225k Mile Tundra vs The Devil You Know Tow Vehicle Showdown

In reply to 03Panther :

I'm just saying that I previously owned the 4.7 (gen1) and probably towed 10k miles all told and never got better than 12mpgs towing, and now have the 5.7 (gen2) and generally get 10-11, so not substantially worse. Both towing the exact same trailer/car/cargo. And, incidentally, pretty much the same weight (trailer/car/gear) that Chris will be towing (since I know exactly what his car weighs lol). 

Neither comes close to what the trucks with Ecoboosts can do, nor anywhere near a diesel.....so it's largely academic.

Incidentally, last year I trailed Chris in his 8.1 (towing with my 4.7) to Ohio through the mountains and I had the pedal to the floor a lot of the time trying to keep up with him. IIRC he told me he got about the same MPGs I did on that trip. 

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

Sorry, but what you say you are saying changes too much for me to keep up with, and we are way off topic, so I'm out

To the OP, I apologize for not stoping sooner.

03Panther said:

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

We've gone way off topic from the OPs question. I have no experience with a newer tundra, but every one but you seems to gets bad mpg with the 5.7 

I think the OP will be fine with either. 

All toyota v8s (And most other v8 gassers as well) get bad MPGs when towing, and they always have. I am certainly not saying that the 5.7 gets good MPGs lol. It doesnt. I'm just saying that the 4.7 was not really much better, especially for a truck that weighed a thousand pounds less.

I can't speak for other people And what other factors may affect their mileage. My good buddy constantly bitches about the mileage on his tundra (5.7), But then again his is on 36-in tires, so yeah....

In any case I wouldn't worry. Chris and I have known each other for a long time so if I am taking his thread off topic he will just tell me to STFU :)

In addition I have been present on at least two of the occasions where his current truck had problems (including the radiator debacle), So he already knows my opinion on that aspect lol.

It's probably a moot point though. I'm quite positive that he is not going to buy a 4.7 Tundra, So the real discussion is the 5.7 versus his current truck

In any case Merry Christmas to you!

Well, the Tundra in question sold and the guy was difficult enough to get a hold of that neither myself nor the dude 10min away got a chance to look at it.  There seem to be plenty of Tundras around 200k miles and around $10k, though, poking around.

On all the towing notes- I'm well aware that I have it good right now.  The 8.1/allison setup tows beautifully until something breaks, and gets 10-12mpg doing it if I keep my foot out of it.  The truck unloaded gets like 7mpg around town which could definitely be improved upon.

In short, I appreciate all the discussion here and yet I am still on the fence.

In reply to John Welsh :

I've got mad hops!  Haha!  Actually I was able to reach the grab handle, step on the running board and then hop in.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

All this talk about gas milage and I was starting to think everyone forgot your current truck is an 8.1l gasser. Hahaha. 

I feel your pain there though as my truck is a Ford with the 460. ~7-8mpg around town. Last tow I think I got close to 11mpg though! 

OK I finally drove one.  Not the one from the first post but same specs/condition pretty much- doublecab, 8ft bed, 5.7, 4x4, 225k miles.  It also had a center console and aluminum factory wheels which I think is somewhat rare for the longbeds.

Good:
-The 5.7 is fine, it's not a dumptruck engine like the 8.1 but I don't expect it to be
-Remarkably nonrusty
-Overall seemed to be holding up so well that nearly everything was original

Bad:
-Transmission felt like doodoo garbage.  I remember Josh's 5.7 Sequoia hunting around a bit too, pretty sure it's just more noticeable in a huge truck
-It's in about the same interior/exterior condition as my Silverado, which should be expected for a work truck
-Nothing about it wowed me.  It's comfortable but in no way special, just a truck

So, not sure what to think.  It clearly wears its' age better than my Silverado but I'm not in love with it, and it would of course need the usual brakes/tires/suspension/fluids that any new-to-me vehicle gets.

Considering your takeaways there, it seems like the cost effective option is stick with the Chevy for now. If you didn't already have a truck it sounds like the Tundra wouldn't be a terrible option, but given that you have one already and the Tundra doesn't seem to have much improvement, it seems like a relatively easy choice there. 

I have a 2008 5.7 Tundra.  Working on it is not as easy as a regular Silverado.  The water pumps fail on these and it was $1k to fix that.  It's buried behind a ton of stuff.  The trans is also not easy to DIY fix or even maintain / change the oil on.  I had the oil changed in mine by a dealer tech as a side job.  $200.  I suspect the trans doesn't get serviced on many of these based on the responses I got from owners when I was looking for mine... 

Beyond the water pump, it has been trouble free for 4 years at 5k miles per year towing an open trailer.  Knock on wood...

I don't know much about the 8.1 / Alison but I'd be favoring the devil you know in this case.