Any former Toyota 4x4 guys here?

[donivan]

Does a Sienna AWD count?

I went from the swagger wagon to the power wagon and no regrets and not concerned with reliability. I have had 5 trucks before this one but this is my first RAM. Lots of folks on the forum with high mileage vehicles and minimal issues. I was originally looking at getting a Gladiator and ended up with a Power Wagon after driving one. Definitely wanted something capable with lockers and not may options out there plus with the HD platform no need to change out axles or add more power to run bigger tires. As was mentioned I think the biggest difference is the 8 speed on the 19's.....interior and front end was updated as well. Not sure if you are wanting to run larger tires but I run 37s and don't feel the need to re-gear.

 

[Bob Macknight]

Hey all,
I've always loved the Power Wagon! Pretty rare truck to see cruising around and I'll typically crane my neck to check them out when I spot one. I've been a Toyota loyalist for the pst 25 years. Land Cruisers, Tacos, Tundras, Lexus, etc. I'm going to branch out and get a PW in the next few weeks. Curious about the reliability on these beasts. Any former Toyota guys make the switch to Dodge care to comment on the overall reliability?

Also, is the gen 5 a Huuuge difference over the gen 4? Looking at buying a slightly used one as the 2016 model is quite a bit cheaper but I'll hold out for a 2019 if it's that much better.
TIA

Sooooooooooo,you started this posting just sooooooooooooo you could justity putting pics of *** trucks on a good old american made site

 

[Bob Macknight]

And yes..ive owned five toyota trucks including four tacomas as my email addresss designates (tacomabob56) but that IS the past and im glad i switched

 

[Grand Mesa]

Sooooooooooo,you started this posting just sooooooooooooo you could justity putting pics of *** trucks on a good old american made site

The Power Wagons are still "Central" American made, correct?

https://www.thedrive.com/news/24521...production-from-mexico-to-us-after-trade-deal

 

[Overlander]

My 2021 PW has a '3' VIN so yes, still Mexico.

 

[Meister]

I had a tundra and while it didnt do well off road, my experience has not been the best with the PW. New transmission and differential within 5k miles, lots of recalls, poor customer service which is a dealer issue. Overall just lots of little things

 

[olyelr]

I had a tundra and while it didnt do well off road, my experience has not been the best with the PW. New transmission and differential within 5k miles, lots of recalls, poor customer service which is a dealer issue. Overall just lots of little things

i remember reading some of your posts...almost make u wanna dump it and move on to something else.

but, you can get that with any manufacturer. They all have their issues.



@Upland80 get the truck, you know you want it

 

[BigLazer4u]

I had a tundra and while it didnt do well off road, my experience has not been the best with the PW. New transmission and differential within 5k miles, lots of recalls, poor customer service which is a dealer issue. Overall just lots of little things

Sounds like a nightmare

 

[sam darakjy]

Yeah, I have had 5 Tacoma's, 3 trucks, 1 4runner and 1 Tundra over the years. I had TRD superchargers on 3 of them. I agree on the comments that Toyota has lost their way in building exciting vehicles. They have also regressed on their reliability. My 2017 Tacoma was a big disappointment.

The PW is my 1st FCA vehicle and I was a bit nervous. Everything the PW comes with made it worth to me. I did have a seal replaced on the transmission but otherwise has been great. I have a Four Wheel Camper on order and should be getting it in the spring.

View attachment 225672

Good luck with the FWC. I went with a hardtop Cirrus for my 2500 Tradesman and starting to regret decision. Should have gone with a well made pop up like you are doing.

 

[Lionfish]

While I cannot say I switched to a PW, I must say that my 1990 Toyota Hilux (pre Tacoma 4x4) is still running like a top and has a 7' plow on the front of it that I use to plow my 400' driveway and some of my neighbors drives as well in the mountains of Colorado. I love this truck and would have bought another Toyota truck if they only made a big assed diesel
like my Ram 2500 which I need to tow my oversized horse trailer and my 31 foot RV. I just sold my 2006 Ram as it had a standard cab, I loved that truck to, it kicked butt towing
these trailers through the CO mountains. Sold the 2006 for 25,000, bought a new 2018 2500 quad cab and love the way it tows also. Sorry that I cannot speak to a PW, but
I can tell you my 2500's did everything I asked of them and more.

 

[outdoorco75]

I was a long time Toyota guy, Tacoma from 2000-2010, then a 4Runner Trail from 2013 until this month. I wanted something more powerful and larger for my family and towing. I went with a 2021 Rebel, I am a bit nervous about reliability but the Tundra just seemed so boring to me. It would have been like buying a new truck that looks like my old truck on the inside. And I had issues with my 4Runner but nothing crazy. I found a Ram dealership with lifetime powertrain warranty so that gives me a little more comfort. Fingers crossed but so far I love everything about the vehicle, from the nice interior, the look and the how it drives.

