as far as towing make sure you have a weight distributing hitch if its an automatic make sure it has a tranny cooler do you live around hills if you do try to find something equip with a rear end and big brakes you will need both of them the first time you hit it fully loaded as far as truck preference you sound set on the tacomasrangers they both make for a good rig the s is what i have the most mechanical experience with and it wont meet your needs as well as you would like oh and the highway is a fairly lofty goal for an automatic x dont expect to get often