Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives '10-'14 Used Tundra or Dodge Diesel?

Looking at getting another FS 4dr 4wd here soon. HIGHLY partial to Tundras, but looking at other 'possibles'. Like many, still mad at GM, though I'd buy used, and not much of a Ford fan....but Dodge Diesels seem to have some love. Persuade me.

Diesels are great if you have a load to haul but if you don't need the capacity, stay with gas. Since you're considering a Tundra, I assume you can get by with a 1/2 ton so I'd say that a diesel is overkill for your needs.

Typically, I can 'get by', but I do have occasion to do more than what's best for any half ton truck. I'm more concerned with durability/longevity. My towing and hauling and off-road is generally a weekend affair, revolving around hunting, boats, tractors, ATV s, and mild off road stuff. Long road trips, often. A heavier built truck probably lasts longer when used as a truck. I could also maybe grab another car for commute stuff to save wear on any truck, if I had to. Do I really need a 3/4-1 ton diesel? You're prolly right... but I could use one over a half ton, on occasion, and it might live longer....not sure.

I have a 2014 crew cab dodge diesel with 50k miles and no issues so far. Mixed driving I get 15.5 mpg and freeway 18 mpg. The interior room and bed space are really nice for hunting trips. Towing the toys with plenty of power to spare is a bonus. I have friends that complain about their Tundra mileage but I'm not sure how bad it really is.

If you're towing something sizeable, the diesel is best. If not, then I'd go with the gasser. Much less expensive to maintain.

One note on the Dodge / Ram diesel trucks: the 3/4 and 1-ton models are equipped with the Cummins turbodiesel; plenty of power there. But the 1/2-ton models carry a Fiat-made diesel engine. So not the same.

I don't what all years this applies to but my Dodge is an '08 and it does apply. Dodge 3/4 and 1 tons are identical except for the springs. All the bearings, brakes, axles, etc. and interchangeable. My 3/4 has factory air bags and when they're aired up, it will hold a bunch of weight.

It also requires a ladder to get in the bed while the Tundra has a very low bed. That's something for the OP to consider. I added wheel to wheel nerf bars so I can get at stuff in the front of the bed. I'm 6' tall and the Dodge bed rails are too high to reach over. I also added one of these truck steps on the rear.

Two different vehicles for two different uses. For offroad hands down I'd take the Tundra, for pulling a heavy load hands down the Ram diesel.

I had a 2006 ram 2500 diesel, it was a great truck and I still wish I had it. The downsides are, it is heavy and front heavy so not a great offroad truck. The dodge front ends will need a rebuild at ~100k miles and that will set you back $2-3k depending on the shop. Used trucks have great resale which means for a '10-14 you might as well buy a new one especially when you factor in possible repair costs. If you do buy used, don't get one that somebody has chipped as you could be looking at expensive engine and drive train repairs.

For towing any appreciable load the diesel is the way to go. The torque makes pulling a load a joy, and the added weight and stiffness of the suspension of the truck gives you control over the load vs. the load controlling you. The downside is such trucks are not as enjoyable driving unloaded.

I'm looking at mostly highway commuting and weekend 'truck' stuff, until I can swing a daily driver to 'save' my truck for towing, hauling, and hunting road trips.

assuming you aren't towing more than say 7000#, I'd go Tundra. I'm also biased - I love my Tundra.

I here you, somehow my 2500 ram was my daily driver for 10 years and I didn't get a commuter until my kid totaled the truck. Hopefully next year I'll be getting a replacement.

Aside from the rougher ride with the 2500, I really appreciated the larger cab. I don't know the magic number where a diesel "makes sense" for towing, but if you're dealing with mountain passes I'd highly recommend the diesel. My boat/trailer is roughly 4000#'s with fuel and gear, add another 1000# for passengers in the truck and I could run 65 up mountain passes and plenty of leftover torque to accelerate. The only time I worked my truck was hauling ~8 yds of damp topsoil. The empty trailer was 4000 pounds.