 

[Endoscott]

Currently drive a 2014 RAM 3500, CTD, SRW, 4WD, great truck love towing with it, BUT it has had SO MANY repairs and recalls! To date still under warrany (best thing we did was extended warranty, something I almost never do). GPS unit failed, radio unit failed, front unitized wheel bearing, rear wheel bearing seals, NOX sensors, turbo actuator (for which I had to wait 2 weeks to fix due to their new requirement for a "warranty inspection" even though its at an FCA dealer) and some other things I am forgetting. Toyota does not make a full size CTD truck so the RAM is the best of the other 3 choices, all things considered. 1st 4-runner was an '85. Kicking myself for ever selling that one. Bought a '97 4-runner new, never had the 1st repair until 100,000 and that was front pads and starter, both wear items really. My daughter still drives that one, maybe 280,000 miles or so, still runs great and tranny is great. Sooooo, we have taken the truck on quite a few desert trails in SoCal where we got a little place now. Decided we needed a little smaller rig and found a '97 4-runner Limited with the locker and 185,000 miles, figured thats just barely broke in for a Toyota. Honestly less worried about it breaking on a trail somewhere than the big truck.

 

[Scott Nugent]

Had 2 Tundras went to Ram and just bought a new Tundra. Repairs killed me on the Ram before it hit 75k. I do think Ram reliability has improved quite a bit.

 

[Tracy in IL]

Great looking rig, If we downsize into a smaller house with a smaller garage, I may have to get rid of my Ram, and a Tacoma is definitely on the short list.

 

[Overlander]

Tacoma has something like 1,100 lbs payload capacity in crew cab config. It's a complete joke...

 

[Cham]

Pulled wrenches at a Toyota dealer for a few years back late 80's early 90's. Always had Chev until after I started that job. Got a good deal and bought a little truck 4X2 for the commute, it got written off a few years back with almost 500k on it, never had to do much to it other than tires, oil changes, and one U joint. A kid in Daddy's LTD was doing zeros in a parking lot and hit it full speed in reverse on the right rear corner, pushing the box right into the cab. The insurance paid ok.

Bought a 98 tacoma 4X4 and put about the same mileage on it then last year the frame had rusted away too far to fix so I sold it for parts. (had checked for the frame recall but frame was too good to get a new truck then). All oil changes, tires, brakes, and two U joints. Never did have to do the front axle boots. Oh yea almost forgot, broke a leaf spring in the back at around 350k. It was really too small and pulling trailers around that were too heavy got me in trouble with the DOT a few times.

Neither of these trucks EVER left me on the side of the road. Never had to add oil between oil changes, no transmission or drive train issues, they just did their thing. Body rust after a few years was an issue and the frame problem on the Tacomas was a a major problem. The Toyota dealer I worked for bought many of these back. Don't know if they ever actually replaced frames (that was after I worked there).

Just to mention, I worked at a GM and Ford dealer before Toyota. There was no comparison to the work environment at Toyota, I really enjoyed working there. Actually had engineers from Japan stop by the shop a few times, whenever we would run into a problem on a vehicle we would write out a report to send to Toyota. Those engineers would actually show up with those reports wanting to speak with the tech that filled them out looking for any details on the fault. Thought that was pretty cool... Ford and GM never seemed to give a **** about their products. These Toyota guys were different.

Replaced the tacoma with a ram 2500 tradesman 6.4 last year. It's like driving a semi tractor compared to the little trucks (less shifting though). Can only hope it will be as reliable. Needed the extra weight capacity. No troubles with the DOT anymore.

 

[ParamG]

I work at Toyota i got tired of waiting for their diesel tundra and tacoma

Bought a 2018 night edition classic then a 2019 mid night edition classic now with the one I originally couldn't afford the 2020 rebel ram 1500 non classic and its sweet I went over a couple curbs and uneven concrete and it just feels better then my old gasser more stable when its on uneven surfaces

My buddy has a 2500 hd diesel I think power wagon he loves it for his quad and I've seen it go in the trail and tow a quad out where I wouldn't take my gassers lol

 

[Lucy Girl]

Hey all,
I've always loved the Power Wagon! Pretty rare truck to see cruising around and I'll typically crane my neck to check them out when I spot one. I've been a Toyota loyalist for the pst 25 years. Land Cruisers, Tacos, Tundras, Lexus, etc. I'm going to branch out and get a PW in the next few weeks. Curious about the reliability on these beasts. Any former Toyota guys make the switch to Dodge care to comment on the overall reliability?

Also, is the gen 5 a Huuuge difference over the gen 4? Looking at buying a slightly used one as the 2016 model is quite a bit cheaper but I'll hold out for a 2019 if it's that much better.
TIA

Toyota guys are on the Toyot forum. They don’t do RAMS. LOL

 

[olyelr]

Tacoma has something like 1,100 lbs payload capacity in crew cab config. It's a complete joke...

Thats all my power wagon has, too.

 

[Overlander]

Thats all my power wagon has, too.

Should be 1,450 for the 4th gen and 1,510 for the 5th gen. Though both are limited for performance reasons due to the lift. Structurally they'll handle as much as a non-PW 2500HD.