TV Tundra or Tacoma Prerunner? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-24-2012, 01:51 PM   #1
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TV Tundra or Tacoma Prerunner?

I have a scamp 19 and have been pulling with a 1998 tacoma 4cyl. The truck is so underpowered that long lines form behind me on grades. I don't want to be one of those people I resented when I was younger! I am looking at a 2010 4.6 Tundra or a new 4.0 tacoma Prerunner. I've been reading this forum and the info is always great. Any thoughts on which truck would be best for towing?
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Old 07-24-2012, 03:26 PM   #2
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I'm not expert but from what I've read I believe there is a problem with short box trucks and the "split level" bedroom not clearing the cab which leads to moving the hitch point behind the axle. If wishes were horses, beggars (me) would ride in p'up trucks with wheelbases long enuf and engines big enuf to do the job. As you may observe on a brief tour thru fotos of 5ers 4 sale here, some pretty weird fixes are employed to pull them!

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Old 07-24-2012, 04:46 PM   #3
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I have a Tundra with the 4.6 and love it. I used to have a Tacoma PreRunner V6 and found even that a bit under powered on hills. I have NO problem with the Tundra. I would highly recommend it as a TV. It also has more room in the cab. I found my daily gas mileage was not that different as well.

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Old 07-24-2012, 04:58 PM   #4
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Rabbit:thank you both trucks have 6' plus beds so the 5th would set over the axle as it should Rob
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Old 07-24-2012, 05:01 PM   #5
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Rabbit: thank you,Both trucks have 6' plus beds so the 5th will set over the axle as it should Rob
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Old 07-24-2012, 05:12 PM   #6
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In ol Bob's words, "Things have changed!" I can remember pups with 8" boxes. I can remember a Toyota longbed Hilux with nearly 7'. Guess if 6' works, it works. I really shouldn't be in this thread except I'm interested in glass 5ers.


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Old 07-25-2012, 10:56 AM   #7
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Don thank you for the info did you have the 3.4 or the 4.0? Rob
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Old 07-25-2012, 03:03 PM   #8
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We looked at both the Tundra and the Tacoma last year when we were shopping to replace our 2003 S-10 which had the 4.3 L v6. Although the S-10 had a tow rating of 5600 lbs. it only had a 4 speed auto and just couldn't maintain speed up any type of hill. It had to drop into third and slow way down - like you, I couldn't bring myself to crawl up hills and block traffic.

Both the Tundra and Tacoma are highly rated by the major reviewing sites and both score highly in repair records and owner satisfaction. I found the following stats for the 2012 models, (which are almost the same as they were for the 2011 models when we were shopping):

The Tundra Double Cab with the small 4.6L v8 and standard six speed auto is rated at 15/20 mpg, and maximum tow capacity of 8100 lbs. With the 5.7L v8 these change to 14/18 mpg and 10,000 lbs.

The Tacoma Double Cab PreRunner with the 4.0L v6 and five speed auto is rated at 16/21 mpg, with a maximum tow capacity of 6400 lbs. A six speed automatic is not available. A six speed manual is available only with 4x4 drive but the mileage then is 15/19 mpg (and is not available in the PreRunner anyway).

The deciding factor for us was the deals available last summer were much better on the Tundra. The rise in gas prices last spring and summer made the larger trucks sell at a bigger discount than the small ones, even though the mpg figures weren't that much different - I guess people just automatically thought the smaller trucks would get much better gas mileage and didn't bother to check the actual figures. Anyway, we bought the Tundra for almost what a Tacoma would have cost us. We used "overstock.com" to do our shopping, which I highly recommend. I'm sure either truck would give you excellent service, but I've heard that the plastic bed in the Tacoma sometimes gives problems with the fifth wheel hitch installation - although there do seem to be solutions that some people on this site have found.

