Truck for Eagle Cap 1165?

I have a '10 F450 with 4.30 gears and the 6.4. It's got a 14,500 rating. The truck weights approximately 9000 lbs. I think you have to go chassis cab to get the rated payload you want. Mine gets 10-10.5 with my camper. I could be more exact, but all of my trucks have been over the passes this year. From what I read, the newer trucks don't get much better mpg when loaded.

How did you get in my head and why didn't you leave that information there? Maybe I had flash of brilliance that went on vacation?

Honestly, right now I have way too much going on at home and work to remember how I computed that post.

Bedlam wrote:
Thanks, I slipped an extra zero into my last post. It should have been 25,000 miles.

No, your original 250,000 mile number is not unreasonable. 25,000 is unreasonable. For example, suppose the diesel gets 12 MPG and the gas gets 9. Today the price in Seattle is $3.00 for gas, $3.40 for diesel. This means to recover the $8,000 investment in the diesel you need to drive 160,000 miles. Say the gas gets 9.5 MPG and you have to drive 246,000 miles

Now, you can play with different combinations of numbers but the bottom line is you are going to have to drive a lot to recover the initial outlay under any reasonable assumptions.

Talked w/ local dealer today about getting a F450 w/ box and non-detuned motor and dropping box for custom flatbed. He thought box was only few hundred bucks difference. He also mentioned how hard it is to come up w/ real payload numbers off of factory provided numbers. Also said only get 4.33 gears and "6.7 a good motor". He can not order 550's.
My center of gravity is 8" behind my axle on a 8' foot box. I've been wondering what a longer wheelbase does for turning? Somewhere on a Dodge page I found some turning radius numbers but lost them.

Bedlam wrote:

twodownzero wrote:

RoadRangerChip wrote:
I am smiling.

You're smiling now because you didn't get the gas bill yet.

With what he saved by not buying the diesel engine could fuel him for 250,000 miles. If you're buying the diesel to save on fuel costs, you better plan on living in the truck seat instead of the RV (high mileage driver).

I'm not sure if your math is just off by a power of ten or if you're assuming some sort of marginal difference in fuel economy to arrive at those numbers.

The reality is that at current fuel prices, 250k miles worth of fuel is as much or more than the cost of a new truck. Even a 2 mpg difference would be enough to pay for the diesel engine option.

Before the introduction of emissions equipment that destroyed the reliability and longevity of the diesel engine, it wasn't even a contest. Today, there are sound reasons for avoiding diesel vehicles, but the fuel cost is not among them.

Bedlam wrote:
Remember that these chassis cabs will end up with a utility bed or flatbed with storage boxes. This will allow you carry many more items than you have now in a pickup bed. If you talk with the guys that are set up this way, they will tell you that they are running around 6000 lbs payload before towing.

I have 1500 lbs in surplus AGM batteries just waiting for a heavier truck...

^^ What Bedlam said. 6k + is normal, and the truck is still light.

Option; we have an air suspension. If you've ever ridden in a sprung truck that doesn't have any weight in it, you'll know why. We drop the camper most of the time in the fishing/warm months, and the truck is still comfortable to drive. A 5500/550 that is sprung and empty is not. Something to chew on.

Remember that these chassis cabs will end up with a utility bed or flatbed with storage boxes. This will allow you carry many more items than you have now in a pickup bed. If you talk with the guys that are set up this way, they will tell you that they are running around 6000 lbs payload before towing.

I have 1500 lbs in surplus AGM batteries just waiting for a heavier truck...

From looking at the 5500 Dodge and the 550 Ford the Dodge suspension looks way over kill for any truckcamper.Its like comparing a F150 with at F350 maybe try and find a 550 Ford even though I;m a Dodge man.

Thanks, I slipped an extra zero into my last post. It should have been 25,000 miles.

Bedlam wrote:

twodownzero wrote:

RoadRangerChip wrote:
I am smiling.

You're smiling now because you didn't get the gas bill yet.

With what he saved by not buying the diesel engine could fuel him for 250,000 miles. If you're buying the diesel to save on fuel costs, you better plan on living in the truck seat instead of the RV (high mileage driver).

A diesel engine is an $8,000 premium on the RAM - that equates to 28,000 miles if the MPGs for gas and diesel fuel were equal.

Oil change price differences and fuel filter prices may add a few thousand miles - BUT 250,000 miles? I call BS!

There is a comfort level with a loaded diesel engine equipped truck vs. an equally loaded gas engine equipped truck that buys back some (a lot IMHO) of those miles too.

Having owned a mix of both and currently having a 6.8L V-10 in my motor home and a 6.7L I6 in my RAM, the diesel is an affordable luxury.