I'll do most heavy hauling (double axle w/tractors or pontoons) for short distances....100mi or less. I'll haul small boats and ATV trailers all over. I'd considered a travel trailer occasionally, also. I just need and have always had a truck,but hate to pile the miles on it when I can help it. It's Toyota or a diesel for lifespan, in my mind.

It's not quite a 3/4 ton,but the Tundra's compare pretty closely to a 3/4 ton gas truck. The frames are heavier, they come with either 4.30 or 3.90 gears compared to 3.31, 3.55 or 3.73 in most 1/2 tons. With that gearing no wonder they get poor fuel mileage You're looking at about 2 mpg worse than Ford/Chevy/Dodge 1/2 tons. Over 100,000 miles you're looking at about $1,750 more in fuel costs figured at about $2.20/gal. How much more would you spend on repair bills in 100,000 miles driving something else? Toyota's don't need a lot of work to keep them running.

I've had a Tacoma for the last 10 years and been extremely pleased. But the truck has become too small for us and I was looking to buy a 1/2 ton last year at this time. I was looking at about the same years as you and looked hard for a Tundra. But an internet search everywhere between Chattanooga and Atlanta only turned up 5-6 Tundra's that came close to meeting my requirements and none at a price I wanted to pay. I found over 200 F-150's and several that I seriously considered before narrowing it to the one I bought.

The biggest thing that pushed me to Ford was the 36 gallon fuel tank. Tundra only started offering it as an option in 2014 I believe and I found none equipped so. I found that used Tundra's were more expensive, but I could have bought a new one for less than Ford. We decided we wanted to keep the Tacoma as a 3rd vehicle rather than trade it. I could have afforded to buy new if I were willing to let the Tacoma go. But it was just more valuable for us to keep it.

We also have a small Honda for commuting around town and short trips. It gets 35-40 mpg and saves wear and tear on the trucks when the truck isn't needed. I just bought 4 tires for the Honda and paid about 30%-40% of what it would cost for tires on the F-150.

After my experiences with fords, it'll be hell for me to pay good $ for one and sleep at night or feel good about driving it out of town. I realize my experience may not be typical, but it's hard to get over or give them a third chance. I like some things about some ford trucks, but not some others. I trust Toyotas from decades in many different models, from old FJs to my last Tundra. I used to trust chevy/GM. I trust cummings' rep, just not sure about the rest of the Dodge around them yet.

I have a 2011 Tundra that I have hauled an 8000 pound trailer A BUNCH with, and it's tighter right now than the 2014 Ford 350 was when I drove it off the dealers lot. It's very comfortable around town, and haven't put a nickel into it for repairs. When I say towed a bunch, I mean several thousands of miles, including one trip from Montana to souther Oregon, up through Washington, into Canada, up to the Yukon, across into Fairbanks and back home again.
Another trip was to Bella Coola, and if you want to see some scary road, go on U tube and look up "The Hill" on the road to Bella Coola from Watson Lake. It's steeper than hell, narrow and dirt, and the Toyota handled that like a champ. I probably would have been better off with a diesel, but that diesel didn't get much better mileage towing than the Tundra, and the $100 oil changes were aggravating.

We seriously considered a Tundra when we bought a pickup 4 years ago. If they made a 3/4 ton we'd have bought one for sure. We ended up with a Dodge 2500 diesel and I love it. Our camper is only 23' and 5000lb but for hunting, I stick a stock rack in the pickup and load up 4 llamas. That adds around 1700lb. For summer camping, I might have a 1000 lb Razor in the pickup instead of the llamas. The Dodge handles it beautifully. It's a long bed plus a quad cab so it's 23' long. I get my exercise by parking at the far end of parking lots away from the crowds.

I agree with you on this^^^.

