Hey guys, I just joined and will probably be here for a long time. I am curious to know about trucks that can toe but still get decent gas mileage. I need a truck that can be driven regularly without any issues via chassis, suspension, or engine/tranny strain during any of its work. I will be towing a trailer and a track car pretty regularly plus additional race parts, so maybe 4500 lbs of weight. So here is the guidelines on what I like:

Don't care for huge trucks. The new Tacoma or Tundra looks fine in size.
Must be good in HWY mileage.
Will be small commuting vehicle when not HWY traveling.
Reliable for years to come.
Carry 4500 lbs without too much pressure on the vehicle.
Will be taken off road periodically for light to moderate off road abuse during those ever so needed camping trips.
Rear wheel drive but able to be 4WD.
Reliability over comfort.

That is all i can think of at the moment. If I am leaving something out then let me know. I am getting the truck for transportation of my track car and the occasional trip. Thanks for any future help!

Whats your price range??

I would find a 3/4 ton chevy or GMC with the Duramax diesel engine and the Allison Transmission. NOTHING beats the towing fuel economy of these trucks. Pulling 3 horses in a solid steel trailer we can still get 16-18mpgs, which is phenominal.

Whats your price range??

I would find a 3/4 ton chevy or GMC with the Duramax diesel engine and the Allison Transmission. NOTHING beats the towing fuel economy of these trucks. Pulling 3 horses in a solid steel trailer we can still get 16-18mpgs, which is phenominal.

I wanted to keep it under 20k new. As for the chevy and GMC's I thought they were just too big for me. When I was looking at the Tundra and Tacoma I thought it was edging on too big and I wouldn't be able to handle anything larger. But ill check those out. Any year/model in particular?

Well it all depends on whether you want a exetended cab, crew cab, reg cab etc... If you were to get a reg cab longbox, it really wouldn't be all that big, about as big as a half ton of the same size. Where the larger sizes come into play is when you get a Crew cab. The 2500 crew cab box is 6' long as opposed to the 1500 crew cab which is 5'3" long. that extra 9" sure makes a difference, but the crew cab 2500 still fits in our garage.

As for buying one new, you aren't gonna be able to do that for under 20k, maybe without the Duramax, but its a $7000 option. If you could find an 05 or 06 dmax in your price range I would jump on it. During those years they had the dmax at its maximum capabilites AND it still takes Dino diesel.

it all depends on what you consider decent gas mileage, and reliable.
i would say since you don't like the size of the duramax go with a 5.3.
they get around 18 cruising and about 15 hauling. if that's to big for you then you can pull one out of your dreams because there isnt anything out there for you.