Towing Heavy (8k lbs +) a bad idea?

With the Ford friends and family deal going on last month you could get yourself a Lariat for less than $35K.
A Lariat beats a Limited Taco by infinity any day. Heck a base XL work truck beats a loaded Tacoma in a lot of ways.

To get a Tacoma $10K under a full-size you'll need to get one for less than $20K.
Toyota makes an expensive midsize. Just the way it is.

 

Tacoma's really aren't expensive. When I was buying mine the only truck, mid-size or full size, that was cheaper than the Tacoma was the Frontier. The Colorado was 6+ grand more than the Tacoma with the same options.

Aside from that...I need to move to wherever you live. I shopped around last month, thinking maybe with the deals I could swap my Tacoma for a full size with little change in finances. The Lariat's were still well over 40k even with that deal. Last years Chevy 1500's that they're just trying to get rid of are still over 35k, used 2014 F150's were about 30k.

Maybe where were seeing differently: I'm only looking at double cabs in my pricing. Also, for the full size I only look at the V8. I wouldn't want a big truck with a v6.

 

Bull shit.

 

Um, you weren't answering OP. You were answering SilverBullet. Ease off the knowitall attitude bub. You're always arguing with everyone and your points are full of whatif's and snowball's chances.

 

If you look closer, that's not MSRP. BTW I got my taco for about 3000 less than MSRP too. So yes, Toyota will deal too. Be careful comparing apples and oranges too. Brand new model will be less deals. Notice the truecar was for a 2015

It's getting really old these suppositions that you can walk into a major OEM and buy a fresh model year fullsize for the same amount as an MSRP midsize. It flat out isn't true. End of year savings on last years is not the same as a brand new model at the beginning of that model's year.

 

Not sure what your point is there.

 

Here is the deal with towing; tow ratings are a lot higher outside of north america.

The problem here, is the assumption that a vehicle should be able to get from zero up to a speed of limit+15mph in 3 seconds while tailgating the punk ahead of you in the snow, and pulling a load that is at or slightly over the vehicle's printed limit.

In order to obtain stability at that kind of speed, you need to shift the load weight forward onto the truck. That means that the truck needs to support the extra tongue weight.

In most places outside of North America, towing is set up such that speed tops out around 80 kph (50 mph), and tongue weight is set to around 5%. The lower tongue weight is stable at the lower towing speeds. When you start getting the speed up to the north american expectation, you need to double up on the tongue weight to keep the trailer stable, which impacts the vehicle's ability to hold that tongue weight safely (i.e., maintain weight down on the front wheels for control).

So if you're looking for rigging it up for a low speed tow, do what they do in Europe, drop the tongue weight closer to 5%, and keep the speed down. Make sure that you have an available driving route that supports driving at lower speeds.

I occasionally have need to pull around 8000-10000 pounds around 100 miles. Figuring for a 500 pound tongue weight runs you 5% at 10000 pounds total. Then it is just a matter of keeping the speed down under 50 mph. If you're aiming for closer to 650 pound tongue weight (Tacoma's max), that would get you 6.5% at 10000 pounds, or just over 8% at 8000 pounds.


More: Just checked, and UK minimum tongue weight *LAW* is 4%, target is to get within the range of 5-7%, tow speed limit is 50 mph on single carriageways, 60 mph on dual carriageways and motorways.

 

Midsized are expensive in my opinion when they are getting close to full-size prices. Tacomas being as much as a Frontier or Colorado just means they are all expensive.

The Ford Friends and Family took about $11-$12k off MSRP on 15's. It was quite a deal if you could find leftovers on the lot. And you could score a Lariat for cheap.

Also Lariats nearly only come in double cabs so that was the comparison. The V8s are cheaper than the 3.7Ecoboosts too I believe.
I don't want an Ecoboost but they carry more power than the V8 for towing and hauling. While just a V6, they pack a punch.