Any newer long bed 1 ton srw gasser will fit the bill nicely and the only thing you'll miss is the 4mpg or so better the old diesel gets.
Regarding the camper, hunting, snow, cold up north says hard side to me.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
2018 Arctic Fox 811
2015 RAM 3500 SRW Laramie Longhorn 6.7 Cummins 68RFE Timbren SES, Lower Stableloads
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie 5.9 Cummins 48RE TRADED
2006 Outfitter Apex 8 TRADED
The places I go to to hunt and camp, a HS won't work, just too tall.
I don't use it for winter deer however. The Super 8 works better for that.
Finally, while I have plenty of truck to haul about any camper, I'm very aware of how easily it is to handle on the road, not affected by cross winds at all. In fact, I don't even know it's in the bed, unless I look in the mirrors.
We started our with a HS Lance and 'degraded' to a soft side pop up and candidly, I'm happy with the choice.
Had my Palomino for 2 years now (2 camping seasons and 1 hunting/fishing season) and I have to say I have had no issues at all. Nothing has broken, nothing has failed, everything is still tight and everything works as it should. I (and my wife) are tickled with it.
I should add that I'm usually pulling a trailer with either the quads or my hunting partner's Aluma Craft fishing boat. Nice to be able to stay at the state campground on the Muskegon River, put the boat in, fish all day and grill out catch on a nice wood fire and sleep comfortable in the camper, all without going anywhere.
Works real well for the wife and I and my other 'hobby' too.
* This post was edited 10/09/17 08:36pm by SidecarFlip *
2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB
2017 Ford F-350, crewcab, 4x4, 6.7 diesel.
2016 Thunderjet Luxor 21' limited edition, Yamaha powered.
2016 Wolf Creek 840-SOLD, Arctic Fox 990 ordered.
Grit dog wrote:
Rust .....yuck! Sorry man.....
Any newer long bed 1 ton srw gasser will fit the bill nicely and the only thing you'll miss is the 4mpg or so better the old diesel gets.
Regarding the camper, hunting, snow, cold up north says hard side to me.
Rust .....yuck! Sorry man.....
Any newer long bed 1 ton srw gasser will fit the bill nicely and the only thing you'll miss is the 4mpg or so better the old diesel gets.
Regarding the camper, hunting, snow, cold up north says hard side to me.
Not me. Hard side says limited access to me (been there did that) The places I go, a hard side would rip the top off in about 100 yards.
Forest canopy and tree limbs don't work well with a 12+ foot high camper.
I not so fondly remember the first (and only) trip to our northern Michigan property with the Lance in the bed. I spent a good part of one day with my pole trimmer, lopping off branches so I wouldn't rip off the ac unit or hole the roof. The big ones necessitated a chainsaw and me standing on the roof of a friends camper shell. Wasn't fun at all.
I worked my butt off for a day when I was supposed to be having a nice time in the woods...
I have a stream to ford as well and the bed is rocky. I remember the nice sound of stuff coming out of the cabinets and my wife's not so happy look....
Not a problem now. I drive right in. First trip in the spring necessitates some pruning shear work (so I don't scrape the camper sides with branches too much) but overhead clearance isn't an issue anymore and if I do have a low hanger, I can reach it easily because the overall height isn't that much. On my lifted 4" 350 SRW 4x4, my camper height is just at 8 feet to the top of the vent fan lid with the top down. If I had a stock height 1 ton (I run 35 x 12.5's), I'd be around 7 to 7 6.
No brainer for us. For us, a SS or no camper.
If you want to, shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you some pictures so you will have a good idea about where and what we do and camp at.
Don't have a clue how to post them on here but I have some nice 'woodsy' pictures of our camping. [email protected] is my addy.
In the real world, you gain nothing, all the factories do on a 3-series is put a little more spring in them. They do not have heavier duty axles. Your truck is entirely capable of hauling whatever camper fits on it, it may want some springs or airbags.
However, a long bed opens up a lot better options for camper hauling.
2017 Northern Lite 10-2 EX CD SE
99 Ram 4x4 Dually Cummins
A whole lot more fuel, a whole lot more boost.
4.10 gears, Gear Vendors overdrive, exhaust brake
Built auto, triple disc, billet shafts.
Kelderman Air Ride, Helwig sway bar.
This year, I carried the Northstar on a Silverado 2500HD Regular Cab Long Bed with the 6.0, and it did just fine. But we wanted a bit more space in the cab, and the Chevy was a 4x2, while the "new" truck is a 4x4.
2014 Ford F350 XLT 6.2 SCLB + 2017 Northstar Arrow
burningman wrote:
The 3500 SRW trucks don't actually have any heavier duty axles under them than your 2500 does.
In the real world, you gain nothing, all the factories do on a 3-series is put a little more spring in them. They do not have heavier duty axles. Your truck is entirely capable of hauling whatever camper fits on it, it may want some springs or airbags.
However, a long bed opens up a lot better options for camper hauling.
The 3500 SRW trucks don't actually have any heavier duty axles under them than your 2500 does.
In the real world, you gain nothing, all the factories do on a 3-series is put a little more spring in them. They do not have heavier duty axles. Your truck is entirely capable of hauling whatever camper fits on it, it may want some springs or airbags.
However, a long bed opens up a lot better options for camper hauling.
This was true when talking his generation of Ram. May still be that way with Ram and GM, but Ford actually does add a larger rear M300 axle over the M275 in the F250’ without the max tow package which is rare anyway. Plus overloads and the 3” factory hitch. Some early job 1 F250’s got the 3” hitch but not anymore.
So you actually get more truck now with at least Ford, didn’t research the other two enough to speak to them.
* This post was edited 10/10/17 07:08pm by burningman *