I've got a 2016 Tundra and a 1999 dodge diesel. The dodge was my daily driver for years until diesel prices went through the roof. It's got 385K miles on it now and it mostly just gets used for pulling the gooseneck, it's 2WD so it's not that great for a hunting vehicle. It's been a fantastic vehicle and driving that cummins is just a joy, it gives you a woodie. The newer models are more powerful but at the expense of fuel mileage and complexity. The fuel mileage of the newer diesels is probably going to be about the same as the Tundra.

The tundra is great too, obviously much more refined but it's not the beast of a truck that the dodge diesel is. Some like to say the tundra is almost a 3/4 ton but it's not, it's a half ton. It's definitely less robust than a 3/4 or 1 ton from the others. It's stouter than other half tons on the market though.

My tundra averages about 15.5-16 mpg overall. My dodge diesel averages 20-21 but diesel fuel is 20 cents a gallon more. I also have a 2014 toyota camry that's my runabout car and it's what I drive 95% of the time, I don't use the trucks as daily drivers, the fuel cost is too much for my blood. Those claiming diesels are more expensive for routine maintenance are wrong, my experience is that they're essentially the same considering the diesel has a longer oil change interval.

When it came time for a new truck I went with the tundra instead of another diesel for a few reasons. The first is fuel costs, diesels now get about the same mileage as gassers and the fuel costs are more, the fuel cost savings is no longer there. Complexity is the second reason, the new emissions equipment is crazy complex and they're costly to fix nowadays. Initial price is the third reason, the diesels are crazy expensive now. All truck are expensive but they're asking insane prices for diesels, I just couldn't justify it.

Found a '09 Dodge 2500 4wd 4dr w/8' bed and manual trans w/under 70k miles here locally. It might be a contender...lotta truck, that. LOL

That's identical to my '08. There might be 1 issue - the diesel particulate filter. Every so many miles it does a burn off. If it doesn't it'll get sluggish. Mine has had a DPF delete so there's no more issue. My partner has a late '07 with the same setup and he has to run it hard every so often to burn it off.
I'm no diesel mechanic so I can't explain it any better than that. Hopefully someone else can.

I's not so much about the gas economy vs the extra expense of diesel fuel,but everything maintenance wise on a diesel cost more. I really like my 98,but it takes 3 gallons of oil each change. An injector pump will run $2K. If injectors go bad and they do, they are $1k each. If you can't do your own work on them,a lot of shops don't know squat about working on diesels. Then you find good diesel shop and you will find they cost more

The pulling power is amazing,but you pay for it in many ways

Well, was aware of some added costs with diesel maintenance, but actually thought they needed less maintenance, overall?

Kinda scaring me off if I'm gonna be spending $5k/yr in maintenance?

My diesel has 110k on it. Engine maintenance has been 0 but I've had some front end work and a new clutch.

I've got a 2010 Tundra Crewmax with the 5.7 V8 now and pull my 45 hp tractor on a 24' gooseneck fairly often on 120 mile round trip. I've had a 10-12K load behind it several times and pulling it 60 mph for short trips is no problem. If you want to go faster, it will do it, but will start to gear hunt non stop. If I had to pull more than 100 miles one way on the Interstate, I'd get another diesel. But the Tundra gets my jobs done with no issues and I can't complain. The room in the cab of the crewmax is great for my kids. I've done nothing but oil changes and air filters and it has 83,000 miles on it.

In the past, I've owned a 2002 3/4 ton dodge with a 6 speed manual and a 2003 3/4 ton dodge automatic. For pulling, there is no comparison, the diesel is in a league of its own. The 2002 6 speed was very strong. I had to replace fuel pumps, injector pumps, front end components, ac problems, water pumps, and other little things starting around 125,000 miles. To me it was a love/hate relationship, for example, when you hit a hill running 70 with a 8-12K load in tow and all you hear is a little turbo noise and it holds speed, you love it. But when you get stuck 12 hours from home and have to pay for an injector pump and fuel pump failure, you hate it or I did anyway. Oil changes and fuel filter changes were easy, but injector pumps were above my skill level at that time and especially 12 hours from home. I imagine the newer diesels pull better than the old ones and may be more reliable than the ones I had.

