1st gen Tundra or 2nd/3rd gen taco for towing race cars?

Hey folks, copying my post from GRM to here for more input. After driving my dailies to SCCA events for years I’m finally ready to graduate to a tow rig. This isn’t happening immediately but I’m trying to do as much research beforehand so I can focus on the already all-consuming buying process. I want a truck I can daily, take on trips, and tow up to a few hundred miles once a month to access more racing.

I’ve built my rusty GC coupe for rallycross and have been going to events at least once a month. I also plan on getting into a “low cost” racing series like vintage or improved touring in the next few years. I feel it’s time to invest in the right truck (and trailer) for peace of mind and accessibility for future racing.

After a lot of reading, and staying true to my interests, a 1st gen V8 Tundra is the obvious choice. They can handle the light cars I plan to own (<3k lbs), are fairly affordable, and will do well enough as a reliable daily. I'd get a 05-06 4wd access cab ideally with the tow package. I don’t want a Sequoia or overpriced Lexus whatever. I also can’t bring myself to buy a domestic vehicle and expect it to just run. The trailer would be a light-ish, open, small car hauler.

That being said, I haven’t seen many 1st gen Tundra tow rigs. Instead I often see current/newer Tacomas and 4Runners towing rallycross cars. These have lower towing capacity, smaller chassis, and comparable MPG so their popularity confounds me. My only guess is some people aren’t willing to rely on a ~20 year old rig anymore, despite the renowned reliability? My 1st gen Tacoma reinforced my faith in the iconic dependability and left me wanting another one.



So my question is to those who tow with Toyota trucks, which truck and why?

 

It really depends on condition but the 2nd gen tundra is much better suited for towing.

if you do go 1st gen make sure to get the vvti model with 5 speed, not for reliability but just for power and functionality.

I dont own either but work on many of both.

1st gens have a fair amount of rust issues, and need a little more maintenance, it’s a product of it’s time.

 

I had a 2008 Tundra 5.7 4X4, Double cab, TRD that I used for many, many years to tow my track stuff. 24' Enclosed aluminum trailer, 2000lb car, plus a couple thousand pounds of extra stuff. I had a combo anti sway/weight distro hitch.

Mostly local to Summit Point. Or a few hours to VIR. Or a full day+ down to Barber.
Plenty of truck for the task, but the fuel consumption was pretty staggering. Typically in the 7-8mpg range. Verses 12.5-13 normally. IIRC the tank was only 25 gallons, so there were always a lot of stops on the longer hauls.

I currently use a 2004 Land Cruiser for towing a single axle aluminum utility trailer. I've had it loaded up over 3000lbs and the 4.7 does okay-ish. I certainly wouldn't want to get anywhere near the 6500 rated limit. 235hp/320tq just isn't all that much, for towing on the regular.

I've had 100 Series with the 4 speed and the 5 speed, and the extra gear makes a massive difference, IMO.

 

My son has my old '05 Tundra (2wd AC with tow package). He tows a 26' travel trailer (sway/weight hitch) with no problems. If the frame has been taken care of you'd be good to go. They require the typical maintenance but they are tough trucks. You might get away with towing with a Tacoma, but the Tundra would make life much easier. I put a Magnaflow cat back on it years ago and I still miss driving it.
Cheers.

 

As an analogy, I can drive 4" nails with a little claw hammer but I'd much rather use a framing hammer.

 

I've now done 2 tows with my 2nd gen dcsb. It did fine on a my short 20 or 30 mile drive back home. 2700lb car on a 2300lb uhaul. The power train handled it fine. The stock suspension wasn't super happy with me.

If I could. Id take slighty more power and a bigger tank. I havent done an mpg calculation with a car trailer. But I could imagine the 21 gallon tank wouldn't have the greatest range. All things id like to fix with a 2.5 gen tundra

 

Here’s my 2 cents worth. Toyotas are some of the most reliable and dependable vehicles on the road. But they are not infallible. They break just like any other car/truck. The more miles and the older they are the more problems. Drive by a Toyota service department in the morning and see the number of vehicles lined up for repair of some kind. I’m a Toyota guy but but when it comes to towing I want the most dependable vehicle I can get. Nothing worse than having a breakdown while towing and you are 100 miles from a shop or parts. No matter what vehicle the older and the more mileage the greater your chance of problems. That’s why for towing I want the newest, lowest mileage vehicle I can find/afford. Especially since you will be using it as a daily and tow rig and everything else. If all you can afford is a gen 1 or 2 then look for one with the lowest mileage. If you can afford newer (and lower mileage) then get a newer truck. If you’ve ever broke down in the middle of nowhere with a trailer behind you, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. So go newer rather than older and lower mileage than higher.
It’s one thing if you bought a truck new, put 200000 miles on it, you know everything about that truck. But if you buy a 20 year old truck with 200000 or more miles and 2 or 3 owners no matter how good an inspection you give it you really don’t know shit about it. So for your purposes stay away from the gen 1’s and older gen 2’s unless that is all you can afford.