ANOTHER Toyota Tundra Discussion… Help please!

[180ls1]

Are these the yellow Dobinsons or the newer IMS?

Yellow. IMS is overkill for what I want but seems like a nice kit.

 

[Crusader]

Following this as I am about to enter the market for a 2016-2018 Tundra DC.

 

[Desk Jockey]

+1 crew cab. Unless you need that extra foot of bed For some reason.

 

[Ucsdryder]

You will want the crew max for a rear facing car seat so you don’t have to keep moving the passenger seat forward and backward.

My rear facing works fine but like said, you need to put the passenger seat forward. Having a bed long enough to sleep in makes it worth it.

 

[Dos Perros]

1) Look for a solid service history. If they change the oil every 5k you're in good shape.
2) You can visually inspect for frame rust, I would do that before I did what I'm going to say in #3.
3) Pay a mechanic you trust a couple hundred bucks to give it a solid inspection. The last time I did that the guy didn't know what to do, what to charge me. I told him "Pretend you're buying this truck. Give it a work over and charge me what's appropriate. Let me know if it'll exceed $xxx." We got the green light to buy a beautiful 2008 Sequoia Platinum with 180k and we've put 40k on it without issue. Still every time we take it in for oil the guy comments how pretty she is. The same process also kept us from buying a GX470 because it just had too much going on. We spent a couple hundred bucks to save thousands. Best money you can spend.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Good advice on #3. We’ve done that a number of times.

 

[nobody]

My rear facing works fine but like said, you need to put the passenger seat forward. Having a bed long enough to sleep in makes it worth it.

I do love the idea of the bigger bed of the double cab. I had a small bed on an f150 (the 5 foot bed) and it was basically useless as a truck. Completely filled up with a cooler and a toolbox.

 

[nobody]

1) Look for a solid service history. If they change the oil every 5k you're in good shape.
2) You can visually inspect for frame rust, I would do that before I did what I'm going to say in #3.
3) Pay a mechanic you trust a couple hundred bucks to give it a solid inspection. The last time I did that the guy didn't know what to do, what to charge me. I told him "Pretend you're buying this truck. Give it a work over and charge me what's appropriate. Let me know if it'll exceed $xxx." We got the green light to buy a beautiful 2008 Sequoia Platinum with 180k and we've put 40k on it without issue. Still every time we take it in for oil the guy comments how pretty she is. The same process also kept us from buying a GX470 because it just had too much going on. We spent a couple hundred bucks to save thousands. Best money you can spend.

So the frame rust is an OBVIOUS thing then, not like it’s something you can accidentally overlook if you spend 10 minutes underneath with a flashlight? That was my fear.

 

[Dos Perros]

So the frame rust is an OBVIOUS thing then, not like it’s something you can accidentally overlook if you spend 10 minutes underneath with a flashlight? That was my fear.

Well, for a few minutes you can see rust in some spots. If it was all rusted out I would move on. But if it were in good shape I'd take it to a mechanic and then he'll give it a detailed look over. He may still advise against buying it for rust in non-obvious spots.

 

[Cady Creek]

I put Bilstein adjustables on all four corners of my 2019 when new and also went up a tire size. 285's with Vision Offroad wheels and a slight offset. I'm pushing 100K trouble free miles so far(knock on wood) and got about 75K out of my first set of BFG's.

 

[calgaryguy]

I just went through this same process. My research led me to believe that both engines were durable and got very similar mileage so might as well get the power of the 5.7.

Hey man did you end up selling that Yukon set?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Hey man did you end up selling that Yukon set?

Yes

 

[Crusader]

I do love the idea of the bigger bed of the double cab. I had a small bed on an f150 (the 5 foot bed) and it was basically useless as a truck. Completely filled up with a cooler and a toolbox.

I'm the same way......the longer bed is worth more than the extra legroom in the back seat. We will have rare occasions to need to haul people in the back; myself and wife are not large people and our family and friends aren't. So, Double Cab for me.

