Could someone help with cost estimate for TC and truck?

[livemusic]

Several months ago I made a post wondering do I really need a 3/4 ton pickup... I have a 1/2 ton Nissan Titan (thread: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28626641.cfm). I still have not bought anything other than a tent, lol.

Well, the tent is brutally hot here in the summer and it gets worse each summer it seems. I fish at night a lot and I tell ya, leaving the river at 2am is just hard at my age. I'd so much rather just camp. I did buy a tent. I knew it would be hot at night (78 degrees and high humidity) and it was! No kidding, if I keep using the tent, I am going to buy a 5,000 watt window unit a/c. I laughed when my friend used one but not after he slept like a baby, lol, while I roasted.

But ya know, it's not easy camping. Sand friggin everywhere because we camp on a sandbar. So, I'm thinking I should again consider a TC. After much thought, it is my preferred choice at this time. I can't go a TT route because I need to pull my boat.

I am considering buying a 3/4 ton or 1 ton and a TC. I could keep my Titan, I love the truck. It is 8 yrs old and has 160k miles and it has been a great truck. If I buy a larger truck with TC, it could be largely dedicated to that purpose... TC use. Plus, I have some land and pulling a lo-boy trailer hauling this and that is helpful.

Could anyone help with a guess of prices? For a truck, I would not buy every bell and whistle, those options seem ridiculously expensive. What is a decent range estimate for a 3/4 ton truck? A 1 ton truck? A TC?

A google search showed pretty fancy 350 Fords over $60k, but that was not negotiated price. I am not married to any brand. I generally favor GM trucks, but I am open to anything.

It's possible this could be a purchase to last me the rest of my life unless I want to upgrade, lol. I am age 62. So, I am not afraid to buy quality.

I also thought maybe I should just test the waters and buy a used whatever TC for this Titan. I would hate to spend $60-$100k on a truck and TC and find out it's not for me. That's an expensive experiment.

I also am not at all afraid of buying used.

Thanks for this helpful forum. Sorry for all the questions, lol. Everything is so expensive!

EDIT: Helpful answers so far. BTW, it would be used for me, alone, and also me and gf. She's tough, she camps well, lol.

[livemusic]

Why do people buy 4wd? (EDIT: I meant for TC use.)

I know what we use 4wd around here for -- mud. But on larger trucks, even a 1 ton dually, why would you buy 4wd? What is the benefit? Is it snow? Reason I ask is I can't see people mudding with a 1 ton carrying a TC. Sorry for more ignorance, lol.

As a sidenote, for just regular 4wd pickup use, around here, about 90% of them never see offroad, lol. Seems an unnecessary expense for most. Then again, we rarely have snow, they are just for mud around here.

[sonuvabug]

nomadictxn wrote:
... snipped ... buy used combo truck and camper. A one ton with a good solid, serviceable camper

Totally agree ... that's what we did (a 3/4 ton though) and it's worked out great for us. We bought our setup separately as getting the right (multi-purpose use) truck was a priority for us. We spent CDN $37,000 for the two ($20k for the truck and $17k for the TC) with another $3,000 in post purchase upgrades. About 1/3 the price had we bought both units new.

There are some good deals out there from people who are selling their well maintained truck/TC setup as a combo set. If you can't find a used combo already put together, follow the advice of getting the TC you want first, then match the truck accordingly. I did this in reverse order and was limited in the size/weight of TC we could then purchase based on our truck's carrying/towing limits. Good Luck.

[Ed-N-Dani]

I recently went through this and this was what I found.

I shopped Craigs list in the tri-state area. There are both TC and truck combos for sale on there along with TC only.

I shopped the local Chevy dealer and ran into the same issue on the pricing of the new trucks. They have went out the roof between 55 and 85K for a 2500 or larger. The dealer I went to also had a commercial side of the dealership that was much larger then most. If your looking for a reasonably priced truck with a new warranty and dont need to know the temperature of your ass cheeks at any given moment (while sitting in the seat of course) they sell a commercial line of trucks that have all the amenities necessary to drive(if your other truck is over 10 years old many of them have more then what you now have) I ended up buying a 2500HD with 4wd crew cab and a 8' bed with a 100k 5 year warranty on the drive train for 40K compared to the passenger side of the dealer starting at 55k. Has everything needed to have a comfortable ride, AC, power windows and locks, in addition to the back up camera fully tinted rear windows. onstar, blue tooth connectivity. In my opinion it was the best deal for the money.

I ended up buying an 800.00 TC on craigs list as my test camper to see how we like it. Worst case is we decide its not for us and I sell it for 1500.00(bought new jacks for it)and we will do a full make over as soon as I get it home. Watch the used TCs and I'm sure some on here could give much better pointers then I can as they can have issues but for 800.00 you get 800.00 unless you step in a pile.

