"I will be towing about 5500 lb, but am looking at a rating of 7000 so as to not tempt fate."
Yeppers and this is what the original post said since we are talking "original poster". No where did I claim or he or anyone claim that the Tundra or Nissan or whatever were in the sam,e league of tow vehicle as the 1 ton Dodge, howerver, he did ask for a vehicle that could tow 5,500 lbs and HE felt a 7,000 lb rating would give him room to spare. I cannot disagree with his original thoughts. I don't think he needs that much vehicle for 5,500 lbs either. Like I said, the new Tacoma and any of a number of the new mid size trucks including the Dodge Dakota and maybe the Chevy/GMC mid size could pull 5,500 lbs. Also, any number of 1/2 ton PUs could tow it easily including the Ford, Chevy, Tundra and Nissan which has a 9,000 lb tow rating.
One thing, you must make sure that both your GVW and your tow weight are within limits and the tongue weight as well. A person needing to tow a boat or horse trailer or whatever plus a vehicle loaded with gear and people certainly could remain within the tow limit but exceed the GVW thus making it wise to get a larger truck. Have a goulish Halloween, g'nite /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif!
PS, the tow limit on the Jeep is 5,000 lbs so it will not do for a 5,500 lb load however it does very well right to it's 5,000 lb limit--no sweat. J