I love my Tacoma, but...

[Pimms]

Originally Posted by Brandon T.

Congrats!! I'm chomping at the bit for a Tundra as I'm a Toyota fan. Just hoping they update it in 2020 as my wife would prefer not to go to any other brand. Frustrating that Toyota let this model go for so long without a technological update seeing how they are pioneers in electric and reliability. I would love to see some kind of hybrid V8, regenerative braking, 20 miles in electric only, cylinders deactivation etc.
Again congrats! Looks good.

I debated buying a 2019 based on this as well. Will they have a 2020 new generation? I don't know for a fact, but don't think they presented a new Tundra at the Detroit auto show. I'm thinking perhaps not until 2021. Even if they had a new powertrain option, I'm not sure I would want to be a "beta tester". The current 5.7 liter seems well-proven. In any event, I needed to replace the Tacoma and didn't have the option of waiting, but can always trade up in a few years, (after I hit the lotto)!

[pteck]

Congratulations and excellent choice. No more performance concerns.

Actually, no more concerns at all as the Tundra (and Toyota's) have proven over time to be as solid as a rock. With durability to last well into latter years. An unpretentious and honest truck.

The 5.7 is a beast with great tractability. If you can keep your foot out of that gas pedal, efficiency is not bad. She gets a bad rap with an elastic powerband as it's all too easy to dip in and suffer MPG consequences.

[caz]

I send my congratulations as well. Glad our comments here were helpful in making your decision to choose a Tundra.
Caz.

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by pteck

Congratulations and excellent choice. No more performance concerns.

Actually, no more concerns at all as the Tundra (and Toyota's) have proven over time to be as solid as a rock. With durability to last well into latter years. An unpretentious and honest truck.

The 5.7 is a beast with great tractability. If you can keep your foot out of that gas pedal, efficiency is not bad. She gets a bad rap with an elastic powerband as it's all too easy to dip in and suffer MPG consequences.

I completely agree. My 2008 double cab 2wd 5.7L has been a great TV and I get an honest 13.5 mpg towing our 24’ Tradewind with the kayak on top.

My son in law just got a 2018 F150 with the EB 3.5L. The only advantage over mine is slightly more power, not that I need more, the 10 speed transmission and Apple car play. I am quite happy with my Tundra and I expect it will be more reliable than the F 150. Also his payload is about 100 lbs more.

Dan

[Jrober4]

Hello, I had the same problem with my Tacoma, I couldn’t see behind me and even with a sway bar any size motor home and all the big trucks would cause the trailer to sway. And, yes it was gutless. Got a Siverado, problem solved. Sooooo much easier when towing. Down side, poor turning radius. It takes a little getting used to.
Cheers,
John

[rmkrum]

Tacoma, plus nice OEM looking tow mirrors that flip up and give me good vision down the side of the AS. ProPride hitch flat eliminated my minor sway issues. Yeah, more horsepower would be nice, but Hey, 22mpg out of a big V6 when not towing is decent. Best part is DW likes Toyota’s, so as long as I keep picking them, she’ll keep paying for them. It tows our 22’ 2007 International CCD ‘just fine’ if I’m patient on the big climbs.

Have had and driven Fords, GMC products, etc. Not going back there. Maybe to a Tundra when we travel a lot more

[Brandon T.]

Originally Posted by TouringDan

I completely agree. My 2008 double cab 2wd 5.7L has been a great TV and I get an honest 13.5 mpg towing our 24’ Tradewind with the kayak on top.

My son in law just got a 2018 F150 with the EB 3.5L. The only advantage over mine is slightly more power, not that I need more, the 10 speed transmission and Apple car play. I am quite happy with my Tundra and I expect it will be more reliable than the F 150. Also his payload is about 100 lbs more.

DanAttachment 333358

That looks great.

[Pimms]

Just home from a 300 mile trip from Ct into the Berkshires, not towing but the brand new Tundra fully loaded. 18+ mpg average. I drive like an old lady, but I did read that the computer will learn your driving patterns and adjust the variable valve timing for best mpg. I’m very happy so far.

[smithcreek]

Originally Posted by Jrober4

Hello, I had the same problem with my Tacoma, I couldn’t see behind me and even with a sway bar any size motor home and all the big trucks would cause the trailer to sway. And, yes it was gutless. Got a Siverado, problem solved. Sooooo much easier when towing. Down side, poor turning radius. It takes a little getting used to.
Cheers,
John

What were you towing? I tow an FC20 with my Tacoma and it's rock solid, no sway, but I did spend a bit of time getting my WD set up correctly.

