Is 2nd Gen Worth It?

Is it worth trading in a 1st Gen for a 2nd Gen? I know, it's still a Toyota. But, is there any real reason to Gen-up if you have a perfectly good Gen 1. Besides maybe having more creature comforts?

• Are there more issues, less issues, relatively speaking.
• What are the Pros and Cons.

 

I personally bought my 2.5 Gen Crewmax primarily for the added cabin space of the crewmax configuration. I've got one kid still in a carseat and another new one coming later this year. For family hauling duties there's not likely a better full-size truck than the 2/2.5 Gen crewmax trucks. And the double cab configuration has a nice blend of usable backseat + longer 6.5' bed.

More power and towing capacity are other significant benefits for the 2nd Gens, and I'd say both Gens are pretty issue-free.

Whether it's worth it or not will largely depend on your use-case.

 

I'd keep the '03 if it is running great. The gen 1's are much easier to service, at least in my opinion. Nothing wrong with the gen 2's though.

 

One could argue all of the pros/cons for both generations for hours. But they're both Toyota products, and will both get you there, and back, and there again. Both will be good vehicles to you. However...

The 1st gen is going to be much much more carlike. Easier to drive and park, more comfortable ride. Not as big as a 2nd gen, but for a lot of situations that's an advantage. With a CarPlay head unit you can have most of the features that a 2nd gen has. The 1st gen does come with a few quirks: the timing belt and lower ball joints. Both of these items absolutely need to be replaced at 100k miles or 10 years.

I'd say that if you don't frequently need the towing/hauling capacity of the 2nd gen, it's probably not worth it.

 

I feel this. I have been looking at the Crewmax. I am moving from a Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab to the 03 Tundra. It will for sure be nice to maneuver easier with the smaller footprint of the 03 but I will for sure miss all that space. I also have 2 children and though they will fit in the back, they will be slightly stuffed in there.

 

Having owned both, I believe I like the 1st gen better simply from the standpoint of size. It's much easier to maneuver in city driving and off road. I like the 2nd gen better for engine power. I mean, over 100HP is nothing to shake a stick at! I enjoy the simplicity of the 1st gen. It's easy to work on. I do worry about parts supply drying up for certain things on the 1st gen in the coming years, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I wish the 1st gen had at least one more gear. But, Toyota fixed that in '04 with the 5 speed. If I had them both sitting side by side right now and had to choose, I would pick the 1st gen. For me at this point in life, it's perfect.

 

All good points. I have looked into all you mentioned. The Tundra is in good shape and will need some love but it will be nice not having a loan as well. My only concern is like I was saying to @Red&03Taco. Coming from the Mega Cab is going to be tough. I'll have to feel it out and see if I truly miss the extra space or if it was just vanity.

 

I jumped from a 2006 DC to a 2016 DCLB somewhat against my will (2006 was stolen and totaled) but have grown to like the 2016 more. 2006 Cab size was great (especially the back seat). 2016 has a better turn radius, if you were to get a SB or 6’ bed you’ll find it’s pretty easy to park/maneuver compared to the first gen. Ground clearance and 4x4 on both have been great. I find the ride of the 2016 better but miss the real 4x4 shifter. Don’t like the automatic locks and garbage on the 2016 but really wouldn’t want to go back to the poor turning radius and smaller bed either. I’d be happy with either, but clearly two very different trucks overall.

 

Oh yeah that's gonna be quite the adjustment. My dad has a '13 2500 Mega Cab and boy are those roomy. My perspective has always been you can't add more interior room to your truck (unless you throw your kids in the bed with a camper shell over top, and that's not particularly safe), but you can always tow a trailer to supplement bed space, should the 5.5' bed on a crewmax be too small

 

Additional minor points, probably not deciding factors to most. The heat/air is surprisingly not good in Gen2. The blower motor is not strong despite being loud. And the vents don’t want to stay pointing where you aim them. I thought it was just a problem with my truck, but several other owners said the same. The heat/air on Gen1 is much better. I also prefer the center console on Gen1

 

I loved my 1st year '00 1st gen and still miss it sometimes. Pestered my FIL for YEARS... "sell me that truck".





I bought it with no qualms at 155K miles because I knew how meticulously it had been maintained.

FIL worked in the aircraft industry and absolutely LOVES stuff like service intervals, maintenance logs, etc.
When I bought it he handed me a HUGE stack of records, including a log of every single tank of gas he put in it from '99 to 2016. (He was a wonderful man, but kinda' odd)

It did everything I asked of it for 6 years, and was still going strong when I sold it w/205K.