We recently completed a 14 hour trip in our Tundra and arrived still somewhat refreshed - the same trip in our little S-10 left us beat. The big, high, upright, thick seats in the Tundra were just that much more comfortable. I'm sure that the Tacoma is a much more comfortable truck than the little S-10 was, so this might not be very relevant, however.
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Old 07-25-2012, 03:56 PM   #9
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Ray: thank you for Overstock.com I would never have thought. The last car we got was through Costco at the time it was the easiest deal I ever did ROB
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Old 07-25-2012, 04:46 PM   #10
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You would get better fuel economy with an F150, Silverado 1500, or Ram 1500 than the Tundra. Oh, and with the similar packages, they cost less.
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Old 07-25-2012, 05:04 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Rob in Vista View Post
Ray: thank you for Overstock.com I would never have thought. The last car we got was through Costco at the time it was the easiest deal I ever did ROB
We've bought our last three vehicles through overstock.com. Not all dealers participate, but the Overstock quotes are a great device to take to your local dealer to show what others will charge. For the Tundra the local dealer refused to come close to the quote and we ended up driving nearly an hour to save two thousand dollars at another Toyota dealer - well worth it. Also, supply and demand dictates how good the deal will be for each vehicle type.
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Old 07-25-2012, 05:31 PM   #12
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You would get better fuel economy with an F150, Silverado 1500, or Ram 1500 than the Tundra. Oh, and with the similar packages, they cost less.
This certainly wasn't true last summer when I was shopping. I looked at the Ford, Silverado, and the Tundra - all with similar packages, small v8, two wheel drive, extended cab, and with towing package. The Tundra was about three thousand less than either the Ford or the Silverado. I didn't look at the RAM since I wasn't considering it. I was really hoping to get a Ford, but for three thousand more I just couldn't bring myself to do it. This may have been due to deals at that particular time and might not be true right now. If I get around to it I'll check Overstock.com and see if it's still true.

Oh, and concerning mileage, I just did a quick check at each makers official site and compared similar trucks: extended cab, two wheel drive, automatic, and with the small v8. The Silverado with smallest v8 (4.8L), (only a 4 speed however), is rated at 14/19. The larger 5.3L v8 comes with a six speed and is rated at 15/21. The Ford with the small v8 (5.0L), comes with a six speed and is rated at 15/21. The RAM with its small v8, (4.7L) also with a six speed, is rated at 14/19mpg. The Tundra with 4.6L v8 and the standard six speed is rated at 15/20mpg. All thse trucks are within one mpg of each other.
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Old 07-26-2012, 04:16 AM   #13
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Hey Rob,

I had the 4.?? in my tacoma. With the 4speed auto it was sluggish and had trouble with the hills.

Ray N was significant in my research and decision. The deals on the Tundra were hard to pass up.

One other deciding factor for me was the Bed. The Tacoma is the Plastic as mentioned above and will not accept a 5th wheel hitch without modification.

Knowing that our trailer plans may change, I decided on the Tundra.

Loved the size of my tacoma for daily driving but the Tundra is all around much better with room and comfort. Also, the new models have a backup camera that is really handy. When I was looking the price between new and used were not that different and when I factored in the 0% financing new was a better deal.

Plus I got a lifetime powertrain warranty, 2 years free maintenance, and a few more things.

Happy shopping.

Don
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Old 07-26-2012, 04:33 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob in Vista View Post
I have a scamp 19 and have been pulling with a 1998 tacoma 4cyl. The truck is so underpowered that long lines form behind me on grades. I don't want to be one of those people I resented when I was younger! I am looking at a 2010 4.6 Tundra or a new 4.0 tacoma Prerunner. I've been reading this forum and the info is always great. Any thoughts on which truck would be best for towing?
Hi: Rob in Vista... Here's an alternative mid sized pickup. A Nissan Frontier long bed Crew Cab 4Lt. V6. Lots of torque and hp. 5spd auto and an all steel box too!!! Tows great at any speed and 8-10,000 less than a Toy. and same rating.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie
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Old 07-26-2012, 02:30 PM   #15
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Interesting discussion. I know that with the exception of the Escape 5th wheel, all of the recommendations are coming from people who do not currently tow a fiberglass 5er and none seemed to indicate any awareness of bed rail clearance issues.

We currently use a 2001 Toyota DoubleCab PreRunner with the 3.4 as our tow and it's only now getting broken in - should pass 200K miles this next week. I have been looking around at what the next tow will be and would like a full size half ton simply for cab space & potential ride improvements but bed rail heights become an area of concern.

My ideal would be a doublecab, 4.0 with 6 speed manual and the long bed, but neither Toyota or Nissan seem willingly to build that combination.
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