Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Truck shopping woes!

More trucks in texas. Pm me your contact info and I’ll have a couple of people I know do a search for you. I think it would cost about $600 to ship to you

Agreed. With a slide in camper that size I'd only consider a 1 ton, a 3/4 ton will make for some white knuckle driving as you wallow all over the road.

For a regular cab, you're better off buying and building a pre-1990's model. By the 90's buyers were overwhelmingly purchasing extended or crew cabs. Price has really been no object because of 72-month financing and 84-month financing and low interest rates. They just want you to spend, spend, spend. Over 70% of vehicle loans are now longer than 60 months, and 84 months is almost as popular as 72 months. All that means that few people will give up a bigger cab and additional seating capacity to cut about $30 or $40 off their payments. Dealers don't want regular cabs either because it just means a lower commission or a truck sitting on the lot that nobody even wants.

On the other hand, if you go back before pickups were $80,000 and up and regular cabs were standard, there are a lot more choices. It might mean you'll want to drop in a rebuilt or crate motor and a rebuilt transmission and put some new tires on it. Since the highway traffic is going 90mph these days, I'd tighten up the suspension with urethane bushings and rebuildable gas shocks (Fox, King, Icon), and upgrade the brakes to four-wheel disc, or just swap in new Dana Super 60's, 14 bolts,or whatever. Also, I'd definitely build a cage and put in a harness. There's no question the newer trucks are safer in a collision or a rollover, but I think a cage and harness can even things up. I wouldn't put an inexperienced kid in a rig like that, but for a seasoned driver, I think it's the best way to get a truck the way you like it, with everything you want, and just as importantly, nothing you don't want.

Thanks Elk.

This makes a lot of sense. Especially financially.
BUT, are there even any pre-90 vehicles out there that haven't been turned into "collector" items or sent to the crusher?

There's a ton of room under the hood of the new 7.3 gas fords. Holy smokes, a guy can work on it. If I'm forced to suffer an auto transmission pickup, it'll be a F350 with the 7.3 gas and 4.30 gears.

Gawd those new GM HDs are ugly as sin.

Consider looking for GSA auctions. Regular cabs might be more likely and you can probably find one with favorable miles.

I will join the crowd with the opinion with a 4000ld cabover and a 6000lb boat you need a 3500, preferably a dually.
I have a 2400 lb camper and by the time it is loaded it goes 3400lbs, my boat weighs 4500lbs and I have a 2019 Ram 3500 srw with a Cummins and added Timbren suspension bags and I would not want a lesser truck, I feel I am at my limits, even though I am 500-700lbs under my limit of capacity.
With a camper you will not need a diesel even while towing the boat, the diesels makes it easy and I absolutely love the exhaust brake.
I would look hard at the new Ford 7.3 gasser or the Ram hemi

Sure. But you have to figure that a desirable model like any full-size pickup is going to either be a total basket case, a candidate for a "project" and therefore in the $10k range, or the results of someone else's project(s) where they've probably got more than $20K into it and want something like that out of it. I won't say it's impossible to get a base for a project for some magically low dollar number, but most people either know what they have, or they think they have more than they do.

Projects always cost more than people think they will, sometimes two or three times more. The keys are to know what you want, have the ability to produce it, and for what you want not to change. Then if you spend a lot on it, it won't likely go to waste. So long as new vehicles cost as much as they do right now, there can be a huge margin for project cost overruns. But if the new thing is what you'd rather have if money was no object, then you won't be happy when your project to try to upgrade an old thing ends up costing as much as 80% of the "real thing," and your resale value is in the basement. If new vehicles make you want to puke because you can't stand all the effeminate infotainment features, the interior makes you think it was designed by a fruitcake, and the salesman spends most of your time showing you its features that integrate with your phone, then you're likely to be better off with a project at any price.

I just passed our local Chevy dealer a few hours ago and thought the same thing. I have a 2019 F250 gasser and even after seeing the new F-150’s I am glad I got my truck when I did. These new trucks look horrible anymore!

Recently bought an F350 SRW with 7.3 gasser and 4.3 gears. Extended cab and 6.5 foot bed. Payload is right at 3800 pounds. Granted, this is not the same cab/bed as the OP desires, but you can see how a 4000 pound camper would require a dually.

Best of luck finding your truck.

Just did a sample build on Ford's website for the OP.

New F350XL DRW, single cab w/8'bed. 7.3 Gasser. 4.30 rear end. Camper Package. Very little extra Bells and whistles. It came up right at $41K

I know it's a Ford, but a damn good truck. Great engine.

It has that new HD 10 speed auto with all kinds of fancy drive modes.

Went through that cshit two years ago, ain’t no fun, bought a 3/4 Dodge diesel. It has 16,000 miles on it now, seems to be a good one, never took it back for any warranty work.

Good luck

Thanks all for thoughts and suggestions..

No duallies here.. But you guys have about talked me into going back and making an offer on a new one ton Ram at a local dealer. The salesman says $40K, but I wonder what the Sales Manager would say to an offer of $35K. The bank says 3.% on a loan.

I have been packing campers around since my first 11 foot cabover Olaha Bounty on a 65 highboy GMC K25 in the early 80s. We have had several other campers in the years since, from eight foot to 10.5 foot.

The one thing they all had in common was the 10 ply Toyo M 55 tires at 80 pounds underneath. That 10.5 foot was on an 83 GMC diesel 6.2. It had to have Firestone airbags installed, once Momma got done loading it up for a week at the lake.

Rebuilding an 80s truck? Yes they were great vehicles. I liked my 83, but the 6.2 was underpowered. The square bodies are bringing collector prices today. I wish I had that 83 and my 84 K5 Blazer sitting in the yard today so I could sell them.

If it comes to that, I can suffer with the 96. For $10K I could drop a Chevy Goodwrench HT 383E under the hood with new clutch and peripherals. With an intake manifold spacer and shorty headers, it would give almost as much power as the factory 6.0 in the newer trucks.

There are a few options, and it is still a while till summer. We have six inches of snow on top of the boat cover this morning.

Billion Auto in Bozeman shows 4 2021 Ram 2500 reg. cab 6.4 gassers in stock.

You will wish you bought a diesel I think.

Personally, I would find a mint condition 1998 or older Dodge diesel Cummins. Who cares if you have to spend $15,000 or even $20,000. Mileage is completely irrelevant. Take decent care of it and 10 or 15 years from now when you go to sell... it'll be worth maybe twice what you paid for it today.

The 12 valve Cummins diesel trucks are the only truck that I know of that continuously go up in value.

This has nothing to do with the question you asked, but it is what I would do.

Ford 7.3 diesels hold their value but don't really appreciate like a Cummins.

Good luck, the chip drama from Asia is what is causing the bottleneck as I understand it.

I was convinced I wanted a gasser..... everyone told me diesel was a $10k plus option, well started shopping and found I could get a diesel for around $5k plus. so no brainer at that price.
This is for a Ram Tradesman with the standard diesel and transmission. The high output and Aisin trans would have put it at the $10 extra cost.
The standard Cummins puts out 360 hp and 850 ft lbs of torque! if you think you need more you are following your ego and not your smarts.

"Need a fricken' step ladder to reach into the bed or toolbox."

My 2919 F150 has a stepladder built into the tailgate. I t fold right out and makes things easy.
Paul B.