Never gave me any trouble except for the LBJ failure, but that's on me... She tried to tell me and I didn't listen.

Had Toyota not phased out the V8 I would probably still be driving the '00 now, (really nice not having a payment) but I wanted to get a 5.7 while they were still readily available.

Found the '19 as a lease turn-in CPO w/20,000 miles and pulled the trigger.

Like I said, the '00 performed it's job adequately and admirably, but the difference between it and the 5.7 '19 is pretty huge, especially when the 5,500 lb. "beach house/mountain cabin/desert hacienda" is hitched up.

136 more HP and 86 more lb/ft of torque is pretty freaking noticeable when towing, not to mention bigger brakes, 4 usable towing gears instead of 3, 4:30's, etc. mean neither truck nor driver have to work nearly as hard, and I arrive at our campsite much fresher and ready to go exploring instead of taking a nap.

The Gen 2.5 is noticeably bigger, but still quite nimble for it's size. I love the huge back seat of the Crewmax, the AC of the '00 was kinda' cramped.

Now that we have a 3rd pooch in the pack that's much more comfy for everyone.





I'd rather not have a payment, but I feel like it's worth it for everything it gives me. This truck will last WAAAYY longer than the payments do so I'm glad I upgraded.

1st Gen did I everything I needed it to, but the 2.5 Gen does it better and easier.

 

I guess that's another thing to mention. Aftermarket support for the 2nd gen is massive compared to the 1st gens.

Performance parts, tunes, suspension, wheels, interior, exterior, lighting, you name it, the 2nd gen's got it. There are much much less aftermarket parts available for 1st gens, and usually less people who have extensively modified their trucks, which just means there's less data out there.

 

Agreed. I would love to get a Console Vault for my 2006, but Console Vault only makes them for the Tundra going back to 2007.

 

Beautiful set up and I have to agree. I do love that Crewmax. The 03 is being gifted to me by my uncle. I'm actually picking it up in less then an hour. I may play with the idea of working on my "to do" and "wish list" with the idea of possibly trading up to a Crewmax if I'm lucky. If I find that it's good enough for what I currently need, perhaps I will put more money into it and keep it for an extended stay. We'll see, but those Crewmax's are crazy nice.

 

Wow, that's a pretty nice gift!!

I'm sure it'll be good enough for what you currently need, especially at that price!

Post up some pics when you get it home!

Proper maintenance and she'll serve you well for many years.

Do the Timing belt every 100K, and pay attention to the Lower Ball Joints.

Don't be like me!

 

Yeah. I'll put some before and after pics up. I already have the Aisin timing belt kit and the Dorman lower ball joints in my cart. As soon as the weather warms up a bit I will be hitting those areas first.

 

Don't buy the Dorman LBJs, trust me!! Pay the extra for OEM's.

You're going to be carrying around your family in this truck. Keep them safe. Do NOT put non-OEM lower ball joints on your truck, unless you'd like your wheel to fall off while you're driving!

 

Hoping this is just supposed to be bait. If not you need to start reading the megathread ASAP.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

 

It sounds like you failed to get the memo, so I'm going to type it out nice and big for you here.

HEY @TMO82, YOU NEVER EVER EVER USE AFTERMARKET LOWER BALL JOINTS ON 1ST GEN TUNDRAS!!!

Please. Don't do it. Don't be a victim. It's a known issue. Aftermarket part quality from even the biggest-name vendors has been a problem. The NHTSA has forced product recalls multiple times for our trucks, for multiple part manufacturers, the last one as recently as mid-2024.

This post explains why: https://www.tundras.com/threads/lbj-conspiracy.154434/

This post is full of pics of people who "thought they knew better" or never got warned: https://www.tundras.com/threads/first-gen-lower-ball-joint-lbj-failures.141860/

Don't be a dumbass. Listen to the people who get stuck suffering from others' stupidity after choosing not to listen to this warning.

This is our most recent victim here on the forum: https://www.tundras.com/threads/lbj-failure-public-service-announcement.154342/

 

This echoes everything I've heard and read about LBJ's too... OEM only.

I was driving around looking for fun waves to surf the morning mine failed... It SERIOUSLY messed up my day at the beach.

 

I have had multiple 2013+ mega cab 2500 and 3500 trucks, they are my favorite for their looks, appearance, fuel mileage, and roominess. The interior, appearance, and room is second to none, there is absolutely no way around it. I spend a ton of time inside the cab of these trucks.

