hard starting

the last couple of days my truck has had to turn over for much longer than usual to get started, probably over a second of turning over, when usually it's pretty fast. where should I start?

 

having your battery and charging system tested by your local dealer/ repair shop or auto part store would be the first place to start..sounds like a dying/old battery

 

battery is only about 8 months old...

 

Im know expert but it could even be something as small as spark plugs.. It doesnt sound like a big problem for you truck.

 

i'll pull em out tonight i'm in the garage right now.

 

so i pulled one of the plugs(should i check them all?)
It seems alright, dark around the threads and just normal looking metal on the electrodes
stoked to find out I have NGK dual electrode plugs!
what's next?

 

I would still get the battery tested. Extremes in temperature (Cold) can put strain on the battery. Check all of the plugs; you shouldn't need to gap them since they are dual and come pre-gapped. Plug wires may also be the issue. Or it is your alternator or starter. I believe most auto parts stores can test your alternator, but I'm unsure if it has to be removed? Are there any other symptoms, such as, rough or irregular idle, stalling or a high-pitched whine or feedback coming through your stereo?

 

the starter is strong as ever. there is a whine i've been having for a bit but I was pretty sure it's the power steering. it's just that kinda of whine.
the battery is just a cheap canadian tire battery and it has been in some very cold and very hot temperatures since i got it. It has also leaked on itself a bit!
the terminals connections are a bit corroded and were completely fine a couple months ago.
alternator hasn't been wet at all in quite some time, so i dont think that would be an issue. looks like i need to test the battery, and pull all the plugs.

 

... and clean the terminals and posts, then use some preventative spray or gel on them to prevent corrosion.

 

Based on the above; it sounds like the battery. I just replaced mine with a Duralast from Autozone. I'm not for sure what you have up there (I've only been to Victoria). When i was stationed in Oregon I had an EverStart which provided higher cold cranking amps. If all else fails go with a Toyota battery.
Also when I switched my plugs I still had the factory Denso on the passenger side and NGK on the driver side. I still do not know why Toyota does this. I replaced mine with all NGK.

 

well it hasn't happened again since before i posted