Toyota Tundra V8's...anyone towing with one?

They're rated for 7700 lbs or something, I've used a neighbor's for a trip to the gas station and to the ramp but that's not very far. It pulled the boat out with no problems.

My boat is 23', 3500 lbs dry with a tandem axle trailer. I tow less than a mile 99% of the time but hit the road once or twice a year. I know it can handle the short trips but how is it for longer hauls?

Toyota has some crazy deals on the '03's and resale seems high. I'm thinking of switching from a 1/2 ton chevy for a few years while I live so close to the lake and then back to a bigger truck.

I know I'd rather have a 3/4 ton, but how is the Tundra?

Kevin

Reliabily rating of Toyota's are very high as is resale. I tow my 3,000 lb boat with a Tacoma......wish I had bought the Tundra.

Look where the motor's torque and HP curves are. You will get more of both at lower RPMs with Detroit iron vs the Toyota's higher reving engine.

But for a 3500 lb boat and trailer the difference may not be that much of a factor. Toyota does build a nice truck.

I looked very seriously at the Tundra 2 years ago. The only thing I didn't like about it was the size, it is BARELY a full size truck as far as the cab goes. Make sure you are happy with the back seat in comparison to your current truck. Other wise the power is there and you will enjoy it.

I have an 01 Tundra. It's an SR5, V-8, and 4 Wheel drive with a lift and 33 inch mud terrains. I pull a 2500 lb. boat about 60 roundtrip miles each weekend and it does fine. There are obviously many better trucks out there for pulling boats but the Tundra does ok.

I have had a Tundra for 2 years now and I love it. Obviously a full size truck would tow better, but all around I'm very happy with it. I tow a SAN and live in the mountains. It has plenty of power. Plus I know it will not fall apart in 100,000 miles.

Got rid of a 96 Chevy Extended Cab Z-71 with the Vortec 350, purchased a 90 F-150 4x4 w/302, paid off my boat and bought a 03 4Runner with a V-8 (after getting rid of a 2000 4Runner 6cyl). Now that all that has been explained.....to summarize.
The Z-71 towed better than any, The 03 4Runner tows the next best, but not as good as the Z-71. The F-150 tows better than the 6cyl 4Runner did, but not as well as the new one.

Simple terms...For towing I would rather have my Z-71 back. However, I feel like my new 4Runner will last forever and my boat is paid for....

I used my v-8 tundra to pull my boat many times.
It was o.k., but not enough room inside for the family.

Just got a new crew cab 4x4 F-250 diesel. WOW! No comparison. The 6.0L diesel F-250 tows much better.

However, the quality of the truck is nothing like Tundra IMO. Never had an issue with my tundra in 4 yrs/65K miles. My new '03 F-250 has already been to the shop twice, and they don't even know how to fix the latest problem (It just died while driving).

I have an 02 limited Tundra and tow about 3500 pounds to the river and back several times a year roughly 260 miles each way no problems going up some of the steep hills. Used to have an older suburban with the 350 and it tows way better no problem with power and the gas milage I get is roughly around 15-16 towing and about 18-20 not towing. I agree about the space in the rear seat but it seems to be about the same or a tad more than the neighbors F-150. The 04 Tundra is supposed to be 18" longer in the cab area with more rear seat room. I am thinking about upgrading. Also, my Tundra is 2WD and has the TRD package with the limited slip diff. which I really recommend.
Good Luck

I'm on my 2nd Tundra and have no problem towing at all. I go on 5-6 longer trips each summer, it pulls hills great, even better than a Chevy Silverado I previously owned. The new Double Cab Tundra should be out anytime now, if the back seat space is an issue.

The Tundra's a 'light duty' truck (like the F-150, and the two 1500s), just like our Sequoia is not a Suburban.

That being said, we've got plenty of power towing our Epic, loaded for bear. Mileage sucks, and it sucks to see other rigs blowing by, but it works.

As far as mass, braking, and all the other aspects important in a tow vehicle, the Sequoia's awesome, but I can't speak to the Tundra.

As far as RPMs go, I went up the Grapevine at 4500 RPM in second gear (~50-55 mph). Not fast, but there was ton of throttle left, and another 1500 rpm to play with. The thing that got me was the V-8 in the boat (Lexus 4.0L 32V) - it's rated to run continuously at 6K RPM. How long would you run a Ford at 6K?

Plenty of power (although I hope and pray Toyota comes out with a F-250/350, 2500 alternative).

I hope to never buy another brand.

I have an '01 Tundra SR5 V8 4x4. I pull an '01 SAN with no problems. It runs 70 mph @ 3,000 rpm all day long and on hills it only revs to 3,500. I have also towed a '03 Tige' 21i with the same results.

I will agree with the limited rear passenger space, but that is not an issue for me.

