livendive 8 #26 June 29, 2007 Yeah, I've got that stuff considered. My dry weight will be 6-6.5k tops...8k is my max loaded for more than tens of miles, and that'd have to include a lot of water, food, beer, and gear, most of which will go in the trailer and thus figure into GCWR not GVWR, and be balanced so as not press too hard on the hitch. I haven't decided yet on whether to pull my Odyssey TBC out of my current truck and put it in the new truck or just put in a new Prodigy, but they're basically clones so it's kind of irrelevent. A sway bar is on the short list, and I'll tow a couple times without a WD hitch to see how it handles semi "waves" and side gusts. If the truck can really tell it's back there, I'll add the WD hitch (probably Reese). In my experience thus far (towing my current trailer with a first generation Tundra for thousands of miles and an F-250 for hundreds), I think I'll be happy with 9-11 mpg and plenty of get up & go. A longer wheel base, an extra 140 hp and 150 lb/ft of torque should handle an extra few feet and 3/4 ton without too much strain (and be better than the F-250 was with my current "little guy"). Still, all good things to consider, and I could be proven wrong. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveStMarys 0 #27 June 29, 2007 Thats a strange looking dealership lot. Bobbi A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #28 June 29, 2007 Quote Thats a strange looking dealership lot. That's his other dealer's house. My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
micduran 0 #29 June 29, 2007 More info (and opinions) than you could ever need: RVing FAQ I have upgraded travel trailers and tow vehicles 3 times in the last year. I think I finally have what I want. But, I am a woman so that could change soon. Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jraf 0 #30 June 29, 2007 Nice...the LTD verion with a 5.7 liter engine. It drives like a muscle car! Why did you chose the short cab though? The crew cab is really sweet and the price difference can't be that much. Unless you dread the bed which does not get any longer than 5.5 ft. Good choice anyway, it is a truck with a luxury inside. Did you get the brown saddle leather interior?jraf Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui. Muff #3275 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
floridadiver81 0 #31 June 29, 2007 VERY nice truck. I love toyota's trucks. very reliable and they can pull a friggin house...and im sure it can haul alot of drunk skydivers around too "Age has absolutely nothing to do with knowledge, learning, respect, attitude, or personality." -yardhippie "Fight the air, and the air will kick your ass!!! "-Specialkaye Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #32 June 29, 2007 Quote Nice...the LTD verion with a 5.7 liter engine. It drives like a muscle car! Why did you chose the short cab though? The crew cab is really sweet and the price difference can't be that much. Unless you dread the bed which does not get any longer than 5.5 ft. Good choice anyway, it is a truck with a luxury inside. Did you get the brown saddle leather interior? Yeah, I don't like the short bed of the crew cab...the legroom in the back of the double cab is plenty, especially since people rarely sit back there and never include me. I haven't bought it yet (those are pictures of an identical truck I found online), but I'm probably going to drive over there today to haggle on the last few dollars of purchase price and the value of my trade-in. Unless I talk myself out of it. It's got the light grey leather interior. I didn't like the mixture of black and brown and grey faux metal...they should have gone with fake wood facia with the tan/brown interior. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #33 June 29, 2007 That Toyota with the 5.7 is the only import that I would consider towing a trailer with. Still, I would not consider towing anything over about 25 feet with it as it's only a half ton truck. It's my guess that Toyota will step up with a 3/4 and one ton dually in the near future. They would be idiots not too, seeing as how they have gone ahead and jumped into the full-size truck market here in the USA. FWIW, I tow my 40-foot fifth wheel with a long-bed, double-cab C3500 dually. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #34 June 29, 2007 Quote FWIW, I tow my 40-foot fifth wheel with a long-bed, double-cab C3500 dually. Yeah, I remember seeing that. My truck is also my daily driver, and that's entirely too much truck to wrestle around town every time I need beer. And I'm sure you're right, Toyota will be adding a 3/4 and 1 ton option soon, and a diesel. Toyota recently hooked up with Isuzu for diesel development, in part to make a diesel hybrid for the economy cars, but I imagine we'll also see something like the Duramax in the Tundra. Also, the current Tundra isn't that far off of a 3/4 ton as it's built today, in fact I think that's what some states are licensing it as. Personally, I think my undersized half-ton 01 Tundra tows better than an F-250, and I fully expect improvement on that with a grown up new Tundra. