Tundra vs. Chevy

[remman2506]

Looking at buying a new 1/2 ton truck for the first time in years...narrowed it down to the tundra or 1500 silverado...wanting something that I can pull the gooseneck with the tractor on it and possibly small loads on my gooseneck dump trailer...I really like my duramax but not sure how a chevy gasser will do...have heard nothing but good things about the tundra...any ideas?

 

[breadtrk]

Put your tractor on your trailer. Bring both trucks to your house, hook them up and drive your roads.

I just bought a $65,000.00 truck because I made the dealers let me do that. If they didn't want to play, I just went to the next same make dealer down the road. I ended up with a dually, simply because it felt best, had what I wanted..... Mostly a bluetooth radio and nothing else. Drove a bunch of trucks in the last year, all makes and all sizes because I don't really have a favorite brand. Some of them were dead set against hauling my tractor, I simply said have a nice day and moved on. Wound up buying 140 miles from my house, left 5 local dealers holding onto their stock trucks.

Still had to order the truck I wanted but got to know each one pretty good by judging it on the main hill I have to pull to get anywhere out of the valley I live in.

Mine is a bumper pull trailer with the tractor in my sig. I narrowed it down to 2 and pulled a second time with both, trailer as loaded as I will ever get it. Both makes were from dealers that serve rural communities. The city folks nearby acted like I was wanting to date their sisters.

I'm not feeding the brand wars here by saying what I went for. I will say that if Toyota came up with a dually, I'd take it in the shorts and trade tomorrow. If it wasn't for the extra security my ***** felt from the dually axle truck...... I would be a very proud Tundra Owner.

 

[s219]

Toyota makes a good truck. The only downsides (my opinion only) are poor gas mileage compared to the class leaders, and that the truck is a little stale, getting only a styling refresh lately (current truck is ~7 years old if I am doing the math right).

I shopped all the brands last year, and settled on a GMC Sierra. The strengths (again my opinion) are competent towing, good gas mileage, responsive steering/handling, and nice design touches throughout. I have a crew cab 4x4 with 5.3L V8, and it gives 19-20mpg when commuting, and 22-23mpg on long highway trips. Really like that.

Based on the towing needs you described, I imagine you'd want the bigger V8 if you went with the Chevy half ton, or step up to a 3/4 ton.

Good luck!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Good input here. It seems like the dealer I just as important as anything.

Chris

 

[remman2506]

I like the idea of trying them both out pulling my tractor...only problem is most half tons don't come with a gooseneck hitch on them so that won't work....most I would ever be pulling with it is 8000# if it's anymore than that I'll use my Duramax

 

[sixdogs]

My Tundra can pull nearly 10,000 lbs and I do it. It pulls great. I get about 13 MPG with 9,500 lbs but I'm on flat roads, no stops and don't go very fast. I've had both trucks and for the intermediate loads you suggest, I would prefer my Tundra.

 

[sdef]

I am in the same quandary and have been investigating very heavily for months. I really would like to purchase a Toyota due to their inherent reliability, but the Tundra is about a generation behind GM and Ford in the heavy duty 1/2 ton truck department in many areas including towing, fuel mileage and options.

My 10.4k pound equipment trailer would only be towed rarely with its max weight and seldom with a lesser load. But I want a truck that is rated to tow my maximum load with as much head room as possible. So the truck would mainly be used without towing and not as my primary vehicle.

I have driven a Ford 3.5 Ecoboost 4x4 with max tow option, along with a Chevy 5.3 4x4 with max tow option. The Chevy rides and drives more like a car while the Ford drives more like a truck. The Ford EB has more acceleration at any speed, but the Chevy is close. Neither OEM is willing to provide > than ~ 10% off sticker for a 2015; 2014s are a lot less but do not meet my feature and fuel mileage needs (Ford). Sticker pricing is $52k (Ford Lariat+) and $49k (Chevy LTZ+ and GMC SLT+). I currently have AAA buying service getting me pricing on all three.

But since my heavy duty usage is seldom, I may just go back to my original plan of a quality used, Ford or GM 3/4 ton, 4x4, relatively low mileage, maybe 2008 - 2010 with a large V8 gas engine. I also have a large investigation packet on these.

If tow rating is important to you, consult this as a quick reference guide Trailer Towing Guides | Trailer Life Magazine, which was instrumental in helping me narrow down my choices to where I am at now.

I would prefer the Ford for a bit more towing and carrying capacity, a bit more power and rated gas mileage and the ability to also have the off road suspension in conjunction with the max towing package. With Chevy or GMC one can have either the max towing or Z71- but not both combined.

Edit: I prefer the GM products as a daily driver.

 

[remman2506]

Thanks for all the input...a buddy of mine has a 18' tilt deck bumper pull he is going to let me use to load the tractor on and test the tundra and silverado 1500...the weight will be pretty much the same as my 20' LowBoy Gooseneck with the tractor on it...I'm going to the toyota dealership tomorrow to try out a tundra and plan on bringing it home and pulling the tractor with it...then I'll try out a silverado later in the week

 

[sld]

I thought, in general, you weren't supposed to tow a load until you get around 1k miles on a new truck.

