The Smallest Minority

Tundras are pretty snazzy. Congrats on your purchase!

Yeah, it's an order of magnitude nicer than the '99 Ranger.

Good choice. I have an '00 Tundra access cab and my wife has an '01 Sequoia, both 4WD.

There's not a single pickup truck on the market today who's fundamental design I would want.

I'm still looking for an ancient VW transporter pickup. Flatbed with fold down sides, tool boxes under the bed, and the engine in the rear where it properly belongs (over the driving wheels) ;->

I'd be willing to rebuild everything on one of those to have one as a work truck.

HERE is a pic of one.

With the older 1200cc 40hp engine they'll deliver 30+ mpg too.

Will it:

A) pull an 8% hill with that load and only 40Hp,

B) tool down the freeway at 75, and

C) keep you cool in Tucson when the temperature is 107ºF+?

I'll keep my Tundra, thanks.

Oh man, that truck is nice, but I claim the new Ford F-150's are way nicer. I'm almost dying for one.

Kevin, your truck would benefit by adding a Hellwig rear sway bar to it. They are inexpensive and easy to mount, and they greatly improve cornering stability without out affecting ride quality. Why such a rear sway bar isn't standard equipment I'll never understand, but such is easy to remedy.

I'm not into modifying trucks, but I recommend this mod to everyone who buys a Tundra.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the first thing I've got to put on it is a set of nerf bars. My wife is only 5'0" tall, so that first step up is a doozy for her. (And it's only a 2WD truck!)

Yup, it is. I added a set of factory OEM running boards because I couldn't find the truck I wanted with them already installed. Installation was easy and they are rock solid. What I like about them most is that they work with the fender flares to to keep mud and such off the side of the vehicle. Tubular type bars don't do that.

4' 11' here; running boards and a grab handle just inside the forward doorjamb. Stairway to....heaven(?).

All the best with your truck.

Thank goodness that I will now have someone to ask about performance and reliability in the coming months, since I'm looking forward to replacing my 95 F150 in a year or two. By then I'll have about 270,000 miles on this baby.

Will, go see www.tundrasolutions.com. There are six years of such discussion there.

I empathize with your wife. Trucks are not made for the short. (On the bright side, we fit perfectly in sportscars.)

We've got a fairly new Dodge Testosterone squatting in our driveway. It's powerful enough that the mountains don't faze it even if it's carrying hundreds of pounds, roomy, and I love it in every respect except that it eats gas and makes me feel like a Fisher-Price person when I drive it. I'd feel guilty about the size and power overkill, except the last thing we hauled with it was roughly a ton of rock, so it turns out to be not so overkill after all.