Tundra 5.7 vs F150 EcoBoost

[KJRitchie]

We've decided there is a need to upgrade our TV from our Toyota 4Runner 4.7L V8 to a pickup. Having our preowned 4Runner has been trouble free, just maintenance items. The main reason for upgrading is we've decided a 25' floor plan is the best long term solution for our first AS. We plan to buy a preowned AS.

So I have come up with a plan. Find a decent preowned Tundra 5.7L double cab that has 50k to 75k miles for under $20k. This leaves more money available to find a wider range of 25' AS and in 4 or 5 years if we have to then get a replacement TV. Maybe by then we are getting 30mpg towing trailers
However, after looking around at some Tundras most that are in the 20k range have higher mileage or have some body damage, the seats are worn, some personal modification has been made etc, etc.

However, there are still a number of 2012 F150 XLT Ecoboost Supercrews around here and I was wondering if there is even more wiggle room. If I have to spend more to get a clean preowned Tundra the prices almost start to get close to a new F150 Ecoboost.

The problem is I've never owned a Ford vehicle so I'm not as confident with Ford as Toyota. My biggest concern the 3.5L V6 twin turbo is a much more complicated engine vs the Toyota 5.7L and how will this affect reliability down the road. I'm I already talking myself out of a Ford?

Kelvin

[Bruce B]

Hi,

I am a life long European car mechanic who owns a 2010 Ford F150.
I can not speak for the EcoBoost but my F150 is the best vehicle I have ever owned! Hands down...I have owned a lot of vehicles in my life....
Bruce

[Phrunes]

Originally Posted by Bruce B

Hi,

I am a life long European car mechanic who owns a 2010 Ford F150.
I can not speak for the EcoBoost but my F150 is the best vehicle I have ever owned! Hands down...I have owned a lot of vehicles in my life....
Bruce

Ditto. My 04 has been abused off-road, towed a 9,500 boat over mountains and had much more than its rated bed weight in haul on countless occasions...zero trouble in 130,000 miles. Knock on wood.

[xrocket]

Howdy Kelvin ... About the Tundra vs EcoBoost

I'm on my second Tundra, a 5.7 CrewCab pulling a 25' RB AS. The first was the small V8 DoubleCab pretty much as you have in the 4runner. Both came from the factory with the tow packages and the difference in tow ability is considerable in actual real world towing. Both would do the job, but the smaller V8 was marginal and left zero room for much more than a basic empty tow.

The Ford does have a fine reputation and probably would have been a fine second choice in a gas tow. I've been a longtime Toy owner in many iterations and have never been let down or stranded (knock on wood) and my only expenses have been consumables and never even a single repair, hence my sticking with Tundras.

I do have experience with other high rev / high horsepower boosted gas motors and longevity in high stress applications verses a Tundra's low rev high toque output and I put my money on the low rev torque side of the bet.

YMMV as mine has throughout lifes bumps and grinds ... LOL

[DKB_SATX]

I would not advocate one over the other, they are both fine trucks.

I do however want to comment on the misconception in xrockets post: The Ecoboost generates high torque at lower RPM than the Tundra. The Ecoboost generates over 350 lb-ft of torque from 1500 RPM to about 5500 RPM, with its peak torque hitting around 2500 RPM. Direct injection + forced induction can make very flexible engines for real-world use.

[M. Smith]

You may want to check the April, 2013 edition of Consumer Reports, which has testing and ratings of both trucks. They both rate very well. I tow with a Tundra 5.7 and really like it. The only fault is short drivers have difficulty seeing over the hood. The Ford has better visibility. Both are very reliable.

[h8rain]

Have a 2012 5.7 Toy Crewmax with tow package and pull a 2012 RB 25' A/S w/equalizer hitch. I looked at both options and decided to go with the Toy because I have never seen twin turbos when used as intended that didn't end up costing maintenance/repair. From the Ford owners towing trailers posting online, gas mileage sounded roughly similar to Toy. Ford got better mileage hands down without a load. I have only pulled this A/S 7,500 miles and get approx. 10mpg @60mph average. Not sure there is a bad choice just different views. I went for reliability with 9,300 lbs of towing. Had I been able to find a Ford with 12,000 lbs of tow capacity in a 4x4 crew, I probably would have gotten the Ford.

Have Fun!

Tom

[TG Twinkie]

I tow with a 5.7 L Tundra. We have a 26' Argosy. When in Tow/Haul mode I use the "S" mode of the transmission and set the high gear to 5. The lowest mpg is 11.2 into head winds the highest is 14.6 with tail winds. I average 12.8. Drive at 60mph.

