I ought to jump in here too.... I have a couple of CAT Scales certified slips from this summer (Gov. wanted them so they could compensate us from moving).. can't scan, but I'll take digi pictures if needed:
Truck unloaded - 4520
Trailer unloaded - 800
Truck loaded - 5900
Trailer loaded - 3620
So, the bed/truck weight is slightly off due to the tunge weight of the trailer, but I still hauled a good 5000 lbs from Atlanta, GA, north to Minnesota, west to Wyoming and Montana, then south to Arizona. A/C on the whole time, cruise set to 75 for the vast majort of the distance and no oil burned in nearly 5k miles (was still at the full mark when I changed it out here). Does that qualify me for the $2? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I had Zero issues merging onto interstates at 60~65mph Unless I was headed uphill... then I'd be in the mid 50's somewhere. With an unloaded truck, I'm ALWAYS using the brakes to slow down for the vehiles that's infront of me.. or to come back down to a legal speed ~ including uphill. There was, and is, no unsual handling and the truck bed came right back to normal once I unloaded (this was a 5~6 week, almost 4k mile trip where the vehicle was Never unloaded). Stock everything outside of a K&N filter and manual hubs... And it's comfortable for me, even at 6'4" and 280lbs... while the leg room could use another couple inches, it's a far cry from any other 'mid sized' truck, and Some US full sized trucks (none current, but I've tried to shoehorn myself into every make and most every model since the mid-80's).
I will, at some point in time, be hauling a bigger trailer with a lot more weight and would like a diesel to do the work. Hopefully the Toyota/Hino hybrid will be out by then and I can buy that... if not, it'll certainly NOT be a Ford I buy (used a F350 for one job, it was broken more often than working in the first year we tried to use it), and it'll NOT be a Dodge (father-in-law had a couple for his well drilling company and they were slightly better than the Ford in terms of general reliability, but the repairs bills when broken made the costs even and the fit/finish sucked IMHO). And I, personally, have had a Terrible track record with all manor of US made vehicles... not a single one of them even made it to 100k miles, several stopped well short.
So, while the market for trucks has no ringers at the moment, the Toyotas are pretty much the best thing going for the average consumer who's looking for lighter duty service (towing up to 5k lbs). Above that, it's personal choice on the Diesels....
PM me and I'll get you the address for the $2.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
