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Buying a truck for all around use. EDIT: lots of truck pics added

rdn2blazer

rdn2blazer

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I'm in need of a truck. I want a 4x4 crew cab 1 ton duelly diesel long bed. I want it to be my business shop truck for hauling shop stuff. But also I want it if mainly a truck camper. I want to buy a truck camper. I want a new camper with a factory warranty. The truck is where I'm not sure what I want. I don't want new, but I want reliable. I was thinking of finding a 07' LBZ truck IF, I say IF possible with reasonable mileage. Truck will remain mostly stock. A level lift and 33" at most. Its for RVing so no crazy lifted street truck. I want it utilitarian as a tool for fun and work. Or, should I go with a slightly newer Dodge truck with the Cummings?

I want this camper

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/tcm-exclusive-2016-northern-lite-10-2-ex/.

I know its expensive, but it will last me the rest of my life and won't burn up all my funds. I can then travel to visit fellow CK5 brothers out across the country. The RV dealer I want to buy at is in Colorado. I would like to place the order, find a truck, drive there and pickup the camper, then drive home visiting brothers along the way. If I can pay for both the camper and truck outright I won't have a single payment, other then truck licence and insurance and gas and basic maintenance. With the camper being new it should be no issues. Of course with RV's they always pop up. That's why I want new, so it's covered. As far as the truck, of ofcourse buying used, there are unknowns. I'll have it serviced full tilt. Have everything checked. That's about all you can do.

I want to basically live in my camper, and work in my shop/business. Put most my time into my shop and business. Travel when I want to, and save save save. Home if ever, will come later down the road after my shop is up and running, and MUST be turning a profit of some kind before I ever get into a home again. Thoughts?, advice?
 
Thinking your going to need a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck. I personally like 06 2500 HD with gas motor as I do not know anything on diesel trucks when comes to repairs and they can get very costly to repair!
 
My best advice on this subject is to think long and hard about what you think you need.

I see people all the time that swear they needed that dually and they're putting a 1 car box trailer on it.

Same consideration needs to be taken about the diesel. Are you ever going to tow more than 1 car or over 7000lbs with the truck? I love the allison trans but lets be honest, if you're driving around in the truck unloaded 90% of the time why are you going to spend twice as much on the truck?
 
There's a lot of maintenance in the newer dodge trucks as far as emissions go anything with the 6.7 will have egr and a dpf ,both are expensive and the newer trucks also use def . We see a lot of customers who bought a diesel so they could tow there trailer a couple times a year and then Dailey drive it the rest of the time only soot it up from short trip driving this plugs the exhaust up and gets expensive real quick.
 
Look around at used campers. I see your point in wanting new, but you should be able to save significantly going used. Find a nice used one. If it's newer, the issues should be minor.

New and with warranty sounds like a luxury, to be honest.

Also, look for packages. Lots of people buy new rigs for campers, and often sell both at the same time.
 
Stomis said:
My best advice on this subject is to think long and hard about what you think you need.

I see people all the time that swear they needed that dually and they're putting a 1 car box trailer on it.

Same consideration needs to be taken about the diesel. Are you ever going to tow more than 1 car or over 7000lbs with the truck? I love the allison trans but lets be honest, if you're driving around in the truck unloaded 90% of the time why are you going to spend twice as much on the truck?
Click to expand...

Main reason for thinking of the duelly is yes I want to tow behind the camper too. Certainly a Duelly is going to be more stable on the road with a camper. Also if you get a single tire flat you're not dead in the side of the road. It's not set in stone, just seems to be the best truck for the necessity of the task. I want to trailer the K5 too. I want the diesel for somewhat better fuel millage over a gasser when I highway travel in this setup.




fastazz81 said:
There's a lot of maintenance in the newer dodge trucks as far as emissions go anything with the 6.7 will have egr and a dpf ,both are expensive and the newer trucks also use def . We see a lot of customers who bought a diesel so they could tow there trailer a couple times a year and then Daily drive it the rest of the time only soot it up from short trip driving this plugs the exhaust up and gets expensive real quick.
Click to expand...


I have a Ford Focus with flex fuel as a daily driver. Truck will sit parked in my parking spot or inside the shop unless needing to be used. I want to keep it out of the weather as much as possible. And the camper as well.




dhcomp said:
Look around at used campers. I see your point in wanting new, but you should be able to save significantly going used. Find a nice used one. If it's newer, the issues should be minor.

New and with warranty sounds like a luxury, to be honest.

Also, look for packages. Lots of people buy new rigs for campers, and often sell both at the same time.
Click to expand...


Very true. I will indeed be looking at that option as well. If that works out it could save thousands.
 
brans87 said:
Thinking your going to need a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck. I personally like 06 2500 HD with gas motor as I do not know anything on diesel trucks when comes to repairs and they can get very costly to repair!
Click to expand...


