No tech jargon here. For what its worth I recently went through the,"Tundra or F150" I bought my third Ford product and I'm VERY pleased. I don't tow much but I USE it everyday. Hey I really like F150's. Always have. Looks, the driving, its abilities.

I would not be afraid to equal or occasionally exceed the tow rating on my truck. I have on other Fords with no trouble. I don't recommend it with any truck. I have had problems with Fords, nothing serious. Gonna have issues with anything mechanical.

Drive'em and make your own decisions. Its your money...buy what YOU like.

 

Side comment about stuff coming in the rear sliding window - get a bed cover!

Moonroof + power slider = quiet airflow.

 

If you do decide on the Tundra because of the hp, you better get an 09 (unless you buy the new for 2010 Platinum package or the base work truck package).

Received this in an email from Toyota:


The 2010 Tundra is on its way to a Toyota dealer near you. This year's version of one of America's favorite trucks will be arriving on dealer lots in late April and you might be surprised by some of the changes.

Perhaps the biggest is the newly designed V8 which has dropped from 5.7 liters to 4.6. As you might expect, this change has improved fuel economy with the 2010 Tundra estimated to get 15 mpg city and 20 mpg on the highway (internal estimates). Plus, very little power and performance has been sacrificed at the expense of fuel economy as the 4.6-liter engine still offers 310 horsepower coupled with 327 pounds of torque.

Link:

http://www.gsmemarketing.com/eNews/T...ns-At-Top.html

 

Now isn't this interesting....

Also, check out the new interior package name for the Tundra... coincidence??

 

I think thats a good move on their part to drop engine sizes. 99.9% of people will be more than happy with 300+HP and 300ft/lb TQ. The only reason you would need any more is if you want to get a quicker 0-60 time. Trucks have been pulling loads with less than 300hp and 300ft/lb tq for many years and there's no reason why a 4.6 with that kind of power couldnt either.

 

I don't believe Toyota is dropping the 5.7. It will still be available in the 2010 model year. The new 4.6 is a replacement for the 4.7 - which is an older design.

 

I agree. I think that the 4.6 is a good call. I was plenty happy when I test drove the FX4 with the 5.4 engine wrt. power. I'll take fuel economy over the additional oomph any day.

So long as the truck has 'enough' HP for me to do the chores that I need. I'm no speed daemon and don't need to compare HP and torque with the next guy.

 

It would be great having that extra 1 second quicker to 60 time but to be honest around here you are lucky to get to 40 before you get stuck at another set of lights. So for me it's better to have the extra MPG over a quicker 0-60 time. I tow 6000+ lbs every day with my truck and it's a dream to tow with. Have no problem staying with traffic and it gets great mpg to boot. The Toyota 4.6 should function pretty well.

 

The tailgate has been beefed up at the failure point. But, they are still a much lighter gate than what one sees on older trucks. Some guys still damage the new beefier one. I haven't had a problem with mine yet and it works construction for a living.

You heard wrong. The engine is great! Yup, it's fast - and a beast when called upon. There are 5.7s with over 100k and they are running well. There is nothing to indicate that the 5.7 will be undependable or die early.

This has got to be misinformation. If there were frames being replaced the Tundra forums would have gotten wind of it - and it'd be in the top 5 posts forever. Please share with us where you "heard about it". I'd like to hear all about it.

Again, could you share where you read about it, please? The only wrinkling body panels I've heard about, while cruising multiple forums, is the ones that have been in a wreck.

Ahhh! There you go, a valid subjective opinion.

 

I have seen many posts about the panels inside the bed getting dented some how because of being designed badly. They are ment to be able to be repaired by body shop pretty easy. There was also the problem with not being able to tighten ratchet straps in the bed because the tailgate wont open. Seen this with my own eyes in lowes. The guy smacked the tailgate with a massive lump of timer to get it to open. One day the Tundra may be a great truck but it has far to many bad points than it has good points. It's the opposite of the 09 F150. A great engine alone dont make a great truck. It's the truck as a whole and nothing can toch the f150 for that and thats hy time and time and time again it wins every shoot out. The Dodge may be a close second and so is the Tundra at time but they are still behind the Ford.