You getting a 2003 extended cab is a whole lot less truck inside the cab, sure its doable but its not even remotely the same as a double cab. If you have two kids and need to haul them around as a family wagon, a double cab would have been way more up your alley. Totally understand they are not as easy to find and are quite costly for their age but they are great trucks.

I spend a ton of time in vehicles, its not uncommon for me to spend 60,000 miles a year behind the wheel. In my busy years i probably push 80,000 maybe a shade more. Every piece of road from coast to coast, i-70 south i have traveled and do travel. I have left LaPaz mexico and drove 2 days up to SanDiego, took a breather and drove 24 hours to central mississippi, unloaded luggage and trailer, repacked both, and headed to Miami, only to load stuff in miami and turn right around and come back to central mississippi. It was 4700 miles in 9 days and that kind of traveling has happened a few times. I love the nice big feeling of the mega cabs, absolutely love how smooth and relatively quiet the cabs are especially at highway speeds. Even though i choose to run the cummins and mega cab as my pull trucks and long distance runners, i prefer a Toyota as my daily driver.

Although the mega cab is king of the road in interior room, the Tundra 2nd gen CrewMax is the biggest Toyota has ever offered but you'd be surprised at how big the 1st gen tundra double cab is in comparison. The 1GT double cab is probably my favorite cab to sit in, and drive, even though i dont use it for long trips. I absolutely love mine, its so smooth, quiet, easy, roomy, and comfortable. Even though on paper its not much different from a current model Tacoma double cab long bed, the interior is a world apart in how big it is. The newer trucks have thicker door voids, wider door panels, this robs so much interior room. I am sure this is to pass NTSB crash test ratings but it makes a new tacoma feel cramped, yet my 1GT feel SOOOO ROOMY even though on paper they are the same width. My dads 2022 tacoma is SO MUCH SMALLER interior wise than my 2005 double cab Tundra, even though on paper they are both 73/74" wide. Its not even a close comparison, it feels like its 10" wider inside from door panel to panel. The height and width of the double cab interior is so much nicer and so much more roomy than you imagine at first glance. I would rather drive my double cab 1GT with the family than most any other vehicle, its so big and roomy even though the measurements may place it in a "smaller" category.

 

This was another one of our forum members who wasn't lucky enough to have it happen when slowly cruising. I posted a pic of someone I passed recently at the on-ramp of interstate I-675 who had their LBJ snap on the front driver side, and they had a trailer full of equipment, it could've killed someone.

​

 

Look on CL and FBMP, in my past digs for people here, i have noticed the prices of the 2007+ Tundra at, or below some 2003-2006 Tundra prices. You might be able to clean it up, sell the 03, and put the money towards a semi-low mileage crewmax that would likely suit the family better. The extended cab Tundra isnt the biggest for a family, its do-able but its not comfortable.

 

Yeah, that's a bad day.

I thought I had totally dropped the ball on maintenance, but I found out later looking at some records that I did in fact have them replaced, so my guy must've used non-OEM, which is what failed on me.

He's always done right by me on all our vehicles and I trust him, I think neither of us knew how picky these are about LBJ's.

 

I'm glad you brought this up. I was under the impression that Dorman was OEM quality. I'll have to replan.

 

There are certain times and places you can get away with non-OEM brands.

Many of those cases are explained in THIS THREAD.

If you have not read THIS THREAD, you need to read THIS THREAD before you begin shopping for a 1st Gen Tundra. It contains years of collective first-hand experience (warnings, TSBs, shit to watch out for, maintenance plans, etc.) from this forum, we compiled as a community, to help dudes just like you not get fucked over.

Just read the first two replies. Yes, I know it sucks. Yes, I know it's a wall of text. But you know what's worse? Buying a new-to-you-truck and realizing you just threw away thousands of dollars because you couldn't spend 20 minutes reading

(Sadly, we see roughly 1-2 post per month on here where folks did exactly that )

 

Looks like this is what I need.

 

If you're not in Alabama, given the 15% off sale going on between now and Sunday, and free shipping, and no tax, you can probably get a better price from this dealership, at least for now.

 

@TMO82 You need the bolts too.
ETA - Also see you have a 2003, so you may need to be really careful you get the right parts. IIRC, that was the crossover year?

So look up your part numbers at this site. You can enter your VIN to get info specific to your vehicle.

https://toyota-usa.epc-data.com/tundra/

 

Are you taking about these bolts?