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Originally Posted by Cateye
I am considering purchasing a new tow vehicle and am looking at either a Tundra or Titan. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has towing experience with these vehicles. I am especially interested in service problems and towing ability....Thanks...Cateye
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Adding to what Frank (fcatwo) said...
I have an '03 Tundra and towed my 2720SL all over Colorado's central/northern mountains with it this past summer. My towing situation is probably about as similar to yours as anyone here.
Stock, I would rate the Tundra's towing ability at our high altitudes as very good and certainly better than what you would get from a Ford/Dodge/Chevy with a similarly sized engine. Even on the tougher climbs (west side of Vail Pass, western side of the Eisenhower Tunnels), I was able to just about achieve the speed limit with trailer in tow and would regularly pass domestic trucks pulling much lighter trailers. However, when towing I did find that the truck needed to downshift from 3rd (direct drive on the '04 and earler models) to 2nd gear on just about any grade when the elevation was over 5000 feet. And a merge from an Interstate on ramp when towing at elevations over 6000 feet was sometimes interesting because I would often run out of on-ramp before achieving traffic speed.
The performance, while good enough for an occasional high altitude trip, did IMHO need some improvement to provide a "happy" high altitude towing experience when done on a regular basis. Since I got an incredibly good end of year deal on my truck ($4000 below Invoice, nearly $9000 below sticker), I was able to afford to do three carefully chosen performance modifications...namely exhaust headers, a tuned-for-towing muffler, and regearing of the differentials. Collectively these have produced about a 25% increase in usable torque (about like having a 400 ft-lb engine which almost puts it into diesel or 8 liter gas V8 territory). Downshifts on grades under 7% have been nearly eliminated, on ramp merges are a breeze and mountain towing is now downright enjoyable.
Reliability is truly outstanding...Toyotas are renowned for their reliability and by the '03 model, Toyota had worked out all the new model kinks with the Tundra. In 11000+ miles I have not had one single thing go wrong...the truck truly had zero defects. None. Nada. Haven't needed to take it to the dealer to get
anything fixed. The only service I've needed so far is routine oil and lubrication. Quality of the interior appointments is exceptionally high...as is the ride quality...it's smooth and silent and there are no squeaks and rattles. Again None. Nada. The truck is basically at the ride and construction quality level of a Toyota Avalon or even mid range Lexus.
When towing...even in 90 degree temps...I've never had any overheating issues. The engine temp never budges above normal even on sustained climbs. I did install a transmission temp gauge but it has never gone above 195 degrees (a safe temperature) even on sustained climbs at high ambient temperatures.
Gas Mileage is pretty good too...with the trailer, I get around 12 to almost 15 mpg (12 something going up into the mountains, 14 something coming down and on level roads). Without the trailer, I get between 19 and 20 on the highway driving with a light foot at the speed limit.
The truck replaced a regular (not Grand) 1996 Cherokee. With a 128 inch wheelbase, control of the trailer is much, much better than with the 103 inch wheelbase on the Cherokee. I wouldn't go so far as to say I don't know the trailer is back there...at least in the mountains...but it's scarcely noticeable out here on the plains.
I bought my Tundra in October '03 just as Nissan was introducing the Titan. There were 3 reasons why I picked the Tundra over the Titan:
- Proven Model. I am a firm believer that you have to be a serious gambler to buy any vehicle in its first 2 to 3 years of production
- Smaller. I have a smallish garage (only 19.5 feet long, about 16 feet wide) in which I store both the truck and my TM. The Tundra is small enough that I have a foot or so fore/aft and enough lateral room to be able to open the door almost fully for ease of getting in/out. The Titan would have been a very tight fit.
- Better deal. As mentioned above I got an exception deal on a "last year's model" which I couldn't have done at the time on a Titan.
If you compare the discussions at
TundraSolutions and
TitanTalk regarding current models, it's clear that the Tundra is a debugged model whereas the Titan is still somewhat of a work in progress. There's no doubt the Titan has an excellent powertrain (and far more powerful one than the Tundra, especially for towing) but the overall build quality and quality of interior appointments is lower. One of my friends described it as a rattlecan on top of a great engine.
The Titan is a true full sized truck...but still somewhat buggy with some rough edges; the Tundra (even in the Double Cab version) is really still a 7/8ths sized truck...but highly refined and troublefree. From a pure towing capability point of view, the Titan wins...but the decision isn't so clear cut when you factor in all the other considerations.
HTH