Lures'n'Liberty

A 2500HD is actually a one ton with a slightly lower weight rating for registration purposes, hence the "HD" designation. When GM brought out the 2500HD, sales on the actual 3/4 ton 2500 were so poor that they discontinued it at about the same time Ford did away with the goofy light duty 7 lug F-250, the only truck made since that's actually a 3/4 ton is the new Nissan Titan HD. Did you buy the HD new? That's pretty unbelievable to get over 100k out of a set of brake pads on anything, although I would be inclined to believe it if a second brake job was done with Wagner Severe Duty (not the standard Wagner) brake pads and rotors, they stop extremely well and last an incredibly long time, IMHO they're the best investment you can make when servicing a '99 & newer Chevy truck, especially if you don't just use it to pull your ghost trailer. As for the difference in stopping power, you're in 2 different classes. All 2500 & up GM trucks have what's called Hydroboost, it's a hydraulic brake booster that runs off of your power steering pump whereas 1500 trucks use the more common vacuum style booster. If you do a little research and have some skills at spinning wrenches, you can get everything you need to upgrade your half ton to hydroboost at a good salvage yard for a pretty reasonable price, too.

Ever think about a lowered truck? Just food for thought, but a lowering kit and/or some running boards may make it easy for your wife to drive a truck. Your mileage may vary with some of the other models but I know you can lower a Tacoma 4x4 pretty easily without causing problems in the future. It may also be worth your while to test drive a Honda Ridgeline. *truck in ad below is first $15k double cab I found on craigslist in Maine. https://www.andysautosport.com/products/djm_suspension__DJM2806-3.html https://maine.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2007-toyota-tacoma-v6-4dr/6326677007.html

can you touch the bottom of the tank with a stick? the percentage of the stick that comes out wet should give you an idea as to how much fuel is in the tank if you can.

Seeing a few topics of maintenance, sometimes the bigger trucks are cheaper to maintain in the long term. It's out of the realm of the SUV, but to give an example, front brake pads and rotors for a half ton truck are $100 while the front pads and rotors for a 3/4-1 ton are $150. Front brakes on the 1/2 ton last 15,000 mi and the rotors are shot, front brakes on the 1 ton last 30,000 mi and the rotors are ready to wear out a second set of pads. These aren't 100% accurate numbers nor do they carry over to every brand on the market or driving style but a pretty accurate description of the cost and wear ratio.

If the above doesn't suit you, you're looking right at the Mid Size SUV market. The Rav4/CRV/Equinox/Compass/Sportage size is not rated to do what you want them to do. You're looking at Highlander, Pilot, 4 Runner, Santa Fe, Pathfinder, Explorer, Grand Cherokee, maybe a few more. Google tells me an Escape is rated to tow 1500-2000 lbs, depending on equipment, so it's probably out, too. One that's a real standout on the list is the Hyundai. Korean cars were total turdburglars for a long time but in the last 10 years they've really stepped up their game, and they'll get you quite a bit of car for your money. As far as a pickup goes, 20k won't get you much under 10 years old or 100k miles outside of a Nissan Frontier, which is by no means a poor choice. A 4 door mini truck with a super short bed makes quite the fishin' truck that will keep you from having to haul the neighbor's couch.

For 20K you have a lot of options out there, and a few that may be a bit more comfortable if you're willing to step back to something 6-7 years old. A Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon is a hell of a rig and it gets surprisingly good gas mileage, as modern LS V8's shut down cylinders when you don't need the extra power. Don't walk past the conversion vans, either. Your disabled wife may really enjoy heavily cushioned seats that swivel and lighted steps to help her in and out. That back seat that folds down into a bed makes for a great alternative to a hotel if you go to a lake for a weekend, too. It's not unheard of to find insane deals on low mileage conversion vans bought for family excursions that never happened.

They very well may have used to be, but they aren't anymore. All 4 cyl, all have rear struts, no frames, nothing remotely close to heavy duty about the rear suspension. It's a good little SUV, but it's a little wee thing. Figure Toyota makes 5 SUV's and a crossover, the Rav4 is the smallest of them all and it's target market is buying little tiny tin can SUV's like the Chevy Trax and Jeep Renegade. The tow capacity is probably a big reason you can't keep up with the Highlanders.

I was able to beat them up quite a bit on my Tacoma, there's a few tricks to getting a deal on a new Toyota, though. Go to www.toyota.com and use their vehicle locator. Build a truck that you like and get the specs. Be very specific, it just so happened that when I bought my truck, within my region there was only one Summit White Access Cab TRD Sport with a manual transmission and red/orange piped interior, which is exactly what I wanted. I picked up the phone and called every dealer within 50 miles and told them to give me the best deal that they could. I called back all the ones who gave me a price with the lowest, then I repeated the process. Twice. Then I beat the guy at the last dealer down another $200. The process was worth over $3,000 and I walked out of the dealer with a bad ass little truck that was built in the United States of America for almost 10k less than a new, similarly equipped, assembled in Mexico F-150 and it has a sweet looking hood scoop. Now if only I could find a kayak rack for the access cab roof that doesn't cost $500, I'd be set.

