This review is a comparison of the trucks and determining which best fit my needs.

2010-Toyota-Tundra-Limited-TRD

I seriously considered the:  Ford F150, Chevy Silveraldo 1500, Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan.  I was looking for 6.5ft truck bed (5.5ft too short / 8ft too long), 4 wheel drive and it needed four true doors.  I wanted a truck that was comfortable, quality, maneuverable, reliable, efficient and powerful.

2010-Toyota-Tundra-Tailgate

Ford F150 SuperCrew features 5.4L 310HP / 365LB FT, 6 speed Automatic, 14 mpg city / 18 mpg hwy,  11,100lb max towing and 1,810lb max payload, spacious interior (leg room front 41.4″ / rear 43.5″), overall length 243.7″, good quality construction, average turning radius and average reliability.  The biggest factors for not choosing the F150 were the reported transmission issues (new design), overall length / maneuverability and exterior styling feels dated.

Chevy Silveraldo 1500 CrewCab features 5.3L 315HP / 365LB FT, 6 Speed Automatic, 15 mpg city / 21 mpg hwy, 10,400lb max towing and 1,655lb max payload, spacious interior (leg room front 41.3″ / rear 39.0″), overall length (not available in 6.5ft bed), good quality construction, average turning radius and average reliability.  The biggest factor for not choosing the Chevy Silverado was that the 6.5 ft bed was not available with the CrewCab.  This truck has the best rated fuel mileage and excellent exterior styling (personal preference).

Nissan Titan CrewCab features 5.6L 317HP / 365LB FT, 5 Speed Automatic, 12 mpg city / 17 mpg hwy, 9,100lb max towing and 1,644lb max payload, spacious interior (leg room front 41.8″ / rear 40.4″), overall length 244.2″, average quality construction, average turning radius and good reliability.  The biggest factors for not choosing the Nissan Titan was the plastic feeling dated interior, poor fuel mileage and overall length/maneuverability.

2010-Toyota-Tundra-5.7L-Engine

Toyota Tundra DoubleCab features 5.7L 381HP / 401LB FT, 6 Speed Automatic, 13 mpg city / 17 mpg hwy, 10,200lb max towing and 1,620lb max payload, reasonable interior leg room (front 42.5″ / rear 34.7″), overall length 228.7″, good quality construction, good turning radius (44ft) and excellent reliability.

2010-Toyota-Tundra-Limited-Interior

I chose the Toyota Tundra after extensive research for the following reasons:  best maneuverability, shortest overall length with 6.5ft bed, incredibly powerful engine, reasonable fuel mileage (many have reported 16-20mpg online), reputation for reliability and good resale value.  I like the exterior styling (personal preference), interior layout, quiet/smooth ride and storage spaces.

The next best options were the Chevy Silverado, Ford F150 and Nissan Titan (in that order).  All of the trucks are good and highly competitive.

2010-Toyota-Tundra-Limited-Leather

My Toyota Tundra is a Limited TRD.  My favorite features include: parking sonar, rear view mirror backup camera, JBL 10 speaker stereo w/ Ipod USB/ XM / Sub, power adjustable headlights, power folding mirrors, memory seats / steering wheel, power sliding rear window, heated leather seats, dual zone climate control and shock tailgate.  Have you heard about the TRD Supercharger?  It boosts the engine over 500 HP!  Although, this truck seriously doesn’t need it with factory 0-60 times in the low to mid 6 second range.

I’ll share my future modifications and long term reliability feedback.  Feel free to post your comments or questions.Similar Posts:

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Before Headlight Restoration

Most modern vehicles including my 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport have plastic headlights.  They look much more stylish than the older glass sealed beam headlights but they age poorly.  My headlights were discolored, scratched, hazy and looked horrible.

Originally I planned on replacing the headlights until I discovered they cost over $200/ea on Ebay.  I was determined to find another alternative.  After searching Google I discovered several headlight polishing restoration kits.

The kits use fall into 2 categories:  1. polishing no sanding  2. wet sanding and polishing.  The no sanding kits are more or less a short term solution that will need to be repeated; the wet sanding kits are a better long term solution.

Permatex Plastic Headlight Lens Restoration Kit

I chose the Permatex Headlight Lens Restoration Kit.  It can be found at Schuck’s Auto Supply or O’reilly Auto Parts for about $17.50.  There are other similar kits; be sure that the kit you choose includes sand paper (for wet sanding) and polishing products.

The process is fairly simple just follow the instructions included with the product.  There are several steps involving wet sanding with various grades of sandpaper, cleaning and polishing.  I went a bit overboard on the polishing and used the entire bottle of polish on the headlights.

I’m very impressed with the results.  The headlights aren’t new but they look very good.

After Headlight Restoration - Plastic Polishing

While this may be considered a “cosmetic” repair it also allows the headlights to project slightly brighter light.  This is definitely a worth while project that may save you hundreds of dollars in headlight replacement costs.

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