 

So I'm guessing you'll not be replying to my questions about where you heard/read of bad frames and wrinkling panels?

All the new trucks dent more easily than the older trucks - Ford is no different. In order to try and get fuel mileage improvements, truck manufacturers have had to reduce weight. They've all gone to thinner sheet metals for fenders, roofs, hoods and even boxes. Never the less, there have always been guys who don't take care of their trucks. I've seen sprung tail gate openings as far back as the mid-seventies - cause some guys don't know how much power is in a ratchet-strap. Bet I can even screw-up a new Ford if I crank on a strap hard enough. Just because the Tundra isn't tough enough to survive carelessness on one owners part, that you saw, doesn't mean it isn't a good truck. Beating his tail-gate with a timber? Yeah, I'd care what that guy had to say about anything - not.

My Tundra works construction every day. I use ratchet straps on the tie-downs everyday - for sheet-goods, ladders, and appliances. My tail-gate works fine. There are no tweaks or wrinkles in my box.

And you're basing this on all the information you've gathered from sources such as "I heard" and "I read", but that you can't identify for us?

 

The one good thing about the tundra is the fact it's another competitor trying to catch the 150, and that means FMC has to keep ahead of them all. Competition will keep FoMoCo improving their trucks which is a good thing. Otherwise it's just kind of funny watching the other guys copy stuff Ford has already done.

PS Wouldn't the GMC be 2nd to the 150? Seems the only time I hear about problems, they are always related to the tundra or ram. The sierra and titan never seem to get mentioned in the "problems" department. Could be no one buys the titan, but I see GMC's all over the place.

BTW, my '09 is getting close to 900miles on the odometer. It's getting in the low 14mpg range, exactly like my '04 was getting. I drive it just like my '04, no babying. From what I recall the owner's manual says to not bother watching MPG until you hit 1000+ miles, just thought I'd share that so far it's virtually identical mpg to my 2004, if not a little worse for the first 500 miles or so. My 2004 would get an average of 13.5mpg in winter, and usually around 14.4mpg in the summer. My '09 is finally getting 14.4 at this very moment, here's hoping it improves.

 

I can if you want me too! Google is your friend by the way.

Autoblog is just one place you can find the numerous problems. It's clear though that 99% of tundra owners are oblivious to the quality of the trucks. They are in a word C**P. Just type in Tundra problems into google and you will see what i mean.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/29/r...ames-mounting/

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/26/v...ll-size-picku/

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/31/t...ll-for-toyota/

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/16/t...rs-seeing-red/


http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/16/t...eliability-ra/

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/22/t...uality-issues/


Im sure people can add the many others there are.

 

When looking at the overall package, I think the new F-150 is the best 1/2 ton out there, period. If you are in the market for a 1/2 ton, that's the way I would go.

If you don't need a truck with the capability of the current 1/2 tons, I think the Tacoma is the best option on the market.

 

Owners of Tundras, guys driving them every day, oblivious to the quality? Hardly. They are the ones that know it best. If you doubt that, spend some time at TundraSolutions.com. You'll learn most everything good and bad about the Tundra - and other Toyota vehicles.

Your Autoblog links were interesting but they didn't tell me anything I didn't already know - before I even bought my Tundra. In other words, old news. Most the issues cited have long since been publicly recognized by Toyota, corrective action taken, and trucks with issues repaired under warranty. There are Toyota Service Bulletins covering the issues to inform dealers of what repairs to make, under warranty, if/as any affected trucks are presented.

The only one I hadn't known about was the article "Toyota's residual values seen falling more than competitors," dated Mar 16th 2009. The interesting note of the article was the close, "Despite the drop, the Tundra's resale value remains higher than Chevrolet's Silverado (39.8%, down from 49.6%) and Ford's F-150 (32.2%, down from 45.6%),"

By the way, thanks for tip. I googled "Ford Problems."