I own a 93 Ford Bronco 5.0 auto (4wd) with 94K miles and a 99 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner 2.7L 4 cyl. auto (2wd) with 173K miles. The Toyota has held up remarkably well to the abuse I've given it these past 6 years that I've owned it. The interior is still intact, no oil leaks or major repairs of any kind needed, and that's after off-roading it and driving it very hard. Then again, it's a Tacoma, not a Tundra. But the Tacoma is assembled in Fremont, California using the same 8.25" rear axle that's used on the Tundra, which is built in Indiana (and soon to be built in San Antonio).

The Bronco, however, is a different story. The interior is quickly falling apart. Oil pan leaks, the exhaust is leaking somewhere - again, the a/c broke, the transfer case electric motor doesn't work anymore, the auto hubs don't work, and the list goes on and on.

To be fair, though, I've owned the Tacoma since I bought it new off the lot 6 years ago, while the Bronco I bought used, so who knows how well the previous owner maintained it. Also, even though the Bronco has 80K miles less than the Tacoma, it is still 6 years older than the Tacoma. Even so, after reading the posts on another Bronco forum, it appears that the oil pan leak, t-case motor and auto hubs are common problems on the Bronco. Since I don't own a Tundra and since I don't visit the Tundra boards that often, I have no idea what common problems exist with the Tundra. The Tacoma has very few common problems, though.

Also, working on the Bronco is alot more difficult than working on the Toyota. Maintenance on the Toyota is a breeze with easy to access spark plugs, and drain and fill plugs on the engine, tranny and rear differential (at least on the 4 cylinder), while the Bronco has a tranny pan and rear diff cover that needs to be removed, making it that much more likely to leave an oily mess on you and on the floor. Removing the rear axles to replace a rear axle oil seal is also a whole lot easier on the Toyota than it is on the Bronco. Lifting the suspension about 2" on both is about the same, though.

Of course, I realize the Bronco is probably completely different from the new F150. I think they use the same 8.8" rear axle, but I could be wrong about that, though. The funny thing, though, is that despite the problems evident with the Bronco, I enjoy driving it more so than the Tacoma. More interior room, but the Bronco wanders on the road much more than the Tacoma - don't know why I enjoy it more, but I do.

Hope this helps.

 

They tried to do the same thing when I bought my Tacoma new back in 99. I said forget that and went online to buy it. I was able to get price quotes from several different dealers, and I just played off them, getting them to try to beat each other's price - worked like a charm. Once I got the lowest price from one of 'em, I went down to the dealer to sign the paperwork.

As for doing your own maintenance, definitely buy a repair manual for your truck. Autozone, Pepboys, and most other local auto parts stores carry a Haynes and a Chilton's repair manual for most makes and models. I bought both of them since one repair manual might cover one aspect better than the other. The best repair manual, though, is the factory service manual from the dealer, but that's usually about $100 or more. Each of those manuals should give you good instructions on how to do most regular maintenance items.

 

mlazuka, im sure you will be happy with either truck. the f-150 has the tundra spanked in the looks for sure imo.

but......

i have owned alot of fords and just recently got a 95 toyota 4x4 truck,it has 97,400 miles on it and it is tight as a drum and solid as can be. no rattles.
this is sad to say but it is tighter and more solid feeling then my previous BRAND NEW 2000 ranger 4x4 xlt. and A NEW 98 contour i had.
so take that for what its worth.
have you thought about the 2005 truck of the year...the new taco? its a nice looking truck imo.
but good luck with whichever you decide upon.

 

Thanks again, I didnt really expect to get such a positive response to Toyotas on an F-150 forum. Actually I postponed my last visit to the Ford dealership just so I can go take a test drive of the new Tacoma since the boat I just decided on weighs a little less than the one I figured on towing before. I think the towing may still be my factor for not getting the Tacoma though. I get confused when I look at trucks and their tow ratings, for example, my brothers Tahoe is rated to tow the same as the Tacoma 6500#, only its has a larger engine with more torque. I would like to get the minimal amount of truck needed to pull the boat. The most I'll be towing is around 5000#, and while Im sure the Tacoma will pull that much, I'm just wondering how well it will tow that much weight or if it will be struggling.

