60k Budget truck and camper

[Oldtart]

Hi There
New member here although have been lurking for quite a while.

Soon looking at becoming a solo full timer.
I'm newly retired this year and my plan is to go the truck camper route for the flexibility in getting in places easier then a motorhome
As stated in the subject line I'm going to try to stay around 60k for the truck and camper.
Both used of course.
So that I don't look back later and wish I'd chosen differently my thoughts are to go with a 1 ton dually

I'm thinking 35-40 for the truck and the balance for the camper.

Does that sound reasonable for a package that could give me comfort and reliability for some years of service.

Need good four seasons capability in the camper.
West coast guy here and plan on going southerly at times but also have lots of connections in coastal Alaska so could see myself traveling that way as well.

Anyway I know it's a broad asked before question but looking for input on truck and camper choices in the used market based on above.

Thanks!

[NGaMountains]

Powerdude wrote:
You should be a able to get a long-bed extended cab gas truck new, for the low $40k-ish.

Easily doable.

My 2017 F-350 DRW Super Cab 4x4 6.2L gas V8 was under $41K. Just brought a 3650 pound Bigfoot home from Dallas to Atlanta and the truck handled the camper great.

[burningman]

Oldtart wrote:

burningman wrote:
If camper carrying is the truck's main purpose, why would you even look at singles? That makes no sense at all.

I guess because I'm still learning.
But I get it

We all learn... I'm hoping to save you the expensive learning curve!

The single-wheel/dual-wheel debate is an old, hashed and re-hashed debate.
It's good that you drove that single wheel rig that even already had stability upgrades, because the first time you drive a dually with a camper you'll immediately feel the difference.

I get it, some people don't want a dually for their daily-driver pickup (although my last four have been) but if it's primarily a camper hauler, wider is better.

[Oldtart]

burningman wrote:
If camper carrying is the truck's main purpose, why would you even look at singles? That makes no sense at all.

I guess because I'm still learning.
But I get it

[Powerdude]

You should be a able to get a long-bed extended cab gas truck new, for the low $40k-ish.

Easily doable.

[burningman]

Actually you can put huge discs on earlier model trucks, you're not limited to drums.
You just have to run 19.5 wheels. You can even run 22.5 semi truck wheels if you want, the hub adapters are about $1000. But the original brakes on even an earlier one-ton are perfectly fine. You shouldn't go down mountain passes riding the brakes anyway.

The problem with that truck/camper combo you drove was being single-rear-wheel.
I've owned several different single rear wheel trucks and several duallies. It doesn't matter what you do to a single-rear truck, it's never going to have the confident, stable handling with a camper that a dually has.
Skip the expensive learning curve others have done, get a dually. It's the only right way to haul a big camper.
Single rear wheel trucks can haul big campers "adequately". But not as well as duallies. If camper carrying is the truck's main purpose, why would you even look at singles? That makes no sense at all.

[Grit_dog]

OP, was that 04 a short bed or long bed?
If short bed, I haul essentially the same camper on the same truck. Long bed would put some of the weight on the front with a 811 and be better, but you're smart in figuring your tolerance for sway.
FWIW the setup in my sig on OE alloy wheels and 3700-3900lb rated tires has hauled the camper many miles on and off road, dirt, rocks, gravel bars in a river, cross winds in the prairies pretty admirably. (For me. Yes a dually 3500 or larger would get rid of more sway and have more factor or safety in the wheels and tires, admittedly.)
And YES if I was full timing or used the camper a lot I'd have a camper that size on a dually. But I've got only maybe 10,000miles of hauling the camper since 2013 and the camper only leaves the shop once or twice a year. The other 50 weeks a year a dually is totally overkill for me.

[rider997]

Oldtart wrote:

woodhog wrote:

Oldtart wrote:
Follow Up
Although not a done deal it's looking promising.
I originally was seeing myself becoming a full timer but not yet anyway.
Hence the package I'm close to closing is a 2010 AF 811 on a 2004 Ram 2500 HD gas hemi. 59 K miles on it
I know this is a heavy camper.
Seller says he's put a lot of suspension work in.
1 ton dually spring pack with overloads on as well as having two of the original leaves reshapped and inserted.
Goodyear air bags. Rancho 9000 adjustable ride shocks.
Rear anti sway bar
HD steering stabilizer
New front U-joints
New ball joint ends
New discs brakes




He has changed the truck into a one ton and added all the right things
for a 2004 Ram..Good luck

36K
Should know tonight
Again thanks for all the advice and welcome any opinions pro or con

So I passsed on this deal even though I really liked the camper.
It was just too squirley for me when I drove it.
I have no experience in driving a truck with a camper and maybe I would have gotten use to it but it felt light in the front to me and would get a good sway going on a pretty good straight hiway if you weren't being real careful.
My gut told me the cg was too far back and in spite of all the seller has done to improve handling it wasn't a good match. I just think it was too much camper for that truck.
Nice guy and he took a lot of time with me but I need to see what a different set up feels like.

The newer 1 ton HD trucks really carry that weight a lot better than older ones. All of the big three have improved their chassis in the past 10 years or so. My SRW 2015 Silverado 3500HD carries that camper fabulously (on the road). Pot-holed, off-camber, off-road driving is another story, but that's not what a 4,000+ lb camper is really intended for anyway. The rig is stable at any reasonable speed, through corners, and in high wind conditions. Pre-2011 GM HD trucks feel like overladen half tons by comparison. Even with serious suspension modifications, the frame is simply too flexible to carry the weight comfortably.

Dodge/Ram and Ford SD trucks have evolved in the same manner as their GM counterparts.

