Toyota Tacoma or Tundra for Smaller FWC?

[LiveLifeNow]

I am thinking of buying one of the smaller FWC models. I need a truck to carry it, and I am fond of Toyotas.

When considering a used Tacoma or the Tundra, which is better for carrying the load, reliability, miles per gallon, etc.? Are there particular models years that are best to buy?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Some of the Toyotas from states that use road salt have seen issues with the frames rusting out. I believe there is at least one member here who has had the truck frame replaced under warranty. I'm not sure of the years that are susceptible. There are a number of articles on various web forums.

 

[idahoron]

My 05 Tundra DC with a base model Hawk will got 14 to 15 pretty regular. With my 14 foot trailer and ATV's I get 12.
I am at max weight for my truck. I am over at times but I have Ride Rites and the truck handles well and has plenty of power. I do drive conservatively.

 

[hoyden]

I've got a 2014 Tacoma with a 2015 Fleet and love it. (+ OME Heavy Duty suspension + extra leaf, E-rated tires)
However, it only gets 13 - 16 mpg
(which, after driving my little 34mpg Scion for years, is a bit of a shock)

But it's a truck, so MPG is never going to be great.
I love this set up.

 

[Zirdu]

I have a 1999 Eagle on a 2000 Toyota Tacoma 4WD TRD. I put on Firestone airbags and have driven the rig everywhere in the South West on good and bad roads for 12 years or so. But it is near the limit for load carrying, I think. I get around 16 to 17 mpg. The Eagle has 11 gal water tank, 5 gal propane tank, an Engle Fridge, Heater, 120 W solar and a Lifeline 125 AH battery.

I will be selling my Eagle and Toyota (hopefully together, but separate if necessary) in a month or so, as I am getting a new Grandby and new Ford pickup to carry it.

 

[Cayuse]

2002 Grandby on a 2008 Tundra DC, airbags and E rated tires. get 14-15 on the highway as long as I drive conservatively, less if I'm towing.

Had the truck before i bought the camper. When I was looking at trucks used Tacos were costing as much as used Tundras, sometimes more and the gas mileage wasn't that much better (I've seen 22 with a shell on fully loaded a couple times) so i went with bigger. After finding my Grandby used I'm glad i have a truck that can handle it even if it is on the edge.

Now if anyone comes across a 2001 or so low mileage Ford 4WD Crew Cab long bed with the 7.3L in it for a decent price I'd like to have a talk

 

[Beach]

My buddy with a 2012 Tundra 4.6 V8 gets as good and sometimes better mileage than my 2006 Tundra 4.0 V6. If your going to carry a load, go with the V8, it doesn't work as hard as the V6. I still have my Tundra, but the Hawk is on a F250 now, no regrets getting the bigger truck at all.

 

[97grandby]

I've had a tacoma and a frontier and while they are very reliable, they always seem at the very edge of what I am asking them to do. I have towed trailers and cargo with both of those trucks right up to the limit and the trucks let you know. They are harder to stop and not as stable as I would like. I believe that "Over kill is underrated." I don't want to have to worry about adding an extra battery or if I can take that extra bundle of firewood. I sold the midsize trucks and now have F250 for my camper and a GMC 1500 for my daily driver.

My gmc with a 6.2 gas motor gets with in 1mpg of what my Nissan would get on the highway with 180 less hp and 200 tq less. That matters when you are trying to climb mountains or tow trailers. They are a bit nicer to drive in the city, but I would go with the largest truck your budget will allow. Check out the MPG thread and you will find 90% of people on here all get between 13-15 mpg with a camper on. Gas or Diesel. So go with the truck that has the largest brakes and payload you can find.

 

[Squatch]

I just bought an '06 Tundra to haul my Eagle. I think when all is said and done I'm going to be very happy with the combo of the smaller "fullsize" Tundra V8 and the small Eagle in it. I should have pics up in the next week or 2 of them together. I expect the Eagle to tuck in very nicely behind the cab with minimal overhang.

