Tundra to Tacoma

Interesting. Mine holds gear awesome on the highway.

 

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...^^^... I went in the following directions ...

... Several small Toyota pickups then to a 2000 Tundra ... then Tundra to several Tacomas ... then several Tacomas to a 2007 Tundra ... then back to several Tacomas ... where I am now.

(had a few other brands during that time too)

It's all about size and maneuverability ... while I loved the Tundra, it was too big ... especially in parking areas ... no regrets staying with a Tacoma now.

 

You may have the only one. Based on a lot of people here and people I have talked to outside of here it it's "normal" for it to downshift when it hits an incline roughly equivalent to a pebble.

 

We traded-In our 2007 DC 4X4 TRD Tundra for a 2017 4x4 TRD Sport AC

Tundra still looked Wicked Good, but it was starting to Rust apart. 10 New England with no underbody protection, forgetaboutit......

It looked great until you crawled underneath.

It had reached the point of no return! So before having to start pouring money into the bottomless pit, we decided to trade it in.

The rear diff was starting to leak, and when my husband climbed underneath he said the rust was eating it alive. He told me when he looked up at the rear bumper he could see the "Black Plastic" that you stand on. The metal had been Eaten clear thru.

We weren't planning on getting rid of it nor did we realize the rust condition until we thought about selling it outright. When hubby was look'n it over he saw all that rust. He never saw a need to climb under it since it was fully serviced according to the maintenance schedule by a dealership.

The dealership never once mentioned a rust issue. So he decided to trade it in, didn't want to sell it to someone and then have them complain that they need to spend 2K to replace the rear diff. Probably loss a little money trading it in, but it's worth not having someone angry because they just bought a Rust Bucket.

We probably wouldn't still even know about the rust problem if it wasn't for the moment I saw a Cement TRD Pro driving past me on my way to work. I Immediately called hubby screaming OMG we gotta go see the new Gen 3 Tacoma. That Cement color hooked me!

Anyway, I know it was hard for my husband to let his Tundra go, he sure did love that truck. I have to say he does love the new Sport model Tacoma.

 

Wow, that really stinks to hear that! Mine survived 7 winters in Kansas, so probably not as bad but there was snow every year and plenty of road treatment. I did wash it every time it was above freezing though, including the underside.

But I wasn't particularly easy on it either...







Here's the only picture I could find of the underside from when I had a new exhaust system put on in summer 2015.


I drove my 2004 through a lot too and as far as I know it was fine when I sold it in 2011 before getting my 2009 from my brother.

 

Well here's a pic for ya, and it's not for the faint of heart......

The Rusty/Crusty Rear Diff

 

I owned a 2006 Tundra access cab, I don't think there is much size difference between them and the 2nd and 3rd gen Tacomas, I liked it except for the suicide doors for getting to the back seat, fuel mileage averaged from 14 in the winter to about 16.5 mpg in the warmer months. I traded it for a 2009 Tacoma DCLB SR5, in 2012 which I traded for my current 16 DCLB Sport. Having owned or driven all the generations of both Tundra and Tacoma, I feel that the fit and finish on the 1st gen trucks was better the current ones, the body panel seams, the way the doors shut just felt better on the older trucks. I still think Toyota makes a good truck except for the frames rusting on some trucks. Out of the 4 previous trucks(96 reg cab, 02 DC, 06 Trundra, 09 Tacoma), the 09 had the most rust on the frame, mechanically the only issue I've had was a leaky water pump on the Tundra which was covered at 56k miles by the power train warranty, I also had the timing belt replaced on it and only had to pay for the extra parts since they had it off anyway.

In hindsight, when I bought the 06 Tundra, I should have bought a DC, I might still be driving it, there are a lot of high mileage 1st gen Tundras on the road, my friend has a 2wd one with 500k miles on it. The last year of the 1st gen or when they improved the transmission and upped the power on the engine made for a nice truck for my use. It had plenty of power for my use, and the fuel mileage while not stellar was tolerable. I haul motorcycles, mulch, and anything else that I might need that doesn't overload my trucks, I try to take good care of them, but they are meant to be used for what you use a truck for, to haul stuff. The new truck is nice and runs decent but it still can't run like a V8, the technology and amenities are nice but if I didn't have them I could function just fine. I drove a 2008 Tundra for 2 weeks when my 06 got hit on the interstate when a 75 yr old woman decided to use a crossover and I hit her left rear quarter panel, I spun her out in a perfect pit move with 2 semi trucks in the right lane, one trucker stopped to give the police his statement, he said he didn't know how I kept my truck in the passing lane, but if I hadn't, I would have had a bad day, no one got injured and my truck was driveable, it didn't look bad but it did $2700 damage in 2008. I drove the 08 Tundra while mine was being repaired, it just didn't feel as solid as my 06, in order to save weight and increase the fuel mileage, the lighter weight materials in the newer trucks gives them a less solid feel. If I needed a full size truck, I would probably get a Tundra out of brand loyalty and the good service record of my other Toyotas.

 

In 1986, I bought a Toyota pickup. I was still in college and needed something cheap to get me through my last year of grad school. I didn't get a single option on it. I kept that truck until 2011, when I bought a Tundra. I was actually looking for a Tacoma, but they were in short supply, and I got a great deal on the Tundra, so I decided to make the jump from my small pickup to the full-sized Tundra.

I live in the suburbs, and the Tundra was just too big to drive around. I do seem to haul a lot of stuff, and it was great for that, but driving around the city was a pain, especially parking lots, and especially parking garages. My Tundra didn't come with a backup camera, but I installed one myself, and it saved me numerous times.

But I just wasn't driving it very much. If I had to go anywhere in the city, I'd drive my old Rav4. I could go several weeks without driving the Tundra, so instead of letting it sit, I decided to trade it in for a Tacoma. I wound up with a black 2017 TRD sport access cab. I parked it in the driveway where I used to park my Tundra. The Tundra used to fill up and even overwhelm the driveway, but the Tacoma seems to be just the right size. I miss the V-8 of my Tundra, but I'm going to enjoy my Tacoma a lot more since I'll actually drive it.

 

I posted in a similar thread I just traded in my 2006 tundra double cab for a 2017 Tacoma sport double cab. For me the 06 tundra was the perfect truck. Not to big, not to small. Plenty of power and gas milage was ok. Most of all I thought is was a comfortable truck to drive. Mine had 217,000 miles when I traded it. The new tundras are just way to big for my needs. We sold our 4wheelers and snowmobiles so we don't tow anymore. Also moved south to a suburb so more city driving and less country driving. The new Tacoma is a nice truck but different. The interior doesn't have as much room as the tundra and the leg forward seating is not as comfortable. The taco looks good and has plenty of power for my needs but I just enjoyed the tundra better.