 

[nobody]

I'm the same way......the longer bed is worth more than the extra legroom in the back seat. We will have rare occasions to need to haul people in the back; myself and wife are not large people and our family and friends aren't. So, Double Cab for me.

That’s what I’m weighing. I need more space than the extended cab suicide door GMC gives me (for rear facing car seats), but I also want the bed space. My wife is 5’ 2” and I’m 5’ 11”, so we aren’t huge either. We don’t have any friends either so nobody ever rides with us anywhere. Basically if the double cab is bigger than the extended cab gmc by a few inches front to back I think I’ll be ok. I’m 100% positive I’ll need the bed space on a regular basis, and I’m 90% positive the double can will be big enough. But if it turns out I need the crewmax for car seat space, that in turn leaves me with too small of a bed, which puts me back at square 1.

First world problems…

 

[5MilesBack]

I have a 2016 DC and I just measured the distance from the bottom of the seat-back cushion to the front passenger seat when the seat is fully forward (33") and fully back (24"). So you should be able to get an idea from there. I don't sit in the passenger seat, but I am 6'6" with a 38" inseam, and am comfortable sitting in that seat without it being fully back. So there would be >24" even if I was sitting in that front seat. At your and your wife's heights, you shouldn't have a problem with a rear facing car seat.

 

[nobody]

I have a 2016 DC and I just measured the distance from the bottom of the seat-back cushion to the front passenger seat when the seat is fully forward (33") and fully back (24"). So you should be able to get an idea from there. I don't sit in the passenger seat, but I am 6'6" with a 38" inseam, and am comfortable sitting in that seat without it being fully back. So there would be >24" even if I was sitting in that front seat. At your and your wife's heights, you shouldn't have a problem with a rear facing car seat.

Very helpful, thank you!

 

[JFK]

Get the 6.5’ bed. I have two young kids and run car seats in the back seat of mine without having to mess with the front seats. Even if you did have to put the seats up, get the longer bed. 5.5’ truck beds shouldn’t even be a thing.

 

[big44a4]

Get the 6.5’ bed. I have two young kids and run car seats in the back seat of mine without having to mess with the front seats. Even if you did have to put the seats up, get the longer bed. 5.5’ truck beds shouldn’t even be a thing.

Agreed here. I make the 5.5’ bed work with a bed cover. Don’t sleep in the bed anyways, but 3 guys on an elk trip is snug for all gear. I’ll get the crewmax with 6.5’ on my next one since they do that now. But now all v6 no more v8 and some models are hybrids (not applicable here).

 

[deltadukman]

Toyotas are at a premium right now. It wasnt long ago that you couldnt pay people enough to take them off your hands, now they might as well be gold.

HAHA that has never been true. Toyota Tacomas and Tundras have always held their value. I've been driving them since the mid 80's.

Get the 5.7 it is the better motor. I just sold a 2015 with 160k miles for $20k. Only issue I ever had was an AC compressor go out while towing a 26' large bay boat from Orange Beach, Alabama on July 4th weekend. Basically 100 degree hell. Other than that it was bullet proof. I had a leveling kit on it with 35" BFG all terrains and got 12.5 all day, but I am not in big hills. Gas mileage didn't bother me.

 

[JEck]

Also, I’m seeing some 4.6l V8’s available with lower mileage. I didn’t even know Toyota built anything but the 5.7. The 4.6 has almost identical specs to the 5.3 in my current GMC, which has been “enough” truck mechanically to this point. Is the 4.6 even worth looking at, or do I just stick to the 5.7?

I’ve got a 2008 tundra with the 5.7 and a 2008 sequoia with the 4.7 in it, both are good for what they are used for…the sequoia is my wife’s daily driver and never pulls anything and doesn’t need to win any speed competitions…definitely not going to either, but it gets the job done. The 5.7 definitely has more power, and if you plan on pulling anything, get the bigger motor. The smaller motor does get just a touch better mpg, but only 1-2 better is all. One thing to look for if you do go the 4.7 route, I believe they have a timing belt, and the first service to change it is around 90,000 miles. 5.7 has a timing chain so you most likely wouldn’t have to worry about changing.