[dstalzer]

I have had 2 Ford F150's and 3 Ford F250's with no problems of any kind. Just the normal maintenance such as oil changes and tires. There must be a reason that Ford sells more F Series pickups than any other vehicle on the road. I would say it is RELIABILITY.

Dennis

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by dstalzer

I have had 2 Ford F150's and 3 Ford F250's with no problems of any kind. Just the normal maintenance such as oil changes and tires. There must be a reason that Ford sells more F Series pickups than any other vehicle on the road. I would say it is RELIABILITY.

Dennis

I don't agree with this statement..at..all. Not trying to start a brand war, I agree with many who said that both choices the OP mentioned will work fine for his purposes. Finding a decent slightly used Toyota Tundra for under 20K is going to be very difficult. Not as many Toys out there to start with.

Ford makes fine trucks and they make millions of them. They offer an option for everyone and because of that, they sell lots of trucks. The F 150 line alone has so many options it makes my head spin. But, when it comes to reliability, I don't think they have much on Toyota. JMHO

[TouringDan]

I am sure that the F150 is a very good truck. Here are the reasons why I bought my 2008 Tundra SR5 5.7L 2wd double cab:

1. Great motor- 403 ft-lb torque and 381 hp

2. Great 6 speed tranny, get the floor shift

3. Properly geared- 4.3 rear end gives lots of low end power and relaxed cruising of 60 mph @ 1,200 rpm

4. The largest back seat with regular doors, roll up windows and a 6.5 ft bed.

5. Toyota reliability.

6. Totally new design in 2007 was way ahead of the competition- 18" wheels, 4 wheel disc brakes, ABS, traction control, electronic limited slip (sounds good but mine sucks).

I have had this truck for 45,000 miles and I love it. No problems at all except that the radio was replaced under warranty.

There have been essentially no changes in this truck since 2007. This truck is as good as any new 2013 1/2 ton truck. The only exception might be an F150 because you can get a higher payload rating than the Tundra. However then you have to deal with the small back seat, suicide doors, etc.

The eco boost is better on solo fuel economy but for towing, the numbers may not be much different. I get 13 mpg towing.

Since there are no differences from 2007-2013, I would look for a nice 2008 or 2009 truck that has been pampered. I would not worry too much about mileage. It will just help keep the price down. I have no doubt that the Tundra will go to 300k without major problems. Reliability wise, I would have more confidence in the normally aspirated V8 than the turbo charged V6 in the eco boost F150.

BTW, I agree completely, go for an SR5 model. The Limited models are way overpriced. The only features the LTD has that mine does not have is leather interior, steering wheel controls and navigation and possibly a sunroof. Other than these features, everything else is the same.

Happy Tundra hunting. It is out there, you just have to go find it.

Dan

[TG Twinkie]

I don't recall if the OP stated that they want 4x2 or 4x4.
In December, I bought a 2008 5.7L 4x2 with the tow package. This truck only had 9,100 miles on it. It's a double cab and standard box.
I paid $18K for it.
It averages 3 mpg more than my '98 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9L V8. The Tundra has 120 more horsepower when compared to the Ram. And you can tell it.
Both trucks have the 4:10 rear end.

[Scott J-24]

I agree that you can't go wrong with the Tundra or the F150, both are great trucks. Our choice was the Tundra. We originally had a 2008 5.7 CrewMax Limited 2x4. Unfortunately someone else wanted it more than they should have and took it one night from in front of our home in 2010 (yes, it did have LoJack but it was never recovered). When I went to replace it we test drove EVERYTHING available in that class of pickup just to make sure there wasn't something we liked better. We wound up buying a 2010 5.7 CrewMax Platinum 4x4 and are still very happy with our choice of TV to pull our 27' FB International. However, if we were pulling anything bigger, I probably would have purchased a 3/4 ton instead of the 1/2 ton. The Tundra as my daily driver and I love the comfortable ride it gives. As stated by a previous poster, YMMV.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by TouringDan

I am sure that the F150 is a very good truck. Here are the reasons why I bought my 2008 Tundra SR5 5.7L 2wd double cab:

~~
6. Totally new design in 2007 was way ahead of the competition- 18" wheels, 4 wheel disc brakes, ABS, traction control, electronic limited slip (sounds good but mine sucks).

I have had this truck for 45,000 miles and I love it. No problems at all except that the radio was replaced under warranty.

There have been essentially no changes in this truck since 2007. This truck is as good as any new 2013 1/2 ton truck. The only exception might be an F150 because you can get a higher payload rating than the Tundra. However then you have to deal with the small back seat, suicide doors, etc.

~~

Again I feel the Tundra is a fine truck and would be a very good choice as a tow vehicle (see my earlier post) but I want to talk about 2 points you made that are off base. I've snipped most of the other stuff out of the quote.