If money was no object, I'd still drive a diesel. But, I don't work away from home anymore and would rather drive the Tundra and buy more stuff for my kids and occasionally something for my wife. I don't know how my current Tundra will hold up in the long run, but I had an '04 Tundra that I drove until February of this year when it was totaled out with 319,000 miles. It was a much smaller truck and I routinely towed 8K loads and never did any maintenance except for oil changes and a timing belt/water pump and I feel like I could have drove it at least another 100,000 miles or more. I hope my 2010 is as good as my 2004.

Good luck in you search for a truck.

Every Dodge needs front end work sooner or later, mostly sooner. When they had the mechanical lift pump, mine went out often. When it did the Injector pump usually trashed. Now I guess that pump is electric.

I have 145 K on mine.So far 3 sets of front brake pads, 1 clutch ,one hydraulic clutch actuator, one alternator, two lift pumps, three injector pumps ( one was rebuild), I replaced the lift pump with a FASS system. Had the valves adjusted. Replaced the serpentine belt. Oil changes alone run $69 DYI and that is with Rotella.Heck a lot more with synthetic

All that was about $10K. My buddy has an 03 and his injectors cost him about $6K. Unless you pull hard more than 50%of the time, there is no way to justify a diesel..

I do tend to work my truck hard most of the time

Just drove the dodge....manual windows and door locks, but had cruise...strange combo, but it drove really good

Hard to find those plain vanilla ones.Same as mine

I haven't really kept up on the Dodge since the engine electronics went to Chrysler in 2003 or so.
Obviously a good engine, EGR system will probably need to be dealt with one way or another.
What really decided me was a friends 2012 that has 40K on the odometer, and it rattled and wandered and the passenger floorboard had my feet cramped for space.

Of all the people that should have a Cummins engine in their truck, I don't, I bought a Tundra. I figure overall cost of ownership over 10 years the Tndra will be better, and I don't haul over 8K or so. Besides... I don't need a variable geometry turbo under my hood....
(Not sure what Year dodge/Ram went to VG)

Tundra is a completely stock Long bed double cab 4x4 with 38 gallon tank. I average 15.8 over the last 44,000 with @ 5% towing and the days to day I'm about 17,5 on a relatively flat hwy with a posted speed of 55 for 90 miles a day.

I did take a trip to ND last fall and only averaged 14.5 on the 70-80 MPH Hwys. Speed bucking wind and snow kills.

It does have a 4:30 rear end, but the tranny has a double overdrive in the top 2 gears.

Towed 2 loads of cows today, probably @ 7K of trailer, there is no lack of power at that weight.

I would have bought a Tundra instead of the Dodge diesel if they made a 3/4 ton. They don't so I didn't.

While I can't say I'll use the extra towing of the Cummins all the time, once in a while, I have a need to tow some pretty big stuff. I'm also seeing both trucks priced (for year and miles) with the dodge a little less. I get build quality, and I'm a Toyota guy by nature/history....but something is pushing me to the dodge right now, if I can stomach the extra fuel/maintenance cost....the drivetrain should last longer than even the Tundra, I'd suspect.

The vanilla truck sold before I could make up my mind, but have found an '08 Mega cab, w/good miles that I'm gonna look at Monday. Tundra pickings are slim...and leaning to as much can space as I can get.

Thanks for the continued help.

I had my 06 with the 5.9 Cummins / 6 speed for 200,000 miles. Replaced front pads at 100K and the rear pads at 175K. I did put a new clutch in the truck at 150K since it would slip pulling my 40 ft Toyhauler when I really jumped into it, but other than that, a couple UV joints and that is about it. Front end was perfect and drove tight the day I traded it for my current 14 3500 Cummins. The 14 has 102K miles on it now and it's been flawless. I don't "like" the extra emissions stuff, but so far, they have had no real affect on me or what I use my truck to do.