 

i dont think you would have a problem towing that weight with the new taco....it has close to 290 ft/lb.
plus,ask yourself this.....how offton are you really going to be towing your boat?
10 times a year?
20?
how about 30 times?
because there are 365 days in a year and the taco's v6 is going to be more economical then the fords v8.
so the ford will indeed pull your boat with more ease but when your not pulling anything it may be to much truck?
not to mention the gas prices as of late and the fact they will keep climing over the years and not going down.
but good luck with whatever you choose.

 

I hope Toyota got the Bed Cracking issue resolved on the new Tacos. They been having a great deal of issues regarding that.

 

Thanks Mark, I'll be towing once a week about 6 months out of the year, or about 25 times. Fuel economy is attractive with the Tacoma especially with gas prices right now. The area where I live has lots of hills so I can only guess how the Tacoma would perform around here. I wish there was some way to see how it handles that much weight. I also just went to Toyotas website and it has the double cab listed at 221.3 inches long! the Suburban is even shorter at 219.3 inches. The Tacomas Ive seen sure didnt look this long, maybe its a typo or I'm missing something, If its true it wouldnt fit in my garage.

Endurance, I havent heard anything about the beds cracking, are they falling apart or is it just cosmetic cracks?

 

For info on Tacomas, check out tacomaterritory.com. It's mostly about the 95-04 Tacomas, but more info on the completely new, redesigned 05 Tacomas is being posted every day. I also heard the same thing about the new 05 Tacoma composite beds cracking, but don't know if that's true or not. The 04 and older Tacomas have double-walled steel beds, and after lugging a bunch of heavy junk around in the bed of my 99, I can attest to how strong the bed is.

I don't think the new 05 Tundras have composite beds, though, but I could be wrong about that.


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Sorry, I just don't see the Taco as even a legitmate tower for this boat...it may pull it, but stoping and handling will definately leave you with soiled undergarments, and a bent steering wheel. Oh yeah, watch the mpg plummet with the boat on as well.

 

the mileage dies on all vehicles towing. the vehicle that has the highest mileage to begin with would logically not drop any worse than that of any other motor with the same power rating.

come on people. pull your head out of between your legs and think about it.

until you have towed with it don't set back in LA LA LAND and pretend that your company is better. all you can do is speculate.

 

It will drop more if a engine has to work harder to overcome the load (i.e. you have to have wider throttle openings for a given load).
Towing a 4000lb trailer, my 7.3l SD gets better fuel consumption than my Dads diesel Ranger towing the same trailer, because it is working a lot less.
You almost have it at WOT in the Ranger...

 

I should have mentioned that the boat ramp is about 15 minutes away and 10 of that is freeway. Even if my gas mileage dropped considerably, it would still be much cheaper to run the Tacoma. Still though 6500# trailer limit seems very high for this truck, I want to feel comfortable and safe towing and don't want to worry about accelerating wear on the truck especially with all the steep hills around here. I'm basically trying to find the cheapest practical solution here. The deciding factor for me initially choosing the F-150 over the Tundra was the several thousand dollar price difference between the two. Not to mention though that IMO the F-150 is a much nicer looking truck.

 

If it is only a 15minute drive, the Taco will be cheaper in gas overall than a F150.
You can buy a LOT of gas for 2-3k though.
More than you will be able to save by owning the Taco for a few years.
And you will have the bigger truck as well, which is far more suited to towing.

 

I'm sorry F-350 but I'm a little confused. Could you please clarify your point? Right now Im comparing the Tacoma to the F-150, with the Tacoma coming in at about 8K less than the F-150. No doubt the Tacoma will be cheaper in the long run, Im just concerned about its towing competency.

 

Sorry, I thought you were saying the F150 was cheaper, in which case it would have been pretty simple IMO.
My misundertanding.
If you are only towing for 15mins, as much as I might hate to admit it, I think the Taco would be alright, and if running costs are a big thing, would probably be the better choice.