Truck shopping

FortyMikeMike · Dec 27, 2016

I'm in the market for a used pickup and have been mostly looking at Toyota Tundras for their reported reliability.

Who here has experience owning a Tundra? Any other recommendations for a reliable truck that can be had for around $16k?

Basically I'm tired of having to borrow a truck every time I have to move anything.

JoeF · Dec 27, 2016

Buddy of mine just had his tundra break in half because the frame rotted out.

FortyMikeMike · Dec 27, 2016

What year was his? I have heard some of the 1st gen years have rust issues...

Wall · Dec 27, 2016

talk to Brian Carl Smith about the Tundras, He's a Mechanic & he drive one & swears by them.
You can pm him on here

JoeF · Dec 27, 2016

Pretty sure it was an '05 or '06

drmitchgibson · Dec 27, 2016

Brian said if he had to work on Tundras he'd have been out of business a long time ago.

wgm2011 · Dec 27, 2016

Heard about the lawsuits several weeks ago. Its the only bad thing I've ever heard about Tundras.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/rust-lawsuits.8468/

dennishoddy · Dec 27, 2016

I bought a Tacoma in 95, drove it until this year. 351,000 miles no issues, didn't use a drop of oil when I sold it. Replaced it with a 2016 Tundra.
I did get a recall notice about frame rust in 2010 or so. Had it inspected, no issues with rust. If I remember right it was vehicles in the NE where they use tons of salt on the roads all winter. The stories of frames breaking are greatly exaggerated. There was a huge settlement that was agree'd to. It affected 2007-08 Toyota Tundra and 2005-10 Tacoma pickup trucks along with 2005-08 Sequoia SUVs.

Tundra's are designed for towing. You can't go wrong with one. I pull a 7700lb dry weight travel trailer and occasionally a tandem trailer with a 5500 lb tractor on it all over the place. Great trucks.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=93WHhrFwrn4

FortyMikeMike · Dec 28, 2016

Thanks for the input everyone.

Damn Dennis, you could have driven your Tacoma to the moon and nearly halfway back! If it were just me I'd be looking more at Tacoma's, but I want the extra cab space and just don't like how short the bed is on a double cab taco.

dennishoddy · Dec 28, 2016

Lol, mine was low mileage. Guys on the Tacoma forums were pushing 3/4 million miles.
Tacos aren't made for hauling. Mine was a working farm truck. It had 500lb overload springs on it as well as airbags. In all those years of off-road driving it never got stuck. Constantly amazed at the muck it would go through. I did run aggressive mud tires.

FortyMikeMike · Dec 28, 2016

I won't be towing much, mostly standard around the house jobs really. Firewood, furniture, honey-do projects ECT.

My primary needs are room for a couple extra people in the cab, and a bed that's not microscopic.

foghorn918 · Dec 28, 2016

My double cab tacoma has a 5' bed and I have found it to be pretty limiting with hauling. My previous truck was a ford ranger w/ extend cab and a 6' bed. A 6' bed in a small truck is a lot more handy.

jspeligene · Dec 30, 2016

I have had great service out of F150, with very little repair other than routine maintenance, even with 250K miles.
I am biased, My brother (Brian) has the Ford dealership in Eufaula.

poopgiggle · Dec 31, 2016

toyota pickups are the favorite truck of 3rd world warlords for a reason

FortyMikeMike · Jan 1, 2017

Pulled the trigger on a 2008 Tundra with the 5.7L yesterday.
It has good maintenance records and only 76k miles. I plan on driving this thing for a long time!

drmitchgibson · Jan 1, 2017

So it's basically brand new. Excellent choice.

Matt1911 · Jan 1, 2017

Very nice.
I've been looking g a lot at the Tundra lately myself.

JoeF · Jan 1, 2017

Have the frame fully checked, the 07-08 Tundras are the ones covered under the settlement program.

FortyMikeMike · Jan 2, 2017

I'm going to inquire into the frame rust thing just to be safe, but before I even considered looking at this truck (or the others I looked at) I ran the VIN on the Toyota recall website and there is nothing open for it.

I really like it and am looking forward to many years of use.

FortyMikeMike · Jan 2, 2017

Jeff Speligene said:
I have had great service out of F150, with very little repair other than routine maintenance, even with 250K miles.
I am biased, My brother (Brian) has the Ford dealership in Eufaula.

I do have a soft spot for F150's. A '91 F150 with an inline six was my first vehicle. Those engines don't quit.