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaoskitty 0 #35 June 29, 2007 That is a good lookin truck! Did I ever tell you that my parents were broad sided by an 18 wheeler on the interstate in a 2005 Tundra and walked away with only bruises? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sundevil777 102 #36 June 29, 2007 Since you say it is a short cab instead of the larger crew cab, are the seat backs in the 2nd row more vertical than a normal car (about 21 deg from vertical is normal)? Those vertical seat backs really suck for comfort, and can be difficult to impossible to put car seats in. If kids can't sleep, then the parents can't be happy. Perhaps you'll never have kids to deal with.People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 35 #37 June 29, 2007 Quote That is a good lookin truck! Did I ever tell you that my parents were broad sided by an 18 wheeler on the interstate in a 2005 Tundra and walked away with only bruises? Ouch... what I experienced was nothing compared to that. I hit a rolling tire on the highway at 75 mph at night. It had fallen off a pos car that was way ahead of me when it pulled over with sparks flying. Too far for me to really see why, and I looked at the car as I passed it, oh, lost a wheel right off the axle... then turned back to the road and almost immediately I was about to slam into it. Left front tire ran right over it perfectly and the truck went flying for an instant. Good thing I had my seat belt on or there would have been a good sized dent in the roof of the cab!! And I still hit my head there pretty good. Still to this day, I don't know how I managed to keep control of the truck... no fishtailing or flipping. Just BOOM fly up, bounce bounce, then roll to a stop over on the shoulder. $7000 worth of damage... It was only a couple years old and still worth twice that, so of course the insurance paid for the repairs. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jraf 0 #38 June 29, 2007 Actually all over the world (except us of course) Toyota has several most versatile and powerful Turbo Diesel engines. I had a Land Cruiser with a 3 liter 4 cyl. TD and it was awesome and very thrifty on fuel consumption. The largest engine they have is a 4 liter in line 6 TD with enough power to tow an APC. That brings me to another question: The British army vehicle of choice is a Land Rover Defender with a 110" wheel base and a 2.5 liter slow sucktion diesel. Absolutely indistuctible engine, powerful, quiet, easy to maintain and very thrifty. Road driving range of 600 miles and may transport up to 9 soldiers with equiment in non combat situations + tow a light artilery piece/field kitchen/utility trailer of sorts. Our military uses a Hummvee or whatever that heap of junk is called. It only takes 4 people, has a 6.8 liter twin turbo diesel engine that uses enough gallons per mile to keep Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran rich till oil runs out. What more it is too wide to navigate through forrests and is not what it for some reason pretends to be - an APC. Where is the logic? Our militaryjraf Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui. Muff #3275 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 226 #39 June 29, 2007 Quote My local Toyota dealer has a new truck just like the attached, and is willing to sell it for a little over invoice with 0% financing (or a $3000 rebate). It's the truck I want, in the color I want, with almost every option I want. I wasn't going to buy one till September or October, but now...hmmm...shit Blues, Dave Sounds like a done deal. That way you have reliable means of escape if needed.I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #40 June 29, 2007 Cool - didn't want it to seem like I was slamming on you, just wanted to make sure you (and others that were considering it) had the info. Just make sure you take it easy and short the first several tows - it's going to be a whole different experience with that longer trailer, and you're going to be pushing closer to the limits. A WD hitch is going to be a must at that weight, and I recommend it for anything weighing over 50% of the vehicle's tow capacity - it makes a huge difference in how the truck carries the weight and makes the drive a LOT safer. If you're going with Reese, definitely look at the Dual Cam - it makes a WORLD of difference. Enjoy the new truck and trailer!Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #41 July 2, 2007 Quote Quote My local Toyota dealer has a new truck just like the attached, and is willing to sell it for a little over invoice with 0% financing (or a $3000 rebate). It's the truck I want, in the color I want, with almost every option I want. I wasn't going to buy one till September or October, but now...hmmm...shit Blues, Dave Sounds like a done deal. That way you have reliable means of escape if needed. I pulled the trigger Friday despite having no need for an escape. Got over 19 mpg coming home from the DZ last night. Given that a bunch of owners have been complaining about poor fuel consumption in the first 1000 miles, I was pretty damned happy about that! Heated, leather, power seats. 10-speaker stereo (8 plus center channel & sub) w/ steering wheel controls, bluetooth (for phone), in-dash CD changer, XM/Sirius-ready, auxiliary jack for iPod 381 hp, 405 lb/ft torque, rated for 10,300 towing, 1660 payload. 4WD w/ offroad package & 18" wheels. Dual climate control Front and rear sonar Auto-dimming mirrors w/ power retract & homelink (up to 3 garage doors) (side mirrors heated & power retractable) Windshield wiper defrost grid Limited slip & traction control, both of which can be turned off independently Front, side, and curtain airbags Pre-wired for brake controller and back-up camera and a beer light! Next up, it needs chrome tube steps, a Line-X Extra bedliner, a brake controller, a hard tonneau cover, and maybe a remote start unit Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 898 #42 July 2, 2007 Remote start itsa nice for starting air conditioning before getting to the truck..sounds sweet! christen it yet??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guppie01 0 #43 July 2, 2007 Sounds like you had a good weekend!!!! g"Let's do something romantic this Saturday... how bout we bust out the restraints?" Raddest Ho this side of Jersey #1 - MISS YOU OMG, is she okay? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 1 #44 July 2, 2007 Quote The Honda Ridgeline is much better. I realize the styling puts some people off, but it is truly innovative. That's assuming you actually consider it to be a truckIt's the only truck I've ever seen where the body is attached to the bed. Usually the 2 are connected by the frame. Personally, I don't like anything about it. In my mind, you get a truck because you haul a lotta crap, tow a lotta crap or just plain like trucks over cars. I just don't see the reasoning behind it. No one buys a truck for the gas milage. (Unless of course you just plain hate the world and wanna expel as many greenhouse gases as possible, but if that was the case, it'd be more harmful to open up a cattle farm) IMOSome people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 1 #45 July 2, 2007 Quote Actually all over the world (except us of course) Toyota has several most versatile and powerful Turbo Diesel engines. I had a Land Cruiser with a 3 liter 4 cyl. TD and it was awesome and very thrifty on fuel consumption. The largest engine they have is a 4 liter in line 6 TD with enough power to tow an APC. That brings me to another question: The British army vehicle of choice is a Land Rover Defender with a 110" wheel base and a 2.5 liter slow sucktion diesel. Absolutely indistuctible engine, powerful, quiet, easy to maintain and very thrifty. Road driving range of 600 miles and may transport up to 9 soldiers with equiment in non combat situations + tow a light artilery piece/field kitchen/utility trailer of sorts. Our military uses a Hummvee or whatever that heap of junk is called. It only takes 4 people, has a 6.8 liter twin turbo diesel engine that uses enough gallons per mile to keep Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran rich till oil runs out. What more it is too wide to navigate through forrests and is not what it for some reason pretends to be - an APC. Where is the logic? Our military But ours look coolerSome people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sundevil777 102 #46 July 2, 2007 Quote Quote The Honda Ridgeline is much better. I realize the styling puts some people off, but it is truly innovative. That's assuming you actually consider it to be a truckIt's the only truck I've ever seen where the body is attached to the bed. Usually the 2 are connected by the frame. Personally, I don't like anything about it. In my mind, you get a truck because you haul a lotta crap, tow a lotta crap or just plain like trucks over cars. I just don't see the reasoning behind it. No one buys a truck for the gas milage. (Unless of course you just plain hate the world and wanna expel as many greenhouse gases as possible, but if that was the case, it'd be more harmful to open up a cattle farm) IMO Why does the bed need to be separate from the rest of the body to be considered a proper truck? The Ridgeline is so much more rigid in torsion precisely because the body is attached to the bed. It is a unibody structure, not a body on frame type of structure. When automotive journalists did slalom course comparisons with the bed carrying a heavy load (I think it was 1500 pounds), only the Ridgeline felt solid, all the others were obviously flexing badly. The bed has a standard integrated liner (extremely tough, no