 

[Vic Harder]

Based on lots of reading, I just bought a 2002 GMC 2500HD 8.1L for my new to me Hawk that we are picking up in September. I have a 2000 AC Tundra and didn't want to go down path of overloading it. I drive assertively and don't want to have to worry about stopping/cornering/acceleration.

 

[LiveLifeNow]

I've had a tacoma and a frontier and while they are very reliable, they always seem at the very edge of what I am asking them to do. I have towed trailers and cargo with both of those trucks right up to the limit and the trucks let you know. They are harder to stop....

A good point made on the cheaprvliving website is that the stopping power of a vehicle is just as important, if not more so, than its ability to carry a load. So the extra expense of a bigger truck with heftier and more secure brakes may well be worth the slightly better mpg from a smaller, less expensive truck.

 

[MuleHawk]

I have a '13 Tundra double cab with a '14 Hawk. We are on month 3 and 8,000+ miles of living in it full time while traveling and the truck has been amazing. I bought it used with 38k a year ago and just rolled over 50k the other day. Really happy with the truck both with camper on and off


www.mulehawk.com

 

[LiveLifeNow]

I have a '13 Tundra double cab with a '14 Hawk. We are on month 3 and 8,000+ miles of living in it full time while traveling and the truck has been amazing. I bought it used with 38k a year ago and just rolled over 50k the other day. Really happy with the truck both with camper on and off


www.mulehawk.com

Good to hear, MuleHawk. Do you see any benefit if you were to fit your Tundra with Firestone airbags or heavy duty springs?

 

[nikonron]

I have and Eagle shell on a 2009 Tacoma. If your going with the smaller FWC such as Eagle, Fleet then you will need to stay with a smaller truck, not a full size truck as some have mentioned. I would consider an older style Tundra to be a medium size at the most. Tacoma will do fine with the load as long as you are conservative about how you load it. But it does need up grades such as springs, shocks or air bags. Ron

 

[MuleHawk]

Good to hear, MuleHawk. Do you see any benefit if you were to fit your Tundra with Firestone airbags or heavy duty springs?

I have Firestone airbags installed and soon some more goodies too, a hellwig sway bar being one of them


www.mulehawk.com

 

[Stromtrooper]

Get a Tacoma best vehicle ever made. Get some Bilstein 5100's, add air helper springs to the rear, and get some thicker sidewalled tires. Don't add heavier metal springs or your truck will buck.

 

[Stalking Light]

I've got an Eagle on a 2015 Tacoma with the towing package. I started with just airbags and E rated tires but ended up upgrading the suspension to OME with heavy springs and an extra leaf in the rear. I also have an ARB front bumper w/winch and an Aluminess rear w/spare carrier and deluxe box so that adds to the weight. I don't have any problems with braking of acceleration and no bucking either.

 

[Squatch]

I'm sold on Old Man Emu springs and shocks. Carry much more weight and ride almost like stock. No bucking with any I've ever used. The springs and shocks are designed to work together as a system.

Only problem is they don't make springs for my 1st gen Tundra!

 

[nikonron]

I'm running Dakars with extra leaf and OME shocks in the rear, Icon coil overs up front and B F Goodrich KM2 load range E tires.

 

[BFH4N]

I think the frame-rust problem applies to pre-2005 "first generation" Tacomas. Mine was so rusted that it wouldn't pass inspection. It didn't show, kind of rusting the frame from the inside out. The inspection guy showed me that he could stab a screwdriver right through the frame. Toyota had a recall on those trucks and bought mine for 1.5x the "excellent condition" (which it wasn't!) book value. They gave me almost as much as I paid for the truck 10 years and 100k miles earlier. I took the money and got a 2007 Tacoma and was pretty pleased.

A few years later, when I thought of getting a FWC, It seemed that I had the perfect truck for the Fleet model: Access cab, FWD, TRD and towing package. I beefed up the rear suspension with Boss airbags and got E-rated tires. The Taco and Fleet make a pretty seamless package. Easy to drive and reasonable gas mileage. Plenty of space in the cab and in the camper.

If I hadn't already owned the Tacoma, would I have gotten a Tundra and a larger FWC? I don't know, but I'm happy with the Tacoma/Fleet setup

- Bernard