Thoughts: Gen 1 Tundra or new-ish F150?

[djm68]

Hello,

My wife I had want something smaller than a full HD American truck. I have a '12 Tacoma, my wife a '19 Ranger; we've owned a full sized Ford. We are hoping to have something that is a bit easier to drive and maneuver than a fullsize, but bigger than a Tacoma. I am a huge Toyota fan and I'd love a Gen 1 Tundra, but I am having a hard time finding one that has lower miles/reasonable condition and no rust, which got me to think about the F150 in the 2014 - 2019 range. Our use case would be lightweight camper (OVRLAND or similar) 2 medium dogs, 2 adults. We plan to travel significantly up and down the west coast of the US, initially and plan to eventually see all of the US and perhaps beyond. Would be a mix of off and on road, no hard core trails.

I appreciate any thoughts.

 

[TLar25]

Hello,

My wife I had want something smaller than a full HD American truck. I have a '12 Tacoma, my wife a '19 Ranger; we've owned a full sized Ford. We are hoping to have something that is a bit easier to drive and maneuver than a fullsize, but bigger than a Tacoma or F150 in the 2014 - 2019 range. I am a huge Toyota fan and I'd love a Gen 1 Tundra, but I am having a hard time finding one that has lower miles/reasonable condition and no rust, which got me to think about the F150. Our use case would be lightweight camper (OVRLAND or similar) 2 medium dogs, 2 adults. We plan to travel significantly up and down the west coast of the US, initially and plan to eventually see all of the US and perhaps beyond. Would be a mix of off and on road, no hard core trails.

I appreciate any thoughts.

How is a Gen 1 tundra bigger than a 14+ F-150? Have you driven one? The turning radius is pretty abysmal, as far as your point on maneuverability goes. That's probably my main complaint with my 2006. One of my brother's had an 06 Tundra, sold it for an 18 F-150, had nothing but problems and thousands of dollars in repairs for the year he owned it, sold it and bought an 04 Tundra that he loves. Tundras.com has a very active 1st Gen forum that can answer and help with anything you might need.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[djm68]

How is a Gen 1 tundra bigger than a 14+ F-150? Have you driven one? The turning radius is pretty abysmal, as far as your point on maneuverability goes. That's probably my main complaint with my 2006. One of my brother's had an 06 Tundra, sold it for an 18 F-150, had nothing but problems and thousands of dollars in repairs for the year he owned it, sold it and bought an 04 Tundra that he loves. Tundras.com has a very active 1st Gen forum that can answer and help with anything you might need.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Sorry, typo in my editing WRT the size of the F150 -- I corrected it. Your reply is more or less in-line with what I suspect as well: newer vehicles are expensive and generally problematic, hence my search for a lower mileage, well kept 05-06 Tundra.

 

[dstefan]

FWIW, the 2014+ Tundras have a 44ft turning diameter, which is smaller than the 1st gens and the domestics. As an example, a few years ago I was about a third of the way down the Flint trail switchbacks in the Maze just to check ‘em out before we went up to Cleopatra’s chair for our permitted camp. It started raining and there’s bentonite clay area at the bottom, so we turned around in the switchbacks and retreated. 3 point turn with no drama. Not saying some other vehicle couldn’t do it, I DK, but it wasn’t a maneuverability problem. We done even tighter turn arounds.

I was concerned in moving from my ’09 Tacoma to my '21 Tundra, but I go the same paces. The Tundra has done as much technical stuff as myTacoma -- both were built to do so. The Tundras are more nimble as far as I can tell than the domestic full sizes and it’s far more comfortable than the Tacoma for me (6’2”).

Given how you describe using your rig, you might want to think about a later model Tundra for the engine power, comfort, and maybe reliability (possibly lower miles than an older model). MPG is not any worse, either. I loved my Tacoma, but I love the Tundra better. YMMV!

 

[rruff]

We are hoping to have something that is a bit easier to drive and maneuver than a fullsize, but bigger than a Tacoma.

That's a pretty tight difference honestly, since the Tacomas aren't that little anymore.

What dstefan said about the 2nd gen (2007-2021) Tundra is true. Better turning radius than the 1st gen and definitely better than the new ones, or any other fullsize... except for the 450(0)+ trucks.

