My Dad owned his 1982 Toyota pickup for decades. It towed a heavy mulletboat and trailer for half that time. It took us in the woods, down the highway, and all over town. He loved that truck. He and Mom were hit one day, coming home from a fishing trip, towing his smaller boat. A small car hit the truck's left rear wheel, knocking it off the vehicle. He managed to stop safely, but boat and trailer were wrecked. The state trooper helped Dad get the spare wheel onto the hub and Dad drove it home, with the boat and trailer wreckage in back.
That was one tough truck!
I have seen other older Toyota trucks tow massive loads.
My shooting/hunting buddy has a 2001 Toyota truck he loves. He accidentally rolled it in a concrete culvert once, destroying the roof. He spent $5,000 having a new donor roof welded back on. Today, you cannot tell it ever happened. He loves that truck! He jokes he will be buried in it.
Toyota screwed the pooch when they upsized their small truck, to compete with the larger American small trucks. Many people I know consider the older small trucks much better than the current models. It's small size gave it an edge in tight quarters, and when used in "dog hunting" in our piney woods. Bigger trucks just can't keep up.
The only thing Toyota really needs to do, besides getting back to the smaller platform, is to offer a diesel option. They'd sell a boatload here locally.