Wouldn't say the best, if you're looking for luxury, they're lacking, you've got to go Lexus if you want the bells and whistles. Toyota is pretty utilitarian, they're good at giving you the options that you need without extra doo-dads that you don't. New Rav4's are nice and not pricey, but they're only rated to tow 1500 lbs.

absolutely correct. Just say no to 3.0

Not pulling that with the Gold Wing LOL. Really though, there's lots of good stuff out there. I love my '17 Tacoma, rated at 6200 it would do you just fine, however it's a pickup truck, not an SUV. the older 4.0 Tacos will do fine, as will a 4 Runner or the smaller Highlander. A Rav 4 would be just a wee on the light side though. As far as the Escapes go, there's an '08 in my company fleet and while reliable so far, it's a major nickel and dimer. Had it back to the dealer 5 times for hard starting conditions related to the chip in the key that a do it yourselfer can't do without a dealership scantool along with a laundry list of stupid stuff like the rear wiper arm breaking off and suspension parts wearing prematurely. The timing cover is starting to leak oil and if it goes like the others, it's going to start chucking belts soon. 45,000 miles ago it was indeed Certified Pre-Owned, bought right off the Ford lot. IMHO, it was a certified pre owned piece of **** and I wouldn't buy another one.

Black Bears? http://www.everythingtrackandfield.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_10152_10753_2003189_-1_2000366_2000365_2000355_ProductDisplayErrorView Don't try that with a grizz.

By "16' tin boat," do you mean a tiny little Jon Boat with a tiller drive 5hp or a decked out 16' bass boat with a deck, console, bigger motor, live wells full of water, etc? If you're talking about a small Jon, your numbers are way off on the weight. Unless you've got way more trailer than you need, you're probably well on the low side of 500 lbs and with surge brakes I could safely pull that with my motorcycle, although I'd probably have trouble coming up a launch ramp. You could also flip that boat over and haul it on the roof like a canoe if you're really weighing all the options.

Do you want to go fast or do you want $4,000 in your pocket? I think the big question is are you in a big hurry and how much money is it worth to get to your fishing spot 3 minutes faster than the other guy? If you're a pro and you're fishing in $25,000 plus tournaments, definitely spend the money if you have it. If you're a retired old fart with a lot of time on your hands and a fixed income (no offense meant), get the little motor.

That had to be rough. I know I was tired out after a day floating downstream with a short paddle.

The seat was nice, the layout was decent. I did get the feeling, however, that the paddle wasn't the only issue. Definitely solidified my decision to buy a used entry level 'yak. if it was a foot longer I'd have been happier with 2 pieces of plywood duct taped to a drain pipe.

If a decent paddle for a $200 used kayak is going to cost me $120 plus, it's tempting! I made a homemade paddle for my ex's dad's jon boat out of a 2x2 and some old plywood. It wasn't the best paddle in the world, but the time I had it when the motor broke was a much better experience than the time I didn't.

So I went on a float trip this weekend in a rented kayak, 11 miles on the Youghigheny River. I became quite familiar with the Jackson fishing kayak that was in my local outfitter's rental fleet, and I must say it was quite nice. The paddle, however, was terrible. I felt that it was way too short, and it was missing the little rubber discs that keep the drips away. This combination put quite a bit of water in the boat and had my pants completely soaked, along with making it a challenge fighting a current and paddling upstream, as I had to move my hands every stroke. I see no easily referenced thread on how to select a paddle, and as I will definitely be buying a kayak very soon, I'd really like to know what the rest of you look for in a paddle, how to determine a proper length, and what the different designs are supposed to do.

I love flathead fishing and work too much to really get my bass on as much as I'd like. I'll chase bass when I can, but most of my fishing time is on the rivershore at night with a little time in beforehand going after panfish for bait. Just got a new garage fridge, hoping to fill it with panfish and a few other species for cutbait this weekend by keeping another line out when bassin' from the kayak.

Got ya there, although not putting them in the passenger seat is kinda the point of putting the tube on the roof. Really though, to the OP, not trying to kill the thread, just honestly curious. I really do like the tube, lockable storage is pretty awesome.

What do you do when you fish with a friend? I'm working on setting up my new truck with all sorts of fishing and outdoors related accessories, storage for 6 rods is great however I'm looking for space to fit 12-14 rods in my pickup that comfortably seats 2. I know if I had a Suburban, I'd likely be elected to haul myself and at least 3 buddies a few hours north to Erie a couple times a year, and at 8 miles a gallon, I'd be happy to take their gas money.

scoundrels. A license is nothing more than a liberty that the government steals and sells back to you anyway. Really though, I read through all I could find (title 75 sec 1503) and saw nothing about a trailer, however I did notice that if a young Pennsylvanian worked at a bait and tackle shop, they may be allowed to leave earlier than 5 AM to go test baits with an affidavit from their employer, and if they should fish for charitable purposes, they are also exempt.

Are you sure on that? You can't drive a car unsupervised with a PA learners permit, but if that's the case I broke a lot of laws growing up and so did a bunch of farm boys I've known that hauled a lot of hay.

In PA i'm not aware of any law that says you can't pull a trailer, just no more than one passenger under 18 for 90 days and no driving between 11pm and 5am. How the police react is a case by case thing, depends on the cop and it depends a lot more on your attitude. Pre-trip your truck and you won't have to worry about getting pulled over for a tail light out. https://www.dot.state.pa.us/Public/DVSPubsForms/BDL/BDL Fact Sheets/fs-wy.pdf

The Double Cab has a factory optional rack, the Access Cab does not. I have seen a few guys cut up the factory double cab rack on the TacomaWorld forums and I could do that, but it looks like a hacked up rack when it's done. If I had an '06 with 100k, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I have a '17 AC TRD Sport with 947 miles and I'm just not ready to go there yet. Looking at the aftermarket, while it's still more than I wanna spend, I've read spectacular reviews on the Rhino Racks, most say they're a slightly better rack for a little less money. If nobody puts up a couple pics of some kind of strap on unit that they made or $100 universal rack that they swear by, that's the brand I'll probably buy.