Tundra or Tacoma?

[grin]

Hey guys,

I made a huge mistake. I bought a Camry last year.....

It's a fine car, but I miss having a truck so bad! I've owned a 2003 Tacoma 4x2, and a 2010 Tacoma PreRunner in the past. I'm going to trade in this car, and get my first 4wd truck!! The question is, do I go for a Tacoma Dbl Cab or a Tundra Dbl Cab?

My primary use of the vehicle is to drive back and forth from work, but on the weekends and my days off, there are plenty of dirt roads I need to drive looking for my next amazing landscape or astrophotograph! I'll probably end up towing a small trailer, but want the truck to be my basecamp for every adventure.

So, between the two vehicles, which one has the most aftermarket support? Which model is the most talked about on the internet so I can see what you all have been working on with your trucks?

If it were you, which truck would you buy today and why?

 

[Clutch]

Only you can decide what you like, go test drive both of them and see which one you like better.

Long time Tacoma owner here, might just go full-size for the next truck. You can more truck for the money. My reasoning is, want to put a popup camper on it, and tow an enclosed trailer for the dirt bikes. Thinking the Tacoma will barely work, and get the same mpg as a full-size when loaded, heck even when unloaded the Tacoma's mpg isn't all the great.

With my budget of $35K for a truck, trying to make the Tacoma work on paper, it just ain't happening for me. Would like to stay with Toyota, but doesn't look like the Tundra will work either, too low of a payload, especially for the mpg penalty you get with the Tundra.

 

[sn_85]

Hey guys,

I made a huge mistake. I bought a Camry last year.....

It's a fine car, but I miss having a truck so bad! I've owned a 2003 Tacoma 4x2, and a 2010 Tacoma PreRunner in the past. I'm going to trade in this car, and get my first 4wd truck!! The question is, do I go for a Tacoma Dbl Cab or a Tundra Dbl Cab?

My primary use of the vehicle is to drive back and forth from work, but on the weekends and my days off, there are plenty of dirt roads I need to drive looking for my next amazing landscape or astrophotograph! I'll probably end up towing a small trailer, but want the truck to be my basecamp for every adventure.

So, between the two vehicles, which one has the most aftermarket support? Which model is the most talked about on the internet so I can see what you all have been working on with your trucks?

If it were you, which truck would you buy today and why?

I'd say if you're towing or hauling a lot get the Tundra. If you are going to have kids in the backseat get a Tundra. In off-road capability the Tacoma wins hands down. More aftermarket support, e-locker in the TRD-OR version, smaller so it can fit into narrower trails. More people talk about the Tacoma since it's a better off roader and the Tundra hasn't seen a real update in quite a long time and is really long in the tooth compared to other 1/2 tons right now. So it really depends on what you want/needs are.

 

[grin]

Yes, these are the types of answers I'm looking for! Thank you!

When I say towing, it will be a small trailer, real small, as in a large tear drop at most. I've towed a 20' trailer before, and I don't want to do that again!

My brother and wife often come with me on adventures along with two small dogs. Both of my previous Tacomas were xtracab (or whatever they call it now) and it was a bit too small for someone to be in the backseat.

I want to get the right truck and hold onto it for quite sometime. I suspect a lift and other mods will be coming. If I'm going to end up changing out much of the suspension at some point anyway, is the TRD OR really worth the extra cost?

 

[OmegaMan73]

I just bought a 2017 Tacoma Dual can short bed. I've got the wife and a son that go with me on the trips. I have already seen the benefits of having a dual cab but not full size truck. I have a k5 Blazer and coming from that to the tacoma is a breath of fresh air. You can fit enough in the bed and even more if you have a cap for it. I looked at the dual cab Silverado before buying this but they are just big trucks. There is a lot of aftermarket support for the Tacoma too. I bought the sport version so no E locker for me and no fancy crawl control to break in a few years. Personally I like to do the off road work myself and saved a few dollars along the way. They are plenty capable in stock form. With that being said mine has a lift/leveling kit and larger tires on it. I bought it this way.

 

[dorton]

Most Aftermarket support- Tacoma
Dirt Roads- Tundra
Pulling a trailer- Tundra

I run a Tacoma. Mainly because a Tundra on east coast trails would sustain damage on a
regular basis. If I lived in the west, i'd probably be a lot more inclined to look at Tundras.

