Keystone State Thread

MidnightRebel07 · Jul 31, 2020

awesomeandy013 said: ↑

I saw this the other day and wanted to respond to it coming from a Tundra a couple years ago. I was applying to companies where my commute could triple in distance and was concerned about the MPG and tire costs compared to a smaller truck. If I would have know I would end up in a reliable carpool I can't say I would have made the change to the Taco. I miss that truck. The Taco has more features but the Tundra was my first truck and I traded into the same dealer I bought it from and it sold in less than a week. I still see it from time to time but its not cared for like it was with me.

I owned the truck for 37 months, 37,000 miles. I'm trying to think of how to organize this in a way that is helpful and thorough.

Things that are really similar:

Size: not as much of a change as you think. The TRD OR and Baja Tacos are wider than SRs, etc. because of the flares. My DCLB Taco is 5" narrower and 3" shorter than my DC 6.5' bed Tundra was. I parked this truck 3 nights a week in parking garages around Blvd of the Allies for school, biggest dimensional difference is height.

Turning radius: You guys with DCSB Tacos are blessed with a small turning radius, DCLB Tacos and standard WB Tundras have the same 44' turning radius. I believe it is the tightest turning half ton of similar wheelbase out there cause my GM/Ford buddies always made comments in parking lots of how I could wedge this truck into parking spots.

Interior: Toyota interior and quality, not much difference other than size.

Maintenance costs for oil changes and brakes and everything are pretty close. I made a projected fuel/maintenance spreadsheet (engineers can't do anything without excel organizing data ) and if I kept the Tundra it'd cost me about $75 a month more than the Taco to operate.

Things that are different:

Torque for days. 400 ft-lbs + 4.30 diff = no downshift passing and rolling on the throttle too quick in dry conditions resulted in tire spin with 285s. I'vs ripped a small patch with 500lbs in the bed pulling out in dry summer conditions .

Sound. I had a AFE single outlet catback and it dropped my MPGs by about .75 just because of overpasses and tunnels. Squirrel Hill Tunnel leaving school at 10pm was awesome.

The DC Tundra has way more rear leg room than a DC Taco. My brother in law is 6'3" and spent about 4 hours back there in a single day and didn't complain. Multiple trips with adults in the back to the beach 6+ hours and not really any complaints. The rear seats fold better for a lot more room for things, if you don't have the under seat box. I didn't have the box and had enough space to stack bins or lay the dog beds on the floor. I miss that about the Tundra. I think a crewmax is a waste of space. The second row in a truck doesn't need more leg room than the front, you loose bed space, and payload cause the crewmax is heavier. My DC could easily fit 3 adults in the back for the very few times most people will actually need to put 3 adults in the backseat of a pickup. 3 kids, would need a crewmax to keep everybody calm, two kids and a dog, DC all day. DC Tundra backseat is pretty similar space wise as a 4runner but with a couple more inches of width on the bench.

I had a 6 passenger, my brother had a 2015 with the center console. I wish you could get a center console with a column shifter. Personal preference, but that console shifter takes up 2 cup holders and a cubby all day everyday. The center console in the Tundra is amazing. There is a ton of storage in the Tundra.

Tires. I run LT265/75R16s on the Tacoma which could be had for $200 a tire all day everyday for an AT from several brands. I had LT285/70R17s on Rock Warrior Forged TRD wheels and they are about $100 a tire more.

Ride is a bit harsher comparing stock to stock. If I still had it I prob would have been on 5100s or 6112/5160s by now. You get that heavier/stiffer leaf pack jitters over bumps if the truck is empty.

Payload/Towing. Tundras are chonky, but that also gave me 500+ lbs more payload and 3500lbs more towing capacity. It takes about 2500lbs to get a Tundra within a half inch of the bump stops. If Tundras have one highlighting performance feature, it is towing. The drivetrain/gear ratios are setup perfect for towing. You gotta be near a Taco's max tow rating to start realizing there's a dump or utility trailer back there, can't comment for travel trailer or cargo trailer.

Bed size. 6.5' Tundra to 6' Tacoma is a huge difference in space. The Tacoma is smaller but I like the composite bed shell better than having a steel bed for a list of reasons. I did a spray in liner and a bed mat, it was fine but the ease of the composite Taco bed and storage cubbies is great.

Thirsty. Gotta pay to play. I tend to get a little better than rated MPG on my trucks. I got 14.5 reliably with my commute to school/work. Got 19.5 round trip to OCMD with the tires at 40psi, tonneau, 500lbs of bullsh*t and three adults. Can't say I'd get much better in the Taco cause of how this third gen hates 70mph. The tundra gets to 5th/6th gear and unless I was passing uphill at highway speed it usually didn't downshift to 4th.

No lockers, LSD is okay.

Tundras are more of a bigger hammer type of approach than the Tacoma. The trucks capabilities aren't much different, its just a stronger big brother scenario. I haven't towed anything over 3000lbs with the Taco and any overloading of payload has been carefully risk assessed, but those times the Tundra would have been over payload too. I started looking at Tundras again when we had our daughter in the fall but keep telling myself to look the other way and enjoy the Taco. I went through a month this past winter that I was really beating myself up for not holding onto the Tundra but like I said I didn't know I was going to get in a comfortable carpool, I took a significant pay cut to get into a better company, and my commute went from 10 miles to 27 each way. The first summer at my new job I was averaging nearly 2000 miles a month before starting to carpool. The Tundra fuel costs would have been more than the payment.

