A few weeks ago, the vehicle fairies left me one heck of a truck. Just sitting there in the parking lot, the Toyota Tundra TRD Pro looked like it was ready to take on the most challenging terrain. It was outfitted with actual, knobby all-terrain tires, and the 18-inch rims gave those tires plenty of sidewall for absorbing bumps. Underneath, it had skid plates and Bilstein long-travel shocks, which were easy to see thanks to its 10.6 inches of ground clearance.
Also visible was the stainless steel dual exhaust, and when I got in and fired it up, that exhaust system sounded even better than it looked. I could get into a lot of trouble with that throaty, growly sound.
We had about a foot of crusty snow still lingering from a previous storm, so I immediately got that truck off the pavement and started busting drifts. It clawed through the snow like a beast, and the standard limited slip differential and active traction control kept it from losing its grip on solid ground.
There are two cab and bed configurations for the Tundra TRD Pro: the CrewMax cab with a 5½-foot bed, like the one I drove, or the Double Cab with a 6½-foot bed. I’d prefer the longer bed, but I really liked the spacious back seat in the CrewMax. Five full-sized humans could fit in that truck very comfortably.
The only thing I didn’t like about it initially was the color. The one I drove was what Toyota calls “quicksand,” but a friend at work, who happened to be fighting a chest cold that week, said he thought it was more of a “lung-butter brown.” I believe I’ll refrain from explaining where he came up with the reference.
But the more mud, snow, dirt and grime I drove through, the more that color grew on me. And the truck – man. I’ve grown accustomed to three-quarter and one-tons, but that truck made me wonder if I really need to tow more than 9,900 pounds. Yes. It was that good.
