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opinions on new GM suv's and tundra's? and offroader opinions wanted

fullracehonda

fullracehonda

Experienced Member
Joined
9 November 2007
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Ora-gone
im pretty set on buying a 07+ suburban/tahoe/avalance or tundra trd double cab or crewmax. have any of you had bad expieriences with any of those?


and are any of you guys into offroading? ive searched and found some sites but they seem somewhat sub par when it comes to pics/searching. any recomendations for sites to buy from would be great, i am looking for a skid plate, some kind of protection for the front(grill guard/bull bar) side steps, maybe a rear diff cover, and maybe some fender flares, and maybe i need some better shocks with a chevy with just a leveling kit?

just to get me up the mountins in the summer and winter, with good on road manners



these are the options im thinking:

tahoe/suburban/avalanche with 2" fabtech leveling kit, oem 20's, 33's
tahoe/suburban/avalanche with 7" fabtech performance lift, oem 20's, 35's
tundra with 3/1 toytec lift, 18" te37's, 33's
tundra with 6" fabtech performance lift, 18" te37's, 35's


thanks prime
 
the only thing i can say is if you actually buy a GM truck/suv, make sure you take the delco battery out right away and get a real one.

i work on a large amount of brand new vehicles from the local dealers(chevy and GMC) and i can't leave a key on in a new gm vehicle for more than 5 minutes without the battery going dead.
 
I would go with the Tundra simply out of fear of getting parts when GM goes under. I'm sure it will be possible, but who know how much of a pain it will be.
 
I don't think GM will EVER "go under". GM is too big a part of AMERICANA for the gov't to let it go under.

GM builds only 2 things right - Trucks/SUV's and a Corvette. The New tundra has many many issues. I bought a 08 Yukon XL for my wife 6 months ago. It had one minor issue on it(rear AC kept going off - fixed by dealer). Otherwise - it is perfect. It comes with a 5 yr/100K mile powertrain warranty. So I am not that worried. It might have a couple of quality control issues in the future but the Powertain is solid.

BTW, I don't either of these would make an "excellent" off roader. They are just too big and have too much overhang.
 
they dont need to be great "off roaders" just good "off pavement":biggrin: i like going up the mountain, and i need some decent ground clearance to get over the huge speed bump type bumps they build in gravel roads to drain the water off one side of the road. if your truck isnt high enough you will either bottom out, dig the front end into the ground, or dig the rear end into the ground.




as for issues with the tundra, ive read on a tundra forum about a couple people getting their transmissions replaced, and the interior falling apart(which doesnt suprise me since my dads 2000 tacoma had the door window rail bolts rattle out (after about 8 years and 240k miles though)
 
oh, and toyota's certified powertrain warranty is 7year/100,000 miles so i guess i wont worry about that, even though i would prefer to not worry about it in the first place:rolleyes:
 
Don't buy GM. There is a known defect in the transfer case oil pump that causes it to eat a hole in the housing & leak out oil. Eventually no 4WD & need a transfer case. Do a search for pump rub or oil pump rub. There is an aftermarket fix if you are willing to drop the transfer case, but you have to do it before it leaks. GM knows but doesn't fix it since it usually happens after warranty expires. Ask again why American car companies are going under.
 
I have an 07 Tundra double cab and it has been great. I had to have the front brakes replaced including rotors but that's the only problem and it's most likely from the way I drive and/or from the truck sitting in the driveway and not being used.
 
I've got a friend who's business is lifting 4X4's {15 years} and says the Tundra is the way to go. They suck on gas mileage in stock form but hey, if your lifting it, who cares. He said all the 4X4 components are very HD.
 
davidf said:
I've got a friend who's business is lifting 4X4's {15 years} and says the Tundra is the way to go. They suck on gas mileage in stock form but hey, if your lifting it, who cares. He said all the 4X4 components are very HD.
Click to expand...

The gas mileage is horrible. I get 13mpg. So If I got 20mpg and keep the truck for 30k miles which is most likely as long as I will keep it. That's a difference of ~500 gallons of gas or 1k-2k in money. I will gladly spend the 2k to protect my life from getting squashed in a smaller vehicle that gets better gas mileage if I get in an accident.

