What Truck to buy?

[tonyamsler]

Hey everyone,

First time truck camper purchase - 8' Skamper pop-up. Looking to purchase a used truck for my possible cross-county trip. Most are saying I should be looking at a heavy duty truck like the F250 or GMC 2500, rather then the light duty (150's and 1500). Could use some guidance here.

thank

Tony

[JIMNLIN]

You sure don't need a one ton truck for that small load.....unless you just gotta' have one.
Bought our first truck camper in the early '70s. After three truck campers and three 5th wheel trailers and pulling various size GN/bumper pull trailers to make a living I'm not in the "you can't have too much truck crowd".
Several times I've had too much truck just like I see others have said on rv.net and other rv websites.

Are you looking at a new truck or used ??

If new the only 1/2 ton size truck that can carry 2300-2500 lbs in the bed is the F150HD package. This truck came with up to 7850 GVWR and 4800 RAWR. Older F150HD have 8200 gvwr and the same load carrying capability.

If your looking at older used gas engine trucks ;
...the '00-'06 GM1500HD with 8600 GVWR and 6000 RAWR 6.0 engine 3000 lb payloads will fill the bill.

OR the '00s 1500 Dodge Mega cab with 8510 gvwr and 6000 rawr is good for around 2800-3000 lbs in the bed.

Other wise the market is wide open for a 3/4 ton truck of your choice. These trucks have 6000-6500 rawr and are good for 2800-3500 lbs payloads in the bed.
I would recommend the white one with a high hp gas engine.

[Mattyd]

I have never been in a position to say I had too much truck. Up until I bought a truck camper I had 3/4 ton trucks. When we went to the truck camper I went with a 1 ton dually. It is a dedicated truck for the camper and love it. LOVE IT! If I were to do a "do over". I would likely go 1 ton single wheel short bed and downsize camper to fit within the capacities of the truck. It would be more likely used not as a daily driver but certainly more than a long bed dually is used now.

[burningman]

Jaxom wrote:
Think of a half-ton like a pickup shaped station wagon.

A couple decades ago, I had a '76 F150 4x4, big block 4-speed and a '77 Ford Country Squire station wagon, big block/C6 auto.

The station wagon had a higher tow rating than the truck did!!

[mkirsch]

That's "right" in the sense that there's a 100% chance you'll upgrade to a bigger camper and never trade trucks until you die. People generally have a tough time thinking that far ahead.

If it's a matter of getting someone on the road safe and happy vs. scaring them off, I say get the 2500 and go for the DRW truck later if you decide you need that mammoth camper in a few years. TCs have a nasty way of being gateway drugs that lead to travel trailer and 5th wheel addiction too, and a 2500 will tow a lot more than it can haul.

[sharkman]

GeoBoy wrote:
Buy a 350/3500, gas or diesel, SRW or dually. Do it once, do it right.

It's a serious addiction, you'll end there 1 day
anyways.

[trail-explorer]

GeoBoy wrote:
Buy a 350/3500, gas or diesel, SRW or dually. Do it once, do it right.

DITTO

[GeoBoy]

Buy a 350/3500, gas or diesel, SRW or dually. Do it once, do it right.

[ctilsie242]

If I were to do it all over again, and have a truck just dedicated for the TC, I'd definitely go for a long bed dually F-350.

If I were using the truck for a daily driver, I'd go for a shortbed, extended cap F-350 with a gasser engine. Far less camper can go on it, but the camper that can will still have full amenities.

[sonuvabug]

tonyamsler wrote:
... snipped ... First time truck camper purchase - 8' Skamper pop-up. Looking to purchase a used truck for my possible cross-county trip. Most are saying I should be looking at a heavy duty truck like the F250 or GMC 2500, rather then the light duty (150's and 1500)

Hey Tony, good on you to get input from knowledgeable people beforehand ... I wish I had done that when I bought my HD truck and later bought our TC. There is a good reason "most are saying" 3/4 to 1 ton HD truck (250o or 350o) series. I'm also of that opinion because that is what would best serve your current and potential future needs.

I would also make sure that your used HD truck purchase came with certain must haves like front and rear anti-sway bars, camper package (usually including heavier or overload springs), factory trailer hitch and lighting harness, tow mirrors, possibly a heavier battery/alternator, possibly an upgraded cooling system including a tranny cooler and maybe even an integrated brake controller if it is a later model used HD truck.

For used HD trucks, every brand (Dodge, Ford & GM) have their good and troublesome generations. Take Ford for example, their '99-2003 7.3l diesels are generally considered bullet proof for diesels. On the the hand, their 6.0 and 6.4l diesels can be money pits and people generally recommend to avoid them etc. The gasser 5.4's are rock solid if a little underpowered and their later year 6.0l V10's gassers are considered very good. The newer 6.2 gasser is great but has a drinking problem and the new 6.7l diesel is proving to be a reliable, powerful powerplant. Can't speak to the GM or Dodge crowd ... maybe some of those owners will chime in here.

I suggest you go to each brand's reputable truck forums (like the Ford Truck Enthusiast for Ford trucks) and do your own research. It won't take you long to zero in on which generation(s) and engine/tranny combo's to consider and which ones to avoid. A few hours of research time invested now will save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of wasted money in the future.

BTW - you are doing it right knowing the TC you are fitting to and then buying the right truck to match it. Many of us (me included) had the truck first then bought the TC. Sometimes we end up putting lots of mods into our trucks making them "able" to handle a load above their legal weight rating. You should also consider this as you may wish to upgrade your TC to something bigger/heavier in the future and having extra capacity to work with is always a good thing.

I hope this helps and good Luck. Make sure you let us know how things work out for you. The next person with a similar situation will benefit from your decision and feedback.

[Jaxom]

Think of a half-ton like a pickup shaped station wagon.

[mkirsch]

While we're only talking about an 8' popup here, we're also talking about long-distance travel. An F250/2500 type truck will guarantee that you will NEVER feel uncomfortable during the trip.

If you were limiting yourself to short local trips, I would say you could get by with an F150 or 1500. Your load-outs would be much lighter because you wouldn't be taking along weeks' worth of food and clothing. Plus you can tolerate any idiosyncrasies in the driving/handling qualities of the rig for an hour or two. When you have to put up with them for 6-8 hours a day, it can be tiring, leaving you with no energy to enjoy the destination.

[burningman]

Half-tons are great for hauling leaves to the dump.

[Redwoodcamper]

Half ton trucks just don't make much sense. Realistically, most don't get much better mileage, they aren't much more comfortable, and they are much, much less capable. Used ones have come down in price I don't see much reason for many half ton trucks.

[wcjeep]

2500 from any manufacturer will have better brakes, suspension and frame than their 1500 version.