I don't see regular maintenance as real expensive. It isn't cheap, but I change the oil/fuel filters every 15K miles and the air filter about every 30K. Again, it isn't cheap, but it certainly isn't 1000's of dollars a year. I loved the 06 Ram, it was a bullet proof rig that hauled my 40 ft RV all over the country, hunted Idaho, Wyoming and Oregon yearly with not a single problem. The 14 has been excellent and hope it is reliable as the 06 was. It is another manual tranny and just gets it done for me. Also, my front end is still tight as it was with 5 miles on it and wears tires evenly (third set coming up).

I could get by with a gasser until I hook up to my toy hauler, then, that is when the diesel is at its best. The new ones wanna work or at least run on the freeway. If you are just piddling around town, I think the DPF and other pieces would have to clean itself regularly. If you have the ability to run the truck and will work it, you'll love it.

The out the door price of a new 2500 tradesman with the cummins is $40k. A 10 y/o used 2500 with 150k miles is +/- $20k, with the potential for some pretty spendy repairs.

IMHO it's a no brainer to buy a new truck with the ridiculous price of used trucks and the likeliness of expensive repairs around the corner.

Actually, it seems at least as smart to buy the half priced truck w/only 1/4 or less of its mileage life on the odo, and i can't justify a $40k truck these days. Just different approaches.

I would be just fine with a good Dodge with a 100K if it has been cared for. TONS of life left in the truck if it hasn't been beaten to death by its previous owner.

That's assuming you could find a truck of that vintage with only 100k on the odo, more likely 150k so 1/3 the trucks life and also assuming you wouldn't have any expensive repairs for the remainging ~300k which is highly unlikely. Figure 2 front end rebuilds for $7k, transmission or clutch work $1-2k, misc $1k. Suddenly that $20k used truck with $10k in repairs isn't such a great deal. If you could get the truck for $10k, it would be a no brainer.

The smart move is buy the new truck for $40k, put 150k on the odo and sell it for $25k, then repeat.

This has been my approach and it has worked well. I like the idea of knowing the maintenance was done right and hopefully limiting the big repairs while I own it. The used market is always looking for well maintained diesel trucks and will pay a premium for them. The fist one off the lot stings, but it's nice when you sell and get 50% of a new one in cash.

Andy

LOL....$40K is just not in my realm for another vehicle right now.

Also, if a diesel Cummins dodge only has a well-maintained life expectancy of 450k, then the gas burner with a 500k life expectancy is the longer lasting motor (potentially)? My guess is that the Cummins will last at least as long as the 500k QC'd commercial Toyota motor in my FJ, wouldn't it?

If I buy a $25k truck, I can likely buy a cheap commuter car if a couple of years, and save miles/wear on my big truck.

Another question: '08+ Dodges should require less front end attention, shouldn't they?

My issue is adding vehicles/college/etc for kids, wife wanting to retire, etc....I don't get to go top shelf/new. LOL

The engine will have no problems to 500k, it's the accessories and truck around it that will incur repairs that add up. Of the 1/2 dozen plus high mileage vehicles I've owned, including an 06 ram 2500 4X4 diesel purchased new (for $32k and insurance paid $18k when totaled out after 10 years and 150k), every one has required a cash infusion of $2-7k when the odo hit 100-150k, sometimes two such infusions. Now if I bought the vehicle used for $5-10k I can stomach the cash infusion and putting many more miles on the vehicle. If I have to pay $20k for a used vehicle that goes for $40k new, and will realistically have to dish out $5-10k in the next 100k miles it doesn't pencil out when I could buy the new truck for $40k, drive it for 100k trouble free miles and sell it used for $25k. The new truck will cost you at least as much as the new one for those 100k miles, but the used one could cost you much more and could leave you stranded at a very in opportune time or location.

