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Random Quote: I've upped my standards...............so up yours
Looking for a truck to pull 9k, a 25 foot hydrasport center console.
Wondering if anyone has thoughts on either truck. I REALLY like the Tundra, but something concerns a bit about a 1/2 ton truck doing the job of a 3/4 ton despite what it is rated?? Am I wrong? Having said that everyone seems to love the Tundra and is happy with its towing capabilities.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Thanks
John
A lot depends on how you're going to use the truck. If it's only for towing the boat you better go diesel. If you'll pull the boat once per year the Toy might do it but if you have to tow any distance get the bigger truck with the diesel power plant.
I've looked at the Tundra and am considering one, but I think it should be compared to the 1500 Max Towing with the 6.0.
The frame/suspension on the 2500 is huge compared to the Tundra.
I'd really like to like the Tundra more, but it has it problems and is not selling well now. Of course, none of the HD p/u s are selling well now. There are great deals now.
If you don't tow that frequently, a half ton truck would do the job, if you tow regularly, then that 3/4 ton frame will make a big difference in terms of wear and tear on the truck and will also fell more sure footed on the road with more weight, bigger brakes, stronger transmission (especially the 6-speed auto on the GM), and heavier springs. The down side is if you drive it daily, then the 3/4 ton truck will have a rougher ride. 3/4 ton will also hold its value better than a 1/2 ton. A diesel is not necessary for the load you have described, save some money up front and on fuel and get the 6.0 gasser with the 6-speed behind it and you will tow all day. Contact propbender here on the forum, he tows his 38 Fountain with that truck and can fill you in on the particulars.
Comparing a tundra, to a chevy 2500hd, thats a joke! Towing 9000 lbs with any toyota product is a joke. Seriously, look at both trucks closely, especially frame and brakes and there is no comparason. Even the inside doorhandles are twice the size on the chevy. Toyotas are made for small stature men and some women.
I tow a twin engine 23 Regulator (8K) regularly with my 5.7 Tundra. The truck handles it with no problem.
Plenty of power , very composed at speed and the brakes are fantastic.
The Tundra comes with a 6 speed and 4.30 gears. Im pretty sure the brakes are the largest in the class.
We previously pulled her with a 7.3 liter deisel Excursion , and feel as comfortable towing with the Tundra.
Cant comment on the Chevrolet as Ive no experience
How far do you tow? How often? Personally, I will NEVER tow my boat with a 1/2 ton again. Did it once, that was enough. I'm somewhere in the 9k-10k lb range. Also, you might want to read all the fine print on the Tundra towing specs. Not sure what it says, but wouldn't be suprised to see some limitations in there. I don't think diesel is absolutely necessary, but I do think 3/4 ton frame, axles, brakes, springs, shocks and just plain MASS are.
I was rear-ended last May while towing my boat back from a fishing trip. I was doing 72 mph and the guy that ran into the back of my boat hit me so hard that he totaled my boat trailer and his car NEVER touched the trailer. He hit the port motor. He slammed the boat forward on the trailer so hard, it shoved up against the winch post, bent it over and torqued the whole trailer frame just from the force applied to the winch post. He had to be doing close to 100 mph to shove that 8000 lb boat around like that with a 2002 Honda CRV! Anyway, if I had been towing with a lightweight 1/2 ton at it's max tow capacity, I doubt I'd be here today to talk about it. As it was, with a 2500HD, crew, Dmax /Allison, I had my hands VERY full for several seconds and I did have to clean out my pants as well as the passenger seat! To give you an idea of just how hard he hit me, it takes all 500+ hp I have to get the boat on the trailer up to the winch post... and that's with part of the boat floating! If you only tow a couple of miles to the launch, then 1/2 ton will probably do the job, but there's not a lot of room for error there.
You are comparing apples to oranges. Both trucks are going to diff. Alot of pepole like there tundras and I cant blame them its a awesome truck. One thing Idont like about the chevy is the 8to4 mode, time will tell if will last without problems. Some pepole recomended diesel, the way diesel prices are right now I wouldnt go near one. I guess it would be a prefence thing, I think both trucks will fit the bill just fine.
I would wait at least another year for Toyota to work the bugs out of the new Tundra. The American built and sourced Toyotas are not delivering the same reliability and build quality that established Toyota's reputation years ago. For instance, compare the American Tundra or Sequoia to the Japanese Land Cruiser in terms of fit, finish, and overall build. No comparison, unfortunately.
I don't think the HD trucks have the 8 to 4 shut-off, but I'm not sure. My family just got a new Avalanche with the 8 to 4 and you cannot tell when it shuts down and the truck gets the advertised 20 MPG on the highway without being creative with air conditioning or runing at 55.
Comparing a tundra, to a chevy 2500hd, thats a joke! Towing 9000 lbs with any toyota product is a joke. Seriously, look at both trucks closely, especially frame and brakes and there is no comparason. Even the inside doorhandles are twice the size on the chevy. Toyotas are made for small stature men and some women.
Coming from someone who has probably never driven/owned one.. Take this elementary school talk and mentality elsewhere.
But back to the topic... As people have said, it is all about the amount you tow.. If it is a lot, the a 3/4 ton is a no brainer.. If it is once and awhile, the Tundra will do great.. I own a 1st gen Tundra 4.7L and tow a 26ft boat occasionally that is right at its rated max. I also have some time behind the wheel of the new 5.7l.. Both will pull what they are rated for without a problem, but I would definitely want the heavier duty 3/4 ton if I towed regularly, esp if something like Back In Black experienced happened...
I don't want to be one of the "know it all/ I have the best" kinda guys, but I will share my personal experiences with the Silverado since I own one. It's a 2003 with a duramax/allison setup. 68,000 miles on the odometer I'm still one the original brakes! With all of the towing I do, I'd say 20,000 of those miles are with a trailer.