Everything you posted as putting the Tundra "way ahead" in 2007 is on my 2007 F150 with the exception of the electronic LSD. My F150 has a genuine limited-slip differential (optional). The Tundra's 6-speed auto was what truly set it apart from the pack in 2007, and the ready availability of the 5.7L that offers output like the 6-ish liter engines from GM and Ford that were only available on specific trucks that often weren't good tow vehicles. Ford solved that by offering the Ecoboost pretty much across the line when they introduced it years later, and GM still makes it hard to get big torque in a half ton.

Finally, the F150 with HD Payload is available in a SuperCrew configuration. Large, normal-opening rear doors and a big comfy back seat. It also comes with a real limited-slip diff at least in RWD config, I'm not sure what diff comes with the 4WD setup.

[srpuywa]

we looked at the tundra and F150 but ended up with a 2012 silverado CC, the tundra back seats just fold over and we wanted the seats to flip up so our lab has more room to stretch out on the floor

[hissilver]

Thanks for all the excellent technical information on both vehicles. Living in a small town with only Gm and Ford dealerships, I always lean toward the home town guys for convenience with al other things being equal, it has worked out. To visit a Toyoto dealership I must travel 40+ miles. For me the Ford would be my choice in this discussion.

[TG Twinkie]

My Tundra is a Double Cab, the back seat folds up, not down. It also has a 4:10 electronic locker rear end.
Some people don't care for the locker. As I recall the locker only locks up if you have it OUT of the anti slip mode. But I would have to go back to the manual, all 700 pages to verify that.
I think it is a great truck. But I have been a Toyota truck owner since 1976. This is my 3rd in that time period. Still have my '85 4x4, it has 300,000 miles on it and still runs like a clock. With only routine maintenance, tires and a new clutch. Oh! A new carburetor after 260K miles. Can't tell you exactly how many gallons of fuel went thru that old carb, but it must have been a lot. Somewhere in the 14,400 gallon range, I would guess.
I was test driving a new Ford, when I spotted the Tundra in the lot. So for 1/2 the price of the NEW Ford, I'm driving a Tundra with just over 10K miles on it now.

[Kyle401]

As you can tell, owners of both seem to be satisfied and passionate about them. I doubt you will find significant statistical reliability differences between them. However, based on your post, I'd recommend the Tundra.

Buy the brand you prefer and I doubt you'll regret it.

[KJRitchie]

Thanks for everyones comments. I didn't even think of looking at a Ford a few weeks ago until I visited a local Ford dealership to test drive a white 2010 Tundra Double Cab 2wd 5.7L V8 with only 13k miles, 1 owner with an asking price of just under $25. It even had towing mirrors. I'm not sure if they were powered. I think it had a brake controller mounted on it. I drove it and felt it needed an alignment. Could've been the tires. The drivers door frame area had lots of unsightly scratches. I guess I had felt for a price between $20k and $25k I wanted something that had been better taken care of. Since this was the first Tundra I drove I didn't want to jump on it without looking at others. The salesman invited me to look at a 2012 F150 Ecoboost. He said with all the incentives the price would be very close to the asking price of the Tundra. We came back the following weekend and test drove a XLT. We did a little city and freeway driving. We thought the ride was nicer than the Tundra but not radically better.

Then we got thinking we'd be better off finding an AS that our 4Runner could tow and we looked at a 22 Sport, 23FB, FC 20, and International 23D and we decided the best thing to do is just go for a 25. So now we are concentrating on the TV. I'm tempted to try to negotiate a deal on a F150. Nothing in the dealers inventory has the Max Towing and HD Payload packages. These have the 7100 GVWR package, 3.55 axle, tow package, integrated brake controller, 26 gallon tank ( the FWD has the 36 gallon tank and I wish the 2wd had that tank size), Payload is around. If the Ecoboost doesn't offer any difference in fuel economy while towing vs the 5.7L then that is a negative. I work from home so I don't drive the TV much except when we are towing or the rare 2nd car errand. It sits in the garage so the Ecoboost doesn't offer a lot of advantages for me I guess. Maybe if I tow over a high mountain pass one day the turbos will overcome the altitude.

I'd have to leave a Tundra or F150 outside 100% of the time. A new truck vs and preowned truck sitting in the elements during some wild spring storms and hot Texas summers.

I might try to wheel and deal on a 2012 F150 to see what they can do. Maybe I should try a 2013 Tundra deal too. If they both end up being financially uncomfortable then its back t the preowned plan. Gotta leave some money for an AS.

Kelvin

[Denis4x4]

All things being equal, I would rather send the profits on my truck purchase to Detroit rather that Tokyo.