Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Looking for a New Truck (Family Cruiser)???

Hello all,

I have the itch/need for a new vehicle. I am sick of "borrowing" my Dad's pickup when the need arises and my current car is getting up in mileage. I went shopping yesterday to start the process. The 2 trucks that stood out were the F150 and Tundra so here are my initial novice thoughts.

I need a vehicle that can comfortably hold 4, so I want a crew cab with a comfortable backseat. The Tundra has a back seat you could lose a small child in. Seats glide and recline. The Ford has a backseat that if you are traveling any distance may be uncomfortable.

I liked the interior of the F150 better. Seems well made and durable. Tundra seemed vanilla and cheaply made in spots.

Really like the ecoboost engine and I think that Ford has a winner there. The 5.7 Tundra has power and is reliable as well.

I would prefer to buy American but the backseat my be a deal breaker if this is going to be a family cruiser. I would appreciate any other experiences others have had.

Thanks,


ddj

How often are YOU going to sit in the backseat?

My buddy bought a Nissan Titan because of the roomy backseat, then asked himself that very question.

I will admit, the Nissan is comfortable to ride in, but just feels cheap elsewhere. Zero experience with the Toyota or Ford of modern day, other than I think the Toyota is ugly.

I have gone through the same debate. I probably wouldn't sit there much but my son a daughter would often. This would be a vehicle for everything from hunting trips, grocery store and summer vacations. I don't want to buy a new truck and then hear my kids complain that it is uncomfortable for 3 days.

Thanks for the reply

ddj

4 door F-150s have an insane amount of leg room in the back seat. Something to think about.

102,000 miles on the 2008 Tundra and still rolling with no repairs. Thinking I would wait for the 2014 model year to see what they come up with. Supposedly a redesign of sorts. Like the Fords though have never driven one.

Archie, you are right but the seat's backrest is more vertical than others which makes it uncomfortable. My brother has an older crewmax that was more comfortable but I think it is in how the designed the seats to fold. His backrest of his 01 folds down to the seat where the new ones have the seat that folds to the backrest. Makes a difference on the comfort IMO.

ddj

You really can't go wrong with either one.

I just saw on tv that Ford is recalling pickups with ecoboost engins, seems they suddenly lose power when accelarting. get a chevy silverado they have the ecoboost engine that works.

I have the ford f150 crew with ecoboost. Can not say enough about it but, great. Guys I hunt with always comment about leg room and 250 to 400 mile peasant and deer hunts not 1 complaint on comfort.Power is super mileage is great as long as you keep your foot out of it.Friend tundra likes gas. I had a Tacoma before this ford all I can say is some drive Fords and some drive Toyotas then the chevy guys wish they were driving a ford or toyota

Have read some articles about the Eccoboost and recalls/ repairs
May need to do some research

I love my Tundra. It's a 11 with the 5.7 4x4 double cab. Even my 6'3" son is comfortable back there.

I agree with the original poster on comfort of the back seat for kids. I had a 2001 Dodge Quad Cab and it was fine for the kids locally, when we took it to Florida they found it uncomfortable after a while. When I traded that for a four door chevy, it was much more comfortable.

Sit in the back seat and have someone drive you around.

Someone said to wait until the 14 Tundra comes out. Personally, I'd take advantage of the known platform at this point and the fact that they will shortly be looking to dump the older model.

Good luck in your decision.

Money to stay here or send to Japs?

Yawn....

These are worth a look.

http://www.nissanusa.com/trucks/frontier/versions-specs/version.sl-crew.html

I have the Pro-4x version. Great truck. And Made in America. Smyrna, Tennessee, to be exact.

How about the Dodge Ram mega cab?

Have you checked out the Truckster?

Pretty hot.

I've ridden from Indy to South Dakota and back in a 4 door Tundra. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn it was a Cadillac, the ride was excellent. We averaged 18mpg over the whole trip, even though it was loaded heavily. It does have a bed cover on it, though.

F150 or Tundra F government motors.

I love my 2008 Tundra crewmax. Super smooth ride. I have had a Dodge and an F150, they don't compare, granted the Dodge was a 97 but new at the time. My Tundra has a crazy amount of power. One buddy has a 4 door F150 and my truck easily beats his on the interstate as far as power. I agree with another post about the interior. Mine is nice but his is nicer. Another buddy has a brand new F250, its very nice but the room in my tundra is the same. We just drove 18 hrs roundtrip with 4 guys, one was 6'4" and he was comfortable in the back the whole way. I think they are both great trucks but I was willing to bet my money that the Tundra would be driving long after anything else.