Pickup Decisions...

[ruthiebaby88]

When buying a heavy beasty pickup, are you more concerned about it's age or it's mileage?

Would you prefer a 95 with 75,000 miles over a 2004 with 130,000?

Useful life for gas vs. diesel? For me useful life means it has no more than the occasional problem crop up and things are not falling off when I touch them (like in my old Honda). It means I don't have to think about my vehicle too much besides getting the routine maintenance and listening for things that go bump. I'm ok with checking fluids once a day - but don't mant to have to add oil frequently or pour water in the radiator or things like that.

How much would you sacrifice to get a diesel over a gas engine?

[billyray50]

wintersun wrote:
You do not lose payload with the diesel engine. 100% of the engine's weight is on the front wheels. More than 95% of the weight of a camper or other load in the bed is carried by the rear wheel. I have a diesel pickup and at the CAT scales my 3400 lb. camper shows as adding 100 lbs. to the front wheels and 3300 lbs. on the rear wheels.

People get confused by the GVWR which is a rating classification done for DOT and your state DMV. The manufacturer provides a payload rating that takes into account a passenger load and for every seat in the cab a 150 lb. deduction is made. That is why the regular cab trucks have the highest payload ratings.

My truck has a front suspension designed to handle the weigh of the diesel engine (and a snow plow). The rear axle and wheel bearings supports up to 10,900 lbs. so the weakest link is the tires and or the leaf springs. Both items are easily upgraded, unlike air bags and ABS braking.

Newer trucks are likely to have stronger and stiffer frames, better brakes, better engine cooling, and other engineering improvements. It is also much easier to find aftermarket equipment for newer trucks.

I agree with this. My truck with camper fully loaded wet only adds 300 lbs. on front axle the rest sits on back axle. Sometimes only 200 lbs. depending on extra gear.

[Reddog1]

Hopefully, both will be more than you will ever need. The alternatives are they would be borderline or less than what you need.

Wayne

[ruthiebaby88]

In the end I opted for a
$4995 - 2002 Lance 815 (wet weight 1879#) &
$9500 - 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500 SRW (payload per sticker = 2842#)(101k miles)

They are both in great shape and I found them on craigslist. The sellers were both wonderful people and I enjoyed purchasing from them a million times more than at a dealer. I feel like the camper and truck have everything I need and nothing I don't. The camper is tiny, but certainly larger than our tent and has a bathroom and shower. No AC, but we can ad later as needed. The truck has an 8.1L Vortec engine (Allison transmission) which may be more than I need, but I'm sure we'll enjoy it on the hills.

We are cleaning things up and packing and should be out of here in a couple of days.

I was bowled over by the wonderful help I received on the forums - some people even searched the camper/trucks ads and sent me their great finds!

If I meet more truck campers like you when I'm out traveling, I'm sure we'll be loving this sport for years to come.

Happy Camping!

[work2fish]

wintersun wrote:
People get confused by the GVWR which is a rating classification done for DOT and your state DMV. The manufacturer provides a payload rating that takes into account a passenger load and for every seat in the cab a 150 lb. deduction is made. That is why the regular cab trucks have the highest payload ratings.

The payload sticker on my truck seems to imply that the payload sticker *does not* accommodate the weight of passengers:



i.e. it states that "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 3418 lbs." I would be curious to know if these stickers were not standardized across vendors.

[Farmerjon]

arto_Wa
Sounds like you've done your homework and you've got it covered.:)

[arto_wa]

Farmerjon:


With a loaded camper on my rear axle weighs 7260 lbs.

According to my Michelin chart if the four rear tires are inflated to 55 psi, they can handle 8422 lbs.

Easy to inflate more but I have not seen reason to so far - maybe I will try it out soon?

[Weldon]

How long do you intend to drive the truck or how many miles would you drive per year?

[Farmerjon]

arto_wa wrote:

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
How's the payload on that? I wanted to diesel to begin with until I learned how much payload you lose.

Don't remember the payload but according to Michelin tire specs the four rear tires are rated total max 11,112 lbs at 80 psi inflation when used as a dually. The max loading for a single tire is 3,042 lbs.

