Which truck would you get?

[handirifle]

Do you use your parking brake? I never did until I found out that the parking brake is what adjusts the brakes. Since it's an automatic I would just shift into park and not think twice. I actually found a pretty good procedure that has worked well for me.

Drive slowly in reverse and apply the parking brake MILDLY (about halfway or 3-5 clicks) to get the front shoe snug against the drum. Apply the brake PEDAL in pumping fashion to get the rear shoe to periodically grab against the drum resulting in a rocking action between the front and rear shoe. When you are satisfied, release the parking brake and test the brakes by driving forward normally. Alternatively and a little more tricky to pull off, one can alternatingly apply the parking brake and the regular foot brake in alternating fashion to achieve the type of brake shoe rocking action necessary to tighten the rear. This is tricky with the way the parking brake works, but with a little practice, can be done and works very well. You should immediately notice firmer pedal if your rear brakes were too loose and your adjustment method was successful.

Yea I have tried that, but the only way to get the max from them is manual adjustment. For those that wondered, the '06 Tundra has drum rear brakes.

 

[fordmantpw]

Speedy
Fordman
No need to get nasty, I have not and will not be rude to anyone. All are offering their opinions, and my opionions are just that, mine! And for the record, it's not the turbos I question, it's the internals. They (American car makers) have to prove themselves to me. Remember the GM 3.8 Turbo??? Remember the Corvair Turbo??

Yea those date back a ways but their track records are not sweet. Also kinda like the GM gasser/diesel conversions. When I see the Ford Ecoboost folks still very happy after 200K with a lot of towing miles in there I will sing a different tune.

Hey, I bought one of the first GM Front wheel drive (not counting the old Olds Toranado's) v6, fuel injected cars they put out, it was a Pontiac 2000. That thing was frought with problems. Ever have a rack and pinion system break from normal street driving? That one did along with a host of other problems. I am not new to driving, nor have I only owned one type or brand of car. Been driving legally since I was 15. That's 45 years on the road, and with a father that was a carreer mechanic, and myself a trained mechanic, I can honestly say I think I have a clue about the technology, and about companies putting crap on the market, to let US test it.

I am HIGHLY impressed with what Ford did with the Ecoboost truck engine, but just like folks say about drivers upping their mileage numbers, Ford (or any other car maker) is not in the market for ANY other reason, than to sell.

Sorry if I sounded nasty, as that is not what I intended, and for that, I apologize. I have seen so many naysayers (not just with the EcoBoost, but advancements in technology in general) that is gets old. I understand the "show me" attitude (hey, I'm from the "Show Me State"), but so many folks say "show me", and when they see one example to the contrary (say, just picking numbers here, 1 EcoBoost failed after 250,000 were perfect), they say the entire thing is a failure. The "show me" turns into "if it isn't 100% perfect, then it isn't good enough for me." I'm not saying you are that way, I've just seen it a lot.

Yes, manufacturers are in it to sell, that's how they make money. But today, the competition is so stiff, and the backlash due to a massive failure is so horrendous, that the reward is just not there to risk putting out an inferior product. Imagine that gasser to diesel conversion of GM if it were today. What kind of results would that have when everyone expects nearly perfect products. It would be a disaster. And I've been following Ford long enough that I have faith in there products, especially the newest tech in the last 3+ years.

Again, I apologize if I came across as nasty, it was more-or-less a smart-***** remark directed at all the negative nancies, not specifically you.

Best of luck on your truck search. With the weight you are towing, I, personally, would vote to go the gasser route. You could buy a nicer truck for less money. Don't let the fuel economy sway you toward a diesel unless you are towing 10's of thousands of miles per year. With diesel costing 10-30% more than gasoline, you need to get 10-30% better fuel economy just to break even on gas. When the time comes to buy a new truck, I'm hoping that Ford has an EcoBoost V8 available in a Super Duty. I love the way my diesel tows, but for my type of driving and the amount of towing I do, it's just not worth the drawbacks of a diesel if I can get similar power and torque numbers out of a gasser.

