The main thing was that I found I couldn't replace it. What do I mean by that?
When I bought my 4 wheel drive Truck new in 2011 I was able to get a small V8 that could still pull a trailer and in fact my Daughter's boyfriend and I hauled a Uhaul trailer filled to the gills with stuff all the way to Portland Oregon from the San Francisco Bay area. I also pulled in 2011 in the summer a Uhaul trailer with m KLR 650 dualsport Motorcycle to Mt. Shasta because we had rented a house on Lake Siskiyou for a month then too. So, trailering even with the smaller V8 was fine. However, I wouldn't likely want to pull a 28 foot Airstream trailer or something like this. But, I suppose some people would and already have and it might not have destroyed their transmission or engine. I don't know.
The point is I can no longer get the smaller V8 that gave me when I bought it new literally 20 mpg gas because this is a 6 speed transmission Automatic on this truck with a High 4wd and a Low Range 4 wheel drive too that function in this 6 speed range which is really great for 4 wheeling which I do a lot with friends when I can around Mt. Shasta around Mud Creek and Clear Creek and Cold Creek and Medicine lake and sometimes Lava Beds National Park and other places that are interesting and remote where 4 wheel driving is amazing so far away from everyone.
When I wanted to replace my 2011 Tundra 4 wheel drive I found I couldnt'. I couldn't replace the amazing luxury car ride that I get when I run Michelin mud and snow tires at any speed down a freeway. I found I really don't need off road tires beyond these for ANYTHING I personally want to do with a 4 wheel drive either.
So, basically the main reason I haven't changed trucks is that I only have 137,000 miles on my truck and it still likely has another 200,000 to 300,000 miles left in it simply because I have maintained it and put synthetic motor oil in it regularly since I bought it and this can lengthen engine life by twice too.
Also, when I went to Toyota to see about replacing it all they had with a comparable engine would be a hybrid and I don't want a hybrid for 4 wheeling simply because it isn't as reliable in backwoods situation as a gasoline or diesel engine 4 wheel drive because of all the electrical connections in an off road environment and dust and snow and mud and everything else. Also, I was getting 20 mpg with my Tundra and the hybrid is only offering 23 miles per gallon. This makes no sense to me at all.
Maybe if the hybrid was offering me 30 mpg or more I might consider it but otherwise it isn't worth it to switch to an off road hybrid.
No comments:
Post a Comment