I am also near the DC area. You can find a 10K truck in these parts.
However finding a 10K truck that is camping worthy is a challenge.
I define camping worthy as a truck that is reliable enough to go to a remote area and not have to worry about a breakdown.
Breaking down in the big city is much easier to deal with than breaking down in a remote area that is 20 miles from a small town. Add in a towable RV and you have a big fat expensive headache.
When I traded my O7 Duramax in for my current truck I had began to worry it was not camping worthy. The truck was very reliable and never let me down. (well once when the water pump failed, even then I was not stranded but had to cancel a camping trip.) The 07 was just getting worn to the point I was questioning when it would let me down. That truck was worth about $10K with 300K miles on it..
It needed glow plugs, I was questioning brake lines, the truck had obvious wear and tear. But it was still worth $10K, but not camping worthy in my book.
Camping worthy around here starts in the 15K-20K range for a 3/4 or heavier pick up.
I have also purchased a few 75K-100K late model trucks. I've concluded that as long as you plan to keep the truck for forever buying new is you best bet.
You get the full life of the truck especially the 1st 100K that are generally problem free with modern trucks. I've also gravitated to the last year of a engine run vs. buying the first year of an engine run.
By buying the last year you get proven reliability vs. a new model where you get all the new features and gadgets that are not yet proven.
I understand the 10 speed trannies are great however I did not want to be the guinea pig to test them. The verdict still is not out on how well they do when the miles pile up. Will 10 speeds be reliable up to 300K? No reason to believe they won't but I don't want to be the tester...LOL