 

[Moyshe Kapoyer]

Try to find an F150 with the 5.0 and HDPP (heavy duty payload package)

 

[TLar25]

I owned a 2008 crewmax with the 5.7 for a little bit, and yeah they're great trucks as well. Unreal how roomy the cabin is, tons of storage space inside, and it had so much more power than my 1st Gen does. Highway cruising, passing cars, going up mountain passes etc. was definitely more comfortable/easier than my 06, not to say that it struggles, the difference is just very noticeable. Fuel economy was about the same, I am lifted and on 34's in the first Gen though. My only complaint with the 08 was that I found the seats incredibly uncomfortable, and my back was always hurting. I've driven 14+ trucks but probably not for long enough to really be able to tell if it would be any different for me. I had the cloth SR5 seats in my 08, cloth SR5 in my 06. I think either way you go, a Tundra would be a great, reliable option, assuming you find one in good shape that's been taken care of. Plenty of aftermarket support for both generations. There's an incredibly in-depth buyer's guide on the 1st Gen tundra forum.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[tacollie]

We were in a similar position in 2019. We wanted to sell our Tacoma and move up to full size. Initially we were shopping f-150s in the 2012 to 2015 range. We had a hard time finding an F-150 that didn't feel clapped out even with less than 50k miles on them. We test drove a '07 Tundra with 187,000, mi on it that had been rear-ended that drove better than any of the f-150s we looked at. We decided to buy an '08 Tundra and never looked back.

As far as 1st gen versus 2nd gen Tundra. The access cab first gen Tundra would be worth it because they have a much shorter wheelbase. Personally, I would choose a double cab 2nd gen Tundra over a crew cab 1st gen Tundra. You get more power, more space, better turning radius, and bigger brakes with roughly the same footprint.

 

[TLar25]

We were in a similar position in 2019. We wanted to sell our Tacoma and move up to full size. Initially we were shopping f-150s in the 2012 to 2015 range. We had a hard time finding an F-150 that didn't feel clapped out even with less than 50k miles on them. We test drove a '07 Tundra with 187,000, mi on it that had been rear-ended that drove better than any of the f-150s we looked at. We decided to buy an '08 Tundra and never looked back.

As far as 1st gen versus 2nd gen Tundra. The access cab first gen Tundra would be worth it because they have a much shorter wheelbase. Personally, I would choose a double cab 2nd gen Tundra over a crew cab 1st gen Tundra. You get more power, more space, better turning radius, and bigger brakes with roughly the same footprint.

Yeah my brother and I are both eyeing double cab 2nd gens for when we eventually move on from our 1st Gens. We both have kids in carseats still and the back seat is more or less the same size from double cab 2nd Gen to crew cab 1st. The crewmax bed is pretty small, so double cab is probably a good option if putting a camper in it full time.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[rruff]

The crewmax bed is pretty small, so double cab is probably a good option if putting a camper in it full time.

You can even get a DC with 8' bed... but that does make it less maneuverable. Hard to find as well...

 

[TLar25]

You can even get a DC with 8' bed... but that does make it less maneuverable. Hard to find as well...

Yeah my friend had one briefly, and really struggled to sell it.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[djm68]

That's a pretty tight difference honestly, since the Tacomas aren't that little anymore.

What dstefan said about the 2nd gen (2007-2021) Tundra is true. Better turning radius than the 1st gen and definitely better than the new ones, or any other fullsize... except for the 450(0)+ trucks.

Regarding the tight difference between a Tundra and a Tacoma: I am comparing my 2012 Tacoma AC to the Tundra. I have really paid much attention to new Tacoma's honestly, so don't know if they are much bigger?

Will continue to research 2nd gens as well.

 

[dstefan]

Regarding the tight difference between a Tundra and a Tacoma: I am comparing my 2012 Tacoma AC to the Tundra. I have really paid much attention to new Tacoma's honestly, so don't know if they are much bigger?

Will continue to research 2nd gens as well.

I had a 2nd Gen ’09 DCSB Tacoma. The Tundra DC is wider, longer and has a longer wheelbase (146 vs 127, IIRC). The bed is 6.5’ vs 6’ in the Tacoma AC. Kinda depends on what dimensions are important to you. I saved a couple of dimenision specs on both.

 

[rruff]

I had a 2nd Gen ’09 DCSB Tacoma. The Tundra DC is wider, longer and has a longer wheelbase (146 vs 127, IIRC). The bed is 6.5’ vs 6’ in the Tacoma AC. Kinda depends on what dimensions are important to you. I saved a couple of dimenision specs on both.

The Tacoma DC long (6') has a 141" wheelbase, and the Tundra RC has a 127" wheelbase... just for more data points.

The Tundra is ~5" wider, but don't know about the turning radius. Old ones are better than new in that regard, though.

 

[SharkDog]

I have an '06 double cab, which I like, but if I were buying today, I would be looking at a newer tundra or f150.
As mentioned above, the 2nd gen tundras (2008-2021) have much more power, an 6 speed instead of 5, turn better, the rear seats fold the good way, and are only marginally bigger on the exterior. Plus all the rubber bits aren't 20 years old.
I drive a 4 or 5 year old f150 with the 2.7, 4 doors and a 5.5' bed for work. Something like that would make a great truck for your needs. The little bed doesn't matter as much with a pop-top topper, since you will be sleeping uptop. The dogs will have all the room in the world and you can still have some decent storage in the cab. There a million of them used for pretty cheap. For work I get 20 or 21 mgp with a stock height truck, stock sized tires, and a few hundred pounds in the bed.