New (to me) Tundra

[Torvy]

Tomorrow we trade the Prius for a 2017 Tundra SR5 Double Cab. 6 1/2 foot bed. 5.7l V8. Our mileage will drop from 65 to 15. (haha). Once we get moved in, the truck will rarely go more than a few miles. The truck is step one...next will be the trailer.

 

[big bubba]

sounds like an adventure. maybe explain reason for the transition, & what your equip/ project ambitions are
regards

 

[Yander]

Tomorrow we trade the Prius for a 2017 Tundra SR5 Double Cab. 6 1/2 foot bed. 5.7l V8. Our mileage will drop from 65 to 15. (haha). Once we get moved in, the truck will rarely go more than a few miles. The truck is step one...next will be the trailer.

I'm thinking you will notice a difference in testosterone levels going from a Prius to a Tundra, LOL.

 

[John0829]

Cannot go wrong with a Tundra, if I ever need another truck it WILL BE another Tundra. For the record I get 18 mpg on local trip consistently and on trips have gotten up to 23 mpg. Got a solid 14 towing the travel trailer coast to coast and all places in between. YES I do baby it to get those numbers.

 

[Torvy]

sounds like an adventure. maybe explain reason for the transition, & what your equip/ project ambitions are
regards

Fair enough. I tend to think most don't want to hear it again.

We currently live in the suburbs of DFW where the Prius Prime saves on gas. Our final house is under construction on our acreage in rural NE Texas (7 miles from a town). The truck will be primarily a farm vehicle. Duties will include, but are not limited to, runs to stores to get supplies; towing utility trailer on and off the property; pickup and delivery of implements or rental equipment as needed; and hauling dogs to the vet as needed.

The property is mostly pine plantation. We will slowly transition some of it to a few 'Christmas' trees and provide fruit, nuts, herbs and other botanicals for our use and sale or donation of excess. Wife wants chickens and will try to get a beekeeper to put hives near the fruit trees.

This is our retirement. No need to earn, but we will market a few items if we can.

 

[big bubba]

i'm enjoying the retirement adventure as well. so will the Tundra be the only vehicle? my '92 Toyota 4x4 (earlier to Tundra or Tacoma) has 302k original. keep the adventure going, the 1st several yrs of my retirement were prob the most productive ever. enjoy

 

[grsthegreat]

I have a 2017 Tundra. Bought new, great, trouble free truck. Have no use for small hybrids or EV out in the sticks. All of my trips usually end up hauling stuff, feed, hay, wharever.

 

[Oaktree]

Had one for a company truck at my last job. Was the biggest POS that ever darkened my driveway. Seemed like it was always in the shop for something. I was the new guy so I got the truck no one else wanted.

 

[Torvy]

i'm enjoying the retirement adventure as well. so will the Tundra be the only vehicle? my '92 Toyota 4x4 (earlier to Tundra or Tacoma) has 302k original. keep the adventure going, the 1st several yrs of my retirement were prob the most productive ever. enjoy

No, we have a 2018 Outback for a 'daily' driver and an old Matrix my youngest will take to Tech next year. In the meantime, I will drive the Matrix to work the rest of this semester. It is a basic model with a manual transmission, so fun to drive...if a bit austere by today's standards.

Just got home with the truck. I'll add pictures later. The previous owners apparently pulled a 5th wheel with it, so if we ever decide we need something like that, it has the hitch and the plug in the bed. I doubt I will need it, but it is there. Also has the bed extender. Again, not sure if I will ever use it, but for us it is more likely than the 5th wheel.

I was pretty happy with the way it ran on the way home. The dealership was about 1.5 hours away, so we got some time on the highway with it. The engine was very smooth and much quieter than we expected. The driving position is very good for me. Our old Ranger gave less visibility at half the size. The front came with a cavernous box rather than the fold down 'bench' seat option. I can see usefulness either way. We would have liked to get the TRD off road edition, but the couple that we saw for sale around here were northern transplants.

@Oaktree Sorry you had trouble with your work truck. There are a lot of things people say about the Tundra, but POS is rarely one of them. It has a much better reliability record than its peers and it may lack some of the modern refinements and it has bad gas mileage, but it seems like it will do the trick for us. Every model has bad individuals, but the odds are in our favor. We looked at a 2005 in Tyler, but it was severely rusted. The truck had been in VT and NY prior. We usually don't even look at a vehicle from up that way. It confirmed our suspicions.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

I would reccomend a flat bed for it. I wouldn't go without my cm bed. Anytime I pick stuff up, i get it palletized and unload with the tractor.

 

[MTGreen]

I've been very happy with my 2010 4x4 5.7. I'm getting close to 200k and it's been very reliable. Consistently gets 14mpg combo city/highway with about 500lbs of accessories/equipment & drops to about 9mpg when towing 8k. I've towed the rated 11k and wouldn't hesitate to do it again from a safety standpoint.

It's been mostly normal wear/tear replacement items like tires/shocks/plugs/etc. I replaced the lower control arm bushings at 90k and I had a wire harness plug go bad at 120k. It's been the most reliable truck I've ever owned and it was made in the USA.

