Alphabet soup! Your calculation that the truck can handle a 16K trailer is correct- with a few conditions. You can't exceed the cargo capacity of the truck in doing so. I'm not sure on goosenecks, but on a regular trailer, I try to figure a tongue weight of 10% minimum. You could go up to 20% without exceeding the trucks weight capacity. Most trucks will handle more weight and more trailer than factory specs- there should be a considerable safety factor included. But heavy trailers can be hard to stop, and can also 'wag the dog', having more affect on the handling than the truck itself. Also, a truck w/ excessive weight in the back will handle very badly. Any trailer over 3500 lbs. should have its own brakes- make sure they are functioning properly. So- you can get a 16K trailer, provided you load it in such a way that you don't go overboard on the tongue weight. I've always thought there should be a trailer tongue jack with a built-in scale, so you can get a rough idea of tongue weight.

Woah,,,, time out... It's not possible to accurately guess what is wrong with the steering on your truck over the internet. It's also not possible to do it over the phone, if you would try to call a shop and ask them how much is it to fix it without them doing any testing. In fact, it's SO WRONG to go about it that way that anyone that attempts to give you a price without first diagnosing the problem is the place to stay away from because they don't know enough about the system to know they can't guess a price! I'll show you how good it is to have someone guess without seeing the truck. I will guess the belt fell off the pump, that will be about $80.00. Now being serious that is only one of the most obvious things that need to be checked and confirmed as ok, or not ok. From there nothing short of a full inspection of the steering system which includes attaching a pressure tester is going to lead you directly to the answer. So find a good shop, with good techs, and pay them to diagnose the truck, then pay them to fix it correctly, and you will get value for the money that is spent.

We have Geico. We'd been with our previous insurer for 13 yrs and never had an incident until a young woman ran into the side of my husbands car. Even though it was her fault, she filed a lawsuit against us. Our previous insurer was so inept about how they handled this, that we knew we didn't want to count on them in the event of any other problems in the future. One month after we switched insurers, we had to take our van in for service and borrowed a loaner. We did not buy their optional insurance because the van had complete coverage. We were at a red light and an elderly woman rear ended us. She also had Geico. Geico did just what we hoped they would. Paid for our medical bills and settled the costs with the rental co. The work on our van wasn't finished so we had to get a 2cd loaner. We got the additional coverage anyway just in case our own insurance might not cover us if any other accidents turned out to be our fault (instead of the elderly lady's). It seems odd that even though your truck didn't have collision coverage, the loaner should of. It seems to me that the dealer should be required to have full coverage on this loaner regardless of who is borrowing it. How old is the loaner? Bet its 'young' enough to qualify for collision coverage. I wouldn't let the dealer off the hook. I'd tell them that this loaner should have been insured regardless of who was driving it or what your own personal coverage was for the truck. I'd tell them that if they can't work something out, that you are going to talk to an attorney or the state attorney general and see what they have to say. Especially since they can't seem to figure out what is wrong with your truck.

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but because it is a dealership, doesn't mean they are trustworthy. My sister had the exact same thing happen several years ago at a dealership with a vehicle her husband wrecked. At the time, she was going through a divorce, and the vehicle became her problem. My husband, although he no longer does that type work, went to a diesel mechanic college. He worked on cars for many years. My sister, of course, didn't know anything about parts, etc. so when the time came to pick up the wrecked vehicle, my husband went with her. He recognized that many of the replacement parts were not new, but used. Insurance was paying for new parts (this was all spelled out) and of course the dealership thought they'd make some money. Thankfully it was through insurance so they were the ones that dealt with the dealership. My MIL has a cadillac CTS, probably about her 5th cadillac. My husband has tried to get her to find a good, trustworthy mechanic and stop using the dealership. No matter what she goes down there for, they tell her she needs something additional. She is on her own, believe anything they say, and has spent $$$ on unnecessary repairs. Thankfully, I am on my third Toyota, probably will be on my fourth soon. Each have been driven over 100,000 miles and the most done to any of these vehicles was a water pump. I've never allowed the dealership to do any work on the cars. Well I think I did have some minor recall on the first one and had them do that. My husband is able to do maintenance such as oil, brakes, tune-ups, etc. He also has a good friend who we can trust if we need a mechanic. My moral of the story is you need 1) a dependable vehicle and 2) a dependable mechanic.