CD Article: 2008 Canadian Truck King Challenge

[CD_Editor]

Today's Feature: 2008 Canadian

Over three days, eight judges drove 23 new trucks more than 4,400 kilometres in a combined total of 200 hours of testing to determine the winner of the 2008 Canadian Truck King Challenge. And the results are in:  the Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 is the Canadian Truck King for 2008.
   
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Read the article | View the photos | All The Truck Reviews

[initial_D]

The long awaited article.  A customer of ours showed up in his brand new Toyota truck, he is very happy with it. His previous ride was an H2.

[rrocket]

Read it and weep, Barrie.....

[2hondas]

Read it and weep, Barrie.....

GM will always make the best trucks ever as they have built trucks for a century. Toyota has been having many quality problems and GM hasnt which means GM Is better than Toyota always as well. No truck or car can compare to what GM has to offer. Also Let consumers decide what the better truck is, at construction sites all they use are GM trucks. you dont see any tundras. At least GM tailgates dont snap off or engines blown up as GM has been making V8's longer than Toyota has ever lived. I know what i am talking about as i have driven my truck for many years and i will still drive it for many years to come.

-"Barrie"

  Just kidding Barrie. 

I actually am not on any side, as I am not a truck person.

[rrocket]

^^^HEH....

[articsteve]

the Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 is the Canadian Truck King for 2008.

    

In all fairness to GM, the testers said this about the Sierra being superior to all others in this respect:

  the interior and controls of the GMC Sierra

What else does one really need when buying a 4x4 crewcab 1/2 ton .... other than maybe power and performance.    

Great timing Canadian Driver.   

[airbalancer]

I read this  "Among all classes, though, GM was the only one without an assist handle on the driver's side, which we felt was a major omission - trucks are popular with women, and it's harder for them to pull themselves in by the wheel " then stopped read, really truck people

[Snowman]

  I would really like to see the score card in each category. What was the gravel road test? The people I know logging in Northern Ontario say the Tundra is a nightmare to handle while the Ford is the best.

[hoss]

I have a Tundra work truck with a 4.7 regular cab, 2X4. 

-On gravel roads (which I drive everyday) the truck handles great, much better then my old Ford.
-The work model Toyota does have the "easy to clean" vinyl floor.

-I also would like a scoring break down.  The deal breaker for me, when I bought the Tundra was the lack of any room behind the seat in the Silverado.  GM seems to have given up on regular cab pick ups, the new Silverado rams the seat backs to the rear window, like old time pick-ups.  The Tundra has enough room to put several 5 gallon pails behind the seats with the seats all the way back.  How in the world could this not be mentioned in the final report. 

[Snowman]

The feedback I have herd from the guys working in logging is how badly the Tundra reacts to poor gravel roads where washboards are present. The Ford crew cabs with the 6-1/2’ box handle them better.

[lou1919]

I don't know of any loggers whom actually drive half ton pickups. Crewcab 3/4 and 1 ton diesels are the standard in my neck of the woods (northern BC). As far as reliability with the Toyotas time will tell if there are long term problems or just 1st year teething problems. I have driven various domestic brands and haven't been impressed with any of them when it comes to reliability. They all have their  weak points. Pickup owners are very loyal to their brands especially Chev and Ford. This was very obvious with a few posts already. The Truck King challenge like any magazine/e-zine test involves new vehicles tested over a short time frame. Reliability can't be determined by such a test. Virtually all the various tests I've read have picked the Toyota Tundra over the domestics. A few tests have been critical of the ride. In 3/4 ton and 1 ton tests the GM/Chev trucks have come out on top. I view this test as one more piece of information that I'll use when it comes to getting a new truck. Try to keep an open mind. Perhaps Toyota's fall from grace when it comes to reliability is because they are built in North America and are stuck with the same fat and lazy workers with a poor work ethic that the domestics are stuck with (that ought to stir the pot).

[Greg B.]