 

[sd455dan]

The diesel price difference is not much, in our area . If you buy non ethanol premium gas it is 18 cents HIGHER per gallon than diesel as of a week ago at the station I buy at.

 

[sd455dan]

Yea I have tried that, but the only way to get the max from them is manual adjustment. For those that wondered, the '06 Tundra has drum rear brakes.

I should have checked... My apologies crazyal... I made an assumption based off of my 03 Dodge and some other trucks from the vintage being discussed...

 

[fordmantpw]

Right now it's 3.35/3.69 for regular gas/diesel here, for a difference of 10%. In the winter, the difference is closer to 30%.

 

[sd455dan]

Wow- you guys got it a little better there, our regular is more than your premium- and the diesel here is about $3.89 and a town over has diesel at close to the price you have... Non ethanol premium is about $4.07

 

[handirifle]

Reg 87 octane gas with ethonol added, (all you can get here) is currently about $4.05 gal. Usually, not always, diesel is about 20 cents higher than that, but some times is more. Really odd.

My wife and I have taken several cross country road trips, in the Accord, and I love it when I get out of CA, for gas prices. Driving all around the country can see as much as a dollar a gallon difference, from home prices.

 

[gilbertmsg]

Diesel near Petersburg, VA is $3.45, Regular 87 is $3.28, High-Test 91 is about $3.70. During the summer diesel is very competitive with gas. In the winter diesel is a little more expensive. I would rather pay the difference and drive the diesel.

Eddie

 

[kevinwak]

Currently our regular gas is $1.23 per liter and diesel is $1.15 per liter.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

 

[crazyal]

Hmmm, is that still the case with rear disc brakes that most vehicles have today?

I don't think it would matter, at least with the Toyota's. The last I knew they use a brake drum for the parking brake and disk is only used with the brake pedal. So the brake shoes being out of adjustment would only effect the parking brake. Some other brands used the disc brake caliper as both parking and rear brakes. Not sure how that would work but there must be some way to either adjust the parking brake as the pads wear or the parking brake must be hydraulic.

 

[crazyal]

Yea I have tried that, but the only way to get the max from them is manual adjustment. For those that wondered, the '06 Tundra has drum rear brakes.

I have take apart my rear brakes and made sure everything is nice and free. I also bought a brake hardware kit. There's a steel arm that's inside an aluminum housing with a rubber boot around it that the parking brake cable attaches to. That was corroded so I removed it, disassembled it, and when I reassembled it I filled inside the boot with anti-seize. So everything works great now. My rear brakes will adjust but I have to do the "put it in reverse, parking brake half way applied, and pump the brake" trick.

I don't know if all of the Tundra got them but at least some 07 Tundras got rear disk brakes. Before that the rear brakes are drum and are not all that great of a design. Their older drum brakes were a better set up, not great but better.

 

[mikehaugen]

I don't think it would matter, at least with the Toyota's. The last I knew they use a brake drum for the parking brake and disk is only used with the brake pedal. So the brake shoes being out of adjustment would only effect the parking brake. Some other brands used the disc brake caliper as both parking and rear brakes. Not sure how that would work but there must be some way to either adjust the parking brake as the pads wear or the parking brake must be hydraulic.

Though I have never personally worked on this system, it is my understanding that parking brakes that use the the caliper have some sort of ratcheting mechanism on a mechanical arm. I have been told the when you change pads, you have to turn this mechanism back in to accommodate the thicker pads. Again, I don't know it personally so I can't really describe it, but as far as I know automakers are not allowed to use hydraulics for the parking brake, as it is still considered an "emergency" brake in case of hydraulic failure.

 

[TSO]

One more option you can consider, if you want to stay with your current truck... is upgrading the truck itself. I don't know if you are a member of TundraSolutions.com forum, but there is a member (EscondidoTundra) that does custom exhaust work, including LongTube headers and a full exhaust (with his custom BAmufflers) that really adds some power to the truck. He can "custom dial" in what kind of power you want, like high-end HP or low-end Torque. His work is Dyno backed too. He can probably realistically get you another 30-40 rear-wheel HP (which is a 15% gain approx). Probably cost ya around $1k.

