the end of our TC days?

[Freedom_49]

My wife and I are trying to make a really tough decision to sell our truck and camper. We have had so much trouble with our truck over 120,000 miles that it's very difficult to spend the 60 or 70K it would take to replace it. I keep all our service records and I have had that truck in for repairs - not including servicing - 27 times, including a head gasket after the warranty period. I have not had the courage to add up what that has cost us. We thought when we bought it that now is when we would be spending significant dollars to get the next 120,000 miles out if it.

Doing research on what we would replace it with is somewhat discouraging - it seems that's a good vehicle is almost the luck of the draw.

When we sit down and look at the financial pros and cons, it's a huge decision. If we sell them, the difference in our bank account at the end of the day by taking some money and not buying another truck is almost $100K. And that doesn't include the savings on insurance, storage, etc. There are a lot of fun experiences that $100K buys.

Almost as difficult is knowing what we would be giving up. My wife loves our camper and while she understands the "dilemma", she is pretty disappointed. We were getting ready for our annual Canadian Thanksgiving trip to Jasper when I discovered an oil leak that I think is the power steering pump but just didn't have it in me to make that 28th trip. We are winterizing the camper today and will unload for the winter tomorrow. It feels crappy to think we won't use it again.

Dunno where this will go. Probably no right decision - and definitely no easy one.

[donn0128]

Dont know and for this discussion brand is unimportant. But maybe it is time to just downsize to something that can be stored in a garage and continue doing what you enjoy.

[covered_wagon]

Freedom 49 you need to join a truck club forum. These guys know the tricks and better aftermarket parts for reliability for a long long time.

[covered_wagon]

This is sad to hear. I do know that your truck is very marketable, in demand. I think lots of the trouble you are having is simply because you go to a dealership. My number one rule is to stay as far away from those as I can. They do not car like a small diesel shop does that specializes in your truck. The guy that works this way with a small shop gets his word about the correct fixes from other owners that have the same problem. There are a lot of tricks to keeping these trucks and making them more reliable than any factory or dealership is capable of. Plus dealerships try pushing you into trading in for newer. Who wants that when a diesel is supposed to go at least 500k miles.

[tonymull]

Tough luck with the truck. But there is really no reason to expect the next one to be as bad. It doesn't look like you needed the extra power of a diesel so consider a gasser next. That cuts your expense. You should be able to get a new 2500/250 for $40K, financed for 6 years your payment will be something like $500/month. When you pay it off, just do it again. Sadly, that is the reality of reliability. But you are right you can buy a lot of fun with that money. Really just depends on the fun and the where and how much you actually use that setup. You can easily rent something for less than owning a rig if you use it only periodically.

[mikebreeze]

I'm sorry for your dilemma. Ours is a costly hobby. The way I see it, you can either get your truck foxed again, buy a new truck, buy a used truck or just get our of the camping thing altogether. It's just a matter of how much money that you want to throw at it.

[MN_Ben]

But maybe this will be the LAST repair you will need to do. Oh wait, you probably said that many repairs ago.
You know, some of the older, well established trucks could fit your needs. They are out there. No need to buy new when slightly used will do.
All the best.
MN Ben