Maiden Voyage

[pods8]

A three month free trial comes with the truck. Not sure if we'll extend it. Don't need radio stations that are all Elvis, The Dead, the Boss, Jimmy Buffet, etc. But then again it is nice to get tunes in the middle of nowhere. And ixnay on the eedsay. That is our little secret to be shared at a later date.


They have some decent stations for each genre. But the biggest draw for me is we have it in our commuting car which we drive 60+mi a day. Its very nice in the morning to listed to the radio and not some shitty yuck-yuck jokey laugh track and traffic/weather/time/traffic/weather/etc.

 

[Lighthawk]

I've been doing portable tunes via Pandora if I have a 3G cell connection ( even at Mono Lk we had signal ). If truly in a remote locale, then via downloaded music on my new Motorola Droid2 phone (well, it's a computer).

The icing on the cake is a blue tooth speaker that runs on AA batteries or AC at home
http://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing-SoundBlade-Bluetooth-Speakerphone/dp/B0013N3T7O
We can put the speaker anywhere in the cabin or outside on the table and get our groovy tunes , while the phone stays inside charging.

And, Nice Truck! I've got an 06 Tundra / 08 Hawk which works for me. AT BFG's recently installed plus Bilstein 5100's (2.5" front leveling, included) have made a very nice ride, with or without the Hawk. I also installed a Helweg sway bar and Ride-rites, which were the first things I did. Hopefully I'm done spending $$ on suspension!

We'll keep Pinnacles in mind for the spring wildflower season.
Thanks for the trip report.

 

[rich]

Hey Ted and Brett,

I just got an 07, 5.7 liter Tundra as well (pics and specs coming). I haven't had time to read the owners manual yet about the tow/haul mode button.

Do you guys use that when the camper is on? My pedestrian understanding of it is that it locks the truck out of overdrive, limits the shifting around and therefore limits the heating up of the tranny.

 

[Ted]

Rich,

Congrats on the new Tundra. That is a big step up from the T100. I think you will really enjoy the ease in which the truck handles the camper. The hardest thing to get used to is parking the beast. In answer to your question, I have not used the towing button. Since the Tundra has a supposed 10k towing capacity, I think that button is for a much heavier load than our campers put on it.

 

[syvjeff]

Rich,

Congrats on the new Tundra. That is a big step up from the T100. I think you will really enjoy the ease in which the truck handles the camper. The hardest thing to get used to is parking the beast. In answer to your question, I have not used the towing button. Since the Tundra has a supposed 10k towing capacity, I think that button is for a much heavier load than our campers put on it.



Hi Ted - Now that I've been driving my 2008 Tundra for almost 3 years and primarily hauling a horse trailer, all I've noticed is that the Tow/Haul mode changes the shift points of the transmission and it's all based on momentum, slope of the surface you are driving on and how much you are asking form the engine. In my opinion, when it comes to situations where you are moving slow, hauling a heavy load, it doesn't help it from having increased transmission temps. I've learned that using the manual/paddle shifting to select gears appropriate for the need works out on rough 4X4 surfaces.

I noticed that you mentioned your cruise control usage compared to your older truck. Coming from a 2002 Ford F-150 2 Wheel Drive Crew with a 5.4 to the 2008 5.7 Crew Max Toyota Tundra, the Ford's Cruise control was better because it allowed some float, especially when towing a trailer or with heavy weights. The Tundra tends to chase the selected speed very aggressively. All in all there are many things I really like about my Tundra since to me it was a step up from what I was driving which was a good vehicle, but not as capable.

Jeff