I'd guess my net environmental impact is just now lower than US average because, despite my fuel consumption when moving my home, it's tiny, energy independent, and it doesn't move far or frequently. I don't really know. I just don't want to be judged unfairly, particularly when seeking help trying to do it even better....
The '19 3/4 ton is worth $38k. It was a great truck for my wife and I to build experience. Only now, with some experience, do we know it can be done for half the price. But, with only a little experience, we're not quite sure what our best choice is and why.
Can't do an electric bicycle out here for lots of reasons, first and foremost range and speed. But, we're thinking along those lines. We're aiming at a 650 motorcycle in the next six months.
You did give me the advice I was looking for, sorta. You had me thinking, "How could downsizing be wrong"
Yesterday, every opportunity, three times, I asked someone else that was towing (random drivers stopped) what they thought. They all agree with you: Downsizing is not good.
Also, the diesel owner wishes he'd bought a gas. The gas owners wish they'd bought a diesel.
The fact that you're entirely happy with your F150 but will replace it with a 250 is very helpful. Much respect for moving living cargo. I think I'd want 5-10k miles before I'd trust myself to do that.
It could be the northern Rockies. It could be Iowa (flat). Most of the miles will be interstate and highway. I'll be pulling the 2.5t trailer almost exclusively for 10-12k miles. Then, I'll have many short haul loads in the 1-4t range for maybe 2k miles. Then, it'll spend maybe a third of its remaining life with that same 2.5t, the other two thirds with less than 0.5t payload.
Based on what we've both said, it seems like you'd favor a 3/4.
I'm not worried so much about pull power acceleration as efficiency at 70-80mph.
My first year was about 1500lb payload. I went easy on it. But, there's no such thing when pulling at the limits of the transmission & drive line. This is why I thought of a 1/2 ton, 2.5t sitting at around half the max capacity. But, because I'll be towing full time for awhile, the accepted perspective seems to be to overkill even a bit more.
OK. Then, I ask with humility and respect, "Why?".
My objection to the Tundra is that I could buy a diesel for nearly the same money that'd give me double the fuel economy and double the miles. And, it's not going to be much more reliable than a domestic tuned and maintained by myself.
If I had to have the best gas 1/2 ton on the market then I think it's a Tundra. But, I'm not looking for the best tool. It seems a 1/2 ton is a mistake. I want best value under the assumption labor is free.
Choosing a used truck
I'd guess my net environmental impact is just now lower than US average because, despite my fuel consumption when moving my home, it's tiny, energy independent, and it doesn't move far or frequently. I don't really know. I just don't want to be judged unfairly, particularly when seeking help trying to do it even better....