What a Joke

[chh]

The Toyota dealership where we got the wife's Camry is telling me that the 3/4 and 1 tons are coming. They won't say when. And there will be a diesel available. The service manager tells me the engine is already in testing and that from what he has heard, that it will blow away the latest Powerstroke and Cummins. That I would have to see. I have seriously considered trading our 2003 F-150 for the current Tundra. It is a far better rig than my F-150. IMO

Anyway when Toyota come out with the 1 ton, then compare it to your 1 ton express van. Lets try to keep a little apples to apples here.

 

[wkpoor]

My original point was how can Toyota basically brag about 10,000lb towing capacity on a 1/2 ton and GM say their 1ton diesel is the same capacity. Clearly someone isn't telling the same story.

And then I'm saying I really have put the van to the test day after day and it really can tow 10,000 or more reliably. Yes it is better equipped for the job clearly but the average person looks at those crazy commercials and probably believes them.

A couple of yrs ago I did my own test. My brother has a 1/2ton chevy. We towed the same load behind both my van and his truck approx. 6,000lbs. Starting out the load was about the same. The 1/2ton had a little chop though. Going down the road the van felt very stable and solid. The truck had some feeling like it was being overpowered by the load. And stopping was no contest. The van weighs about 1500lbs more too. So unless Toyota has some real trick they are pulling (Ha.Ha) those commercials are a joke!

 

[rtdiggr]

I think this guys is close to his "10000 pound" capacity.

 

[Builder]

I read a few months back on content and man hours used to build 1/2 ton trucks. In the 1/2 ton market the Ford F-150 and Toyota had the highest percentage. The Dodge had the lowest, I believe it is assembled in Mexico. The Fords and Toyota's being assembled in the US is what gave them a high percentage. I am not sure but I believe the GM trucks are assembled in Canada.


I agree it is the government running our companies out of town. The company my dad is vise president of did the same thing but are now thinking of coming home. The grass was not greener on the other side.

Chris

My GM truck was assembled & built in Flint, MI. It contains ~85% domestic parts.
Gimmie a ring when Toyota & Nissan reaches an 85% domestic parts content.

I don't really care as much as I used to, but I felt the need to help add some truth to what I'm reading.

 

[Builder]

I think this guys is close to his "10000 pound" capacity. View attachment 93599

What's that? Another pot shipment from Mexico?

 

[dgl24087]

I read a few months back on content and man hours used to build 1/2 ton trucks. In the 1/2 ton market the Ford F-150 and Toyota had the highest percentage. The Dodge had the lowest, I believe it is assembled in Mexico. The Fords and Toyota's being assembled in the US is what gave them a high percentage. I am not sure but I believe the GM trucks are assembled in Canada.


I agree it is the government running our companies out of town. The company my dad is vise president of did the same thing but are now thinking of coming home. The grass was not greener on the other side.

Chris

My 07 Ram 1500 was assembled in Louisiana. Domestic content 72% I believe.

 

[jdbower]

Last I saw the Tundra was 80% domestic and the Sienna was 85%, but that's apparently changed. Either way it's just marketing, all manufacturers buy the parts that will get them the most money. Sometimes that means buying in cheaper countries to save money over US-made and sometimes it's flag waving and saying "look where we were made".

Given the lack of catastrophic frame failures and class action lawsuits against Toyota I've got no reason not to trust their numbers, but if I had to tow 10,000lbs I'd look for something able to tow a bit more no matter what brand it was. If it helps, the 3500 truck can tow 12,000 lbs, obviously GMC just thinks a van isn't as good a towing machine as their truck.

 

[Z-Michigan]

The Toyota dealership where we got the wife's Camry is telling me that the 3/4 and 1 tons are coming. They won't say when. And there will be a diesel available. The service manager tells me the engine is already in testing and that from what he has heard, that it will blow away the latest Powerstroke and Cummins.

Just what we need, an even more powerful diesel. I can't see anything reasonably done with even a 1-ton requiring or getting much benefit from more than the 350hp currently available in pickup diesels. I would much rather see a smaller motor that is more efficient. But of course hp sells to people who don't know what they really need. Explain to me how all the medium duty trucks work just fine with a measly 250-300hp.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Just got back from town buying some groceries. While there I saw a Toyota Tundra with the 5.7 fender badges. The guy had a trailer with 8 round bales of hay which looked to be 4x5s. The rear bumper was almost on the ground. I kept thinking that something was going to pop at anytime. It was way over loaded. I don't understand people trying to do things with a pickup that they clearly wasn't designed for. Maybe the guy believed the commercial.

Maybe the guy had never heard of weight-distributing hitches and neither the dealer nor anyone else bothered to tell him. I always crack up when I see heavy duty pickups towing travel trailers in the 8-10k range, easily within their ability, that have the rear end of the truck dragging because the driver was too dumb to learn about weight distributing hitches. A 2k tongue load on a weight carrying hitch doesn't work in any 1-ton or smaller setup I know of. I wouldn't be too surprised if a lot of Toyota dealers have never heard of weight distributing hitches, since it's only very recently that they sold anything big enough to tow an amount requiring that type hitch. (Not to mention that in my experience most Toyota dealers are among the very worst of all car/truck dealers...)

 

[wkpoor]

I think the limitation might be the hitch issue. On a PU you have the gooseneck option. Otherwise a PU and a van are the same except for the sheetmetal.
I have a friend who for yrs now won't except a van as a truck. IMO vans are a great cheaper alternative to a truck if you are willing to not have 4WD. My 2002 Express 3500 van was 18,000 new and serves me every bit as well as a PU that would have cost close to 30,000 comp equiped. I have since found out you can have a van upfitted to 4WD before delivery by the factory and retain full warranty. They didn't tell me that at the dealer. I found it out on line.