Ed

[kohldad]

TCM is truck camper magazine.

[livemusic]

dhull wrote:
Here some real numbers...(We ordered one to mimic the 2013 model built by the TCM folks)...

What is TCM? Thanks for your numbers.

Rather than snoop around dealer lots (and be pestered... I know they are just doing their job but I'm not ready, lol), I'd love to go to an RV show. I see two in September that are within a day's drive.

[dhull]

Here some real numbers. We put together a new rig this year with TC to arrive soon. Both well equipped purchase price just under 75K, truck was 45K & TC 30K. Chevy 3500 Crew cab, short bed, gasser, SRW, 4WD, plow package (We ordered one to mimic the 2013 model built by the TCM folks). Paired with a 2016 Wolf Creek 840. I spent ALLLLOT of time putting this rig together to meet our needs as I fish as well and will be pulling an 18' boat.

[Buzzcut1]

Last year I bought a used 2011 F350 6.7L diesel dually 4x4 full Lariat Pkg. it would have cost $75,000+ new. A similar used truck here in California ran 52-54k not including tax. I bought used out of Texas and got the truck for 38K delivered to California and then paid 4k in sales tax and Lic Fees. I found a two year old Lance 1055 back in 2010 on craiglist Bay Area (CA) for 20k it went for 38 list.

Buy used after thourough inspection and save yourself a boat load of money

[TxGearhead]

livemusic wrote:

TxGearhead wrote:
...Or...get on the website of your favorite truck brand and do their "build and price". Then compare to the other 2 brands...

Reason for making this post is ya know... I did exactly what you said but the sites ask for my name, phone number and address and "a salesman will call" and I just don't want to deal with a salesman yet. This is preliminary fact-finding. So, a forum such as this is very helpful.

Are you on a dealer site or the official manufacturer site?
I built and priced Ford, Chevy, and Ram on the factory sites. You don't have to give your name to build and get the MSRP. But yeah to get a out the door price you will have to talk to a salesman.
Where you at?

[Vinsil]

Do you want new? If so, Ram will generally be cheaper. Look at Dave Smith in Idaho for the best rock bottom pricing.

[livemusic]

TxGearhead wrote:
...Or...get on the website of your favorite truck brand and do their "build and price". Then compare to the other 2 brands...

Reason for making this post is ya know... I did exactly what you said but the sites ask for my name, phone number and address and "a salesman will call" and I just don't want to deal with a salesman yet. This is preliminary fact-finding. So, a forum such as this is very helpful.

[TxGearhead]

Check these "Cowboy Campers" out:
http://capricamper.com/
Get one with A/C, buy a generator, and you're good to go.
Occasionally see a used one around. Maybe cruise the parking lot at your local rodeos.
Or...get on the website of your favorite truck brand and do their "build and price". Then compare to the other 2 brands.
Ram trucks will have higher payload capacity compared to the other 2. Getting a bare bones truck with a regular cab and just A/C isn't too expensive.

[nomadictxn]

Because you are being a bit vague, but you are concerned about making a mistake, buy used combo truck and camper. A one ton with a good solid, serviceable camper, both about 10 to 15 years old can be had for 20 to 30k.
If I were only considering my needs as a single person ( I am not and my DW would never agree to this. I am lucky to get her in a truck camper. ) I would buy a new short bed gas powered 1 ton with 4wd base model with convenience pkg. and a Lance 865 or Northstar Liberty. Probably about 65k and last 20ish years. Pull boat or atv behind.
Thanks for letting me spend your money.
Good luck and get off the ground!

[Vinsil]

Guy on here a while back bought a ram with a Cummins and TC for 20k together. You could do it for less as well as more. Lots of variables!

[KD4UPL]

It sounds like your looking at new trucks. New campers too?
I don't think you'd need a diesel for the TC so that would keep the cost down. But then I don't know what you'r pulling on the low boy so maybe you want a diesel anyway. You can buy a new 3500 SRW gas for upper $30,000 range. A nice used 3500 gas might only be $10,000.
A used 8' or 9' camper could be had for $10,000 or less. If you want a new one I think you're in the $20,000 to $30,000 range easy. The really big 11' campers with slides got for $40,000 and up.

[kohldad]

I would look at a used 1-ton SRW 4x4 truck, something about 8 years old which should run about $15-$20k depending if you go diesel or not. Could go older and stay gas yet still get a very decent truck for $10k.

Then go with a 10 year old camper with non-slide in the 8-9' range. Old enough you won't worry about getting it messy from the fishing, but new enough to give reliable service. This should run in the $5-$8k.

So for about $20k you could get truck and camper that will do what you want.

On the other extreme, $47k for new Ram DRW 4x4 Diesel no-thrills and then throw another $45k for a nice new 11' dry bath camper plus another $2k for hitch to tow the boat.