Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire looking at a Tundra

Ribka......

I went through the exact same thing last year. FWIW don’t only look at the Tundra and this is coming from a forever Toyota guy, drive a new F150 before you buy the Tundra, if only for chits and grins. I was friggin blown away by the new 3.5 Eco w/ the 10 spd , it will blow the doors off the Tundra in every performance aspect. Acceleration, Torque towing etc, and the fuel mileage is soooo much better than the Tundra. I’m not going to even get into all the other features I love about the truck from the rear under seat storage and the ability to have the whole back seat available for Cargo to the standard limited slip rear end as opposed to Toyota’s ABS version , better stereo and user friendly features from the radio/Nav it just offers so much more than the outdated Tundra. I’m telling you, it’s worth a test drive and finger [bleep] the features.


Took this pic yesterday just for you and my truck has E rated 33” tires , that’s the last 4 days of running around MPG average, city and highway.

F150 Display

Love it, Roland. Cutting through the bullsh t. No reason a modern day truck shouldn't get 20 mpg on the road.
And it's why I sold my Tundra. ....8-10 mpg with a small pop-up truck camper or 13 mpg pulling my little Lund boat wasn't acceptable.

I'm intrigued with the F150, is yours the AL body?

Yeah It’s the AL body.

Frank I’ve owned 3 compact Toyota’s , a T100 and 3 Tundras, I really thought Toyota stood head and shoulders above the big 3 in Alaska with the extreme winter conditions and there reliability and dependability in life and death temps. But IMO the Japanese Toyota’s of years past have been replaced by American made trucks with outsourced parts from everywhere and I just don’t see the quality they were once admired for. The 3 Tundras I had we’re not trouble free. The 07 developed into a bit of a nightmare. I had check engine lights, the warped dashes and then they had to replace the entire front axle and diff as some sort of tsb. The 2010 had an assortment of things to include an intake oil leak that was not a small job and required several trips back to the dealer, once again a TSB. The one thing that bothered me about all 3 Tundras was the quality of materials used, both the plastic interior felt and looked so cheap to the paper thin exterior metals and paint so thin you could scratch it with your thumb. My bitching and complaining on Tundra Solutions Forum led to Toyota redesigning the tailgate in the trucks after I loaded my 4wheeler in the bed of my Tundra and the tailgate fell apart. Then when Toyota told me the tailgate was not a load bearing component I about lost my chit. I asked the field rep how the hell could I load my 4 wheeler with RAMPS in Dlx’s, Tacoma’s and T100’s and not in the biggest truck they ever made, That was a fight that about put me over the edge. Anyway the Toyota fan boy in me really just got worn down over the years as I realized that there are lots of good trucks out there and seeing advances in designs that offered a lot more than a warm and fuzzy feeling about Toyota’s. None of todays trucks are cheap that’s for sure and I really feel like all of them have upped their game and I just don’t see very many guys having that much trouble with any of them. May as well drive what really offers you the best platform. None of us can work on any of them anymore anyway as they all require special tools and diagnostic equipment to do anything on them other than brakes and maintenance. I shopped every half ton last year when I bought mine and I honestly felt the F-150 offered the best of everything compared to the competition. Of course I left bias completely out of the equation and looked at each truck with an open mind. So far no regrets.

^^ The tailgate on my '07 is the one thing I am not really happy with. Yes, the new ones are a big improvement. Fortunately, I don't need to load an ATV.

My son and I where on our way to Ky this year!!!!!!!!He was driving his 2016 Tundra pro pulling a utility trailer hauling a 4 wheeler......I was Driving my 2016 F150 3.5 ecoBoost pulling a utility trailer with a Polaris ranger on it........The bed was slap full of Hunting and camping gear.......... He was getting between 9 and 10 mile per gallon with a lighter load.....I was getting 15.8 for the trip.......His truck pulled fancy gap in 3rd and 4th gear @ 3500 Rpm and above.....My truck pulled it in 5th and 6th @ around 2000 to 2500 RPM we were running 70+


This is the first truck in the last 10 years ...I will probably keep for more than 2 years.....There is nothing better or even close in a 1/2 ton right Now.....

Forgot I did make one change to my 2008 Tundra. I put air bags on rear. I run about 25lbs. of air loaded with my 27ft trailer. Tailgate was a problem on
2007 Tundra, they changed the design twice in 2007 and 2008. I think mine has second design. I try to be careful loading my ATV.

That is pretty impressive! I like the F-150 and came close to buying one back in 2011. However, I am concerned about the reliability of the 3.5 EB engine. Local PD had tons of problems (severe oil consumption, fouled plugs, and burnt coil packs) from their Interceptors with the EB engine. So much so they are no longer buying them. They adopted them early so maybe Ford has the bugs worked out by now. If I were buying today I'd certainly consider the F-150. For me, the Tundra has been paid for since early 2014 so I can afford to put gas in it. Not sure when the tailgate was redesigned but I've not had any issues with my 2011.

2017 EB has port and direct injection, before there was no good way to clean up the carbon buildup in the previous iteration. It should be less of an issue now with the redesign. The engine is a great design and not an issue with my truck. Ford unfortunately a few years back went to vacumn hoses to actuate 4WD on their trucks. That is why my 2016 F150 was in the shop for 60 days and had ford support engineers flying in to see why there was this vacumn leak that could not be fixed. Basically the entire front drivetrain, axles, hubs , vacumn lines , vacumn box was replaced and they still had the truck trying to engage its hubs .

