?!?!?!TACOMA OWNERS TURN TO TUNDRAS?!?!?!

[Butcher54]

Hey Guys,
Im in the hunt for a new platform. Im between a 00-04 Tacoma DC and a 00-06 Tundra ext cab. I have read posts of Tacoma owners wanting a little bit more room/power than there current Tacoma, and talk about getting a Tundra. I just sold my 01 2wd Tundra to buy a 4wd, Im having a hard time with choosing. from what I have read the Tundras have 55hp more than the Tacomas however they are around 800lbs heavier. Is the power to weight ratio noticable? If I got a Taco I would do a 2-2.5 lift with agressive 32inch tires.I drive throught the Texas hill country to work and thinking that the Taco would constantly down shift to make the hills. My tundra never had to, but it didnt have the extra weight of a 4wd truck either. Not to worried about aftermarket support for the Tundras cause either truck I go with ill make my own bumpers and tire gate. I know lighter the better for the Tacomas.I would angle cut the bedside on the Tundra for departure angles and put a locker in. So If you have went from a taco to a tundra let me know what you think and the same with tundra owners going to Tacomas.

 

[Mattm94]

My wife went from a 98 4runner to a 05 Sequoia, then back to a 00 4Runner. FWIW.

 

[Toyotero]

I love my Tacoma.... it only shifts a lot when I have it in cruise control. IMHO, they didn't put a very good CC system in it, it's constantly shifting, hunting for the right gear on hills, and sometimes abruptly disengaging. I only use it on flat highway now.

I'm happy with the power compared to my previous 88 V6 4Runner, but not compared to my wife's BMW 740

I've yet to drive a Tundra, but I expect that I would dislike the size of it right off, but get used to the size and power quickly...

 

[28.]

I had an 08 5.7L 4x4 Tundra and the power was great.. But the gas mileage was horrendous..:Wow1: I averaged around 11/12.. I've argued with other Tundra owners over this but have also had past tundra owners agree with me so who knows. I do know that some folks tend to exagerate their MPG a bit and was kinda prepared for the Tundra not quite getting the advertised MPG, but it just never really came close.. Great truck though other than that. Powerful, roomy, and comfortable.. I never really had a problem with it's size. My wife already has a Yukon XL 4x4 so if it wasn't for that, we'd probably still have the Tundra..

My bad, just realized you mentioned 06.. Sorry bout that...

 

[GTABurnout]

I had a DC Tundra, I now have a DCSB Tacoma.

Tundra

Tacoma

I towed with my tundra once. And I hated it. It would only hold 4th with my foot in it and it got 8mpg. I sold it for a Diesel. Sold the diesel for a Tacoma.

I had the 04 Tundra that had the 4 speed. I hear the 5speed trucks (05+) are much better when towing. I do miss all the space. I liked having a full 6foot bed. But the Tacoma is just as powerful easier to park and nicer inside. It will also fit places a DC Tundra wont. I am sure if I need another truck to tow with it will be a new gen Tundra.

 

[Saiyan66]

Get a Tacoma with a manual transmission and you wont have any issues with the tranny hunting for the right gear on hills.

 

[austintaco]

I thought about getting a Tundra more than once, but what always stops me from doing it (besides the new payment), is that there are places we have been and places that I want to go where the Tundra either couldn't fit or it would get beat to heck.

On the subject of cruise control on the 00-04 era Tacoma, many in TX have the after market cruise control from Rostra. The factory cruise has the paddle handle on the lower right of the steering wheel, IIRC. The Rostra has a lever on the upper left of the steering column. I don't know if the actual factory cruise works better, but the Rostra CC does jump gear on hills on my 03 Tacoma DC with 255/85/16's. When I had 265/75/16's it wasn't as bad, but it was noticeable. When I get to rolling type hills, I usually take the cruise off.

The 5ft bed on the Tacoma limits your ability to sleep in the back. If you don't need the extra set of doors, the EX cab is more practical and you can get a 5spd with it. You can also find more camper options, if you go that route.

edit: the Tacoma seats are horrible. First mod should be doing a seat swap. I put some power heated seats in mine and now I am spoiled. I have lower back issues and before the mod, my low back and *** would be in pain on road trips.

 

[TEJASYOTA]

My thoughts on my 2001 Taco DC
32 inchers (255 o 265/75-16) tires and gear.
1) Factory cruise control SUCKS... even on a small hill on the highway, it gets on the gas way too long. There have been many times, I took it off, so that I am not speeding past a cop.
2) Towing.. only a small utility trailer (5' version) for construction stuff and my lawn tractor.
3) Mpg - in the mid-teens.
4) storage - more than enough for me... it depends on what you plan to carry.
5) Going up major hills - had no trouble driving up them in my automatic (no cruise of course).

