealer I bought it from offered to buy it back for more than we paid.... Done!!!!! I sold it back to the dealer early '21.

Then for some reason, I got a wild hair and started looking for a S/C'd Gen 1 Roush Raptor (not sure WTF that was about but hey).... After about 2 months of that bullshit, the Gen 3 Tundra was starting to do its teasers so I held out on buying anything till more info came out on them. Once they finally released enough info about the Gen 3s, I told the wife, 'nope' and started a frantic search for a new '21 Pro that wasn't priced through the roof. Our local dealer ended up w/3 Lunar Rock Pros, but wanted an extra $10k on them; so much for buying local....

Finally found one in Iowa w/o the markups and without all the other BS add-ons that most were requiring you to buy. MSRP was higher than I've ever paid for a new vehicle, plus the transport fees, but it was still thousands cheaper than anything local. It was kinda weird to have called on it and have the sales mgr say, 'yeah it's available and I don't think anyone has even driven it yet as it just came out of prep'. I immediately dropped a deposit on it, and we finalized the paperwork that next Monday. It was kinda crazy as I had made the same call several times a week for a couple of months to various dealers throughout the country, and they were usually sold, already allocated or wanting $5-$10k markup. Truck arrived in OR about 1 month later (transport delays), and it's been an awesome truck. I'm really glad that it worked out like this....

...but the bottom line was by the time all that passed (buying the 4Runner to selling the 4 Runner to Raptor search to Gen 3 Tundra (maybe) to Gen 3 (nope) to found my '21 Pro)... a couple of years had went by and I started thinking that I should just keep the '08 and use it for my dogs and only use the new Pro for non-dog stuff

But, I think G-Eazy might be right on this one... Time to think about selling off the '08 and just enjoying the new(ish) rig!!!!

 

Yeah... When I bought, it was during the Tax Season Sale, and they basically extended that into the Memorial Day Sale, plus the release of '22 products at about the same time. So, I'm sure they've been busy and trying to get caught up. All good though!

 

Quite the journey. Should have just bought a Tacoma!

 

Dude someone did a post the other day regarding fold flat rear seats in the new Tacoma... Seriously, that's a game changer!!!!! But, I'm sure it will feel way narrow in the cab (like the 4Runner), so it'll be a no go for me; although I wouldn't turn down a free Taco (you know if someone just wanted to gift me one )

 

I had a roller-coaster ride to get to my '17 too. I daydream about selling my '17 to get a final year 2.5 Gen but then I remember the path and reasons I wanted that year, and those thoughts fade away.

With all the flaws it has, the current gen 4R still pulls me in. It's hard to beat that bulletproof reliability these days.. I guess I need to borrow one for the weekend to see what I truly think. We're in no rush, the 19 y/o Sequoia is just entering its prime!

 

Not often does a new gen truck look as good as the previous gen, just different. The new Pro Taco

 

4Runners are great, but they are definitely not going to tow well or be anything resembling quick. Now, regear it and toss on a SC, and then you have something a bit more potent. Space is definitely going to be more narrow than the Tundra, but it also handles city driving and trails more easily.

If I win the lotto I'll have a 2020-2021 Tundra with the cooler installed, a geared and SCed TRD OR Premium 4Runner, and a new Sequoia to park along side my Taco. As I don't play, it'll never happen.

 

You like the new Taco, eh? I think it looks good, better than the new Tundra, but not as good as the Gen 3 Taco. The headlights look wrong to me, and I hate the pro stamp on the tailgate.

 

Dude, my rear seats fold flat. I keep the big section (passenger side) folded down for groceries and the like. It's pretty nice. You are correct that the cab is more narrow, but as a fat guy, I don't feel cramped in it the way I do in a 4Runner. Don't know why, but I don't.

 

The 4Runner would be my wife's so it would only tow kids and dogs around.
I'm keeping my truck it for a looong time, at least until my house is paid off then we'll see what's out there.

I would choose the same rigs If I won the Lotto too

 

Solid plan. The 4runner would probably feel pretty modern compared to a 19 year old Sequoia, and it wouldn't be as big of a shock in size with a newer one because that era Sequoia would be a bit smaller, IIRC. Based of the first gen Tundra, no? It might not even feel particularly slow, but I can 100% say that the 3rd row in a 4Runner is a waste of money. Completely unusable, even for children.

 

I haven't even noticed the headlights or the stamped tailgate. Lol, obviously I haven't spent a lot of time looking it over. First impressions were good though.

 

Understandable. The initial impression at a glance is definitely a good one, because it is a good looking truck. I just don't like the vents for being shoved into the lights like the new Tundra's. The tailgate stamp is just obnoxious, IMO. The bed stamps were noticeable, but tasteful. The tailgates are absurd.

 

Yeah, I think it's basically like a 1st Gen DC Tundra with possibly more headroom? Boxed frame and rear disk brakes are Sequoia specific (bonus!).
I fit great in it although a little more legroom would be nice.
Yeah that 3rd row is a joke in the 4R, ours is great but they are a heavy PITA if you want to pull them out.

 

Honestly, if it's just a grocery getter and doesn't have to tackle anything off road, I'd look at a Telluride. By all accounts that I can find it's got the best 3rd row on the market, is plush luxury, and is slow, but powerful enough. The 100k mile warranty helps with my fear of non Toyota stuff, too.

 

Yeah, they do look good too. The 3rd row isn't a must have, just a perk.
I haven't mentioned it to my wife, but the new Prius doesn't look too shabby! I hear they have a lot of headroom..

 

Pfft. Just get a sunroof to pop your head out of. It never rains up there anyway.