I knew everyone at the dealership on a first name basis and they were very nice but they could not fix this problem. RIght in front of the mechanic bay was a big screen TV where the tech discussed this issue with Dearborn support engineers. Sorry but any manufacturer that puts out a product that cannot be fixed in one week nevermind 60 days well there is something very wrong with the design. F150 has a roomier cab, quieter ride and more performance then the Tundra and there is no disputing that. Three trucks all F150 XLT's were bought back by ford during the time period I was going thru this.. November 2016 thru April 2017.

I had 2011 Tundra, the rock warrior edition. Really liked it, but wanted to try a Tacoma.

Currently have 2014 Crew Cab TRD. I like the truck, love the fact that’s it’s a 6-speed manual vs auto. Just has no room for more than 2 people and a car seat barely fits in the rear.

I was dead set on trading for another Tundra, but my dad got a new F-150 a month ago, and I’ll be taking a very hard look at them before trading.

You aren't alone in your assessment AlaskaCub. I have good friend that has been a Toyota only guy for 20+ years. He drove a new F150 and traded away his Tundra. He drove every brand too.
FWIW, I'm at 100K on my 2012 Ecoboost without issue. None! Love the power, fuel economy, room, and the 36 gallon tank. Also, I've been getting Blackstone Lab oil reports done since around 20K miles if anyone is interested in wear components or actually lack there of. Send a PM.

If I didn't have a F150, I would likely be driving a Tundra.



The vacuum system used for activating IWE solenoids has been in play since at least 2004. They should have it figured out by now. I'd wager most are without issue.

It was an issue and they stopped using it and then went back to it. As per their mechanic it serves more functions then just actuating the brakes. It was a [bleep] nightmare and to see a truck with 6500 miles with no answer from the Ford tech is beyond belief. My Tundra has 13k on it , It will get me thru retirement and probably with zero issues. It is a proven product.

Like I said there were 3 trucks bought back in the November thru April time period so you would lose your wager.

My brother has a 2017 that had the same problem with the 4x4 trying to engage on its own.... vacuum leak off.....They replaced the Check valve twice.....Come to find out it had a small piece of plastic stuck in the Check valve for the Hubs.....The valve would work one time and the next it would not hold the hubs out.....I am the one who discovered them problem with the valve....I was checking the valve with my Mouth and the piece of plastic came out in my mouth....I went to advance auto and picked up a ck valve for a GM truck.... It was all they had in stock.....Truck has been fixed for 4 months...Problem solved ....Cost 6 bucks......If any of you guys are having this problem....Replace the Ck valve... I believe the valves are defective ....Use GM part #14047619 Valve...It is located right in front of the master Cylinder....The symptoms are a loud rattle/grinding noise coming from the front end... Goes away if you let off the gas or get on it or switch to 4X4 ...... Thank me Later

Your evidence is 3 trucks? How many 4wd F150's has Ford sold since 2004? What years between 2004 and now didn't use these systems? Thanks
The engine draws a vacuum and using check valves, it pulls in the IWE's to disengage the 4wd not the brakes. Pretty simple system.

KMM, I did help a friend diagnose a hub trying to engage on his 2005. It was a bad IWE but to be fair, it had just over 200k on the original part.

Edit to add. I'm not suggesting they are totally trouble free. Just that the majority are without issue. Sorry if I worded incorrectly. I do know, I've changed more GM hub assemblies than Ford and I've been around far more Ford 4wd's than GM. That is all.

Tundra will be my next truck. My 06 Ford 150 was the worst piece of junk I've ever owned.....got a good deal on a 13 Ford with the 3.5 ecoboost. Only minor issues so far but only at 32K. Gas milage sucks. Best I've ever got is 18, and mines a 2x2. Only way that truck would get what they advertise is going downhill with a tailwind. Hook a trailer up and its into the single digits. Lots of timing chain issues with the 3.5 too. Ford is actually fighting a class action lawsuit over it. GMC isn't much better. My sons just blew the lifters and cam shaft. He only had 50KM on it. Another friends new one is burning oil....all this is caused by the AFM. Got a buddy on his second Dodge with the 5.7....500K on the first with zero problems. He has 350K on his second one again with no problems...

Not trying to be a A## hole.......... No way he has 500K on a Dodge with zero problems......The worst truck I have ever owned was a 2009 Ram 1500......The second worst was 2003 Dodge Ram.....My brother owns a Chevy Dealership......He has more problems with Ram trucks than any other Trade ins........He won't take the Ram 1500 Diesel on trade... Pure junk.....Dodge tried to charge me for a blown shock on a new truck with 2000 miles on it......

All my ford 150 friends have had transmission problems towing. Is that a thing of the past?

If you're not trying to be an ass%#@ then dont call me a liar. Yes he did get 500 MILES...not KM out of his first 5.7 Dodge. He bought the truck in AK so it was in miles. Didnt have an ounce of trouble out of that truck. The one he has now has 350 kilometres on it with only very minor problems. I was a mechanic in the US military back when the old Dodge 318 was around....those were one of the best engines ever built IMO. My son in law has the Dodge 5.7 too, it had close to 400 on it when he sold it, again no major problems. The 3.5 Ecoboost has serious problems, just google it...

500 miles is about right........He might have Got 500K out of it.......Never said he didn't!!!!!! but not with zero issues..... How many engines or rebuilds and transmissions rebuilds how many times did he rebuild the front end? Had to be at least 5 or 6 times........... He spent money on it to keeping it going......You said in your previous post zero issues....Now you say Minor issues.... Humm......


As far as 3.5 Ecoboost problems ...Lots of the 3.5s with 300 thousand trouble free miles...Google it....Ford sales more 3.5 Ecoboost F150s Than all other trucks combined...So naturally they will have a few problems......

Hey all of you this is supposed to be about Tundra's

Free country and forum......Who wants to talk only about Tundra's that is so boring.........