Looking for recommendations

[ColoRockiesFan]

As a solo traveller I am tired of the packing, hitching, towing, backing, unhitching, unpacking (wash, rinse, repeat) aspect of owning a travel trailer. I love my trailer but its too much work for a quick weekend trip. Thus, I am seriously considering a TC.

I am lucky to be starting from scratch after selling my F150 and trailer. I am interested in the Bigfoot 25C9.4SB. The dry weight is listed as 2850. My question is what truck will be a good match? I hope to take several road trips west and eventually make it to Alaska. I will not be doing any serious off roading.

What suggestions do you all have for the best match? I am partial to ford but will consider other makes.

[jimh406]

If it is going to be dedicated for a tc, I'd buy a newer drw, cc. I had a srw, sc for 8 years because a drw was too limiting, but there is no way the srw was as capable as my f450, and there is quite a bit more space for storage with the cc. A drw would give you the option of going bigger in the future or towing most anything without issues.

[Bedlam]

With the camper on the truck, you will be 8' wide with or without dual rear wheels. I suggest getting the truck with the most rear axle weight capacity you can afford. If you had a truck you wanted to keep (like I did when starting with a TC), you will be more limited in your TC choice and will have put more upgrades in your truck. This also applies if you get a truck that is just enough for the current TC you want to buy - What happens if needs or wants change requiring something bigger?

I currently am set up well on a SRW truck pulling a heavy load, but I cannot add anything else to the rear of the truck or go to a bigger TC in the future. For us, we will see a bigger double or triple slide TC in the future and I dream of a stacker trailer in tow one day.

[Redsky]

The Bigfoot has an official weight of 2820 lbs. but by the time items like a battery and AC are added by the dealer the weight is going to be around 32000 lbs. and with your gear and food and water etc. it will be close to 4,000 lbs. in total.

You can get a 1-ton truck that will handle this load and be SRW. The limiting factor is the tires and that works out to 7500 for two 18" tires or up to 8800 lbs. for 19.5 tires (and new 19.5 rims). Subtract the 3000-3300 lb. weight of the truck to have the load capacity you can put in the cab and bed of the truck.
The weight of the truck will increase with 19.5 rims and tires, and with the tie-downs, and a WDH should you decide to tow anything.

For the truck I would be sure to get the tow mirrors and the largest tank(s) available and 4.10 gears. For the camper I would want two batteries and a solar panel and controller setup from the factory and the 4-seaon package with the extra insulation if that is offered.

I would give some thought to a regular cab long bed and getting the 25C9.4LB camper. I would bet that the regular cab long bed truck has a comparable wheelbase to a short bed truck with the super/mega/double cab. The longer camper will provide more storage space which would be useful for extended use.

There is a big difference in handling and stability with SRW depending upon the make of truck. The Ram and GM trucks have stronger frames that flex less and need less in the way of aftermarket fixes as a result. SRW handling is also affected by the tires. Having a load that represents 90-100 percent of the tires' load capacity will result in a lot more sidewall flexing which affects handling. With tires the cheapest way for the factory to add capacity is to add two more tires with a DRW option. But for not that much extra one can also upgrade the factory rims and tires on a SRW truck to 19.5's and accomplish the same thing.

DRW is overkill for a camper like the one you selected and will greatly affect the maneuverability of the truck and where you can take it. I would sooner get a class C motorhome than a DRW truck and large slide in camper. The motorhome will be better integrated and really a turnkey setup.

[ColoRockiesFan]

CAJW wrote:
Lots of questions to answer here: What is the major task for the truck? Full time grocery getter, commuter or full time camper rig? Any plans to upgrade to a larger camper? Most would advise to go bigger with the truck rather than match it to current wants as upgrading to another is very costly. I've read many places to figure 1,000 lbs. for water, food, clothes, tools, etc... pretty close to what jmtandem said. FWIW we went DRW for the double slide camper we ended up with and the mild off roading we do isn't hampered in the least. The added stability is welcome and if you ever decide to tow a toy once in a while, it is also nice to have the added capability without having to upgrade wheels, tires, springs etc.. Whatever you choose you'll really enjoy the convenience of being able to maneuver the TC, especially when it comes to picking a campsite as most are TC friendly, trailers not so much.

Thanks for your help! Truck will be full time camper rig. No plans to go bigger as I do not want a slide and the Bigfoot is plenty big for just me. I am looking for ease of parking and maneuvering on twisty mountain roads.

[CAJW]

Lots of questions to answer here: What is the major task for the truck? Full time grocery getter, commuter or full time camper rig? Any plans to upgrade to a larger camper? Most would advise to go bigger with the truck rather than match it to current wants as upgrading to another is very costly. I've read many places to figure 1,000 lbs. for water, food, clothes, tools, etc... pretty close to what jmtandem said. FWIW we went DRW for the double slide camper we ended up with and the mild off roading we do isn't hampered in the least. The added stability is welcome and if you ever decide to tow a toy once in a while, it is also nice to have the added capability without having to upgrade wheels, tires, springs etc.. Whatever you choose you'll really enjoy the convenience of being able to maneuver the TC, especially when it comes to picking a campsite as most are TC friendly, trailers not so much.

[jmtandem]

One ton single or dual rear wheel truck. Dry camper weight is meaningless when you are camping. Consider water at 8.3 pounds per gallon and the weight adds up fast. Rule of thumb is that you will add about 500 pounds of stuff to the camper.