water collection issues as with separately installed liners) developed by a company that was a supplier to GM, but so few people bought the option that GM stopped offering it. The Ridgeline obviously isn't a full length bed truck, it competes against other such short bed trucks like the Ford SportTrac. Many don't want or need the full length bed, and appreciate greater manuverability and ease of parking in modern garages. It can fit 4 foot wide sheets of plywood/drywall between the wheel wells - no need to prop it above the wells like some other trucks. The bed is long enough to carry dirt bikes and quads with the tailgate down. For a short bed truck, it is much better at hauling stuff because of its locking trunk, and the ability to put such huge items in the rear seat, such as bikes. Even if you don't like the styling or short bed of the Ridgeline, you've got to admit the trunk is truly innovative and extremely useful. The console between the front seats is incredibly versatile, with sliding covers/doors and such. You can also put large items such as a gallon jug on the floor tray in front of the console. Automotive journalists complemented the Ridgeline's stability while towing at its limit (5500 lbs). It is very stable, again, because of the unibody structure's much greater torsional rigidity. One aspect of towing that the Ridgeline does better than the competition is pulling a boat up a steep, wet boat launch ramp. Its 4wd system is very good at getting traction in such situations. The Ridgeline isn't being marketed as a truck that gets great gas mileage. Its mileage is decent, but not remarkable due to its somewhat lousy, typical truck like aerodynamics. It is marketed as a short bed truck with excellent off road abilities compared to the competition, and with truly innovative storage features.People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 1 #47 July 3, 2007 QuoteWhy does the bed need to be separate from the rest of the body to be considered a proper truck? If I remember right, the Avalanche and the Exploder... er... I mean Explorer Sport weren't considered trucks. They were considered SUV's even though they carried similar characteristics. QuoteThe bed has a standard integrated liner (extremely tough, no water collection issues as with separately installed liners) developed by a company that was a supplier to GM, but so few people bought the option that GM stopped offering it. I don't consider a bedliner a decent incentive to make a decision on buying one truck or another. If you want a good bedliner, you should go with a solid spray on like IMO. QuoteThe Ridgeline obviously isn't a full length bed truck, it competes against other such short bed trucks like the Ford SportTrac. Many don't want or need the full length bed, and appreciate greater manuverability and ease of parking in modern garages. That's why they make the economy trucks like the ranger, the dakota and the S-10 which was replaced by the colorado. QuoteIt can fit 4 foot wide sheets of plywood/drywall between the wheel wells - no need to prop it above the wells like some other trucks. The bed is long enough to carry dirt bikes and quads with the tailgate down. For a short bed truck, it is much better at hauling stuff because of its locking trunk, and the ability to put such huge items in the rear seat, such as bikes. Even if you don't like the styling or short bed of the Ridgeline, you've got to admit the trunk is truly innovative and extremely useful. The console between the front seats is incredibly versatile, with sliding covers/doors and such. You can also put large items such as a gallon jug on the floor tray in front of the console. Once again, I place function over convenience. The trunk is a great idea, but you could just as well put whatever it is you want to lock up in the cab and lock it. Tailgate down works for almost every truck to haul bikes, etc. Many can have the tailgate up by angling the bike. Fancy consoles are just eye candy. It plays no role in the vehicle's performance. You can go to Wal-Mart and spend $100-$200 and get the same amount of organization. I can fit gallon jugs just fine in my truck and it doesn't slide around, tray or no tray.Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 898 #48 July 3, 2007 you've completely forgotten the Cadillac "truck" and the Lincoln Blackwood "truck"!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gonzalesna 1 #49 July 3, 2007 Quote you've completely forgotten the Cadillac "truck" and the Lincoln Blackwood "truck"!!! I forget... Do they come stock with the 22 inch wheels and low profile tires?Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #50 July 3, 2007 I saw one like that in Metarie, LA... land of the potholes... 22' chrome spinner rims and what looked like 20 profile tires... Guy said he'd already gone through 3 tires that year (this was May) from hitting potholes... Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