Don't even try to put that camper on a Ram 2500HD with coil springs, but a newer GM/Ford/Dodge 3500 class truck, even single rear wheel, should carry it nicely, perhaps with a Hellwig Big Wig and either Timbrens or Supersprings (I have really come to like the performance of Supersprings) installed.

The newer trucks also have substantially better brakes- which is pretty important when you're hauling around a couple of tons- and depending on your wheel size, your upgrades on an older-generation truck may be limited to ductile iron rotors and aggressive brake pads, which will still not approach the performance of the newer, larger rotors and improved mechanicals of newer calipers.

[Oldtart]

woodhog wrote:

Oldtart wrote:
Follow Up
Although not a done deal it's looking promising.
I originally was seeing myself becoming a full timer but not yet anyway.
Hence the package I'm close to closing is a 2010 AF 811 on a 2004 Ram 2500 HD gas hemi. 59 K miles on it
I know this is a heavy camper.
Seller says he's put a lot of suspension work in.
1 ton dually spring pack with overloads on as well as having two of the original leaves reshapped and inserted.
Goodyear air bags. Rancho 9000 adjustable ride shocks.
Rear anti sway bar
HD steering stabilizer
New front U-joints
New ball joint ends
New discs brakes




He has changed the truck into a one ton and added all the right things
for a 2004 Ram..Good luck

36K
Should know tonight
Again thanks for all the advice and welcome any opinions pro or con

So I passsed on this deal even though I really liked the camper.
It was just too squirley for me when I drove it.
I have no experience in driving a truck with a camper and maybe I would have gotten use to it but it felt light in the front to me and would get a good sway going on a pretty good straight hiway if you weren't being real careful.
My gut told me the cg was too far back and in spite of all the seller has done to improve handling it wasn't a good match. I just think it was too much camper for that truck.
Nice guy and he took a lot of time with me but I need to see what a different set up feels like.

[Vinsil]

Oldtart wrote:
Follow Up
Although not a done deal it's looking promising.
I originally was seeing myself becoming a full timer but not yet anyway.
Hence the package I'm close to closing is a 2010 AF 811 on a 2004 Ram 2500 HD gas hemi. 59 K miles on it
I know this is a heavy camper.
Seller says he's put a lot of suspension work in.
1 ton dually spring pack with overloads on as well as having two of the original leaves reshapped and inserted.
Goodyear air bags. Rancho 9000 adjustable ride shocks.
Rear anti sway bar
HD steering stabilizer
New front U-joints
New ball joint ends
New discs brakes

36K
Should know tonight
Again thanks for all the advice and welcome any opinions pro or con

Sounds nice. Tires will be well over the rating, sounds like the rest was addressed. So I'd factor in proper tires/wheels in the price.

[SidecarFlip]

I like to hear that diesel engine compression ignition sound as well. The new diesels are too quiet for me but then I worked most of my working life around Caterpillar Diesels and they all rattled. If they didn't, something was wrong. My 7.3 talks to me. Makes sweet music, it rattles and whistles from the turbo through the straight pipe out back. I drive with the windows down just to listen to it. Wonderful sounds.

I must be old school.

[sandblast]

According to my wife
"You need to go and smell some diesel smoke"
So being trained as I am ( after 63 yrs with a lovely lady, I do"
Did I forget? Ya`, my bride is not only better looking but also smarter.

[bedrocker]

BLACK SMOKE MATTERS 🙂

[SidecarFlip]

adamis wrote:
Something worth considering that I don't believe has been discussed is that IF you are going used, don't overlook the cost of SMOG repair bills if your used truck ends up without a warranty. I'm not an expert and others will have better suggestions but when I went shopping for my truck, I initially started looking at used trucks ranging from 2009 to 2014. What I found was that most of the trucks in that range (and were in my budget) had between 120k to 200k+ in miles. The mileage didn't bother me at all but it seemed that the newer engines with the more complicated smog requirements could be costly to repair / replace (especially the catalytic converters). The thing about Smog repair is that even if the truck is running just fine, if the check engine light is running, the nanny state won't let you register till it's fixed.

I ended up going with a 7.3 specifically because it was pre-smog. I don't have all of the bells, whistles and power the newer trucks have but I'm not worried about future smog repairs either. (I believe in 30 years the 7.3s will be sought after similar to how the 60s and early 70s muscle cars because of the lack of smog equipment). I ended up going with a 7.3 specifically because it was pre-smog. I don't have all of the bells, whistles and power the newer trucks have but I'm not worried about future smog repairs either. (I believe in 30 years the 7.3s will be sought after similar to how the 60s and early 70s muscle cars because of the lack of smog equipment).

Back to the camper section... If you are full timing and plan to put a LOT of miles on the road, don't underestimate the benefit of simplicity and light weight. Trucks today are built to handle the heavy loads pretty well but the stress put on your truck from a 3000lb camper versus a 5000lb camper will eventually show up. Also, though slides are nice and give lots of extra space, they also introduce failure points and areas for water penetration to occur. Again, this comes down to the number of miles your putting in on the road. A couple of hundred miles a year, no big deal, but full timing consider the use of those mechanical components and the exposure to the elements the seals will have to endure.

These considerations led me to conclude that I wanted a fiberglass camper because I anticipated being on the road a lot and though I really liked the space a slide(s) provided, I was concerned about how long it would last with the mileage I intended to travel.

You said a mouth full there for sure. My 1997 7.3 OBS is appreciating in value every year. In 10 more years it will sell for more than it cost new. Me, I like that black smoke when I put my foot on the fuel pedal.

[Oldtart]

jimh425 wrote:
You didn't mention the tires/wheels. That would be my concern.

All I know is they are alloys
Good point