Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: NEW QUESTION, was: Small lightweight TC for '06 2500 megacab

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Topic: NEW QUESTION, was: Small lightweight TC for '06 2500 megacab

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 10/10/17 08:19pm

burningman wrote:

Yeah with the older Fords (4wd) the reason you wanted an F350 and not an F250 was so you got a solid front axle and not the old Action Jackson front end! Those evil-twin I-beams never steered right and always tore up front tires.

Right on with that. [emoticon]

I had a OBS 250 7.3 4x4 with the 'Twin Beam front axle', aka: Action Jackson'. Talk about a tire eater. Lasted 2 years and I offed it. You cannot lift them either. POS.

Give me the Dana 60 high pinion 31 spline sold axle any day. Besides, I like a big stack of leaf springs in the front. Looks military. So long as you use your grease gun, they last forever.

2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 10/10/17 08:31pm

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.

In '97, when I bought my 350 Ford, the dually and the single tire rear axles were the same. Just different end carriers. the axles, gears and bearings all interchange. Sterling 10.25's and 10.5's are the same except for the outer carriers. In fact, I can refit the outers and go to a DRW setup if I wanted to.... I don't.

Springs, I have 8 leafs on each side in the back and 4 on each side in the front. It's a nut buster empty.... [emoticon]

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 10/10/17 08:49pm

I don't want to start a brand war about what is better and what isn't but my personal opinion is, I'll take leaf springs over coils anyday. Coils ride better, I'll give that but I see that FCA is putting coil springs on the REAR of the new 2500 Ram. I don't care for that at all, plus, with coils in the back you need radius rods to align the rear end. Thats more bushings and more wear points down the road.

I'll say that my '97 OBS empty, rides like the lumberwagon it is, but with a camper in the bed and 40 psi in the bags, it rides just fine. Of course my wheelbase is as long as was available in 97 too. A longer wheelbase equates to a better ride.

In my view, coils belong on a Buick not a pickup truck, especially not in the rear. Being 68, I guess I'm old school.

Posted By: jat4 on 10/15/17 01:09pm

Sorry not to have been back in touch sooner, but everyone's comments have been super helpful to think through the truck/camper combo I'm hoping to put together.

Did get the local Dodge dealer to evaluate the '06 Megacab for trade, their offer was okay and they may be willing to bump it up a bit if and when I pull the trigger and buy from them. Dodge-wise, they have a number of 3500s in the Tradesman trim that are surprisingly affordable for a new 2018 truck. So that's a very real possibility vs buying used.

Still trying to find something comparable in the Ford line, but the local dealer is not as well inventoried, so I may have to travel a bit to see models that are comparable.

Anything I should be aware of Dodge vs Ford without raising a brand war? the rear axle info on the 2018 Fords was really helpful to hear about. My impression is that the Fords in the base XLT trim are going to run about $4-5K higher? but that's what I haven't determined yet.

Camper-wise, think I'm gonna be set with either the 850sc or 950sc in the Northstar campers. If all works out my wife and I will make the quick trip to New Hampshire next weekend just to be sure and see them in person. 90% sure I'd go with the slightly larger 950sc if we get the 8' bed.

Again, this conversation has really been helpful, so thanks again.
Jim

2018 Ram 3500 srw crew 3.73 4x4 6.4L Hemi
2018 Northstar 850sc
2008 Jayco 26L, Reese HP DC WD hitch
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 mega 3.73 4x4 5.9L Cummins, Prodigy, MOPAR power tow mirrors (traded)
2000 F-150 V8 5.4L, Reese Brakeman (died)

Posted By: tattoobob on 10/15/17 03:02pm

FYI, A Diesel will hold it's value compared to a gas engine

I'm a Ford guy so I have no opinion on the Dodge other than I would never buy one. good luck

2005 Ford F350 SRW 4x4

2000 Lance 1010

Posted By: SidecarFlip on 10/15/17 03:45pm

tattoobob wrote:

FYI, A Diesel will hold it's value compared to a gas engine

I'm a Ford guy so I have no opinion on the Dodge other than I would never buy one. good luck

I'm a Ford guy too but I would have preferred Ford to have a Cummins and an Allison over what they have. Hard to fault a Cummins and an Allison is probably the most bullet proof slush box on the planet.

Allison't are built for commercial applications. They know what they are doing and know how to keep them cool too. heat is what eats a slush box.

My only concern with a Dodge would be the 2500 series with the coils out back. The 3500 series has leaf springs.

Posted By: jat4 on 10/15/17 04:34pm

SidecarFlip wrote:

tattoobob wrote:

FYI, A Diesel will hold it's value compared to a gas engine

I'm a Ford guy so I have no opinion on the Dodge other than I would never buy one. good luck

in a perfect world I would be buying another Cummins diesel just for the luxury of it, but it really does add another $10K to the purchase price of the truck, and hard to justify if I'm not doing very much towing anymore.

On the other hand, it is really true that it will help the truck retain value--and I found out this afternoon that the local Dodge dealer upped their offer on the trade-in value for my '06 Megacab another $2000. So much closer to what NADA lists for trade value, and pretty good for me considering all the dents and dings in the vehicle after ten hard years.

Still trying to do the homework on the Ford options, like a lot of others I am basically a Ford lifer, and the Megacab was my first foray out of the Ford world. I'm not thrilled with the interior amenities of the Dodge compared to Ford, on the other hand I suppose why they're a bit cheaper. It's all tradeoffs I guess.

Posted By: jat4 on 10/15/17 05:06pm

SidecarFlip wrote:

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.

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.

SidecarFlip kindly sent me some pics and said it was okay to post them here. His truck and camper in action:

He mentioned the steps specifically: "Our big issue was getting in and out of the camper. My truck bed is 35” off the ground so the door of the camper is actually 38” up. I got a set of Torklift Revolution Glo-Sreps with their brackets and fabricated a custom mount to carry the steps (see pictures). I built that as a prototype for Torklift and Palomino. The Palomino factory is about 45 minutes from me." here's the pic:

Posted By: GeoBoy on 10/15/17 05:59pm

Jat4,
Keeping a truck 10+ years, a diesel isn’t going to give you a big advantage with resale. The Ford or GM 350/3500 with a gas engine will do everything you want to do with a Northstar 950sc on the back. Good luck.

Posted By: sljohnson1938 on 10/15/17 07:44pm

i just found this topic, so I do not know if you have picked a TC or not.
I just thought I would say that I have never heard anything good about Travel Lite. There is one fella on another net that has had nothing but problems with his new unit and the factory is of no help. I have had 2 used Northstar 10' and they were good units. I had a used Outfitter which was ok, but I would never get another. The mfg. was of no help when problems occurred. They always passed the blame on to another.
I am happy to hear good things about Palomino. I looked at them before they fixed the door problem. I looked at a new one and the dealer could not open the door.

1999 Dodge 3500 CTD dually
Ham radio - WU4S

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