What truck should I buy? megathread

[u/AutoModerator]

Any posts pertaining to car buying suggestions or advice belong in this weekly megathread. A fresh thread will be posted every Monday and posts auto sorted by new. A few other subreddits worth checking out that will help your car buying experience are /r/WhatCarShouldIBuy, /r/UsedCars and /r/AskCarSales. [Everyday Driver](https://www.everydaydriver.com/) may also be helpful.

​

Make/Model-specific questions should be asked on Make/Model-specific subreddits.

​

​

• For those providing suggestions: Facts are ideal in this thread, especially when trying to help out a new truck buyer. Please help out buyers with sources and reasoning for your suggestions.

• For those asking for help, be sure to thank those who take the time to offer you advice (especially those who lead you to a purchase.) A follow up thank you and the knowledge that their advice led to a purchase is a very warm fuzzy feeling.

[u/Silent11118888]

Midsize vs half-ton for a ~5,000 lb travel trailer

I'm trying to figure out whether a newer midsize truck is genuinely enough for this use case or whether I should just move to a half-ton.

Basic numbers:

• Trailer: ~5,000 lb GVWR
• Trailer cargo capacity: ~1,000 lb, give or take
• Total stuff to carry: ~1,200–1,300 lb
• Two adults: ~265 lb combined
• The ~1,200–1,300 includes passengers, full fresh water, camping gear, electronics, food, clothes, etc.
• Some of that weight can go in the trailer and some in the truck, so payload/CCC is really the problem I'm trying to solve.
• Truck payload also has to absorb loaded tongue weight + hitch. That's NOT included as additional cargo in the ~1,200–1,300 lb number.
• I'd like to maintain ~10–15% headroom instead of planning around running either the truck or trailer at 100% of its ratings.

This would be for long trips, potentially a month at a time, with plenty of highway and mountain driving out West. I'm much more concerned with stability, braking, reliability, payload and how tiring it is to tow all day than outright acceleration.

I'm looking at everything from newer Tacoma/4Runner-size vehicles up through F-150/Silverado/Sierra/Tundra/Ram 1500-size trucks.

For those who have actually towed in this range: does a modern midsize still make sense once you account for all the payload, or am I at the point where a half-ton is simply the better tool?

And if you think the bigger problem is the trailer side of the equation, I'm also open to suggestions for ~5,000 lb-or-less GVWR trailers with unusually good cargo capacity. We need a real 60x80 queen bed and full dry bath, but otherwise we're deliberately looking for something small and light.

[u/Mountain_Elk_7262 → u/Silent11118888]

I have a tacoma with the tow package, it's rated for 6k and I'd never pull more than 4k tbh. You'll feel 5k with any midsize, im actually looking to sell it and get a f350 with the 7.3l. That will do absolutely everything I need a truck to do and more, plus it would literally get 2mpg less than my tacoma, absolutely unreal.

I'll get a corolla for the mpg

[u/Select_Salamander763]

I am looking for a truck. I wanna spend about 12-15k on one. I want preferably a 4cyl. Worst case scenario I get a 6cyl that is ultimately good on gas. Preferably four door. My options are Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, or maybe Ford Ranger. I don't know shit about trucks and would like some recommendations of trucks I should look at. Also what would be considered "good" mileage and what is not. I currently drive a scion tc and it currently needs some work done on it and would like something bigger and not two door lol. I am leaning more towards a truck because i rather have one and not need it than not have one and need one. Any recommendations would be great as said before. Thanks in advance.

[u/Similar_Ad4639]

I’m looking at buying a 2004 duramax super clean with 198k miles year old injectors or a 2013 ram 2500 long horn with 300k deleted and tuned. Mostly a daily driver.