60k Budget truck and camper
Hi There New member here although have been lurking for quite a while. Soon looking at becoming a solo full timer. I'm newly retired this year and my plan is to go the truck camper route for the ...
Forum Discussion
zb39 wrote:
...Do not let anyone "scare you" about DEF or smog gear. I heard all kinds of **** about my 2011 RAM 3500.
I never had it to the dealer even once...
I don't think "scare" is a very fair statement for what myself and others have pointed out. We aren't trying to scare anyone from purchasing any particular vehicle. We are trying to point out to be informed that used trucks with mandatory smog equipment can cost a lot of money to repair if something fails. Not saying it will, but just that it can.
I brought this point up because I'm looking at it through the lense of my financial position. When I consider buying a truck, I'm looking at putting at least 100k to 200k of miles on it before I move on in part because I can't afford a new truck every few years. Given the original posters' budget of 60k spread between both truck and camper, it is likely he will end up with something that has 50k to 100k of miles on it. Now if he is able to trade out his truck in a few years after putting 50k to 100k of miles on it then yes, very likely he doesn't have to be concerned about SMOG issues. However, if he ends up keeping the truck for many years and puts a lot of miles on it then the chances of components failing go up and the cost of repair can be very pricey. For that reason, it is important to consider the repair costs because most states will not let you defer that maintenance come registration time.