That cheap commuter car is going to need insurance and repairs, so factor that into your cost comparison.

I understand the economic considerations, I have 2 kids in college and haven't replaced the totaled 06 ram yet as I'm going to give the oil industry another year to settle out before having to deal with a car payment for a new truck. But unless a very clean truck in the $10-12k range falls into my lap, I'm going new.

So, my last two gas burners that I 'wore out', did not cost me much $ in maintenance to at least 250k miles. Are you telling me that any dodge diesel is gonna cost me $5-10k over the same miles? I get what you're saying, but was just under a very different impression.

My last few haven't required that kind of maintenance during the time I have owned them. I haven't had the same front end troubles others have had either so maybe that is where my low money input into them was. I do think finding a 20K dollar under 100,000 mile truck in great condition would be tough. Probably more along the lines of 25-30K. Also, I am not sure I could get into a brand new 40K truck with a Cummin's right now, even bare bones. All of the ones I saw when looking and dealing through Lou Fusz whole sold them at 3% under invoice were still in the 42-45K range.

If you have a history of purchasing used vehicles with 150k on the odo and driving them to 300k with nothing more than tires, fluid changes and brake pads then you should buy a lottery ticket. I'm saying any used vehicle in that mileage range factor in $5k for repairs, or factor in repairs exceeding the value of the car. Of various repairs I've had done that were either intensive in parts or labor in that mileage range and in the $2-5 k range: front end (on the dodge), catalytic converts, clutch (awd car), transmission controller, valve job (toyota 3.0 V6), and stuff I'm forgetting.

Pretty sure I only stated I had gotten 250k+ miles out of a couple of my latest gas burning vehicles with no major mechanical repairs/expenditures. The other stuff about mileage/purchase you allude to, I neither said nor implied.

....and BTW, I do appreciate all the insights....I just can't buy new for myself right now. Best used options are what I have to go with.

I don't think either option will pencil out ahead of the other. Pick the one you want to drive and roll the dice... I'm thinking a Toyota is in your future.

My 98 Dodge diesel, has about 150 K on it.So far just in the fuel system I have sunk over $5k in it. It eats front brake disc pads and I have about $1k in them , $400 for a front tracking bar, $300 for ball joints, $200 for alternator. Valve adjustment, Oil change takes 3 gallons, and filters run about $18 for good ones. ABS brake sensors, . I paid $24K for it.

Th two Tacomas , I put $275 K on one and the only work was a water pump, plugs. Present one with 130k o nit, needed a water pump and timing belt, plugs.That whole kit installed was about$100.Don't remember the price of the 1st one,but the 2nd was $22k with 2400 miles on it.

Of curse I couldn't do the work with the Tacoma that I do with the Dodge

My son has a Tacoma. I can't go far in one. They aren't made for the 6'+ crowd.

Surprisingly, I really liked the Ford 6.7 I drove today, and really do want a Tundra....just can't find one w/right miles AND $....they're out there...I just seem to miss them. Looked at another 2011 Megacab as well.

We have had good luck with Toyota trucks. We have a 2012 Tundra with 153K miles that we bought new--so far, just tires and the scheduled maintenance. Sold a 2007 Tacoma last year with 258K miles. Other than required maintenance, we replaced the center U-joint in the rear driveshaft at 150K miles. It was a little loose, so we just went ahead and put in a new one.

I would go Tundra. My 2008 in the pic was purchased with 70K miles. It now has 175K. Only thing I have done is replace tires, brakes and oil.

If......I were to buy a new truck to replace my '02 2500 HD crew Chevy......

with another gas ..............

Tundra would be my first look see.........

Well, I pulled the trigger and dropped a deposit on a 2015 Tundra Crew max to pick up soon.

Figured it was a better fit in the long run.

Thanks for all the help.

Need to sell an FJ now. LOL