Thinking of getting a Diesel Canyon need the good, bad and ugly

JKent · October 15, 2019

Hello everyone,

Currently I own a Toyota Tacoma (well leasing it). I am a teacher and I have the summers off. We just bought a travel trailer and will be using it every summer from here on out to travel America. Next summer we will be hitting up Zion, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Sequoia, Yosemite, and Big Sur. Total trip will probably be 7,000 miles. But each summer we are planning on big road trips like this. With this in mind, I started researching the Canyon Diesel and so far it seems like the perfect truck for what I want to do with towing. What I want to know from current owners is how the performance and longevity seems to hold up? Tacoma's have a good reputation of being a no-fuss truck, but I know the gas millage will not be as good as a diesel. Also one of the biggest perks of the Canyon is the engine exhaust brakes. I live in Ohio and if I am traveling around West Virginia, Pennsylvania areas on the weekends (because there are some steep grades on the highways) the engine brake would come in handy (not to mention the huge mountains out west).

If I find trucks with 60,000 plus miles am I getting into maintenance issues? One 2016 Canyon SLT I found has 80,000 and the dealer wants $23,000 for it. Any information you guys have will be greatly appreciated.

mjcmichigan · October 15, 2019

I’ve got the 2017 with the 2.8l duramax diesel. I’ve loaded it with 4 men and a full load off fishing gear for a week in Canada. Pulled 38.5mpg when in the 55-60mph range. 33 at 70-75mph. It took at 8% grade to make it drop out of overdrive. Nearly 400ft# of torque.

I have a 4000# boat on a 1000# trailer. It pulls it comfortably. The boat is 9’ tall on the trailer and 8.5’ wide on the trailer.

I did get the 6.5’ box and crew cab and 4x4. It’s hauled a lot of fish game and gear. The 4wheel drive is solid. Never stuck on a two track or 4 wheeling..

Range on a tank of diesel on the highway is 600+ miles.

I like the Canyon. Haven’t decided to get that or the full size diesel next time.

I went on a two week hunting trip in the bush. It was hard to get all that gear in.. might go up to full size. I do love the diesel.

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oak 1971 · October 19, 2019

Just got my 2016 Colorado Duramax Diesel yesterday, with 56,000 on the ticker. Seems like it has more than enough torque to get the job done. I never found it wanting on the 30 mile ride home.

JKent · October 21, 2019

Thanks for the input so far guys. Anyone have any issues with the DEF? My daily drive is only 17 miles total so I am going to have months were I am not putting many miles in and just curious if the DEF might cause me issues with putting on low miles from September to May.

mjcmichigan · October 21, 2019

My daily is only 6 miles. Haven’t had any DEF issues. Seems to regen when I’m on the highway. Haven’t noticed regen in town.

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oak 1971 · October 22, 2019

Just ordered up a new air filter and added some diesel treatment. Went up and back to Milwaukee, my rolling 50 mile avg is now at 27.5

Nick Johnson · May 7, 2020

I’ve had my 2016 SLT 2.8 since October 2019 and have put about 11k miles on her. I got it to pull a 24 ft TT that’s about 5000 lbs loaded. This little truck pulls it like a champ, plus in towing mode the diesel brake is great too. Towing mileage is between 14 and 16 mpg where my gas burner was about 9 mpg. We’ve hauled the trailer on about 5 trips with no single drive over 3 hours one way so nothing long distance in the mountains yet. I live in middle TN and we do have lots of up and down backroads. I put in 5 gallons of BlueDef after several months and it’s back down to about 24% again. It’s not like you fill it up all the time, it’s lasting a long time in my opinion but I have nothing to compare. My only complaint, the interior has very little usable storage for smaller items. Also, I installed Boost Auto towing mirrors as I discovered there weren’t any custom slip over towing mirrors for the Canyon/Colorado’s. There are still blind spots towing an 8ft wide trailer but better than the strap on junk I used on my other vehicle. I love it. Good luck

KARNUT · May 7, 2020

I just came back from helping my brother in law get his one ton dually and camper. It was a windy ride home. Enough I felt it in my Avalanche. His rig was planted. He’s new to the camper deal and felt comfortable. I pulled equipment a lot back in the day. One thing I learned through trail and error. If you’re going to do it do it right. Go with goose neck- fifth wheel and a dually. Unless you like the camper driving you.

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MaverickZ71 · May 7, 2020

The good: great fuel mileage for a truck, good torque for towing. The bad: increased purchase and maintenance costs and low-rent interior. The ugly: some have problems with the DEF system.

mjcmichigan · July 19, 2020

Just pulled I. To moms place in Detroit metro area. Hit 36.5 mph on way down, but traffic lights afound town started dragging it back to earth.

My ave milage over the 39,****** miles is 27.0. It’s starting to slide down as my work location is in the city now vs out of town 20 min.

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steve841 · July 23, 2020

Read it and weep .... insane mileage

mjcmichigan · July 24, 2020

Have a friend with the 3.0l duramax... says the same thing... insane milage!

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jjackkrash · October 19, 2020

On 10/14/2019 at 5:36 PM, JKent said:

We just bought a travel trailer and will be using it every summer from here on out to travel America.

What size TT? Length and weight and windage factor in when pulling with a small truck. Will your taco pull it comfortably in the wind, up hills, at highway speeds, etc.?