[ShrimpBurrito]

I used to tow our 1500 lb Boston Whaler through the Sierras and from Portland, Oregon to the coast with our 4.0L 6-cyl Jeep Cherokee. It was not unusual for the oil filter to blister. Your Elkmont will be more than twice that weight. IMHO, the oil filter adds alot of value.

Installing a 7-wire harness is not a 10-min job. You'll need to run wire from the battery, braking circuits, and signal circuits from under the hood all the way to the bumper. Obviously, you wouldn't need to do that with a factory tow package, and as a result, installing a brake controller would be a breeze.

If you don't have a powerful enough alternator, your TM batteries may not charge at all while underway. In fact, you may not be able to run the fridge, either, without running your TM batteries down.

In addition to all of that, harveyrv mentions the possibility that there may be alot more to the towing package.

You say the short beds are rare.....but they are out there. If you expand your search to the entire U.S., you could pay $400 to fly there (cross country) and check it out, fly home, and have it transported to your door for $1500 (cross country). So it would basically cost you a $2,000 premium to buy out-of-state. You're going to spend a good portion of that in properly equipping a non-towing package vehicle, not to mention all the hassle and cost of installing it, or getting it installed. To me, that's a wash financially, so I would strongly consider expanding your search.

Carmax might be a good place to check. They have lots across the country and will transfer them to a lot close to you for a fee (less than $1000 IIRC). And I want to say they also have a 30-day money back guarantee.

Dave