Hello Gents, My name is Tony, and I am seriously considering a Tundra. I love the style of these trucks, absolutley awesome looking. Unfortunatley, I am having reservations based on research I have done.
Concerning the 2010's and 2011's, has Toyota addressed the bed bounce issue? What about the air induction pump issues? For me, the AIP may be a deal breaker. Hopefully you guys can give me positive re-enforcement to take the dive with solid info, not conjecture.
The bed bounce is a non-issue. It's a hoax made by Ford that people then convince themselves is occurring to them. On some roads there is a resonant frequency that can cause the truck to shake after driving on it for long enough, but resonant harmonics happen with all vehicles. The Tundra is no different.
AIP has affected some Tundras. I don't know what percent are affected (mine has not had any issues yet) and I don't know if any design changes have been incorporated into new designs. My guess is that it's a very small number of Tundras that have had AIP issues just based on the frequency with which I have read about it on other forums.
That is a video made by Ford to try and make the Tundra look bad (and it's what I was referring to previously). Ford found the speeds necessary to get the most vibration out of the competitor's trucks and the least vibration out of their truck (notice how all the vehicles are going different speeds in the video? Despite the guy saying they're going the same speed).
They also focus the camera on specific areas of the vehicles while going over different bump segments (you can tell the bed was shaking badly on the F150 in one section, but they had the camera zoomed in on the wheel so you don't notice it). So if a certain section of bumps caused the bed to shake on the Tundra, that's what they pointed the camera at, and if that same section of bumps caused the bed to shake on the F150, they pointed the camera at the wheel.
Plain and simple, it's Ford propaganda. It's also rubbish.
And the announcer's comment about "suspension movement" as if it's a bad thing really irks me. The whole point of the suspension is to absorb the bumps, which means it's supposed to move.
Okay, I'm done. Do a search about this video if you want to know more flaws about it.
At this point, I don't have a dog in this fight, but I'm not ready to discount what I saw with my own eyes. If it is all propaganda, wouldn't they have manipulated the video to discredit Chevy also? I'm still favoring the Tundra, although further research indicates it's not as stout as other makes. It will basically just be transportation, no heavy duty work involved.
At this point, I don't have a dog in this fight, but I'm not ready to discount what I saw with my own eyes. If it is all propaganda, wouldn't they have manipulated the video to discredit Chevy also? I'm still favoring the Tundra, although further research indicates it's not as stout as other makes. It will basically just be transportation, no heavy duty work involved.
Did they make Chevy look good in the video? It's all about angles and highlighting different aspects of the vehicle on different sections of the bumps. If you watch the video again you'll see there are different sections of bumps... It's not in Ford's interest to make either the Tundra or Chevy look good, so why would you believe that video? Now matter how much better either of them did, they had to make the Ford look the best. Ford released that video a long time ago, when the '07 Tundra first hit the market. Ford was very worried about the newcomer to the 1/2 ton market with it's monstrous 5.7L V8 and much larger tow capacity.
Believe what you'd like, it doesn't bother me. If you think you'll be driving over a series of 20+ speed bumps spaced 6 feet apart at >35 mph, then don't buy a Tundra. If it's for anything else, the Tundra will serve you will.
And if you really believe the Tundra is less durable than the others, you haven't done enough research about the components. The Tundra has many drivetrain components that are equivalent to 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.
09 Crewmax 4x4 5.7. Sr5, tow package, 18 inch alloys.
The ride is firm but never intolerable, and tends to really smooth out at highway speed. You feel damaged pavement quite a bit more than you would in a cushy Silverado or F150 but I find it to be a decent trade-off for what feels like excellent handling and sure-footedness for such a big vehicle. IT's almost never actually jarring though it gets a bit jigglier than I'd like over pockmarked pavement. I don't as a matter of habit drive over a series of 30-40 huge speed bumps 4 feet apart at 35 mph so my truck does not act like the one in that video. If you plan to do that, I don't know of any vehicle that wouldn't behave somewhat badly in that situation, pickup truck or no. Maybe a 20-30 year old Lincoln sedan might work for you. Personally I'd probably do it the crazy way I always do and slow down and take each of those things at 3-5 mph, but that's just me.
All three of those trucks acted pretty goofy in that situation so I struggle to see this huge difference that makes the Tundra ten times worse like they want you to believe.
The Tundra does NOT have a fully boxed frame as to why it's being flimsy.
Neither do the F-250 and F-350, Ford only uses the fully boxed frame when comparing the F-150's, but if it is really superior why wouldn't they use it on their heavy duty trucks as well?
The Super Duty series uses a C pillar like the Tundra's. Where they differ is that the Super Duties are far thicker than Toyota's. Ford used a box frame on the F150 because they didn't want to make the c pillar any heavier than it needs to be. Given the same amount of metal to form a frame, boxing it will be far stronger than using a C. Weight isn't that big of an issue with super duties.
Tundras are also notorious for rust. Toyota needs to go back to the drawing board. Nice try tho.
Do you have any proof that the Ford's frame weighs less or is stronger?
Anyone buying a Tundra for anything other than commuting should try this, crawl under the front of the vehicle. See if your 'gut' gets stuck. Or if you need ramps to simply pull a drain plug. Toyota definitely marketed it for the "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality. Looks nice in the driveway along with the 'fleet' of vehicles not really needed. My truck is bigger than yours :-)
Typically, when an issue is made aware, via TSBs/recalls..., the assembly line is addressed.
Bed bounce??? all trucks do that. The problem is too many pussies are driving trucks that aren't worked ever, and never owned trucks before. They're just as bad as checkbook bikers. Go back to your TownCars. Leave the trucks for the real men.
My neighbors Tundra is wash, waxed, worshipped... every weekend, and not a spec of dirt or scratch in the bed. It sits under a car cover every night(no garage). He has more issues than you could believe. I laugh as I toss firewood out of mine.
Commuter pickup trucks are a joke. If it ain't off roading, hauling, plowing, or towing, its not being used correctly. Next time get a Geo Metro.
For crying out loud, they sell 'weights' for the bed of the Tundra to cure bed bounce. Are you *&^%ing kidding? When your willy isn't big enough, we'll give you the http://www.willybar.com/Willybar.html
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Last edited by deadrx7conv; 10-24-2010 at 10:24 PM.
Reason: spelllcheck while awake
This is bull. My 04 F150 bounces all over and sometimes over small bumps I have serious problems keeping it straight.
Is suspension and lack of bounce important? Sure, but you can bet any vehicle with an extremely light back end is gonna bounce around a lot. Sandbags anyone?
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