As the old gunfighters will tell you – or would if there were any old gunfighters around anymore – when you’re on top, there will always be someone gunning for you. And in the case of the big three truck manufacturers, it was Toyota that took a shot at the full-size truck market with the 2000 Tundra. It went up well against the established brands, due in large part to its solid V8 engine and Toyota’s well-deserved reputation for reliability and durability.

A funny thing happened, though. They took a shot aiming at the hard core truck buyers, but scored a hit with the recreational truck crowd. The Tundra wasn’t quite full-size, which appealed to those looking for a truck to drive to work during the week and to play in on the weekend.

Now, the 2010 Tundra has been redesigned and is taking another shot at the real truck people. You know – those people who use a capital “T” when they talk about their “Truck.” With several model year changes, Toyota now has an US-built, half-ton truck with real full-size proportions, options for any of three cab sizes, a choice among three bed lengths and one of three engine sizes. Measure it anyway you like, the Tundra can easily stand up in any truck shootout you’d care to line up.

To begin with, you can choose from a regular cab, a Double Cab or CrewMax body styles. The Double Cab is basically a large extended cab that has four forward-hinged doors, while the Tundra CrewMax is just an extra-large crew cab.

In the regular cab, you get a basic trim level only. But the Double Cab and CrewMax come in more upscale SR5 and Limited levels. For those who plan to haul things other than the family, there are differing bed lengths. The regular cab and Double Cab both offer a 6.5 foot and an 8 foot bed, while the CrewMax offers only a 5.5 foot bed.

All these combinations make it easy to equip a Tundra for use as both a work vehicle and family truck. That medium-size Double Cab – really an extended-cab version – is as large as other manufacturer’s crew cabs, while the huge Tundra CrewMax has the biggest and most spacious four-door cab in the full-size truck class.

And, as mentioned before, the engine comes in three models. Standard on the regular cab or the shorter-bed Double Cab is a 4.0-liter V6 engine which is rated at 236 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. A 4.7-liter V8 engine with 271 horses and 313 lb-ft of torque is optional on these models, but standard on all other Tundras. Optional for all models is a 5.7-liter V8 engine which puts out 381 hp and 401 lb-ft torque.

Your only transmission is a five speed automatic with the V6 and smaller V8 engines, while the big V8 is tied to a six-speed automatic. However, all models do give you some flexibility in that they’ll let you pick either a rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive set up.

To all this choice, you can add the reliability that Toyota has worked so long to achieve. Do the math for yourself, but in the end, you get a fine truck with the 2010 Tundra that will appeal to all members of the Truck Nation.