[GettinAway]

I pulled a 19’ Bambi for years with a Tacoma. Went over several passes in CO. Never had any sway issues. I did have a little trouble seeing behind the Bambi, so I added extended mirrors. Tacomas are pretty much bullet proof. It was great in CO because once I disconnected from the Bambi, I had a four wheeler that could go anywhere a Jeep Wrangler could go. We would still have the Bambi if I was a foot shorter.
My avatar pic is from Devils Garden CG in UT. We went out on I-70, and back on highway 50. Lots of passes etc.. No problems pulling with Tacoma.

[Len n Jeanne]

If we still had out 16-footer, we'd probably still have the Tacoma to pull it. No towing problems at all. Plus the cap on the back of the truck greatly expanded our storage capacity.

Because we live in BC and love to camp in the southern Utah canyon country and in the Mojave desert around Death Valley NP, we make some long drives. The Tundra is such a comfortable vehicle for long car trips. For people making long hauls, that comfort counts for something. It's nice to get out at a rest area without feeling like a pretzel or paper clip unfolding.

[19FlyinCloud]

...I don’t even have it home yet.

I have an '07 Tacoma TRD w/ factory tow package. I just bought a 2019 23ft Flying Cloud FB. All my truck specs point to a capable tow vehicle, but after reading the threads, I’m scared to death.

I don’t really want to buy a new truck, but it’s probably recommended, eh?

Christy

[Brandon T.]

Originally Posted by 19FlyinCloud

...I don’t even have it home yet.

I have an '07 Tacoma TRD w/ factory tow package. I just bought a 2019 23ft Flying Cloud FB. All my truck specs point to a capable tow vehicle, but after reading the threads, I’m scared to death.

I don’t really want to buy a new truck, but it’s probably recommended, eh?

Christy

You don't HAVE to get new. In my research I've found plenty of Tundra for sale at reasonable prices. I'm looking at 2021 as my go to year to purchase a Tundra truck as it's rumored to have a twin turbo V6 in it otherwise I'd have bought one.
A tip if you decide on a used Toyota Tundra. Get the 2016 model year as they come with bigger (30+ gallon) fuel tanks.
As for the Tacoma. Yes, your right up at 100% of it's towing capacity with that AS.
Good luck.

[bruce1]

I am pulling a 2007 25' Safari with a 2006 Tacoma Off road, v6, towing pkg and 6 spd manual transmission. 213K miles on truck. Still has good compression and drives like new.


I would at least see how the truck performs. You won't win many races up mountain grades, but if you take your time and exercise patience, you will get there. I don't know about automatic transmissions and prefer not to own a vehicle with one. I am skeptical of how the 8 and 10 speed auto transmissions hold up and believe that repair or remove and replace will be very expensive. JMO. Good luck with your new AS.

[superChop]

Congratulations on the new AS! Receiving a lot of advice, some of which is conflicting, is challenging to sift thru. I am parked at Top of Georgia AS park, N. Of Helen, GA. About 90 other rigs are at the park this Rally weekend. One Tacoma with a 23 foot. Lesson here, is consider that few AS’ers move down from a 23 foot and often move up within a couple of years. Now is a good time to purchase the tow vehicle that will pull your 23 ft and your next one IF you have that desire after using the 23 for a year or two. While you have been advised to look at used, it appears you are purchasing a new AS, which I would never advise someone to do, since there are many trailers changing hands at our park each year which means you can obtain a well maintained and reliable trailer for thousands of dollar less than new. IF you are buying new consider that a 25/26 foot AS will put most Tundras over their payload rating. Many Tundras have a 1200 - 1400 pound payload rating and that gets consumed with example of 800 lb tongue weight, 200 lb topper, 300 lb for driver and pax. Through in 4WD and you will eat up more payload. Despite ALL Tundra owners being over Payload rating for their vehicles, ALL the owners I have had this same conversation have told me they LOVE their Tundras even if they are over payload! A benefit of buying new from some Toyota and other dealers is their lifetime engine and transmission warranties. Finally, I provided my towing weight requirements to a Toyota salesman familiar with towing requirements and he said that Toyota does not manufacture any vehicles that can meet our requirements for a 26 ft and 34 ft AS.

[Pimms]

As I am the one that started this thread I will jump in and say that I found my 2016 Taco V6 with tow package not powerful enough for our 23. I traded up to a 2018 Tundra with 36 gallon tank and tow package and couldn’t be happier with it. It is night and day difference from the Taco. The Tundra big V8 has been around a long time and I would personally pick that engine over a new model V6 turbo but if Toyota does introduce this I would expect it too would be a good engine after some time goes by.

[SYC2Vette]

As much as I am a GMC fan, I have to admit that a friend of mine has a Tundra with now just over 300,000 miles on it, and he has had zero issues with it. I believe that his only service items have been brakes as expected. I think he still has the original u-joints in fact which I probably would have replaced. That said he does not tow with it, but still a pretty good indication of durability! Regarding Tacoma, probably similar to my Canyon, meaning 20' and under AS is great, but not so great over that.