We had a Hummer come in at the dealership today that I am thinking of keeping. It's pretty kick ass and Renee needs something for the winter as we are stuck in no mans land this winter dreaming of Florida and the beach.
 
all sounds good, im going to head out to some dealers around here with a freind who use to work at them this week or next(whenever my insurance check comes in) and see what kind of a deal i can score paying in cash,

i hope to find a 08 limited trd crew/double cab with a thousand miles and certified warranty in a nice color, 5.7, 4x4 and i might just have to order the trd supercharger for it depending on the final price.


i guess ill email sos right now to see how much the te37s are going to run me, and how long theyre gonna take.


im thinking silver on silver volks, while on silver, white on white, or silver on white, black on silver, :confused:

sjeezystundra.jpg

DSC00544.jpg

DSC00541.jpg

DSC00547.jpg
 
fullracehonda said:
im thinking silver on silver volks, while on silver, white on white, or silver on white, black on silver, :confused:
Click to expand...

I got White with red rock interior. I ordered it with black but they screwed up the interior color which I actually like the red rock better anyways so it's all good.


I just put on a new set of wheels and tires for the winter. They look pretty sweet I will see I can get a pic up tomorrow.
 
that red rock interior is a really nice color, 10x better than grey, theres a dark greyish blue double cab limited with red rock interior on craigslist for 26k but it has the 4.7 engine( i dont know wtf they were thinking when they orderd that)

definitley post up some pics when you can!
 
I'm partial to the Tundra, but not for any really good reason. Since it's the only truck I've ever had I can't offer too much for comparison. Here's what I know:

- Most documented problems are on the 2007 model year.

- I've put on 10k miles on my '08 without a single problem, 4k or more was towing a 4 ton enclosed trailer.

- Ride can be bouncy and/or harsh, but it's a friggin Bentley compared to a Subaru with 500 lb./in. springs.:smile:

- Has comparably LESS stiffness in the rear chassis due to the c-channel frame, though front chassis is boxed. I don't personally find any relevance to this, but an off-roader might dislike this a lot. It matters for torsional rigidity (search youtube for examples).

- As the engine breaks in, MPG improves. I'm getting about 15mpg mostly city, and 10-11 mpg hauling. I started off at 12 and 7 respectively. About 18mpg highway with the 5.7L 6-speed.

- Gas tank at 26 gal. is a bit small for when you're hauling.

- I have cloth seats (which I like), but I get a 10kV shock everytime I get out of the truck (from sliding across the seat).

- No complaints about the quality of the interior other than the black plastic scuffs pretty easily.

- It's remarkably quiet. But I'm comparing it to my NSX with the engine up my backside and my Subaru with hard urethane engine and transmission bushings/mounts.
 
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nsx2tall is your tundra a regular cab, double cab or crew max? thanks for you review of it.


and autovation, ive spent a couple long nights thinking about the supercharger, im thinking i may just have to get that! the burning question i have is can i get a toyota certified 7yr/100k mile warrantied tundra and have the supercharger warrantied for the 100k?

i believe the rules are if you install if yourself you get the remainer of the bumper to bumper warranty or 12k miles whichever is greater, and if toyota installs it you get the remainder of the powertrain warranty or 12k miles whichever is greater.

so most likely the supercharger warranty will determine if i buy new or certified.

and ive read online i could expect to see a price tag in the range of 6-7k for it installed by toyota, which i could probably negotiate while buying the truck:biggrin:
 
fullracehonda said:
nsx2tall is your tundra a regular cab, double cab or crew max? thanks for you review of it.
Click to expand...

I have the SR5 double cab. Medium to small rear leg room, but the seats fold up and it has a foot more bed than the crew max I believe. BTW, I DON'T have the TRD off-road package.

I can't even imagine what this truck would be like with a supercharger. I chirp the tires with just a little extra throttle at a stoplight.
 
Last edited:
nsx2tall said:
I have the SR5 double cab. Medium to small rear leg room, but the seats fold up and it has a foot more bed than the crew max I believe. BTW, I DON'T have the TRD off-road package.

I can't even imagine what this truck would be like with a supercharger. I chirp the tires with just a little extra throttle at a stoplight.
Click to expand...

I do with mine too. Did you get the 20" wheels? I put 18" wheels on mine for the winter and the tires seem to spin a lot less on mash the throttle take offs.
 

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