As I recall the total weight of the truck and camper was around 11,000 lbs when I checked it.
About 4,300 lbs of that is probably riding on the front axle.
ing
I inflate the fronts to 65 psi and rears 55 psi, which is somewhat over inflated per Michelin specs.
As you stated above "according to Michelin tire specs the four rear tires are rated total max 11,112 lbs at 80 psi inflation when used as a dually."
🙂

Why would you inflate to only 55 psi?
according to Michelin's chart for LT235/85R16/E tires that gives you 1928 a tire for a total of 7712 lbs for 4 tires. Is that all he weight you need to support with your rear axle?
Am I thinking wrong? Won't be the first time.
On my 2000 F350 I find putting in the max air gives more stability to the handling and lets the tires carry their full rating in case of any weight transfer that may occur during any emergency maneuvers or side winds

[wintersun]

You do not lose payload with the diesel engine. 100% of the engine's weight is on the front wheels. More than 95% of the weight of a camper or other load in the bed is carried by the rear wheel. I have a diesel pickup and at the CAT scales my 3400 lb. camper shows as adding 100 lbs. to the front wheels and 3300 lbs. on the rear wheels.

People get confused by the GVWR which is a rating classification done for DOT and your state DMV. The manufacturer provides a payload rating that takes into account a passenger load and for every seat in the cab a 150 lb. deduction is made. That is why the regular cab trucks have the highest payload ratings.

My truck has a front suspension designed to handle the weigh of the diesel engine (and a snow plow). The rear axle and wheel bearings supports up to 10,900 lbs. so the weakest link is the tires and or the leaf springs. Both items are easily upgraded, unlike air bags and ABS braking.

Newer trucks are likely to have stronger and stiffer frames, better brakes, better engine cooling, and other engineering improvements. It is also much easier to find aftermarket equipment for newer trucks.

[arto_wa]

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
How's the payload on that? I wanted to diesel to begin with until I learned how much payload you lose.

Don't remember the payload but according to Michelin tire specs the four rear tires are rated total max 11,112 lbs at 80 psi inflation when used as a dually. The max loading for a single tire is 3,042 lbs.

As I recall the total weight of the truck and camper was around 11,000 lbs when I checked it.
About 4,300 lbs of that is probably riding on the front axle.

I inflate the fronts to 65 psi and rears 55 psi, which is somewhat over inflated per Michelin specs.

🙂

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
When buying a heavy beasty pickup, are you more concerned about it's age or it's mileage?

Would you prefer a 95 with 75,000 miles over a 2004 with 130,000?

I would go with newer with high mileage (within reason). First - the miles are invariably highway miles. The newer vehicles are inherently safer, due to more airbags (and airbag deployment based on weight); and safety features like ABS, traction-control, stability control, etc. Ours has a built-in brake controller that monitors what's happening with the truck, and adjusts accordingly?

Last January we were coming home from FLA and got caught in that horrible ice-storm in Georgia. Our 2-wheel drive 2012 F-350, with only single-rear wheels, handled the ice remarkably well. Very little wheel spin and zero skidding. Granted, a 5th wheel puts some extra weight over the rear wheels; but it's also an extra 10,000# to stop and start.

[ruthiebaby88]

Oh I see - you're towing so payload probably doesn't matter as much.

[ruthiebaby88]

How's the payload on that? I wanted to diesel to begin with until I learned how much payload you lose.

[arto_wa]

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
When buying a heavy beasty pickup, are you more concerned about it's age or it's mileage?

Would you prefer a 95 with 75,000 miles over a 2004 with 130,000?

Useful life for gas vs. diesel? For me useful life means it has no more than the occasional problem crop up and things are not falling off when I touch them (like in my old Honda). It means I don't have to think about my vehicle too much besides getting the routine maintenance and listening for things that go bump. I'm ok with checking fluids once a day - but don't mant to have to add oil frequently or pour water in the radiator or things like that.

How much would you sacrifice to get a diesel over a gas engine?

I bought my 99 F350 CC 7.3 PSD 4x4 dually with around 220,000 miles around 3 1/2 years ago. I use it mostly for recreational use.

It's been a good truck and is in pretty good shape - the biggest expense has been converting away from the front unit wheel bearings and fitting camper tie-downs & a Superhitch.

Gasoline engine was not considered :W