Wanting to buy a "newer" truck.

prginocx wrote:
I'm not up on SRW, what is that exactly ?

SRW= Single Rear Wheels

DRW=Dual Rear Wheels (aka, Dually)

KD4UPL wrote:
When you start talking "larger camper" you really need an 8' bed. If for no other reason then you'll have about 10 times more options when looking at used campers.

That's what I was going to say as well.

For me a long, phat truck is a non issue because it's not my daily driver (DD). I have a crew cab dually, for one person.

Short beds have smaller fuel tanks (at least the GM trucks do)

I had a crew cab short bed as my last truck, and I couldn't go more than about 160 -180 miles before fueling up, to stay above 1/4 tank on trips. That was when I was towing a toy hauler.

I sold that truck and upgraded to the long bed in 2009. Earlier this year I borrowed my dad's truck, a 2006 Duramax/Allison short bed. I got annoyed at having to stop for fuel twice during a 300 mile trip due to the smaller fuel tank. That aspect alone is enough to keep me from every having a short bed truck again if it's something I plan on hauling or towing with.

KD4UPL wrote:
I agree, 2 or 3 people don't need 4 doors but unfortunately most extended cab trucks now have the "suicide" rear doors. I hate those. Trying to put anything in the back seat while parked between other vehicles is practically impossible. You have an open door on each side of you and not much way around.

If you use the truck as a daily driver, think about grocery shopping and trying to load your items in to the cab from the cart. Will be very difficult unless you park in the back forty of the parking lot with now vehicles around you.

KD4UPL wrote:
. I would strongly recommend you get a 3500 series or "one ton" truck over a 2500 series. Depending on the make and model you may gain stronger rear axle, rear springs, wheels, tires, overload springs, etc. All of these are quite desirable for hauling a TC.

A 3500 series opens up more opportunities for campers - bigger and longer,which are heavier.

KD4UPL wrote:
Which truck? If you like your Chevy I'd stick with that. I've had great service out of every Chevy I've owned.

GM trucks have a lower step-in height, so they are a little bit easier to get in and out of. I like the smoother ride due to the front suspension being IFS (independent front suspension). I drove a 2012 Dodge Dually the other day and the first thing I noticed was that I felt every imperfection on the road surface through the front suspension since it has a solid axle.

A lot of the decision on which truck to get comes down to how you use it and how big of a camper you want.

If it isn't your DD, then it opens up more options for a longer truck.

I'm not up on SRW, what is that exactly ?
I will say, its hard to find a supercab 2 door pickup any more...Everyone seems to want a 4 door.

trail-explorer wrote:
Go camper shopping and find a model you like / can afford, then find a truck that will haul it.

Short and spot-on.

Best advice.

Lot's of good advice.

Find a camper of two that you can live with and then find a truck that can handle it.

If it was me, 8 foot bed only. for your budget a V-10 or the 8.1 GM engine, I chose a diesel, but for 12K more than your budget.

If you got a dually would greatly up your camper options.

If you go SRW, Fords with the camper packages in the 1 ton have the highest payload in newer model trucks (2008 one ton had 11400 GVWR.

all brands have their plusses and minuses. got a dodge myself.

trail-explorer wrote:


Go camper shopping and find a model you like / can afford, then find a truck that will haul it.

Great advise, I did it back wards and ended up costing myself a lot of money. The camper you are likely to end up with should dictate the truck you need, how long of bed and whether or not you need dual rear wheels to haul it.

Since you are planning on towing I would recommend the 8' bed. The overhang of the camper will be far less for the same floor length camper and you may not even have to have a hitch extension depending on the camper you get.

Having at least an extended cab truck is very handy for hauling extra's. I really like my Quad-cab Dodge. It's not as long as a full crew-cab but you can still seat adults in the back if you need to.

In your situation and for most people I would recommend a long bed truck. You will have more choices in terms of camper models and more storage inside the camper and have an easier time finding models with 2 batteries. Also likely to have larger holding tanks.

I found out as well that with short bed trucks it is much more difficult to find aftermarket gas tanks to increase the trucks range which helps with routing and worrying less about going out into the boondocks.

A gas engine with 4.10 gears and 5 or 6 speed automatic transmission will provide good fuel economy, relatively speaking, and good acceleration for getting onto a freeway or going up long mountain grades.

Something to look into as well is the differences in factory supplied hitches if you need to tow. Many of the heavy duty trucks can tow up to 13,000 lbs. without the need for a special weight distributing hitch.

A super cab as with Ford or extended cab with the GM trucks is very handy for storing items you want to be able to get to quickly and easily while driving and not need to stop and put down the steps and get into the camper. We use the rear space for a small 12v plugin cooler, jackets, photo gear, firewood, shovel, axe, fishing rods, etc. that we want to have readily available or don't want to put inside the camper. The crew cabs add an additiona 18 to 24 inches in truck length and similarly increase the distance between the axles and the truck's turning radius.

The 4.10 gears are important to get the most out of the gas V-8. It needs a lot of RPM's to produce maximum torque and low gearing helps a great deal.

When you start talking "larger camper" you really need an 8' bed. If for no other reason then you'll have about 10 times more options when looking at used campers. I think you'll really be sorry if you go with a short bed truck.
I agree, 2 or 3 people don't need 4 doors but unfortunately most extended cab trucks now have the "suicide" rear doors. I hate those. Trying to put anything in the back seat while parked between other vehicles is practically impossible. You have an open door on each side of you and not much way around. I used to have an ext. cab truck with only 2 doors and the front seats slid forward. It worked well. The ext. cab truck I drive at work has the rear doors and the seat doesn't slide. My personal truck is a crew cab and it works great. I much prefer that arrangement. Also, resale of a crew cab is usually much better than anything else.
You won't necessarily need a DRW unless you get one of the largest campers. I would strongly recommend you get a 3500 series or "one ton" truck over a 2500 series. Depending on the make and model you may gain stronger rear axle, rear springs, wheels, tires, overload springs, etc. All of these are quite desirable for hauling a TC.
Which truck? If you like your Chevy I'd stick with that. I've had great service out of every Chevy I've owned. For your particular situation I would look for an 8.1L big block with the Allison automatic. This would have a great engine, great transmission, and plenty of power. It will only get around 10 MPG and they only made them from '01 to '07 so they are increasingly hard to find.
I had a 1996 Dodge. It was a great truck except for the automatic transmission. Dodges from the 90's had terrible transmissions. Up until they started the 68RFE somewhere around 2005 I think they had by far the worst automatic. I think the Allison in the GM trucks is the best auto you can find in a "newer" truck like you're looking for.
I just flat out don' like Fords. My Dad had one that was terrible. We were happy when it got stolen. My work truck is a '03 F-350 and compared to my Chevys it starts hard, idles ruff, handles bad, the seat is hard, it has no traction, etc. It's the most time I've ever spent in a Ford truck since I've been driving it and if there all like that I can't imagine why anyone would buy one.
Happy camping and good luck looking for an 8.1 big block.

prginocx wrote:


Wife wants to buy a newer truck and a larger camper, and I kinda do too...We'd both like a slightly larger camper.

Go camper shopping and find a model you like / can afford, then find a truck that will haul it.

prginocx wrote:

We don't think we need an 8' bed for the cabover, might be wrong about that...

Bed length will be dictated by the size and weight of camper

midnightsadie wrote:
rumor ford is coming out with new body style 2014.

The OP stated his limit was $25.000 so I would think that 2014 is out of the question.