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.

[jimh406]

I think the same guidance as normal applies. Find the camper and then find out what truck you need. On the low end, you could keep your truck and put a really lightweight camper shell on with a window AC and portable generator. That's probably less than 10K. It goes up from there.

It sounds like you only are looking for somewhere to sleep in the cool so a basic shell with AC and generator should be enough.

[Steve_in_29]

There are WAY too many variables in your question about cost to give any kind of usable answer.

A 1/2 ton is not really a good candidate for a truck camper unless you want something really basic without a bathroom.