who drives a medium duty, what camper do you have

My insurance went up about $200/yr going from a 2005 Ford F250 to a 2015 Ram 5500 with the same coverage. I am two weight classes heavier that makes my license tags $30/yr more due to additional fees.

MDT's can cost a lot less than a one ton dually pickup, while offering more weight carrying capacity per dollar spent.

The real hurdles, especially for those in some states, are the next verbs that occur after the buy.

To buy is easy. To license, register, insure, and comply with DMV, DOT, MCP, FMCSA, and other regulations, including discovering, correctly interpreting, and conforming to the requirements that exempt certain RV and personal usages from the aforementioned compliance agencies... that is the question. And that will partially depend on what state you are located in, even while most states largely adopt the federal regulatory model, with their own add ons and enforcement interpretations.

buddyIam wrote:
Bedlam

I never priced one out that way. That would be reasonable Manual transmission and air conditioning and maybe sound deadening would make me very happy. Heck I don't even listen to the radio in the car or my truck.

I bet it's a special order that way. I don't know if they keep them in back or not but I've never seen more than one 4500 or 5500 on the lot at one time.

But I could be happy with 35,000 to 40,000. The amount of disbursed camping I do I just can't see 65,000, closer to 75,000 with tax.

Mine didn't even cost as much as you posted. You can take home a base 5500 Tradesman crew cab with 4wd and flat bed in the upper 40's. If you are set on a manual, you have to get the Cummins and will be paying in the mid 50's to have one sitting on your driveway. A 2wd standard cab with a flat bed and Cummins can be bought in the mid 40's...

I have a 2007 C5500 Kodiak. We pull a 40' Lifestyle 5er. If you're looking at MDT's do the research and you'll discover that some trucks that people were sold as MDT's aren't MDT's... I'll leave it there to not start a flame war...

Bedlam

I never priced one out that way. That would be reasonable Manual transmission and air conditioning and maybe sound deadening would make me very happy. Heck I don't even listen to the radio in the car or my truck.

I bet it's a special order that way. I don't know if they keep them in back or not but I've never seen more than one 4500 or 5500 on the lot at one time.

But I could be happy with 35,000 to 40,000. The amount of disbursed camping I do I just can't see 65,000, closer to 75,000 with tax.

If you stay with the Tradesman trim and avoid going overboard on options, you get a lot of truck for less than some spend on a 3500.

Although I like the utility bed, I could not afford the additional $5000 premium it would cost plus switching out campers later may be hard when you have such a close matched set. I wanted flexibility and choices regardless of which RV I choose next time around.

Howdy!

We're on our second MDT. First was Chevorlet C5500 with a Herin hauler bed. We traded it for a 4400 International 2L custom hauler. We towing a Heartland Cyclone 4000 toy hauler which is 44'. Both MDT's have Trailer Saver 5er air hitch. If you research MDT and HDT they will recommend a air hitch or air pin. These trucks have a stiffer suspension an can cause the trailer to have structural damage with out them.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

Until I added the numbers up I had thought up a 4x4 5500, 84 inch CA with a Douglas RV utility bed designed around a Lance 922 w double slide. A 24 foot Carson Toy Hauler, front bath and two 7500 lbs axles with hydraulic disc brakes on each.

Once I can afford all that I shouldn't feel bad about spending some bucks on the generator sets, battery banks etc. And of course the Baja bug for inside the Carson toy hauler.

Some problems right off the bat with GCWR. I could stay down below the 30,000. But it was getting the correct balance so not to be overloaded on one of the vehicles.

Other problem is that I can't afford the gold dredge I would need to pay for my dream rig. LOL

I have in recent months lowered my expectations.

Bedlam

Thanks.

Anybody else?

I recently purchased a Ram 5500 chassis cab with crew cab and 60" CA frame length. On the rear is a 9' Palfinger Badger flat bed with a Curt Double Lock 30K lb gooseneck and dual 40" DeeZee under bed storage boxes. Off the rear of the truck is a SuperHitch Magnum 20K lb dual receiver.

The gooseneck did not cost that much when I ordered the bed and is for future towing needs if we go away from truck campers. Currently I have Arctic Fox 811 that is sitting 7.5' on to the deck because it was designed for a short bed pickup. The front to rear center of gravity is almost perfectly aligned with the rear axle and there is still about 1.5' hanging off the rear of the deck (this where the bumper supports, generator exhaust and drains for sewer and low level are located). The SuperHitch is designed to take double trussed extensions up to 5' long, but the rating of the receiver is dropped to 10K lbs (under 4' @ 12K and under 2' @ 14K). I run the 14k lb 2' SuperTruss to a 10K WDH so I can tow a 20' enclosed trailer that can weigh 5000-8000 lbs based on what we load up. The entire combination length is 48'.