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Toyota Tundra Owner Experiences
This topic is a continuation of Topic 1584....
Toyota Tundra OWNERS: Rate Your Truck!. Please
continue these discussions here. Thanks!
Front Porch Philosopher
SUV, Pickups, & Aftermarket and Accessories Host
Toyota Tundra OWNERS: Rate Your Truck!. Please
continue these discussions here. Thanks!
Front Porch Philosopher
SUV, Pickups, & Aftermarket and Accessories Host
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I might have to test drive one so I am better informed
My friends said if its a day trip they would hop in a car. A quick jump to the local bar, my truck would do (of course it would because they can drink and not worry about driving! haha!)
A day trip towing a boat, hauling our camping gear and a few kegs of beer, definitely my truck would be it. They can follow me in their cars.
Have a great day!
Camping trip was a blast. Took the truck off road (basically rough asphalt haha!) Managed to not put any pinstripes on the side. A taller truck feels funnier though going down an ditch sideways. Gear head guy (he has a huge Blazer by the way) said I don't need 4x4 if I get the rear locked?! My other friend with the brand new F150 had a blast too.
Have a great day!
I still have to try the towing capabilities of my truck. My friends said I'm knuckle head because I'm thinking of renting a dolly from U-Haul, hook up my Tacoma on it and tow it hehe.
I know 2 things for sure, if I wanted speed, I'd borrow John Force's and/or John Andretti's car, for power, any Mac truck would do!
Have a great day!
with other trucks, and comparing this to the
F150.
Is the Tundra a suitable towing vehicle? I am
looking to get a truck to pull a horse trailer and have seen several of the Tundras doing this in the horse event I attend.
I live in the horse ranch area. I have seen a couple of Tundras used to tow a 2 horse trailer set up. I think for hauling those horse semi trailers (5th wheel?), a bigger Ford or GM or Dodge should be the one used.
Have a great day!
I'm extremely happy with my Tundra! (Thunder Gray, SR5, V8, 4X4, w/ convenience pkg.) That's not to say that I haven't had any problems with it though.
I just came back from a fantastic week in Yosemite w/ my fiance', and my oldest friend (he has a TRD Tacoma). I had a completely filled bed: from a row of split madrone logs and a bag of kindling, to three full coolers, etc., etc. The Tundra took as much gear as I wanted to bring. I used to have a standard cab 4X4 Dodge Dakota, and it's so nice to also have the extra cab for stuff (& me too, I'm 6'2"/250+lbs, have enough room now). I don't know what the rolling weight was but I got about 17-18 on the way there.
Offroad, the Tundra really shined! I spend a lot of time on unmaintained National Forest roads searching for creeks and waterfalls. Lots of very deep ruts, baseball to basketball sized rocks and boulders, parts were so steep all you could see was sky through the windshield! Had to stop and put it in four wheel low for that one, my friend said that I didn't even spin a wheel; very exciting! The only things that stopped me were, trees down, (forgot my chainsaw) or brush just too damn close to the center of the "trail". I can't justify destroying such a nice paint job 3 months new. (as it was, the paint took some mighty abuse with nary a mark that couldn't be easily rubbed out) Trail crawling, my mileage was something unbelievable. At half tank, driving the paved road back to our campsite, I was already at over 300 miles! I put a mark on the rear bumper, and lost the right front mudflap. (Oh yeah, if you accidently bend the exhaust pipe forward a bit, it will melt holes in your RR mudflap.)
The engine is an engineering marvel! It never fails to make me happy when, after driving like a normal well adjusted citizen, I need to pass someone on the curvy, steep, 2400 elevation hill that I drive over, from/to my house/office and back, everyday. I load the bed with firewood, half yards of gravel, (1250 lbs) garbage cans, and never feel anything even approaching a strain.
One pet peeve, is my inability to find a way to (semi) permanently turn off the bed light switch for when you open the door. Anybody? Just like being able to force most of the interior lights off if you wish.
