Redsky wrote:
If I were looking for something to haul a 6,000 lb load it would be a Toyota Tundra with the crew cab. Nothing worse than having a tow vehicle break down while you have a trailer in tow. It complicates things immensely and spoils the trip. I have put many hundreds of thousands of miles on trucks and only the Toyota trucks were 100% trouble free and only needed the recommended maintenance be done.
With any 1/2 ton you get a truck frame and that is quite different than the majority of SUV's that have bodies placed over a car platform. A 3/4 ton truck would be a good choice if your tow load was going to be over 10,000 lbs but it is not and would be a waste of money and provide a much harsher ride for you and your passengers.
The brakes on the Toyota trucks have always been the best with no skimping. With any truck I would want to verify that there were disc brakes on all four wheels. To make the assumption that a Ford F-250 has better brakes than a Toyota Tundra would be foolish. Or to even assume that all F-250's have been trouble free in all the other areas that are important for towing including the transmissions and coolant system and brake controller and electrics, etc.
For used trucks the Consumer Reports surveys of thousands of truck owners that is done every year provides good information on the likelihood of repairs and the weak points for various model years. A 2001-2003 model may have cooling system problems that were correct in 2004 and later models and I would want to know this and buy a 2004 or newer truck.
A very common mistake made is to relate one owner's experiences with a single truck or car and extrapolate to the universe of cars and trucks by that manufacturer. Good or bad the information can be misleading.
Is anyone going to take the bait on this one.......