Just another option in case you want to keep your truck...

 

[handirifle]

I have take apart my rear brakes and made sure everything is nice and free. I also bought a brake hardware kit. There's a steel arm that's inside an aluminum housing with a rubber boot around it that the parking brake cable attaches to. That was corroded so I removed it, disassembled it, and when I reassembled it I filled inside the boot with anti-seize. So everything works great now. My rear brakes will adjust but I have to do the "put it in reverse, parking brake half way applied, and pump the brake" trick.

I don't know if all of the Tundra got them but at least some 07 Tundras got rear disk brakes. Before that the rear brakes are drum and are not all that great of a design. Their older drum brakes were a better set up, not great but better.

Yea there's some folks over at tundrasolutions that have adapted the read disk from the same year Sequoia to the Tundra. One has to ask why on earth they would use the disk on an SUV and not the truck. Could have at least offered it as an option.

 

[94BULLITT]

In most cases the rear drum brakes will outlast a set of rear disk.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I will not touch another set of drum brakes. I have even converted 2 of my 3 trailers to disc.


Chris

 

[handirifle]

One more option you can consider, if you want to stay with your current truck... is upgrading the truck itself. I don't know if you are a member of TundraSolutions.com forum, but there is a member (EscondidoTundra) that does custom exhaust work, including LongTube headers and a full exhaust (with his custom BAmufflers) that really adds some power to the truck. He can "custom dial" in what kind of power you want, like high-end HP or low-end Torque. His work is Dyno backed too. He can probably realistically get you another 30-40 rear-wheel HP (which is a 15% gain approx). Probably cost ya around $1k.

Just another option in case you want to keep your truck...

TSO
Yes I am a member of TS, that's where I got the idea to adapt the Dodge flip up towing mirrors to my Tundra. been running those for little over 2 years now. Love em. I will have to look him up and see what he offers. My first upgrade, if I keep it, will be to the brakes, for sure. There is a Big Brake Kit, offered from TRD, I THINK, for the Tundra, but at $1800 that's an expensive upgrade. An that's only for the front. Still need to address the rear, like with a Sequoia swap. That and the exhaust upgrade woould end up being in the $3-4K range. Lots of money to a retired guy.

 

[handirifle]

In most cases the rear drum brakes will outlast a set of rear disk.

Which to me means one of two things. Either they are not applying the braking pressure they need to be or the linings are thicker on the shoes vs pads. I know my '06 GMC 1500 had drum rears, but it had ZERO stopping problems. I never did tow anything with it though.

 

[TSO]

TSO
Yes I am a member of TS, that's where I got the idea to adapt the Dodge flip up towing mirrors to my Tundra. been running those for little over 2 years now. Love em. I will have to look him up and see what he offers. My first upgrade, if I keep it, will be to the brakes, for sure. There is a Big Brake Kit, offered from TRD, I THINK, for the Tundra, but at $1800 that's an expensive upgrade. An that's only for the front. Still need to address the rear, like with a Sequoia swap. That and the exhaust upgrade woould end up being in the $3-4K range. Lots of money to a retired guy.

I would skip the BB kit... Overpriced. Surely there are some reasonable aftermarket kits available. I think, for your use, a used 07-08 Tundra 5.7 will be more than enough. But, unfortunately... I think you'll have a difficult time getting that much $$$ for your truck, and you might need to bring that extra $3-4k with you on your purchase anyhow.

 

[handirifle]

Well been chattin the CFO and she's givving me the evil eye about another truck, for now :laughing:, will have to see. I also contacted the guy on Tundra Solutions about the header upgrade. I really hate the idea of trying to sell my truck then being without, then looking for another, so I guess I will stay with this one for now.

I do appreciate all the honest opinions given here. That was what I needed to hear.

As for the brakes, there is sooooo little aftermarket support for this truck it's not funny. That's why I did the Dodge flip up tow mirrors on mine. The ones offered to fit over Tundra mirrors are an absolute joke. I love mine now. Full power in both positions and heated as well. The fold flat against the door just like factory ones, and as I found out the other day, they fold forward some without damage, thankfully.