Hopefully these dealers are letting you tow with demo's and not brand spanking new trucks.

Another reason I always order. You have no idea how the miles are put on a new one on the lot.

 

[remman2506]

Maybe they have demos at the lot not sure though...but the way i see it is if I'm going to spend 40k+ on a new truck I want to make sure what it will do before I sign the papers

 

[sdef]

I thought, in general, you weren't supposed to tow a load until you get around 1k miles on a new truck.

Hopefully these dealers are letting you tow with demo's and not brand spanking new trucks.

Another reason I always order. You have no idea how the miles are put on a new one on the lot.

+1. I will order my truck built for me. There are none in stock from any OEM with the exact options I will be paying for. It is amazing how few trucks are in stock with the Max Towing and the Max Payload options.

remman2505: Please post your findings.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I wouldn't do a thing till Nissan drops the New Titan. I had a 08 and it was the best anything I have owned. That Cummins diesel and a Aisin transmission will make it a game changer and the 1st half ton with a serIous diesel.

Chris

 

[sdef]

I wouldn't do a thing till Nissan drops the New Titan. I had a 08 and it was the best anything I have owned. That Cummins diesel and a Aisin transmission will make it a game changer and the 1st half ton with a serIous diesel.

Chris

Agreed. Rumor has it it will only be rated for 10k towing; but I just can't see that with the current market forces and competition unless they will follow a similar path as the new Dodge 1/2 ton Ecodiesel. Supposedly Toyota is working on a similar project so that should ratchet up the abilities of the Nissan offering.

 

[Eric102]

My 2007 Tundra with about a 9000lb load. No equalizer or sway bars and it tows like a dream, much better than the F250 diesel it replaced.

 

[s219]

I like the idea of trying them both out pulling my tractor...only problem is most half tons don't come with a gooseneck hitch on them so that won't work....most I would ever be pulling with it is 8000# if it's anymore than that I'll use my Duramax

Ok, for a max of 8000# you could definitely get by with the 5.3L V8 on a Chevy/GMC. With 3.42 gears it tows about 9,500#, and with 3.73 about 11,000#. And there rest of the time when you're not towing you will see really good gas mileage.

The most I have towed with my 5.3L V8 3.42 is 7,000# (capacity of my trailer) and it does that without much effort. The one thing to be aware of on the GMs is that they have calibrated the accelerator pedal (drive by wire) to encourage fuel economy, so the initial pedal travel doesn't do much (which is fine for highway driving). I got used to it within a couple days and know how to step on it to get into the power right away if wanted. Putting the transmission into tow mode overrides some of the nanny behavior too, and will raise shift points.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Agreed. Rumor has it it will only be rated for 10k towing; but I just can't see that with the current market forces and competition unless they will follow a similar path as the new Dodge 1/2 ton Ecodiesel. Supposedly Toyota is working on a similar project so that should ratchet up the abilities of the Nissan offering.

I'm reading 12,000# on the low end and upto 14,000# on the high end. This makes sence. Going any less would kill the Camper market.

Chris

 

[sdef]

I'm reading 12,000# on the low end and upto 14,000# on the high end. This makes sence. Going any less would kill the Camper market.

Chris

I hope so but do not expect anything much greater than 12.5k in a 1/2 ton chassis. Nissan is advertising they have tested it at > 5 tons, whatever that means. If they sell this with a better than gasoline Ford and GM tow rating (12k or >) and the price is "reasonable", I might end up with one sitting in my driveway. But expect the diesel pricing to be more than I am willing to pay for my limited heavy duty towing.

 

[JKR]

I would get the Tundra as long as you are towing 10,000 lbs or under. Make sure your trailer has electric brakes.
If you are over 10,000 lbs then look at the Ford or Chevy 3/4 ton trucks and maybe a diesel options.
I also agree have the dealer take the truck to you house an tow your trailer. You will tell what one works best.

 

[tcartwri]

I can pretty much guarantee you the Nissan diesel is going to be north of $50K for even the base model.

 

[sdef]

I can pretty much guarantee you the Nissan diesel is going to be north of $50K for even the base model.

I think the economics of a heavy duty 1/2 ton with a diesel for towing, say a 12k - 13k load is not there for a 1/2 ton of this price. Not to mention a 13k load may be a handful for a truck of this weight.

The sticker price of a diesel Chevy 2500 DC LT 4 x 4 is ~ $52k and has far greater towing and carrying capacity than 1/2 tons and the proven higher HP and far more torque of its Duramax, not to mention it will handle a 12.5k# load FAR better than a 1/2 ton truck due to its design. One of my Chevy dealers had a couple fairly loaded 2500 diesels for $62k.

I believe at the 1/2 ton truck level, Dodge has it right with its 1500 SLT QC 4x4 diesel at $42k that has a sticker of 28 MPG and 9200# max. towing which would suffice for many folks' towing and carrying needs. I recently read Dodge is selling 1 in 5 trucks (1/2T and 3/4T combined) with the Ecodiesel in the 1/2 ton.

Ram EcoDiesel - Fuel Economy, Power & Efficiency - Ram Trucks