4.0 Tacoma versus Tundra/s

I am in the market again for a 4.0 v6 tacoma. I sold my lifted 2004 3.4 a few months ago and even though I had persuaded myself that I was going to buy a tundra/titan/sierra, the love of toyota has drawn me back in. Now, my biggest question/concern with what I am trying to do with my truck is this...I would like to pull my dad's boat, roughly 5000 pounds give or take a few pounds and that is including tackle/gear/fuel/etc. I know with the towing package the tacoma is rated up to 6500 pounds. Being 1500 pounds lighter than maximum capacity, personally I believe it should do just fine. The boat ramp from home is 3 miles and a completely flat ride all the way. Originally I wanted a v8 so this would not even be a topic of discussion, but the more I have researched and looked in it, I believe the tacoma can handle my needs. Again, this would be maybe once a week commute to tow the boat in the summer and fall, 20 times a year max. The tundra seems so much more impractical, and as I would also like to use this as my DD/hunt truck (which both are 30 mile commutes) not only will the tundra destroy my wallet in fuel but the amount of space not used seems to be too much of a waste. Any of your thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated as I am closing in on finally purchasing a new truck. Thanks.

 

I have towed a significant amount with mine. I have a double seadoo trailer with an extended tong (almost the length of the trailer itself) that weighs in at 4000 lbs probably close to 4500 lbs fully loaded with fuel (I carry ~50 gal extra) and the truck can do it. I lose a lot of up hill power and the gas millage drops, but I have found running 89 while towing helps to bring the millage within reason. The rear springs will be the issue, I would like to replace mine with some HD leafs, I get some serious sag when towing mine with the bed loaded for the weekend. But you will be fine.

 

It's really all going to boil down to personal preference IMO, get out and drive both. Their are lots of pros/cons to each truck but it's really size that is the big factor (obviousally). I think towing you should be fine with the Tacoma seeing as it's flat and not very often, I know if I towed alot I'd want a supercharger.

I use my Tacoma as my daily driver (40 miles/day) and my hunt truck & it serves me well however it is VERY small on the inside & I often wish I had more room. When I go hunting my backseat is piled to the roof... be prepared to be cramped. Tacoma also lacks the creature comforts that come standard on a tundra, but in my opinion the Tacoma TRD off-road would school a Tundra off road, mines been unstopable. The locker has alot to do with that. The tacoma is also alot easier to park @ different hunting spots if you have tight access, that tundra is HUGE.

My dad has the tundra & it is ALOT bigger on the inside & no where near as cramped. His truck gets around 13mpg and mine does 15-16mpg so the trade off gas wise isn't as much as you'd think. The Tundra does drive alot nicer, much more power & better breaking. The 4 wheel disc/heated mirrors/no driveline vibes/etc. are all nice things for day-to-day life.

If I did it all over again and had the $ for both it would be a toss up.

 

Tough decision there.
Tacoma: better gas mileage, better off road, proven reliability, cheaper, less room.
Tundra: not so hot mpg, more $$, nice v8 power, way more room, more towing power.

Either one is good. I like my Tacoma and I've driven both.

 

You have pretty much talked yourself out of the Tundra already reading your post, so you may as well get the Tacoma.

 

I just sold my 2007 tundra with 47,000 miles on it.

Nice truck, about 16 miles per gallon, no problems.

My biggest issue was it was a big truck, and a pain to park.

I am going to buy a 2016 tacoma this summer..(hopefully)

Better mileage , easier to park, more maneuverable .

 

My Tacoma does pretty well towing. I regularly tow this setup up the grapevine (here in Southern California) without issue:

 

You could always look at a late 1st gen Tundra. I wanted a '06 DC but the good ones in SLC sell fast and I'm too far away to get there in time. With the money saved over going new, you could build a killer truck.

 

You're going to be happy with the towing on a Tacoma. You will probably want the factory proper tow package instead of just adding a hitch. I used to tow a 19' travel trailer that would be close to 6k lbs loaded.

The only reason I would prefer a Tundra for towing 5k lbs is it will be less affected with MPG's. The tacoma will have to work a little harder but at those short distances who cares. You will definitely save with the Tacoma's daily fuel economy over the Tundra's.

Both are great trucks though with great resale. You can't really go wrong.

 

I have very little experience with the 2nd gen Tundra. But I did own a 2005 Tundra Double cab and 2006 Tacoma DCSB V6 at certain points.

Here's a quick take besides the obvious stuff of being a little bigger.

Tundra was more reliable and had less issues. 4.7L V8 had been around alot longer than the 4.0L at that point.

MPG was worse on Tundra but not by much. I hit 18-20 highway on decent runs. About 13-14 average in my old commute. Figure a 05-06 AC Tundra could do even better because its probably a couple hundred pounds lighter.

Bed was obviously bigger (6 1/2 feet or so) which was nice.


Towing review:

The Tundra towing capacity varies depending on setup whereas the Tacomas are all 6500 if they come equipped with the Tow package. I think the Tundra goes from 6700-7100 pounds.

I didn't tow that much with the Tacoma but it needs upgrades to the suspension to tow the factory rated amount any considerable distance. When I did try the same loads on both trucks the Tundra obviously towed better. When getting near 5k it felt like the Tacoma was maxing out but the Tundra was almost driving like normal.

I maxed the Tacoma out at about 5k and pushed near 10k on the Tundra and it still felt good with no suspension mods of any kind. When I was towing about 7500 on the Tundra on the freeway it felt stable and kept in 5th gear and dropped into 4th only a few times. It has O/D which is nice too.

Id still have my Tundra today but got rid of it for financial reasons.

It seems like a properly equipped Tacoma will handle that short towing trip pretty easily. But if you did want more room in the cab, more bed space, and more towing capacity but with less mpg then the Tundra would be a good choice.

You're the only one who knows exactly what you need.

Good luck

 

Base model tundra are cheaper than most trd model tacoma.

As far as gas goes, my Tacoma drinks way mor gas than a tundra, and only gets me 200 miles per tank.

 

Id do with tundra just for the V8. thats about it.