[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by Larry_Loo

Ray, thank you for your informative explanation about changing the gear ratio in a truck's rear axle. Now I know enough about the modification procedure to be dangerous! ;-)

Most welcome.

My F-150, with 160,000+ miles on it, is 10 years older than your Toyota. Although it's still in good running condition, it may not be wise of me to have any extensive modification done on it. I've been thinking about a new truck for the past year - but hate to spend all that money again for something that depreciates so quickly.

I regeared because I wanted a more pleasant towing experience (less downshifting on hills) and I wanted to help extend the transmission's life...and I plan to hang onto this truck for enough years to get decent amortization out of the cost of the regearing and my other mods. It's still an almost new truck (just 14 months since purchase) with low mileage (not quite 11,000 miles) so I have a long ownership expectation.

However, for you, a new(er) truck would seemingly make more economic sense than regearing the current one. Trucks have come a long way in the past couple of years in terms of both performance and driving comfort.

Buying a late model used truck avoids taking the huge depreciation hit of a new one but you also don't have any choice in what options it has (especially options like towing packages). Used trucks also tend to be more likely to have been abused/heavily used than late model used cars. But with enough searching, you very well could find a properly equipped (including axle ratio) and well taken care of used truck.