Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire New Chevy 1500 or Toyota Tundra?

Based on my experience with the two brands, here's my two cents.

You can buy the Chevy, and in 200,000 miles you will need an alternator (or two), a water pump, an A/C compressor, a fuel pump, electric window motors, possibly gaskets (intake, head), assorted fittings and fixtures like brake lamp assemblies, water hose fittings, etc., and probably a complete transmission rebuild. And I am prolly forgetting a few things...

Or you can buy the Toyota, and in 200,000 miles you will need, er, tires?

Good luck with whatever you purchase!

+1

I like the look and ride of the newer F150's, so much so that I bought one in 2010. Had it 6 months, Ford could not figure out how to get the tranny shift with any normalcy. After multiple trips to the dealer and multiple flash programs , some that made it worse and some that made it like it was, I lost my mind. Drove it across the street to the Toyota dealership and traded it in. Lost my ass on the deal but it was worth my sanity. If you think Fords newer F150's don't have problems swing on over to F150 Forum and have a looksey. The Ecoboost problems, the 5.0 problems, class action law suits, back ordered parts, [bleep] that. I drove my Tundra for 50,000 miles and didn't do anything but change the oil and rotate the tires. That's why Toyotas are parked in my driveway. Got rid of my Tundra recently and got a Tacoma, wife drives a newer Camry, we don't ever go to the dealerships for repairs, it is what it is.

I have a 2008 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 TRD 4x4 5.7L with 74,000 miles on it. The only thing I had to replace so far are the front brakes at 50k and the rear brakes at 65k. I put a new set of Nitto Terra Grapplers on it at 69k. The cab space is big enough for 2 child seats to fit comfortably in the back of the cab and have enough room for my kids' legs. Around town my Tundra gets terrible gas mileage as there are way too many red lights in the area I live. I get right at 13.4 mpg city and trips to Chattanooga and back I get 18.6 mpg traveling 70 mph with the cruise control. It pulls my boat with ease and you don't know it's back there. One thing you don't hear much of is stopping power. The Tundra brakes are huge and it brings the truck to a stop in a short distance without the ABS kicking in. As for get up and go, Full Throttle acceleration, I raced a co-worker that owns an Infinity G37 Coupe. We were side by side from a standing stop at a red light to 70 mph when he began to pull away. I did launch in 4WD and switched to 2WD to maximize traction. I don't know if that helped or hindered, but it hung in with the G37. Not bad for a 4000+ pound truck. The truck has never failed on me and is just flat out a pleasure to drive. I also like the fact that 80% of the Toyota Tundra is made in the USA. It's the most American Made truck in the country. It's no wonder why Ford, Chevy, and Dodge have so many mechanical issues. If I ever need another truck, it will be a Tundra.

What made you switch between a Tundra to a Tacoma? I am quite curious, as I am on the fence between them.

Thanks

Yep! Glad to here someone mention the stopping power. I was really impressed with that feature on all of the many test drives.

I split the middle and got an old style 2006 Tundra, the best of both worlds IMHO.

Greg if you only knew! I was one oomph away from buying an 06 tundra limited with 50K miles, but decided to wait a little longer. It drove very well, and I loved the form factor.

Get the T

I have a quad cab extended bed Tacoma now but have owned Tundra.

Not a huge diff in gas mileage . 2 to 3 mpg.

I do get considerably better mpg when I can find gas without ethanol.

I use an app on my phone called PureGas. It is free and locates gas without ethanol.

Of the 2 listed... Toyota hands down. GM not even worthy of consideration given many of the same reasons listed earlier in this thread. If that's not enough, it's also the least American/Canadian fullsize built save the Nissan Titan. Billions of tax dollars invested in Mexico.




This is no longer true. 2012 Tundra is listed as 75% US and Canada. I never owned a Ford until the fall of 2010 and it was the F-series worst year for imported parts. 55% US/Canada if I'm not mistaken. They got their head out of their rear-ends for 2012. They're tied again for 2013.
I know it's a given, but Toyota knows how to put together a vehicle.

Tundra link

I have to laugh everytime I see a GMC commercial talking about "professional grade". My dad had a 1999 Sierra Z71 that did great until it got some miles on it. While the engine and trans were all original, most every electronic was replaced in a matter of months. He got fed up and traded it on a 2008 Sierra and had the entire front-end replaced in short order. That was quickly traded away to a Duramax which is too soon to tell how it will pan out. Couple that with a pard (live and die by GM type) at work that bought a new Acadia and Sierra Z71. His wife was left stranded multiple times and his truck "limped" him into work not too long ago. He has had electrical issues and not still not sure where his oil went once. Low miles on both mind you. Both of those are gone now. You can have the best warranty available to give you the warm fuzzies but they don't compensate for all those inconvenient trips back and forth to the dealer. Time spent waiting on a tow, etc. My time is most certainly of value.

I drove all and chose the F-150. The Tundra seemed fine, if a bit ugly, but the fuel economy killed it for me. My 5.0 F-150 lifetime average (at 24K) is 17.4 MPG. Road trips usually return 18.5+ MPG. So far I'm extremely happy with my choice. When I'm do for another, I'll look at all of them again.

A side note to one of the comments earlier about "checking the F-150 Forums" for all of the problems. It's crap. Internet forums represent a small percent of truck owners, no matter which brand. People are 100X more likely to post about negative experiences than positive. If you want to read about problems with ANY of them, go to the specific forum and read to your heart's content. In my research I read about problems and horror stories with EVERY brand.

I know guys on here claim to get 16-18mpg in their Tundras but mine was an honest 12-15 city/highway truck. With the new $3.50+ per gallon gas and the amount of driving I do it was too much. My Taco hasn't had a tank of fuel ran through it that I haven't got 18+ mpg, and 20 is doable on the highway pretty easily.Plus it cost quite a bit less than a similarly equipped tundra so my note is a good chunk less. I drive a lot and am sick of spending so much just to drive a truck between fuel and truck payments , it's friggin ridiculous anymore, but I gotta have something with a bed so the taco was the most cost effective option that I have confidence in!

I have an '06. Bought new; at 75k miles it's been flawless except a tire pressure sensor.

Love my Tundra.

I owne Dodge Dakotas, the last pickup I bought was a Toyota Tacoma, love the Toyota. I also have a GMC Savanna work van, New steering box at 4000, new tranny at 22000, electrical problems. Also front end rebuilds, I wont buy another GM.

Factor the gas mileage against repair costs and overall cost of ownership. Would certainly be interesting.

Gas mileage is a big factor, but not the only one. Just for sake of conversation.

This statement is often quoted and it puzzles me. I keep wondering what exactly would make a truck "Pretty" and what exactly makes a truck "Ugly"?

Is it strictly the styling, the cab forward design or what?

Resale on all used trucks are overpriced. Unless you want a used one with 120k+ miles or more you are going to pay top dollar so it doesn't seem to pay to buy used.

On a lighter note of sorts:

Good Lord did the used car salesman stereotype prove a match to the reality. Multiple cases cases of bait and switch, then I was told the shimmy I felt in the steering wheel was likely due to a flat spot on the (new) tires from sitting on the lot too long and would even out after I got it home. My wife cracked up after my response which was, "Please don't...please stop talking."

Reasons not to buy a pickup truck from:

Toyota: The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

GM: They took a bailout from the government.

Chrysler: They took an earlier bailout from the government, and they build crap, anyway.

BMW and Mercedez Benz: The Germans started WWII, and they don't offer pickups here, anyway.

Ford: Well, I guess Ford is all that's left. Yup. Ford is the only pickup that any real American has any business driving.

Buying anything else would be treason.

Fixed it for you.