33 inchers (285/75-16) tires and gear.
1) Factory cruise still sucks.
2) Going up major hills - I have to give the gas more.. since I have not regeared my truck
3) Mpg - about the same.
4) Towing - have not had the chance to do it yet.

I have also thought of getting a newer Tundra xtra cab, but did not like the lower mpg and larger overall size when I off-road.
Love my Tacoma... I plan to own her until it rusts away.

 

[offthebeatenpath]

I'm not going to add much to what's already been said, but we've got an 03 DC Tacoma, and we've got two kiddos in car seats in the back. The four of us in the cab going on a trip is pretty tight with all the odds and ends that need to be in the cab with us for the kiddos. Not sure I'd want to trade the tight space for a big thirsty truck, so we've still got our Tacoma.

There is no such thing as a perfect truck, at least not off the lot- It would look a lot like a Tacoma, but really have more room inside, but not actually be any wider outside. It would be light, like a Tacoma, but have the torque of a diesel, all-the-while paying petrol prices, and getting amazing mileage. The bed would be 6.5' long, but the truck wouldn't be any longer. You could fit 315's off the lot and change gear ratios with the flip of a switch. That's what I'd like, but I haven't seen one yet.

 

[Dirtytires]

Tacoma..Tacoma.

 

[Butcher54]

Remember I'm talking about the 1st Gen tundras. The ones that are the current Tacoma size. 00-06 tundras. Not the huge beefy. Bull dog looking ones. Its would just be me and one passenger. And plus dog. I would convert the rear passenger area into storage pull outs. The bed I would build my own low profile rack so the RTT wouldn't be above the cab

 

[skiroc]

I just sold a 2006 Tacoma 4x4, 4 cyl, manual. I was the original owner and planned to keep it many years. I decided to get a FWC camper which at 1000 lbs, was going to be just too much for this truck. So I started looking for a Tacoma with a V6. I came across a 2006 Tundra 4x4 with 36k miles that was immaculate, so I bought it. I've been driving 45 years and have always had the low end models of every car I've bought - always 4 cyl, and always manual. The Tundra I just bought is the TRD model and with a V8/auto, has more power than anything I've ever had. It is an absolute joy to drive. I live in So Cal, and the truck was in Oregon. I averaged 18.3 mpg on the drive home of just over 1000 miles. It has a 2" lift and aggressive tires. I figure I'll get at least another 1 mpg when I remove the lift and get Michelin LTX M/S2 tires. It's not much bigger than my Tacoma, and I think I'll actually get better mpg than a Tacoma V6 when I add the camper - the Tundra V8 will not need to work as hard.

 

[Dirtytires]

It would be awesome if Toyota put the V8 in the Tacoma. I have the V6 in mine and I enjoy it.

 

[daveyboy]

I had an 08 5.7L 4x4 Tundra and the power was great.. But the gas mileage was horrendous..:Wow1: I averaged around 11/12.. I've argued with other Tundra owners over this but have also had past tundra owners agree with me so who knows. I do know that some folks tend to exagerate their MPG a bit and was kinda prepared for the Tundra not quite getting the advertised MPG, but it just never really came close.. Great truck though other than that. Powerful, roomy, and comfortable.. I never really had a problem with it's size. My wife already has a Yukon XL 4x4 so if it wasn't for that, we'd probably still have the Tundra..

My bad, just realized you mentioned 06.. Sorry bout that...

I have an '08, 5.7, 4x4, DC Tundra and have never even had close to that bad of MPG unless I was towing. I even averaged better than that on a 3000+ mile trip through 8 Rocky Mountain states at 8000 GVW with a truck camper.

 

[bigwapitijohnny]

I went for it...and I am glad I did!

I looked at other Toyota platforms from my '98 4runner. I considered the Land Cruiser (80, 100 and 200 series), Taco, and 2nd and 3rd gen Tundras. I found that the '00-'06 Tundra prices were still pretty high ~ 'crewcab' configuration, high miles for about 22-25K. I bought my 2011 for just a little bit more ~ more power and room. Granted, this will not go some places off-road, however, the majority of where I go around here is very doable with this rig. Besides, it tows the Sherpa II with NO issues whatsoever...:smiley_drive:

Regards,

BWJ