To make a short list of the bad things so far:
Brand new, the truck was missing some not minor/not major suspension components from the factory. Items around the front sway bar like bushings, washers, and bumper(s). Pretty noisy, but didn't actually affect handling. Of course fixed under warranty, but still have to take time off work, etc. Now, the alignment is still a bit off, and has balded the edges of the front tires prematurely. I am going to try to have them replaced under warranty, wish me luck! I think that the brakes may be pulsing just slightly too. It's hard to tell because it's inconsistent, and I know from having previous heavy 4X4 trucks that you can feel even the most invisible road defects.
It was nice to finally post!
N-M
A stock Silverado 5.4L V8 will only tow 5000 lb. by comparison. Pretty wimpy.
The Ford F150 is an excellent choice. I would drive both. I liked the way the Tundra drove much better.
I own a Chevy 3/4 ton that has been doing this job, and I also own a 4RNR, but the block just cracked, and since it's an '87 with rust and 190K mi., it's pretty much totaled, and needs replacing. I thought then, that I'd replace both.
The Milkman need not reply...I'm originally from CT, and I don't care what you drive, you don't know what a hill is. I served my country with a 5 year stint in the military, so don't go there either. The folks in Kentucky appreciated the business I gave them when I purchased a Camry for my wife, and I haven't the slightest clue or care where the Tundra is built. If it will suit my needs, I think I'll buy one. If it doesn't suit my needs, I think I'll buy a Dodge!!!!!!
This is coming from a very satisfied Tundra owner who has traditionally been a Chevy guy so please don't feel my comments are biased towards one make or another. I just calls em like a sees em.
One of the nice things about this truck is the throttle. The Tundra gas pedal is actually a "fly by wire" type which means you are not in direct contact with the throttle. If you mash the pedal to the floor, it does not let you open the throttle more than the engine can use. You will not find it bogging down while the engine gains RPMs to give you the requested power. It is a unique feeling and makes it surprisingly responsive when towing.
Just remember that you are driving a half ton truck, not a 3/4 or one ton.
I towed through the CA, NV and AZ desert (100-120 degree heat), up 6-7% interstate grades that go from about 500 to up to 4,500 even 6 or 7,000 feet. I lock out the overdrive. I never had any problem going whatever speed I wanted, and actually had to remember to watch the speedo to keep below 70 mph as the motor would just keep pulling. I didn't let the rpms drop below 2300 in third gear and downshifted to 2nd on the "hill" before Vegas and ran, as I recall, about 4,000 to 4200 rpm and 70 mph all the way up the mountain, no problem. As with my previous T100, even with the AC on, the temp never budged from the middle of the gauge in the 110 degree + heat. Gas mileage was 11.3 with the AC on at 60-65 mph (CA) and 10.2 at 65-73 mph (NV). (That's fast enough on bias-ply trailer tires!) On the return trip we hit 35 mph + headwinds with higher gusts so my gas mileage dropped to around 9.5 at 60-65 mph with the AC on. The truck was still stable in the winds.
I liked both the F150 and the F250SD. The reason I didn't buy one was because unladen, my friends V10 F250SD only gets a combined city/hwy of 9.6 mpg; and Ford had F150 5.4 short block failures in '99. Plus the size of the F250SD is too big for some off road trails I travel. In 3 years with my '96 T100 4x4, towing the same boat over the same route, it never once as much as hiccupped - and the temp gauge never moved either, even with the AC on up the mountains when it was 135 degrees. The reliability I experienced was the final reason I chose the Tundra over a Ford. Let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks in advance, John
Base truck= 15,345
ca $0
cb $150
ck $70
do $ -90
fw $100
mg $60
delivery $480
Total $16,115 (invoice $14,385)
TundraDude, I guess I'm out to lunch because I am not familiar with the vibration problems. Do you think this is still a current problem or has toyota rectified it ? Again, thank you for your time and help, John.
I tow a Coleman Pop-up camper; loaded, it grosses out around 4,200 pounds.
It appears from other posts that the V-8 Tundra is more than adequate -- how about the V-6 with the 5-speed?? It will save me about $2,000 if I go with the V-6.
Thanks!
