How does the 1st gen handle high speed highway cruising?

It failed because a Toyota dealership Master certified Technician failed it?

Surprised me too. There was some surface spotting rust on the frame, but I just figured that was from the liquid sodium chloride (brine) and magchloride Colorado has been spraying on the roads around metro Denver for the past 5-10 years. But it appears to have rotted from the inside out. So... I don't think that underside car washes or spraying it would have made a difference -- you would have somehow had to have been able to regularly clean / treat the inside of the frame.

So... if my "Colorado" truck rotted... I'd be very skeptical of a Pennsylvania truck -- or any NorthEast truck for that matter.

My truck was first sold in Pueblo, CO. As far as I know, it lived its whole life here. I'm the 2nd, maybe 3rd owner? Bought it from a stealership in 2014.

Lemmee see if I can find some photos of the frame.

 

It's not water that rusts the frames it's corrosion from the salt and other chemicals used on roads in the winter months. Even CA uses road chemicals in certain mountain communities, plus the salt in the air near the ocean.

The East coast uses tons of road salt which is why they're notorious for rusty frames

 

Colorado CDOT and municipalities have been spraying magchloride and now brine (liquid sodium chloride) all over the roads around Metro Denver / Colorado Front Range like it's going out of style (or all the Californians moving here don't know how to drive on snow) for 5-10 years now.

 

My truck is ALL Colorado, and driven the last 22 years through snow and ice.
No rust on it with almost 600,000 miles and I use the undercarriage spray after most snow storms.

 

Congratulations! Be happy and count your blessings!

It would appear my frame rotted from the inside out... so not sure how "undercarriage spray" would have helped anything. The Toyota master tech found the corrosion though:

 

Your truck looks great, btw.

 

Tundra x2

I have a 3.4 auto as well as 5.7 auto Tundra. At 80 the 3.4 Tacoma gets 15 if no hills and no headwind.

The Tundra gets 14 at 80 and doesn't care about headwinds or hills.

Guess what we take on the xway.

 

there must be some difference between early 1st gen frames and the 2000s?
some Toyota mechanic told me this once, but I dunno
I have only heard of one member on here who had a '97 frame that failed
@FreshOldTaco

 

was this the only spot?

I had read somewhere that the environmentalists had this practice done away with due to its polluting streams and destroying the foilage or is that just outside of the metro areas?

 

My dad has a 5 lug 1st gen and I have a prerunner 2nd gen. The 1st gen has alot more road noise from wind and the tires over about 60 mph.

 

Thanks, I do count my blessings, not sure how my truck has made it this far in the condition it is even through I keep up with anything that goes south on it.

 

thankful you haven't been destroyed by a freak accident or careless driver yappin on their cell or pushin those new fancy apps

 

Yes the 95.5-97 frames use shorter length leaf springs and I think the front frame horn sections are different as well.

 

As far as I know.

Dunno. They still spray that shit before storms. The infamous Denver "Brown Cloud" was determined to be mostly sand particulates stirred up by driving, they had to cut back sanding. They "discovered" mag chloride, but I guess that shit is expensive, so they have started using "brine" sources from Utah. That shit is nothing more than liquid sodium chloride. Being liquid, it probably gets in all the books and crannies that granular salt won't. But I suppose granular salt dissolves in the wetness of snow etc, and then gets everywhere.

I cannot speak to the possibility that brine enables CDOT to use less salt overall or not.

I think they started using bronze in 2016 or 2017. So I figure the next 5-10 years will tell the tale whether or not Colorado's reputation for corrosion-free vehicles continues or not.

 

My 1st gen is a little loud. And for some reason I can feel the wind pushing it specially here in Florida where there are a few of long bridges. But for long drives I use my Sedan because it's more comfortable, quiet and smooth.

 

I have a V6 manual transmission and drive 65 mph at 2,300 rpm everywhere. I'm getting 20 mpg or more on the highway. Keep the revs below 2,500 rpm and you'll get decent gas mileage. Noise is average, not as bad as my '86 4runner and not as good as my '07 Rav.

 

2nd gen 5- lug I4 easily gets 25 or better at 70(mine did 27 holding 70-75 for 350 miles down to Santa Barbara) but it doesn’t have the soundproofing of a luxury car. But at 80 it will howl, the door seals will whistle, and mileage will suck even with the 4 cylinder.

 

Reviving an old thread...... I run my 2.7 4X4 RC at 80 mph on a "fairly" regular basis. I'd rather do 65 or 70 but traffic doesn't allow sometimes or I'm in a hurry. In any case, I do take about a 1500 mile trip once or twice a year with around 750lbs in the bed. I usually run about 80-90 mph on that trip. Road noise? I really don't hear it. I just take the hearing aids out. It really isn't that bad though. That being said, this 2004 with the stock, worn out suspension at 150,000 miles, was a handful every time I hit a bridge or a bump in the road until I replaced all the suspension with OME 880's and Nitrochargers up front and Deaver J59's and OME Nitrochargers in the rear. Now I can run 90 mph across a rough highway or a "bridge joint" and not even worry about it. The front end is a little stiff off-road though because the OME front was really designed for a V-6 and mine being an RC with a 2.7 causes the harsher ride. No big deal though. It's a daily driver and the OME and Deavers is still working just like new after 3+ years.

A Tacoma with a 2.7 will never be any "highway charger" especially with no cruise control like mine doesn't have but it gets the job done once or twice a year. It will run at fairly high speeds forever though and with the right suspension it handles just fine at those speeds. You can't expect a Rolls Royce ride out of a Tacoma at any speed. They are utility trucks, not luxury vehicles.

 

Not to thread jack but I see you're from the Northshore. Nice to see another Louisiana 1st gen

 

For sure, man. 'Bout to move back to BR too.