Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives How do you like your Tundra

Thinking about a Tundra for the next truck. What do you like about yours? Any major defects or problems? What is the fuel economy (or lack thereof) with the 5.7 versus the 4.7?

Dan

Poor fuel economy on my 2000 V-8 4x4. But a wonderful truck.

I have experience with a 2008 4WD Crewmax 5.7l and a 2011 4wd Crewmax 5.7l FFV. The 2008 has 80,000+ with the only "broken" part being a corroded battery cable. The OEM batteries corrode the terminals badly. It now has an Interstate battery, problem solved. On 65 mph roads, in warm weather, running 85 octane 10% ethanol gas it averages just under 20 mpg. With the new stretches of 80mph interstate thrown in on a trip it drops to 18mpg. Big surprise, drive faster lose mpg.
It hasn't been babied. We have a 16ft tandem trailer to haul a 4wheeler spray rig, 250 gallons of water and other equipment for field work. It drops the mileage to 16 mpg. A grad student who used and abused the truck one summer told me it will go over 100 mph. Luckily, the dumb ass didn't wreck it. I had some dash lights come on after the last trip this summer. I googled it and determined it was a known emission-AIP issue that Toyota had extended warranty coverage on to 10 years or 150K on. Had fleet take it to the local dealership and they fixed it for free and detailed the truck for any inconvenience it might have caused us.
My personal 2011 only has 23K miles, no issues at all. I put anti-corrosion pads under the battery terminals to prevent a repeat of the 2008's issue. I put LT 10 ply tires on it as I want the safety factor if I get a flat while hauling my small steel 3 horse gooseneck stock trailer. While pulling 3 horses and carrying 3 people and all gear and equipment over the Snowy Range and back to Laramie, I got a little over 13 mpg. That is about the best I could ever do with my old 1982 Chevy 3/4 when it was empty, with a strong tail wind.
The Tundra has been a good truck for me. I really like the Tundra's transmission for towing. It reminds me of the old John Deere tractor Powershift transmission. Just put the truck into tow mode, drop the shift in S mode, and then shift into the gear you want and it does it so smooth you never have to touch the brakes at all. I have a friend with a 2014 Ford Ecoboost. A very nice truck but his hand calculated highway MPG is only 21 and his truck cost $14K more than mine. However, I think that except for lacking heated leather seats his is fully equipped whereas mine is the base model.

Thanks. I have an Ecoboost now and Ford has been good to me but it is in the shop at the moment. I really, really hate paying for repairs. Just thought I might try a Tundra next time. Sounds like yours is doing well. The fuel economy you mention is not as bad as I thought it would be.

I have a 2012 crew cab 5.7 4WD with a little over 102,000 miles on the odometer. I pull a 12-foot double axle trailer with it fairly regularly, usually fairly heavily loaded. I also use it off-road quite a bit, but most of the miles are highway miles, as we live a long way from just about everywhere and everything, except scenery. So far, the truck has been trouble-free--nothing but the regularly scheduled maintenance.

Mileage has averaged a little under 18 mpg for the several thousand mile intervals for which I have kept records. I have seen over 21 mpg running with a good tailwind on the interstate and I have seen 14 mpg heading back into the same wind. I mostly drive the speed limits these days (except on rural two-lanes with posted 55 mph speed limits). If I stay off the interstates, I almost always average between 18 and 19 mpg on long trips.

It's a comfortable, well-made truck, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

2012 Double cab 6.5'ft bed with the 5.7. zero problems. 18 mpg on the highway. 14 mpg mixed driving.

It's everything I want in a pickup.

Love my 2011 Double Cab 5.7 liter. No problems so far.

2014 limited 4x4, love it.

Thanks for the replies

FWIW, the 4.7 was dropped a few years ago in favor of the then new 4.6. The 4.7 was a good motor, but at best made about 280HP, the 4.6 is 310HP and a bit more torque.

That said, I have a 2007 Crewmax Tundra that I bought used in 2010 with about 35k on it. I use it mainly for towing a 5th wheel RV that goes 9,000lbs + when loaded and it does a good job of towing it. Mileage towing pretty much stinks at around 8-9.5 MPG when towing at speeds of 65 mph or so.

MPG empty is much better. I have made a couple 400 mile round trips downstate in the last month and monitored the mileage closely. The first trip was with the cruise set at 73mph and I got 16.9 mpg. The second trip was a bit more hurried as I was headed to see my mom in the hospital. I had the cruise set at 78 and got 15.5mpg. I don't feel too bad with those numbers, especially considering that I have all terrain tires and about 450 lbs of weight in the bed.

Winter mpg is a couple mpg lower.

The 15-17 mpg hwy is sorta what I've been seeing mostly in the past. Some guys reporting 18-19 mpg in earlier posts, that I could live with. I'm currently driving a 4X4 Double cab Tacoma that will do 19-20 hwy if driven at around 70 mph.

I won't need another truck for 2-3 years, but would consider going back to a bigger truck if 19-20 mpg is realistic. I don't need it for towing or heavy loads, but a little more interior room would be nice.

Gonna be watching this stuff for the next year or 2.

Have a 2005 with 72,000 now and bought used with 45,000. No problems and runs down the highway smooth. 17mpg is about max running at 65-70. Into it for $18,000 which buys a lot of gas when compared to the price of a new one.

However, newer has some additions I wish I had.

I traveled to Hilton Head in mine this summer and averaged just a tick over 18 mpg's(hand calculated). I set the cruise 5 over the posted limit and went on. This was on I-95, US-220, and US-29. Running around on the island was in the 14 range if I remember correctly.

Liked my first one enough to buy a second. I had a 2005 4x4 double cab 4.7 l for eight years, 140,000 mi. Now have a 2013 4x4 double cab 4.6. No problems, no unscheduled maintenance with either. Good ride, quiet, about the same gas mileage with both. Highway mileage (light load) around 18-19 mpg at 75 mph, can get 20 mpg if I don't go above 70. Local/mixed mileage runs 14-16 mpg. About the heaviest I tow is a couple of atvs, the 4.6 liter handles them fine.

I will have to let Y'all know. I just brought one home right before dark. miles

What did you get Miles?

This, 2015, new.

With 20" wheels and 6 speed auto trans.



You can see the reason in the background. Wife decided that She wanted a camper, and my Tacoma was too small for much pulling of it. I will miss the Tacoma but I pretty much got everything that I wanted on the new Tundra. Bench seats and a backup camera. They had another with the Navagation system and lumbar support, but it was bucket seats and I wanted the bench. miles

I just bought a 2014 1794 last week. So far I am pleased though I will be swapping the 34" tires for 32's.

Attaboy Miles.