Gen 1 Raptor vs. Tundra TRD Pro

[CanadianRaptorVL]

Hey y'all, looking into getting a new truck to replace my 3/4 ton and have boiled it down to these two options. Looking to buy second hand of course to save some money, plus I like the older model better. Reliability is a big one for me, this will be a personal vehicle (daily driver) and will be rolling until the very end. Mostly driving to work, pulling small boat & ATVs, weekend trips (hunting, MTB, etc.).

Some Pros of the Tundra: Reliable 5.7L V8 (of course), very spacious inside, large windows and simple design. Only downside is that it seems a little boring and the interior is a little cheap looking. The rear floor also seems like wasted space with that hump.

Not very familiar with the Raptor but Pros: Seems fun, stock lift (fox shocks), reliable 6.2L (from what I've heard), and good ride quality.

Equally horrendous gas mileage haha

Can anyone offer any experience with either vehicle? Price-wise the Raptor is around $5k more give or take.


Thanks in advance!!!

 

[KaptainKam]

My uncle has a TRD pro, and I own a Gen 1 Raptor and I gotta say the size of the Rwptor makes it a much more comfortable drive if you got multiple people with you. As far as offroad capabilities he did upgrade his Shocks/struts to pretty much match what the gen1 can do stock, although I feel like high speed offroading is the Raptors bread and butter. If you want my biased opinion haha

 

[CanadianRaptorVL]

My uncle has a TRD pro, and I own a Gen 1 Raptor and I gotta say the size of the Rwptor makes it a much more comfortable drive if you got multiple people with you. As far as offroad capabilities he did upgrade his Shocks/struts to pretty much match what the gen1 can do stock, although I feel like high speed offroading is the Raptors bread and butter. If you want my biased opinion haha

Would you say the Tundra feels more spacious inside or are they relatively similar? It's pretty hard to find differences between these two truck since they're both pretty old-school with 6 speeds trans and V8s

 

[SVTTrooper]

biggest reason NOT to buy a Tundra? they're terrible at protecting it's occupants in a collision, to the point the firewall collapses 15 inches on impact when hit head on.

The only place a Tundra is bigger in cab size is the rear in a crew max, other than that the Ford is just a spacious and I found more ergonomically friendly than the Tundra.

Raptor's are super reliable, remember Ford used the exact same engine in their gas F250/350s ( my service truck at work has 200k miles on it with the 6.2 ). Raptors also hold their value far better than any other gas truck on the road.

biggest mechanical differences? Raptor has a bespoke mid travel suspension, Fox shocks, torsen diff (12 and up) bespoke rear end (8 inches wider than stock I believe).

the Tundra has nothing special unless you get a TRD Pro, but even that has just sway bars and slightly better shocks. To get a Tundra on the same playing field as a Raptor you'd have to spend 5-7K CAD easily to get it somewhat close to a Raptor.

we're all biased here lol and for good reason, Tundra's just aren't on the same level.

 

[FordTechOne]

The Tundra and F-150 are not even in the same league, never mind the Raptor. The Tundra uses a cheaply manufactured open C-Channel frame that flexes like a wet noodle. It's so cheap and poorly engineered that the Tundra couldn't even pass Ford's bed bounce durability test, in fact the bed contacted the cab on the Tundra, causing damage:

As far as crash protection, SVTTrooper is correct. The Tundra scored at the bottom in the offset crash test, with a result of "Poor":

As far as reliability, all too often Toyota is assumed to be "reliable" because of the badge. There are Toyota brand loyalists that will swear up and down that their vehicle is ultra-reliable and never needed a single repair in 200K miles, and as a professional technician I can tell you they're lying through their teeth. Even the most durable vehicles still need a minimum of maintenance and light repairs throughout the course of their lifetimes. The Tundra is not "reliable" for a number of reasons, but Toyota has expertise in covering up issues. They have even lowered themselves to paying off owners and having them sign non-disclosure agreements to avoid negative press and class action lawsuits. The only merit of their product is brand perception, and they protect it ferociously at ANY cost.

The first notorious Tundra issue is Air Injection Pump (AIP) failure. Early engines were know for snapping camshafts, but that was resolved in production after the first couple years that the 2nd generation Tundra was produced. The AIP failures cost approximately $4000 to resolve at the dealer. I cannot recall a single vehicle made by an American manufacturer that has used an air pump since the late 90's; the air pump is simply a stop gap for poor emissions control on a cold start. The pump pushes air into the catalyst(s) so they light off quicker and comply with the federal standards for cold start emissions. Toyota couldn't figure out how to get the power they wanted while meeting emissions standards, so they needed to employ an air pump. Worked out great for them, not so much for the people that bought their junk.

The second major issue is cam tower leaks. Like almost all Japanese manufacturers, Toyota uses RTV as the primary sealant for all gasket surfaces. On the 5.7 (3UR-FE) and 4.6/4.7 (1UR-FSE) engines, RTV is used to seal the cam girdles to the cylinder heads. This sealing solution was poorly engineered and not thoroughly tested, which results in every engine leaking oil between the cam "tower" and cylinder head. They all do it; it's not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when". The repair is nothing like a valve cover leak; it requires complete disassembly of the front of the engine (front timing cover, oil pan, timing chains) as well as the removal of the camshafts from the cylinder heads. The repair averages $3500 at the dealership, and they certainly don't have clean rooms as they would at an engine plant, so you can figure on future engine problems.

 

[CanadianRaptorVL]

biggest reason NOT to buy a Tundra? they're terrible at protecting it's occupants in a collision, to the point the firewall collapses 15 inches on impact when hit head on.

Never considered collision as a factor, I'll definitely look into that!

 

[CanadianRaptorVL]

The Tundra and F-150 are not even in the same league, never mind the Raptor. The Tundra uses a cheaply manufactured open C-Channel frame that flexes like a wet noodle. It's so cheap and poorly engineered that the Tundra couldn't even pass Ford's bed bounce durability test, in fact the bed contacted the cab on the Tundra, causing damage

Appreciate the insight. I didn't know the Tundra was an open channel frame, thought all half-tons where boxed! Might be something to think about.

Thanks

 

[Jonny V]

I drive a ‘12 Screw. It has superior 4x4 ability to ANY new Toyota on a dealers showroom floor. Gas mileage about equal (bad lol!).

Having owned 4 wheel drive trucks for 35+ years now, I can say that I will never give up my OG Raptor. It’s that good. Go drive one and see for yourself.

 

[KaptainKam]

Would you say the Tundra feels more spacious inside or are they relatively similar? It's pretty hard to find differences between these two truck since they're both pretty old-school with 6 speeds trans and V8s

Yeah it is spacious but I think raptors and F150's in general win in that category. The other guys on here that gave more technical arguments for the Raptor make much better points than I do lol I would say even with an upgraded suspension, the tundra is still a class under the raptor in terms of offroading capability

 

[gunslinger2803]

I daily drive a 2014 Crewcab Raptor and have been test driving everything I can get my hands on to try to beat it out. I test drove the 2020 Tundra TRD Pro, and while I think they look great, the driving experience left a lot to be desired. It seemed down on power and the platform seemed ancient even I'm comparison to my 6 year old truck. The interior is massive, but has a cheaper feel in my opinion than the 2014 Raptor. It's nothing special in my opinion.