It is extremely torquey down low and yet it loves to rev. $2000 is an amazing bargain for this engine and it is one of the main reasons I bought a Tundra.
You will pay a 1-2 mpg penalty over the V6, but it is worth it!
I tow with my V6, and it does great and I did save thousands of dollars.
Ask yourself this question: Am I purchasing a trailer someday in the near future that may weigh in around 6000 lbs? Then go with the V8, otherwise its a feature call between the two different SR5 models. This is assuming that the base model is out of your analysis.
I am hoping by the time I upgrade into a bigger trailer (more weight), they will have a Toyota heavy duty version. Even the T100 had a one ton model. I have never seen one though. I know that this model had no extra towing capabilities but Toyota did make it.
Once the garage door holder is out, you will notice a small piece of felt covering a piece of plastic. Push it back behind the plastic clip. Now, with the sunglass door in the open position, push back firmly until it snaps into place. Close the door and enjoy.
About 20% of the time, the door will not spay in the plastic clip. If this happens, remove the door and take a ball point pen and push back on the plastic clip that use to be covered by the felt. Don't bend it too much but it does need to move a little. Now, reinstall the door and you should be fine.
I do this 10 to 15 times a month. I wish Toyota would default the sunglass holder instead of the garage door opener. Nobody seems to own garage doors any more.
Found a problem with the back door swinging the other way. Loading groceries inside, while parked between other vehicles can be a hassle. There aren't enough room to maneuver because the front door has to be opened first. The grocery cart gets in the way of the other door because you have to pull it forward otherwise the cart will be behind the opened rear door.
I'd toss the groceries in the back if I had some kind of cargo net. But then again under the blazing sun here in Arizona, my groceries will be ruined!
Any other stuff I toss in the back, reluctantly. The dealer has yet to honor the 'I owe you' note for the bedliner. I've had the truck for over a month now.
I was in a complete stop already when I felt the nudge. I barely felt it my girlfriend didn't feel it.
I'm thinking does the truck starts off at 2nd gear? Sometimes?
Does it feel like a kick in the butt (so to speak only way i can describe it or as a jolt) after you come to a complete stop (not everytime but once in a great while)and then hit the gas?
Ryan
Anyway, in reply to your post #38, what you may be experiencing is binding in the rear driveshaft slip yoke. If the splines are binding or inadequately lubricated then the driveshaft may compress abruptly instead of gradually after the truck comes to a stop (when you come to a stop, the front end dips slightly and the rear raises up slightly causing the driveshaft to extend, then once the truck comes to a complete stop everything settles back out and the driveshaft compresses as bed/frame comes back down. Also, the transmission may shift down during this time which will take the torque load off the splines allowing them to freely compress). Anyway, my Tundra had similar symptoms when I first got it (sometimes it could be described as a "thunk" from the rear). Here is what I did and it seems to have cured it (7000+ miles and counting): I greased the rear driveshaft slip yoke until I could not force any more grease in there (about 20-30 strokes if I remember correctly). The slip yoke splines are tight and I could not force any grease out around the shaft. I then gently stepped on the rear bumper several times (compresses the slip yoke) to help force the grease into the splines. I then removed the grease fitting from the slip yoke and then really jumped up and down on the rear bumper to force out the excess grease (you need room for the slip yoke to compress over bumps without binding the driveline). I then cleaned up the grease that was expelled and put the grease fitting back in and have never had another instance of the "thunk". Some have mentioned just putting a couple of shots of grease in the slip yoke to fix it, but all this does is put the grease in the void near the end of the splines and not where the friction is taking place. An alternative would be to disassemble the slip yoke and liberally lubricate it, but my method is easier and seems to have fixed the problem.
I guess the old posts in here was right on target, them tindras are fer them yuppies! ha!
I wonder when did GM added on that feature? My friend's '98 Blazer's Daytime Running Lights are stuck on ON position as well.
Praise to Ford engineers for the adjustable foot pedals.
foot pedals- if your to short buy a smaller car or drink more milk hahaha (sorry had to say something to be a smart ^&#%#)
Ryan