Reliability problems are almost always caused by poor engineering and testing, not assembly. Toyota's quality woes are troubling and may be a symptom of a company that has forgotten what made them successful.

[MKII]

Read it and weep, Barrie.....

Watch and weep http://youtube.com/watch?v=zShwG9l1F0Q
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/stories/silvercreek/silvercreek.html

I am not a truck person,but after viewing the above video, if I needed a work truck the Tundra would not be considered.  Maybe it is a good city dwellers truck, but seems lacking if needed to be used for the purpose trucks are built for.

[Greg B.]

Wow. Toyota must have made their frame out of recycled Pepsi cans.

[articsteve]

I am not a truck person,but after viewing the above video, if I needed a work truck the Tundra would not be considered.  Maybe it is a good city dwellers truck, but seems lacking if needed to be used for the purpose trucks are built for.

Thats the thing, none or almost none of you ppl have owned 1/2 tons and worked with them.  Generally trucks as shown in that clip are used commercially.  They are not used for off road purposes.

What they needed to do is put a fair sized load in them first.  When I was farming, my pickups when empty, would bounce all over the place on washed out rural gravel roads.  It was always better to have 500 lbs. of fertilizer in the bed.     

The real test of a 1/2 ton  is determined after 6 years and 200K km.  We all know perfectly well between the 3 manufactures whose vehicles still have a second life left. 

[MKII]

Don't put any heavy items on the Tundra tailgate this is what happens http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/DallSheep4me/untitled3.jpg
BTW...this was done when loading a golf cart.
So if you want to haul your ATV in the Tundra, don't.
Post over at Tundrasolutions.com forum -
Toyota states they have NO Published Weight Rating on Tailgate.

Quote: “Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
We apologize for your dissatisfaction with the tailgate on your 2007 Tundra.
We do not have a published weight rating for the tailgate.
As such, we have not identified the tailgate as a weight bearing part.
Because it is not designed as a load bearing part, it is designed to be removable; we recommend you remove the tailgate for loading heavy items. ”

Source: Email reply from Toyota Sales, USA after filing a report of tailgate metal cracking to Toyota Customer Service.

Conclusion: Toyota does not know how much weight can be put on the Tundra Tailgate. I farther conclude neither does anyone else know, including current and future owners. What is a "heavy item?"


And here is the best one -
Fact #5: Toyota Does Not say Tundra Tailgate is NOT Load Bearing, publicly.

Quote: None. Toyota Does NOT Say a Word About It.

Source: There are 608 pages in the Tundra Owners Manual.
There are several hundred “Yellow Caution Boxes” in the Tundra Owners Manual, containing 498 “Do Not Do This or Do Not Do That” instructions.
There is not a single mention, of any kind, anywhere, not even an advisory (You shouldn’t do this or you might not want to do that) dealing with putting weight on the tailgate.
Not a single mention to “remove tailgate before loading heavy items”.
Not one Toyota advertisement could be found to state a requirement to remove tailgate before ….

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/tundra/115222-toyota-tailgate-facts/
Conclusion: (a)Toyota does not want you to know that the Tundra Tailgate cannot handle weight until after you do so. (like you wouldn’t find out on your own)

(b)Toyota does not want to go on the record as to how much weight you can put on the Tundra Tailgate.

(c) Toyota ran out of Yellow Background Ink while printing owners manual, therefore Tailgate Warning Message was left out by default.

[airbalancer]

The real test of a 1/2 ton  is determined after 6 years and 200K km.  We all know perfectly well between the 3 manufactures whose vehicles still have a second life left.   

 :iagree:GMC are the old pick ups I see on the job site and will be for a long time 

[MKII]

Tundra bed bounce issue http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/2007/09/08/bed-bounce-toyotas-response-to-our-first-email/

[Leviathan]

Hmm, a lot of the responses in that link are from people driving on highways.  Not good.

[Wolverine]

I was taking a look at the videos on pickuptruck website and found this, that's pretty impressive: F-150 vs Tundra frame strength: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRfE_XAk2mE&