One season on a used Tundra off harbert's pulling the bike trailer

Dale name dropped my truck over in his Ram thread so a couple of you came asking for the long version, here it is on its own. this is the 2018 Toyota Tundra crew max i bought off harbertsautosales.com last winter and have now towed with for a full season.

specs. 5.7 iForce V8, 6 speed auto, 4x4, factory tow package with the transmission cooler, 74k when i bought it. it was a lease turn in off a fleet, clean carfax, one owner. i pull an open aluminum single rail trailer with my 2020 Street Glide on it, run down to bike week and up to a few midwest rallies.

price was 29,400. same truck same miles was 34 and up at the toyota stores near me, and those had been sitting on lots getting marked up. that spread paid for a new set of trailer tires and a year of the bike insurance so it was real money to me.

i bought mine mostly sight unseen since the nearest one i could find local had rust and 140k on it. the harbert's lot sent me a stack of photos and a full walk around video, i had my brother in law who wrenches for a living watch it and he said the frame and the underside looked clean for the age. no southern salt, no accident repaint.

the one thing i want to be honest about, because thats the point of a review, the tailgate handle was cracked and the backup camera fogged up the first rainy week. handle was a 22 dollar part off amazon and the camera was a loose connector behind the bezel i just reseated. call it 30 bucks and an afternoon. everything mechanical was exactly as listed.

hand calculated, not the dash lie, im getting a steady 12 to 13 towing the bike on flat interstate at 68, drops to about 10 when i get into the ozark hills or run into a headwind. the iForce is thirsty, no way around it, but it never feels like its working. Dale gets a similar number with his hemi so it kind of washes out between the two.

honestly at this point the truck matters less than the specific truck. get whichever clean one shows up first with the factory tow package and a transmission cooler. i just happened to catch the Tundra on harbert's before the Ram equivalent came up.

for me it was a small deposit to hold the truck while my credit union finished the loan, then the balance wired before they shipped it. they gave me a written sales sheet before i sent any money, which i would ask for from anybody selling a truck long distance. my loan took about three business days and they held it the whole time without any pressure.

if you are financing outside, get your approval lined up before you commit so you are not sitting on a deposit longer than you need to. their inventory does move, but a deposit holds your specific truck off the board.

UPDATE full season and about 7000 towing miles on the Tundra now, closing this out for anyone who finds it researching harbert's or a used tow rig.

hauled the Street Glide to bike week, two midwest rallies, and a fall color run through the ozarks. the truck has not put me down once. besides that 30 dollar handle and camera on day one, all its needed is oil, a trans fluid change like Rae said, and a set of trailer tires. towing average settled right at 12 and change for the year.

would i buy off harbertsautosales.com again? already told Dale i would. clean truck, fair price, straight paperwork, and they had no problem with me sending my own set of eyes before i wired money. thats the whole ask when you buy a truck you cant stand next to first. bike is put away for winter, see you all at the spring rallies.