It sounds like you don't drive as much as I do. I got 52k on my Tacoma since April 2017. I've cut my miles in half the last year in the carpool.

This is all opinion. Both trucks have served/searing me well. Both are everything I needed at the time I bought them. If I owned both at the same time I would have to flip a coin to see which one to take on 330 days a year. The other 35 days I wish I had the hauling/towing abilities of the Tundra. That's just my needs though. The Taco gets it done, but the Tundra just "works" better. If I had to guess which truck would give me less problems over 300k miles, I would have to pick the Tundra.

I would prob try to find a used one instead of new. Sorry, the TSS and whatnot sounds like a longevity nightmare. There are multiple threads that pop up with a google search for swapping the 38 gallon tank into older Tundras with all OEM parts and the computer self learns "miles to empty" after a couple fill ups. I nearly gave up the Taco for a 2013 MGM Rock Warrior DC a few months back. The new ones have about 200lbs less payload than the slightly older trucks cause the TSS computers/sensors and the extra 12 gallons of fuel all take away from payload. If I was doing long distance towing I would do the 38 gal tank swap on a pre-TSS truck.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the informative insight on the Tundra. I'm looking at crewmax models for more interior room, the shortbed is fine with me since I do most hauling on my 7x18 Lamar car hauler which is another primary reason for wanting a fullsize (extra power, torque, as well as way more interior space) better mpg's would be nice since I consistently get 220-250mpg no matter if its city/highway towing or not.

Tagoma · Aug 1, 2020

Good morning guys and gals. Bath time for the taco. Have a safe Saturday....

johneman · Aug 1, 2020

Good morning. Good night last night. Upstate sitting around the fire roasting hot dogs and having a beer or 2.

lynyrd3 · Aug 1, 2020

Morning Pennsylvania

Delta09 · Aug 1, 2020

Morning PA!

Well, I seem to have a stretch of bad luck this weekend. This is the status yesterday:

What's going on you say? This little bugger right here:

Yup, another damn nail in a tire! Was working in the garage yesterday and noticed the tire looked a little low. Sure enough 20psi... Haven't needed a plug in a truck/car tire in a while so I was due apparently. Rotating that tire to the rear today, tires need rotated anyways. Nice to have my own impact and stuff! I'll be glad when all the roofs get done around here!

RepoMarket · Aug 1, 2020

morning PA!

hope you enjoy the weekend..I'll hold down the fort

PCTaco · Aug 1, 2020

Heading out to Poe Valley state park this morning with the girlfriend and pups.

HomerTaco · Aug 1, 2020

BlackWagon · Aug 1, 2020

Never have to worry about priming my well pump again, replaced the ancient jet pump with a new submersible pump.

JoeySauce · Aug 1, 2020

Shot a 51 on the blue course @ Leigh high sporting clays

not terrible for my first time in awhile

TinyTech626 · Aug 1, 2020

Worked a modified Graduation ceremony today, they split the class in half and did two ceremonies. Weird to see the kids just walking in, instead of parading in. And as soon as they walked up and their name got called, they walked off the field.

Bleh. Kinda jealous they at least got a graduation ceremony. Found out my Bachelor's ceremony was fully canceled, waiting to see if they decided to do another "virtual ceremony". I was looking forward to the weekend away to explore D.C. next month.

Ah well. Enough procrastinating. Back to schoolwork. Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

PCTaco · Aug 1, 2020

Poe Valley is definitely a hidden gem. Almost no one there compared to RB Winter.

BkerChuck · Aug 1, 2020

Neighborhood yard sale today in my development. Sold enough unwanted and no longer used stuff to pay for the speakers I ordered yesterday from Crutchfield thanks to you guys here. Truck show next weekend in Carlisle so likely to go spend more money.

Delta09 · Aug 1, 2020

Welp plugging my tire didn't go as well as I thought. Leaked a couple PSI overnight so I took it and had it patched. I was a little shocked when it was only $16 to unmount the tire, patch, remount, and balance the tire. Guess it pays to take off the tire yourself and bring it in. Was able to rotate the tires, torque properly, and adjust the pressure. Truck rides completely different now (for the better). Course I was running the pressure a little high before though...

Devious6 · Aug 1, 2020

JoeySauce said: ↑

Shot a 51 on the blue course @ Leigh high sporting clays

not terrible for my first time in awhile
Click to expand...

Nice first score. I love shooting there! Great set up.

JoeySauce · Aug 1, 2020

Devious6 said: ↑

Nice first score. I love shooting there! Great set up.

Click to expand...

Awesome shot

That place is great, they must have been working hard during the quarantine, lots of new/improved features

BkerChuck · Aug 1, 2020

Taco critter said: ↑

Carlisle won't see me this yr
Click to expand...

Considering I just got my Tacoma 2 weeks ago I now have a reason to go.

HomerTaco · Aug 1, 2020

For anyone on here this restaurant in Warminster was terrific!

http://www.lavogliaitalianrestaurant.com/menu/

Cooktop86 · Aug 1, 2020

HomerTaco said: ↑

For anyone on here this restaurant in Warminster was terrific!

http://www.lavogliaitalianrestaurant.com/menu/
Click to expand...

Noted

HomerTaco · Aug 1, 2020

Cooktop86 said: ↑

Noted
Click to expand...

BYOB but they serve a complementary Orange or Lemon cello after the meal. Quite delicious. Also was not too hard on the wallet.
It’s not a huge menu but they also let you swap things and will do custom stuff.
I had the lobster ravioli and it was delicious.

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