Towing 3,000 Pounds

[esjay]

I need to buy a new tow vehicle, preferably a pickup, to tow our 3,000 pound Casita travel trailer.
Our Requirements:
1. Comfort, power heated seats
2. Plenty of interior room (crew cab)
3. Safety (good crash protection)
4. Economy, would like something that gets mid 20s mpg on highway not towing and maybe 16-17 mpg towing
Am I asking for too much? Any suggestions?

[esjay]

Most of the V6s offered in pickups will tow my trailer with no problem. Problem is, we want leather, heated power seats, NAV, etc., in other words a pretty much top of the line model. You apparently can't get a Tundra Limited, RAM Laramie. Sierra SLT with a V6. I'm forced to buy a 5.7, HEMI 5.7, or a 5.3. At least 50% of the time I won't be towing anything, so I will be sucking a lot more gas than necessary. RAM is coming out with a small V6 diesel that may be available in the Laramie, but I am a little afraid to be one of the first test monkeys for a Chrysler product. We prefer Toyotas from years of experience with Chrysler, GM, and Toyota vehicles. Wife (past GMC owner) probably won't even consent to buying GM no matter how good they are.
Do any of you guys tow with a Tundra? What mileage are you getting towing and not towing?
By the way, I am currently towing with a 1995 Toyota T100 3.4 V6. It's rated for 5,200 pounds and tows great, just too old for long trips we want to make. It's dependable, but wife wants luxury. Lexus has spoiled her.

[rav]

and always think "down the road" are you going to get a larger camper someday, more gear in the bed, etc.
the new trucks have lots of nice features in them, the great thing about the internet is you can surf around and find the right vehicle, get the specs and know what you want when you go to purchase, you won't have to rely on a sales person who just wants to sell you a vehicle.
best of luck on the search!

[Francesca_Knowl]

Old-Biscuit's right- any pickup out there will tow your Casita. I think the heaviest of their trailers is only 3500 pounds loaded for bear. In fact, there are smaller ute-type vehicles that could do the job....

So unless you want/need to tell your wife that it's got to be a pickup, don't limit your search to those! 😉

[Old-Biscuit]

Pick......the market is wide open

RAM
Chevy
Ford
GMC
Toyota
Nissan

One thing you won't have to worry about....too much trailer :B