Using 70s/80's MDT as camper+4x4 hauler?
I currently have an '05 Ram 1500 2WD quad cab short bed truck, with the Hemi and factory tow package. As is so common, when I bought the truck, I didn't forsee my future needs, thus it doesn't really meet my current needs. Oops.. :P
My main hobby is 4x4 rock crawlers, which I typically trailer to the trails rather than drive them, largely due to them being set up for the rocks and street manners are not at all friendly. I have a 20ft deck flat bed trailer that I move them on, which works quite well behind the Ram, although I do have to be very careful how I load it to avoid bottoming out the suspension on the truck.
I have recently added a '70-something SixPac truck camper to the mix, and by itself, it is lightweight enough that it barely squats the Ram. Although I haven't scaled it, I'm guesstimating it to be around 1,000lbs empty based on suspension squat of the truck.
Either are fine by themselves with the 1/2 ton Dodge, and although I haven't yet attempted to do both together, I'm really thinking the truck isn't going to like it.
I started looking at various other truck options, and whoo-boy!! New(er) trucks are EXPENSIVE!! Plus, now I feel like if I go into a 1 ton truck, I'm only meeting current needs again, not "future proofing" myself.
So I started browsing Craigslist, and found a few 70s and 80s MDT trucks - F700s, F750s, Kodiak/Topkicks, C4500s. C5500s (which I think is just a Kodiak with a different badge?), etc. A couple had 17-20 foot flatbeds on them, and it got me thinking....Toss the camper on the front of the flatbed, and without a bed in the way, I'd have room for much larger water tanks and storage areas as my old camper doesn't have a basement on it. Then I'd still have room behind it to load one of the 4x4s...and probably still have enough capacity to haul the trailer behind it if I needed more room still.
The problem here is that I really have zero experience with these old trucks. Is this even a feasible plan for these types of trucks? I'm guesstimating a total load, between the loaded camper, 4x4, bigger water/storage tanks, tools, etc to be between 8000 to 10,000lbs. Obviously the ride is going to be horrible compared to a new pickup, the "creature comforts" won't be there, and I figure the gas mileage is going to bring on the major suck regardless of whether I go gas or diesel. But on the other hand, this would be a dedicated hauling truck for me, I still have other vehicles for daily usage, and I'd still keep the Ram for light duty hauling duties.
Really what I'm wondering is whether I could realistically load up 10K on the deck of one of these things, and cruise down the highway at 65mph without much issue?
My main hobby is 4x4 rock crawlers, which I typically trailer to the trails rather than drive them, largely due to them being set up for the rocks and street manners are not at all friendly. I have a 20ft deck flat bed trailer that I move them on, which works quite well behind the Ram, although I do have to be very careful how I load it to avoid bottoming out the suspension on the truck.
I have recently added a '70-something SixPac truck camper to the mix, and by itself, it is lightweight enough that it barely squats the Ram. Although I haven't scaled it, I'm guesstimating it to be around 1,000lbs empty based on suspension squat of the truck.
Either are fine by themselves with the 1/2 ton Dodge, and although I haven't yet attempted to do both together, I'm really thinking the truck isn't going to like it.
I started looking at various other truck options, and whoo-boy!! New(er) trucks are EXPENSIVE!! Plus, now I feel like if I go into a 1 ton truck, I'm only meeting current needs again, not "future proofing" myself.
So I started browsing Craigslist, and found a few 70s and 80s MDT trucks - F700s, F750s, Kodiak/Topkicks, C4500s. C5500s (which I think is just a Kodiak with a different badge?), etc. A couple had 17-20 foot flatbeds on them, and it got me thinking....Toss the camper on the front of the flatbed, and without a bed in the way, I'd have room for much larger water tanks and storage areas as my old camper doesn't have a basement on it. Then I'd still have room behind it to load one of the 4x4s...and probably still have enough capacity to haul the trailer behind it if I needed more room still.
The problem here is that I really have zero experience with these old trucks. Is this even a feasible plan for these types of trucks? I'm guesstimating a total load, between the loaded camper, 4x4, bigger water/storage tanks, tools, etc to be between 8000 to 10,000lbs. Obviously the ride is going to be horrible compared to a new pickup, the "creature comforts" won't be there, and I figure the gas mileage is going to bring on the major suck regardless of whether I go gas or diesel. But on the other hand, this would be a dedicated hauling truck for me, I still have other vehicles for daily usage, and I'd still keep the Ram for light duty hauling duties.
Really what I'm wondering is whether I could realistically load up 10K on the deck of one of these things, and cruise down the highway at 65mph without much issue?
