2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4

   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #1  

Kahuna

Silver Member
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Dec 17, 2006
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My son and I (he is a huge diesel fan) took off last week to trade my 2004 Super Duty F250 5.4 on a diesel. I have always been a Ford man and have had the F250 for a year. The 5.4 is totally underpowered for this size truck. It feels like the truck can barely pull itself. I put on a K&N cold air induction, Flomaster exhaust and even a Superchips programmer to help the performance. I could tell there was a little more power from the programmer but I now had to use at least 91 octane gas. The mileage remained lousy. The absolute best I ever got on a straight interstate trip with hardly any stops was 14 mpg. It generally gets 10 to 12 mpg with everyday driving. I considered the V10 but around here no one seems to get over 10 mpg.

We test drove about 5 late model F250 diesels and they all seemed noisy and slow on the acceleration which my son said was typical of a diesel. I have a goose neck that I pull maybe 6 times a year with a 11,000 to 12,000 lb total load. I know the diesel really counts on the pull.

We were test driving a Ford when we happened to go past a Toyota dealership. We stopped in for a look and test drive. I first confirmed the Tundra was 75% to 80% American parts with it being assembled in Princeton, IN. I have never considered any import anything in the past but wanted to be open minded. This truck seemed as "American" as anything else on the road.

I just came out of the 5.4 F250 into this thing. I hit the gas and unintentionally left 2 black marks in the parking lot. The truck seemed like it weighed about 100 pounds although the curb weight is about 5500.
The truck has 381 hp and 401 foot pounds of torque. The performance was amazing on this truck. The brakes, engine and rear end was larger than most 3/4 ton trucks. The 6 speed automatic shifted very smooth and prompt.

We left and went to look at more Ford diesels. I was now comparing everything to the Tundra. We left the last Ford store and I went back and bought the Tundra. I am getting 16 mpg with everyday driving and expect that to go up a bit when it gets a few thousand miles on it. I pulled a light bumper hitch trailer load of about 5000 pounds and the truck felt like there was hardly anything on it.

So far I am very impressed with the Tundra. The fact that I am not an every day trailer puller influenced by decision somewhat by going with a gas engine. But from what I see so far things will work out just fine.

Checking to see if anyone else out there has had any experience with the Tundra.
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #2  
The Tundra is a SOLID truck, great engineering there. How you wound up with a 5.4 powered 3/4 ton I will never understand, although I know they work for some. The Diesel trucks you test drove may have seemed sluggish compaired to a lighter gas truck off the line but the difference in towing will be significant. If you rarely tow then its better for you to NOT spend the extra $$ on a diesel truck. Toyota makes a great vehicle, I owned one for many years when I was younger, couldnt stop' em.......(literally when you were towing!!)
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #3  
My Tundra is the best truck that I've ever owned, and we have had lots of trucks over the years. It is quiet, smooth, and responsive, and gets decent gas milage. With that being said the only towing I do with it is a boat up to Canada and that was not a real test . I didn't buy it for towing, only driving.
Without a second thought I would buy another one.
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #4  
I owned a 2000 Tundra. It was traded in at 130,000 miles. Not the first indication of trouble. It wasn't babied. I bought a 2500 Dodge because I needed a heavier truck. (Quite a bit of towing) The new Tundra is ALMOST stout enough to serve my needs. If Toyota decides to enter the 3/4 ton/1-ton market, count me in. They build quality products. If one serves your needs, go for it!
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #5  
I also have always drove Fords. I am now in my second F250 diesel and love the truck which is an 02 4x4. There is no lack of power in this beast. But my next truck will be a Toyota. I am just waiting for thier diesel to come out.
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #6  
I had an '05 150 Lariat 4x4 Supercrew and experienced just what Kahuna had;under powered, poor fuel mileage,and a terrible tow vehicle. The truck had the newer 5.4 3valve and a 3.73 gear ratio,but I didn't put any aftermarket equipment on mine as it was apparent I had much too far to go to have a few "widgets" make a significant difference. I went to my selling dealer to trade for an '08 250 (XL) 6.4 diesel with a stick transmission: $20,000 and my '05 Lariat:eek: I don't think so:mad: Like everyone, I'd seen the Tundra ads on the tube so, with no intention to buy, went for a peek. Crawled all over the thing and took the offered test drive;an hour later was driving my Double Cab home for less than a $10,000 bill. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I can't say enough about this truck.I'm amazed with the fuel mileage the thing gets with the 4.30 ratio and it hauls my 7500# to 8500# equipment trailer/tractor with no trouble. I'll give a better critique in about 5 years and I'm hoping I'll still be as impressed:)
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #7  
so, yesterday, while hauling my 4500lb dump trailer with about 8,000lbs of poop in it, I passed this truck towing a skidsteer.
This skidsteer was a typical skidsteer (not the huge big ones, a regular 5' skidsteer) on an equipment trailer. I figure it weighed probably 6000lbs plus the trailer probably weighed 2000lbs (it was not heavy enough trailer to be hauling this, but that's a side note)
It was being towed by a new style tundra. Crew cab, short bed.
It was riding on it's rear bumper, front wheels up in the air, it couldn't handle towing only 8000lbs. (and the SS looked centered on the trailer to me)
i.e. it's a nice half ton, i'ts not a heavy duty (3/4 ton) truck.

The Ford 5.4 has always been underpowered in the F250. I had a V10 F250 and used to get 13 to 14mpg. (about 7 towing :( )

If you drove a big 3 diesel and didn't like the pickup and power, something was wrong. Diesels don't like to be cold, was the engine cold?
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #8  
The big difference is when you load a diesel. It will have about the same performance as empty. You can't compare a gas anything to a diesel anything, Ford, Toyota, or anything else.
Sure, Toyota does make a great pick-up, but to compoare an F-250 diesel to a Tundra? Not even close. The F-250 could pull a Tundra and a loaded trailer no problem, could a Tundra pull an F-250 and a loaded trailer? I wouldn't want to try it.
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #9  
For your limited pulling, I would strongly consider the Tundra. Consumer reports however, took away their recommended status due to reliability issues. (Actually, consumer reports no longer give automatic recommendations to new toyotas of any kind due to more complaints. I thought it was stupid to automatically given that status to any new vehicle.)
I still think it will be a good truck. Entirely new models often have a few issues.
I have a 1999 F250 V10. No complaints. 0 repairs. It did have a few recalls for minor issues because it was a new model. Mine has about 275hp, the new versions have about 350hp. I average about 10-11mph. The other day, I was pulling a 16K load in a very strong head wind and the load was tall. I was in a hurry so traveling 65-75 mph. The lie-o-meter said 5.4 mph which was a new record low. Tall load in strong wind is worse for me than the overall weight of the load. The f250 has about 40% more weight than the tundra and will seem more sluggish.
 
   / 2007 Tundra vs F250 5.4 #10  
Wayne County Hose said:
The big difference is when you load a diesel. It will have about the same performance as empty. You can't compare a gas anything to a diesel anything, Ford, Toyota, or anything else.
Sure, Toyota does make a great pick-up, but to compoare an F-250 diesel to a Tundra? Not even close. The F-250 could pull a Tundra and a loaded trailer no problem, could a Tundra pull an F-250 and a loaded trailer? I wouldn't want to try it.

I couldn't have said it better myself. After towing with my F250, I'd never go back to a gas truck, ever.
 
 
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