My dads truck is a 2005 Suburban 2500 with a 6.0L. Great tower, but not even close to the Duramax's power. It does ride a lot nicer though. (There is a big difference between the 2500 and the 2500 HD platform) My truck gets 13-14 MPG local, 17-18 highway and 9-10 with a trailer. Trailer weight doesn't seem to effect the MPG's. My dad's 6.0L gets 10-11 local, 13-14 highway and 7-8 with trailer. Diesel is 25% more than gas where I am, but with 25% (or better) fuel mileage it evens out.
I don't have any Tundra towing experience, so I don't know how well they tow. They certainly ride nice though!
I'd have to say when you are pushing the maximum towing capacity of a truck it's kinda like buying a boat with a 150 that is rated for a 250. It'll do the job, but just not as well.
I don't want to be one of the "know it all/ I have the best" kinda guys, but I will share my personal experiences with the Silverado since I own one. It's a 2003 with a duramax/allison setup. 68,000 miles on the odometer I'm still one the original brakes! With all of the towing I do, I'd say 20,000 of those miles are with a trailer.
My dads truck is a 2005 Suburban 2500 with a 6.0L. Great tower, but not even close to the Duramax's power. It does ride a lot nicer though. (There is a big difference between the 2500 and the 2500 HD platform) My truck gets 13-14 MPG local, 17-18 highway and 9-10 with a trailer. Trailer weight doesn't seem to effect the MPG's. My dad's 6.0L gets 10-11 local, 13-14 highway and 7-8 with trailer. Diesel is 25% more than gas where I am, but with 25% (or better) fuel mileage it evens out.
I don't have any Tundra towing experience, so I don't know how well they tow. They certainly ride nice though!
I'd have to say when you are pushing the maximum towing capacity of a truck it's kinda like buying a boat with a 150 that is rated for a 250. It'll do the job, but just not as well.
Hey, you got a LONG ways to go before you'll need brakes. My truck has 167k on it now. Took it in for first front brake job at 150k miles. Mechanic called me and told me I didn't need a brake job! I had it done anyway. Still on the original rear brakes.
MPG's 15-18.6 around town, 20-22 highway. No chip- completely stock.
Towing. I tow 4 different trailers and I tow a BUNCH. Trailers go from 20' flatbed (up to about 8k lbs), 16'x 7'x 8' tall utility trailer (up to 7k lbs), to 3,000 lb marsh boat and 9k-10k offshore boat. 3 trailers are tandem and the contender is triple axle. I definitely notice lower mileage while towing. Get about 14 mpg towing marsh boat 75 mph and 10 mpg with cruise set at 70-72 towing the contender. Never paid too much attention to the other trailers and mpg but I know it's lower than not towing.
Good news about the brakes Back in Black! I do run mine pretty hard and could do a little better on the fuel if I kept my foot out of it. It's just fun when cars line up in the lane next to me so they don't get stuck behind a trailer and then I just pull away from them fully loaded!
I also meant the trailer Weight doesn't seem to matter much for the MPG'S. I tow loads from 3500 up to 15,000 lbs and it doesn't seem to matter much.
Yeah, it's pretty hard to keep your foot out of it! That's why I gave a range for in town. If I drive like a normal human, I get a consistant 18.6 in town. If I drive like a maniac, I get around 15.
I was faced with the same decision last year. The Tundra was my first choice. I wanted a Limited 4x4 crew cab. The Toyota dealers in So Cal said we have none but will put your name on a list and call you. BTW it will be MSRP. ~ $45 K. I waited and started to think. Maybe I should look at Chevy again. Well MSRP on a Chevy Duramax was $53K LTZ with Z71 4 x 4 (including Nav and Leather). Also Chevy was giving 3.5K discounts. For the difference of about 4K I could have a 3/4 ton diesel. Granted I could have gotten a cheaper Tundra, but comparing top of the line models to each other, I found the Duramax to be a better deal. Furthermore based upon my neighbor's experience towing a trailer with both a 1/2 gasser and his 3/4 ton Powerstroke he said if you are going to tow, go with the 3/4 ton diesel. After getting the diesel I now know why he said what he said. The diesel trucks just fly. I am amazed how fast they are off the line and accelerate. Loads of torque at low RPM. If you are going to pull any hills consider the diesel. I would also recommend the backup sensors the work great. You can also install a backup camera in the Nav system. See a product called Lockpick (www.coastaletech.com/LOCKPICK_MAIN.htm)
I must say I still like the Tundra and if any of the dealers in So Cal had called me back I would be driving one today. However, they kept stalling and my wife wanted me to get a new Truck. So I stared to look at the Chevy. I did love the acceleration of the Tundra and the turning radius of the Tundra was a big plus. The rear of seating also seemed more roomy. But 3/4 ton diesel beat all other features including the acceleration.
Thanks to all. To answer the popular question- We do tow often but very short distances. We keep the boat at the marina on the trailer we don't need to pull her long distances often but we will use the truck to put her in and retrieve her each time. Which can be several times a month. A 3/4 ton would give us the opportunity to safely and comfortably pull the boat to other areas.
As others have said the Tundra does drive nice....
John
I am looking at new trucks (I have a 2000 Chevy P/U with 110,000mi) the Consumer report on the undra's relaiablitiy shows problems. Meanwhilem], the reviews and persoanl expereince w/ Chevy are great- go Chevy.
My Silverado has been flawless- never a major problem in over 8 years- I load it with gravel, I have towed a 17'Boston Whaler numerous times, drive it the highway at 80MPH, use it on the beach regularly- great truck
2008 Toyota Tundra v. Chevy Silverado 2500 