I LOVED the power in my 06' 6.0 2wd gasser reg. cab pickup indeed. Aside from a diesel, that was mt gasser first choice. Basically my same truck in a 4x4 crew cab duelly.
 
Dually is a good choice with a slide in camper. Plus towing. It makes a difference in high wind areas.

I would just say no matter the truck put some money away for repairs. On a modern diesel it seems just about any repair is a grand in parts and a grand in labor
 
Dually is overrated. This camper used to be on a '97 dually until it was sold. If you hit high winds, you really should pull over anyway.:D
~4" Lifted 06 Dmax on 35s handled this ~7,000lb DRY older Lance without a problem. (was told by service this camper is far heavier than the new Lance models with double slideouts) Never felt uneasy, even when going through the beach looking for a spot. Airbags are a must, regardless of 3/4 or 1 ton. Duallies are a PITA with fitting in places, car washes, and tire rotations.

Funny, my old camper cabover bed came up to my chest at least. The one in the link looks waist height. I wonder what the difference is. Also, I like the idea of a separate generator. Mine was built in and wasn't too bad, but did vibrate the camper some.


 
I do prefer a non dually. Just figured it would be better for camper. But yeah the tire rotation issue, and buying six tires vs four. I have found a 07' 4x4 LBZ crew cab long bed with fairly low millage. Just waiting on funds.
 
That slide in is huge! Haven't looked at them in a while didn't know they got that big!
 
Even the truck campers get pretty big with the pop outs. They really do help space wise. But they're knows to eventually leak, if not leak from the get go. The Northern Lite I want has no pop outs. And it's built like a boat. Fabricated in two halves like a boat. Its super strong, yet lighter then the traditional built Aluminum frame, light weight wood, and foam construction. The Northern is chopped fiberglass, resin impregnated, mold formed.
 
What sort of setup do you need to tow something heavy (car hauler trailer with a K5 on it) behind a camper that sticks so far out behind the rear bumper? I have been curious about this for awhile.
 
What I had. Max trailer weight 7,500lbs, tongue weight 750. Not the best, but currently the strongest setup out there.

TLSuperTruss_2_1000.jpg
 
The part of those campers that always blows my mind is the front part that hangs over a crew cab.

Most have a full queen bed up there. Crazy huge if you are used to seeing the old style ones.
 
The Northern Lites campers are all season truck campers. Full time living would be tough, but thats not what I'm doing. The truck will get used more then anything. The camper is for fun, but backup living when I have to let go of my apartment. My son won't be in high school forever, so I won't need to live there after he graduates, IF he does. When I do buy a truck and camper its going to get paid for outright. I need to be in a no monthly payment situation on EVERYTHING from here on out. My social Security guarantee's I will never lose the shop, but I need money to live on. If my shop doesn't make it I have to then go get a job again. DON'T want to do that, so my shop HAS TO work one way or another. At least enough to afford my bills over what SS covers. Future is going to be interesting indeed.
 
Couple of ??

You're planning to DD the truck? Are you leaving the camper on the truck all the time? How often do you see yourself having a max load w/ camper and trailer?

I think a SRW would be much easier to use than a dually if it's not always going to be loaded down. I have a shortbed quad cab Ram and some days I hate trying to find a parking space in that. A long bed crewcab dually would be a PITA to drive around every day. I see many SRW trucks w/ campers on the beach here while surf fishing. They don't seem to have a problem w/ floatation even on the sugar sand we have here on the NJ shores.

33s fit on my Ram w/out any leveling. Putting a leveling kit on and then having the load of the camper/trailer would make it squat.

I'd also look into a diesel generator plumbed into the main fuel tank. I don't like gas in campers, too many fumes and too volatile. Plus, a diesel genny sips fuel compared to a gas one.
 
The truck will get random use. My DD is my 14' Ford Focus with flex fuel. The truck will only get used for material pickup, and traveling randomly with the truck camper. And if I can manage to get back to riding dirk bikes, the truck will be for that too. With the truck camper I'll have to use a hitch platform for the bikes or tow a small two bike trailer behind. I'd prefer a trailer hitch deck over towing anything though.
 
A few thoughts...

Full time living in a slide in camper will kill it quickly. They aren't designed for that type of wear and tear.

As much as guys tell themselves "this is my forever truck", things change and trucks wear out. Buy the truck you need NOW for the business, not the truck you want for when times are good and you think you'll be vacationing.

If it was me I'd buy a reg cab long bed 2500hd with the 6.0 and a used slide in.
Saves a ton of money and lets you keep more liquid cash for the business. The 6.0 would daily drive just fine (could sell your current DD) and would work for material runs for the business as well as moving the camper.

The extra cash would be plenty in a rainy day fund for repairs on the truck/camper if need be down the road but keep you more liquid.
 
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