Thinking about buying a new truck, just went to the dealer and priced out a new Ford F-150. The dealer spected out one for me that has the new aluminum body, the heavy duty pack on it which will give me a payload of 3000 lbs. want to know if that truck will be as good as buying the F-250 to haul the weight, currently have a 93 Northern Lite weighing in at 1450 lbs. but looking into a new Northern Lite that has a weight rating of 1750 or a different model that weighs in at 2000 lbs. both dry weights will it be enough truck. I am going with the eco boost motor that has 385 horses and 420 ft/lbs torque like the idea of better fuel mileage than the F-250 but was wondering if it will do the job, do not want to do the mods that I had to do on the Chev. 1500 but the fuel milage is around 17.5 to 19 Canadian per gallon on the chev., kinda hopeing for better than that on a new Ford can any of you guys weigh in on this from your experiences Dave

I'd at least take a look at the F250/2500's since the suspension is stronger. A free float rear axle in the F250/2500 might be worth the upgrade.

I would be skeptical of the payload being around 3k on a half ton. I've heard some stories on this forum that you can't order them yet or Ford is not building those trucks yet with the HD payload package. Just what I've heard...

i drove an f 150 fx4 lariat for ten years.i carried an 8 ft. 1100 lb. pop up camper.a few of my observations.as a daily driver its a great truck.good mileage and good suspension on the road and off, pretty good brakes. as a camper carrier not so great.its more of a trailer tower.it will carry 1200 lbs. but it wallows,even with air bags.if you carry a camper you will be spending on front end repairs.i redid mine 3 times.i would be very suspect about 3000 lb payload claims as my ram 2500 can't match that and its much more robust than the old f150 frame and brake and axle wise. my daily driver is a ram 2500 hd.its the best of both worlds.not as stiff of a ride as a 350/3500 and more payload than a 150/1500.i drive a 3500 for work and its a kidney buster.why people use them for daily drivers i'll never understand. even with 500 litres of diesel in the tidy tank its still uncomfortable.

Seriously, NO hard sided truck camper should ever be put on a 1/2 ton truck. It is not enough truck and no amount of suspension/tire/wheel mods will make it one.Don't end up in a future "I told you so" post.A 3/4 ton at the VERY least bud.MR. E

djg wrote:both dry weights will it be enough truck. DaveWhy are you basing your decision on dry weight? Why not on wet weight?

New Truck Purchase | Good Sam Community

twodownzero
Explorer
Apr 22, 2015
djg wrote:
I put this topic up a few months back I thought about a new F-150 and after all the replies I finally bought a truck its older but in great shape a truck from the south, no rust and only has 190,000 miles on a 7.3 diesel, classic truck 1995 F-350 duelly. I wish I knew how to put pictures up and I would post some, or even in my signature. We just got the truck an are now waiting for the new camper coming the middle to end of June, purchased a Camplite 10.0 all aluminum camper. The wife seen one and just loved it so we took the plunge and ordered it last Friday

Great decision! I wish for a dually every time I take my camper out, and it's only an 8 1/2.
wvabeer
Explorer
Apr 21, 2015
Congrats it sounds like your gonna be on the road in no time.
Farmerjon
Explorer
Apr 21, 2015
well congratulations on both purchases. You certainly won't have to worry about overloading it.
Happy camping.
djg
Explorer
Apr 21, 2015
I put this topic up a few months back I thought about a new F-150 and after all the replies I finally bought a truck its older but in great shape a truck from the south, no rust and only has 190,000 miles on a 7.3 diesel, classic truck 1995 F-350 dually. I wish I knew how to put pictures up and I would post some, guess I figured it out or even in my signature. We just got the truck an are now waiting for the new camper coming the middle to end of June, purchased a Camplite 10.0 all aluminum camper. The wife seen one and just loved it so we took the plunge and ordered it last Friday[img][IMG]
wvabeer
Explorer
Mar 18, 2015
This should take care of the weakest link
3200 lb wheels
Jfresh
Explorer
Mar 16, 2015
egarant wrote:
Seriously, NO hard sided truck camper should ever be put on a 1/2 ton truck. It is not enough truck and no amount of suspension/tire/wheel mods will make it one.

Don't end up in a future "I told you so" post.

A 3/4 ton at the VERY least bud.

MR. E

Agreed.

I feel like this discussion was posted prior to this thread.

There are a lot more dynamics to hauling a TC than just payload.
woodhog
Explorer
Mar 16, 2015
Aluminum Camper and Aluminum Truck
wvabeer
Explorer
Mar 16, 2015
My reasoning for using a f150 for a truck camper is most of the time you use it empty. MPG are important if you commute very far to work. Why have two when you can use just one? Buy the way the sticker on my new camper read 1670 truck scale read 2270.
Bedlam
Moderator
Mar 15, 2015
Ford is partnering with a TC maker for a model on their F150. My buddy's 150HD included loading guidelines for truck campers with his manuals.
jimh406
Explorer III
Mar 15, 2015
If you are into experimenting, go for it. Otherwise, buy the models that other people have used. I don't see any major reason why the new truck wouldn't work.

That being said, I don't know if any F150s are certified to haul any weight camper or not. I would also consider what is the availability of accessories like tie down mounts before buying it.

Forum Discussion

New Truck Purchase

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

Help....advice on purchasing truck camper

Order of purchases?

New Purchase

Truck

Frustrated with my RV purchase.