Occasionally I think I'd like to have a 1 ton diesel but for the times I actually need one I have a 5 ton medium duty diesel with an 18.5' flatbed and a trailer hitch. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Tundra when this one finally wears out which doesn't look likely to be anytime soon.

 

[Torvy]

For those of you who own or owned Tundras... I see lots of forums, which forum is the most like this one, or at least the best one.

Also, any thoughts on aftermarket brush guards and/or skid plates.

 

[Torvy]

Pictures, as promised.

 

[Carl_NH]

Nice clean Tundra Torvy! Is it a 2WD? That will last you a long time.

Two forum's I use are Toyota Tundra Forum (more like TBN) and then Toyota Tundra Forums

I had the first gen 2000 Tundra for 20 years, 4.6L great truck, new frame replaced under wty, then I replaced it with a 2018 Tundra Platinum 5.7L 4WD I found with 8K miles in early 2019 - was a good time to buy before prices went thru the roof. I have gotten 18MPG on the highway but averages around 15-16 typical around town.

 

[workinonit]

I have an 08 I bought new. Has just under 100K on it now. It's the best truck I've ever owned. A bit light to pull my trailer and tractor but it will for short distances which is fine by me.

 

[Hay Dude]

Torvy, buy what’s BEST for YOU and don’t worry about what others say. Not to detract from negative comments-they are just part of being on an internet forum and telling everyone about buying just about anything.
I was brand loyal many years ago. Now I have open bed my eyes and discovered that there’s so much more opportunity and freedom to looking at each equipment or vehicle purchase as an opportunity to treat yourself to what’s best for YOU.

 

[Torvy]

Nice clean Tundra Torvy! Is it a 2WD? That will last you a long time.

Two forum's I use are Toyota Tundra Forum (more like TBN) and then Toyota Tundra Forums

I had the first gen 2000 Tundra for 20 years, 4.6L great truck, new frame replaced under wty, then I replaced it with a 2018 Tundra Platinum 5.7L 4WD I found with 8K miles in early 2019 - was a good time to buy before prices went thru the roof. I have gotten 18MPG on the highway but averages around 15-16 typical around town.

Thanks, Carl. It is a 4WD.

I'll check out the forums. We've had really good reliability from our many other Toyotas. Some new, some used.

 

[civilian]

We have had 4 Toyota all pretty good for repairs. 05 Camry went 240k and we sold to a friend a couple years ago. They drove it to CO this summer from MI. 11 Seinna with 170k on it. A bit of AC problems, but runs great. Sold the 08 Tundra with 140k on it this spring to the same friends, when I found a used 18 Tundra with 50k on it. It already has 62k on it. Only thing was a battery, previous owner just oil changes. 08 Tundra needed a starter that was a pain to change, luckily I paid to have that done. Had to go in through the right front wheel well. A different friend got me started on Toyotas. They had at least 4 of them going well over 200k with minimum repairs. Jon

 

[Torvy]

We have had 4 Toyota all pretty good for repairs. 05 Camry went 240k and we sold to a friend a couple years ago. They drove it to CO this summer from MI. 11 Seinna with 170k on it. A bit of AC problems, but runs great. Sold the 08 Tundra with 140k on it this spring to the same friends, when I found a used 18 Tundra with 50k on it. It already has 62k on it. Only thing was a battery, previous owner just oil changes. 08 Tundra needed a starter that was a pain to change, luckily I paid to have that done. Had to go in through the right front wheel well. A different friend got me started on Toyotas. They had at least 4 of them going well over 200k with minimum repairs. Jon

Nice. Our first was a one year old Camry (91). Drove it 19 years and sold it. Had a 2013 Camry Hybrid that our oldest now owns (its actually out front right now). A 98 Sienna we bought new literally the day our 2nd was born. Got another Sienna for more modern features in 2012 or so. Our first Prius was an '06, traded it for the Camry Hybrid after an accident. Got an '05 Matrix with manual everything for the kids to take to HS. Got the Prius Prime in 2020 just before the pandemic. After seeing our vehicles, dad switched from a Honda guy to a Toyota guy. They still have a Prius and a Camry.

 

[Stubee]

I bought my 2010 Tundra Double-cab new in August, 2009 and now have 220K miles on it. It’s the 4.6 V8 which I love, and a 4X4. Major repairs included a radiator and AC and I think the latter had contamination in the system from
Day 1 but I couldn’t prove it. It developed rust around the bed bolts in 2020–I live in Michigan—and I found it was due to a flaw in paint dipping the bed with trucks of my era, and a TSB provided a complete new box if my problem had occurred much earlier. The only other significant thing I remember was the air pressure sensor going on the fritz last September. I had that fixed aftermarket quite inexpensively, and the bed cost me $700 for new metal at a frame & collision shop I like. I did just replace the heater blower motor but it’s seen some use!

I average 18-19 mpg on freeway, 20+ on secondary roads and 14-15 in pure city driving. Towing my tractor + attachments on my 18’ car hauler tanks mileage considerably, as with any truck with any engine. I don’t have a trip computer and calculate mpg myself, a lot.

I don’t think my Tundra has been quite as reliable as it’s predecessor, a 1997 T-100 I also bought new but it’s a good truck and has never left me stranded anywhere. I think you’ll love yours.