Either would do a fine job, and likely fill your needs.

 

[rlynch356]

a tundra for me is all about towing the D90 and using it as a base camp.

 

[Runt]

Tundra beats a Tacoma in every aspect, except 1. I have owned both.....a Tacoma is narrower and will sustain body damage at a lesser rate if you run tight trails. So if you do primarily expedition travel go with a Tundra, off roading primarily go with a Tacoma.....a mix of both go Tacoma.....it does both fairly well.

 

[calicamper]

Question is the Camry OK ok other than the weekend dirt / adventure trips? The reason I ask is that we are on our second Subaru since 2001. Its between the Tacoma and Camry regarding ability and it easily tows a small teardrop etc. Its also dramatically superior to a truck regarding on road comfort and mileage.

Having said all that!! I have two growing kids 8-5 plus a wife and dog as such we easily fit in the Subaru OB with our 4x6 trailer. But as we add bigger bicycles, kids are heavier etc were bumping against load weight limitations when I add water etc.

But for two adults and lots of gear the Subaru OB is more than capable. You wont be rock crawling but rough dirt trails the Subaru can handle easily.

 

[Trikebubble]

Buy a Tundra. Oh lord, the power. I just changed from an Xterra to a 2014 Double Cab Tundra TRD Off-Road and this truck is amazing. Ok, so there may be some tight switchbacks that I may not be able to negotiate, as I did in the Xterra, but by every other measure (and I'll argue that the Xterra is the best off-road capable all around suv out there) the Tundra is simply an amazing truck.
Tows my 4000 pound travel trailer like it isn't even there. Mine has the trailer package so it came with 4.3 gears....the thing literally crawls up and down hills. I've been so impressed with it's off road capabilities so far, and it is still 100% stock.
Did I mention the power? You can put a rocket launcher in your Tacoma (or Xterra for that matter) and it won't have close to that most awesome V8 power. Mileage in my Tundra is also better than my Xterra ever was. The extra interior space is worth every spare inch or overall width....I'm 6'2" and can really, really relax on those long journeys in the Tundra.

In my honest opinion, unless you are planning on specializing in things like The Morrison Jeep Trail,Black Bear Pass, or rock crawling the Rubicon Trail......get the damn Tundra....you will thank yourself for years to come.

As far as aftermarket support, I've found no issues whatsoever sourcing stuff. I've just ordered Dakar leaf springs, air bags, a bunch of Toytec goodies, ADS coilovers and shocks, MCM fab UCA's, Method race wheels, and Nitto tires for mine. (An ARB locker is most certainly on the list in the next year)

I'll never, ever go back to a mid-size suv/truck again. I'm totally content with the compromise of the larger size vehicle for the added benefit of what the Tundra will provide. (Did i mention the power?)

 

[Adventurous]

I also vote Tundra if it is between the two. More power, more comfort, minimal price difference, and minimal difference in fuel economy. As has been said unless you frequently run narrower or more technical trails the Tundra should be more than adequate to take you the majority of places you want to go. Not to mention if you get the SR5 package in the Tundra you get a 38 gallon fuel tank which is nearly double the size of the Tacoma. Having 500 miles worth of fuel would be a nice luxury.

 

[eaneumann]

How big are you? I'm 6'2" and 235, Tacoma wasn't going to work for me. Tacomas are way too expensive for a mid sized truck. And the mileage is almost the same. I'm a diehard Toyota fan and do like the Tacoma. I have a 2nd gen Tundra that gets beat on, towing, lots of off-road, and driving 30k+ miles a year. It's been a great vehicle and is much more comfortable than the Tacoma in every way. I work on a lot of Tacomas.

You'll get used to the size, don't buy black!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LiftedAdventures]

love my tundra ..vote tundra ! although you can't go wrong with either

 

[kurtwp]

Yes Tundra would be the way to go with the 5.7L. Go over to tundras.com and post the same question as a lot of people on that forum have switched from the Tacoma to Tundra.

I have a 2016 Double cab and the back seat is big enough for my 6'.1" son to sit in the back behind my wife. It is tight if he sits behind me as I am 6' and have the seat back further than my wife. My youngest son has no issue sitting behind me as he is only 5' at the time of this posting.

Kurt