John,

Perhaps your Ford's issue is the injectors. A relative's Chevy diesel (I know, different brand but it sounds like the same problem) would just die or not even start. It turned out to be a pressure sensor or something like that. The new style injectors supposedly require upwards of 24,000 psi (thousand is not a type-o), and his was not getting 1,000. Hope that is some help.

buy the Toytota for sure. I have been towing with them for years, and they are perfect. I have also been towing an 04 xstar which is 4200 lbs. dry, and it pulls it perfect. I have been raise around toyota's though, brought up in the family business, if you want an expert wakeboard opinion, talk to Travis Moye the pro tour driver, thats what he drives, along with Darin. You wont regret the Tundra.

i think you should for sure buy the chevy.
if all you want to do is sit around all weekend
waiting for the dumbass at the service desk
try to tell you why your truck won't shift gears
for the third time!!!!!!!!! tooondra all the way salty. chek out the 04 full size extracab.

the chevy has been awesome, no complaints and no visits to the shop since i got it.

thanks for the input

The tundra is a sweet truck i got an 02 it tows my nautique with no troubles. Ive also had it loaded with a ton of gear. My only complaint is that the back area is unrealistic. My sugestion is if your looking at new cars wait for the new o4 "FULL" size tundra to come out and look at that. Overall it is a good truck though.

Sean,
Thanks for the tips. I have been monitoring the updates for injectors and other stuff. right now I am driving it with a data recorder to capture the cause if it fails again. Of course, 500 miles without a problem...:-) but I know as soon as I disconnect the data recorder it will probably fail again. I hope not though.

nissan's full size equiv. is already out, 9500 lbs towing cap. toyota's will be about the same but i'm not too interested in a first-year production run.

I tow my Tige 22V with 600 pounds of ballast with my Toyota Sequoia, (about 5500 pounds). It pulls nicely. The engines are the same in the tundra and Sequoia. The gas mileage plummets to about 10 mpg however.

Talltigeguy, have you put airbags on yet? Firestone's got a set that go inside the coil springs, just haven't decided whether to get the pump or even the auto-leveler. Leaning towards just pumping them up with the compressor.

For all, there's two things you've got to do to the Toys: K&N cold air intake and either mufflers or a cat-back. The K&N factory did ours as the test rig; dynoed it and everything. Huge improvement in throttle response and around 6-7% increase in HP (didn't see the torque curves.) Also did the TRD cat-back. Not the cheapest alternative, but the thing installed easy and added more power and responsiveness.

Last thing to do to these things is the JBA Cat4ward headers. They reportedly add around 20 HP and 40 ft-lbs. Think they go for around $350.

To be really freaky, just pony up the $5 grand for the TRD blower - you won't find a cleaner installation anywhere, and it doesn't impact you warranty (!!!).

I don't have any airbags. Spent all of my money on the boat and the base (SR5) sequoia.

Does anyone have a supercharger? I've been toying with the idea. The tech at the dealer said it would add about 200hp. Is that right?

(Message edited by tlb on October 13, 2003)

Later this year the new O4 Tundra Quad Cab will arrive and it is Larger than the F150 Supercrew by 8". The thing I don't like about the toyota engine is it dosent make peak torque untill 3,700 rpm. That means the engine is always screaming when your towing.

According to TRD the V8 supercharger adds 100hp and 100 ftlbs of torque. But the peak torque RPM jumps to 5,000 rpm!!! Dosent sound like the ideal long haul tow vehical. Plus the parts alone on "Blowout Special" (according to trd) are $4,000. Not installed.

Have a 2000 SR5 Tundra access cab with 4.7 litre. I pull a 2003 SANTE easy. I think it is important to have a tandem axle trailer.

Troy, don't think there's any question that the Toys aren't (yet) the 'ideal long haul tow vehicle.' What they are is a great truck that will tow a heavy inboard pretty well.

As far as the long haul goes, it'll pull my Epic at 70 with the OD on and turn around 2,300 rpm. I hear that's a bad range for an engine that likes to rev a little, so with the OD off, it goes to like 3 or 3.5K.

Towed that boat home from Dallas (1,500 miles) at around 70, almost straight through (stopped in NM for 4 hours sleep). Going up a hill or into stiff headwind, I've just got to slow down a little and let it rev.

As far as the blower goes, you know there'd be significant gains in torque even down in the usable range between 2.5 and 4K - maybe not the full 50% increase over stock, but WAY noticable for sure.

The big question (besides the up-front cost $$$ is what the blower will do to mileage in daily driving.) TRD says that MPG doesn't suffer because it simply blows more air, not more fuel. Increases 'volumetric efficiency'. Not sure I believe them though -

Our intake and exhaust were supposed to help with mileage, but they sound so bad ass that we end up keeping our feet in it more than we used to. Can you say Winston Cup SUV with six airbags, eight each seatbelts, distributors and injectors, and ten each speakers, CDs and cupholders? I look forward to on-ramps ;-)

I tow my '03 wakesetter with my '03 4wd Tundra with ease. I actually prefer it for the long hauls with elevation changes over my wifes Yukon as it seems to have more power for the hills. The Yukon is lifted and the sheer size is better suited for towing, but if power is what you are concerned with in regards to the Tundra, dont be.....

It tows very nice.

John, nice rig, I like the color of your SAN.

i use a toyota tundra trd 2002 to toe my 21vfox , it tows it the best out of everthing i have ever towed with better then f150 and dodge, my boat weight almost 6200 with the trailer and full tanks of gas....you will have no problem towing with the

I have towed with Tundra's and Sequoia's including a blown Tundra with TRD exhaust, and the blower is the ticket if you want to spend the cash. On hills that would force a downshift and make it sing the blower lets it just chug on up the hill. Keep it pinned and it will eat gas like a top feuler but what doesn't when pulling full song. Pulling at a more "reasonable" speed helps milage a bunch. I'm pulling a 25LSV Malibu.