3/4 Ton Truck

I came across a couple with one of these WAY off the beaten path in Colorado. Not a giant RV or 5th wheel, obviously. It was badASS though. They were pulling it with a late 2nd gen Tacoma. The tent on top had room for them and their two daughters. Their two dogs slept in the annex room on the ground. I kinda like the idea of having everything (tent, fridge, kitchen, water tanks, power, etc) in a trailer and not bolted to your truck. Pricey tho.
https://www.patriotcampers.com.au/off-road-camper-trailers/x1/

 

Remember the old days, buy a salvage pickup, cut frame in half and add a trailer tongue to the bed….

 

I saw a couple of those last weekend. Very similar to the Patriot camper. Got me thinking but beyond my budget and besides I've got my own piece of property, but if I didn't I sure as hell wouldn't be with a 5th wheel setup. A 5th wheel does have some advantages and some very serious limitations. If I can get a 5th wheel out in the sticks so can someone else. Simple physics .......

 

That is exactly what we are seeing also. We have about 15 F-450's at work. They have been good over the years but starting with late model year 2019 we have had real problems with ours. We have bought 5 over the past couple years and been very disappointed. The quality of these trucks have really slid. We have been through a handful of rear ends, all have had coolant leaks, brake boosters have went out on most of not all. We also have electrical gremlins in them too. They have been very expensive to operate and fix. Ford dealers are by far the worst and lowest on the rung when it comes to support and service. They all look for every reason to not help our company out.

Fast forward to this past Thursday. Our crew was driving down the highway. No warning signs, no lights, no smoke, no nothing. Engine basically came apart. Crazy thing is the engine still runs. Sounds like 12 empty beer cans are inside of the block of the 6.7. We dropped the truck off Friday morning, was able drive it off the trailer. They immediately said you need a new engine. $30k for new engine is what we were told. All maintenance done. All fluids full, 105k mikes on it.

For the first time ever, we purchased 2 new Chevy 4500 with utility beds after we left the Ford dealer yesterday. We are completely done with Ford, we are officially GM on our heavy platform trucks.

Our mechanic is a die hard Ford fan. He also puts the Ford and then the 1 Chevy GM we have. Difference is huge in wiring and overall build. Even he is admitting that GM is way to go now. Difference is quite large in overall build, wire gauge, routing, wire looms.

Ford in the past couple years has really taken a step back and it is real, not just where we work are seeing this. GM has really stepped it up in the new 2020+ HD platform. They have made a lot of nice changes that are hard to see until you really compare and can inspect.

We also have 10 GMC Sierra 1500 and 2500 trucks that see high miles. They have been much better than the 5 F-150 we have.

 

My uncle has a fifth wheel out at my family's lake lot. No power. No running water. Nobody else for miles. Gravel road access only.

 

I get it. Of course folks will use a 5th wheel where practical and where they can get into. I've been seeing some big ass 5th wheel RV's. Big. Real big. I guess my point is "going of the asphalt" can have its limitations......dirt roads are ubiquitous. Not all dirt roads are easily accessible though. Open ground is not the problem. It's when it can get a bit steep or hairpin turns and trees to ruin your day. Of course there are always exceptions but I think that most of the yuge RV's I'm seeing aren't the exception. We do have crazies here though. Nothing like nature pinstripes on a $100K 5th wheel RV. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one and try to get it off the beaten path.

 

I've been seeing these "Montana's". BIG. Always a big ass HD truck hauling it. Looks like a freaking semi coming towards you. Prolly a reason why no one has posted a pic of their Tunny with one attached. @ColoradoTJ ....You know what I'm talking about. Those Montana RV's are something else. Have you been inside one?

 

Just went to the site. Whoa!!! up to 14K lbs, 41ft long, 14ft high, 8 people. 22, repeat, 22 floor plans. https://www.keystonerv.com/product/montana/luxury-fifth-wheels

 

This was one of the major reasons I breathed a sigh of relief when I sold my 6.7. Granted it gave me 6 years and 110k miles of problem free driving I always had that huge repair number stuck in my head. The truck was only worth 35k when I sold it and I really didn't want to tack on another 30k if the motor let go.

 

I think we looked at one of these at the RV show a couple years ago. Before my wife could get too excited, I pointed out that there was no way we were buying a $100k RV AND an $80k+ truck to tow it...

 

Yeah, something that big and decked out is for those with the ability to spend all their time travelling and seeing the sights. With a crazy good retirement, it wouldn't be a bad way to see the country in comfort.

 

How about just going full Throttle and getting a $750k motorhome! Now those rigs are serious money.

 

My wife says no motorhomes because we like to set up base camp for a week at a time and go out for day trips from there. But she also says no fifth wheels because she's claustrophobic and they don't have enough headroom for her.

 

Don't look at the Luxe line then . Wife and I will probably be selling a rental property to put towards the 190K for the trailer and who knows what we will tow it with...26K pounds, probably go with a full on Freightliner or similar. **But our plan has always been to move between land we purchased over the years throughout the west/northwest.

 

If you can’t do a 5th wheel just tow a car with the motorhome. We would only do a truck/trailer or motorhome/car combo so we are never tied down.

 

We already own the truck so may as well do truck/trailer combo.

 

Look into Winnebago Micro Minnie 2108TB, it has two twin beds up front which is great and its fairly priced (33k CAD), we put deposit down for one only to have delivery pushed back 3x, but its a blessing in disguise since we got no where to go with it in Ontario right now.

 

"Fairly priced"

 

Just a heads up @knoxville36 had some great advice. Grease your front suspension. I did my and it was almost bone dry. I guess this is common in these trucks. Just enough grease to make the 7-10 mile journey before someone buys it

 

Just brought back this beauty from Idaho.

An unmolested 2007 2500 HD DuraMax w/ LBZ motor. 125K miles, tested and fuel injectors are perfectly balanced.

Left 5 minutes later, temps hitting 98-100f and drove 1300+ miles straight through.

 

I saw three GMT-900s broken down on the side of the highway with travel trailers hooked up on the Friday of the long weekend.

 

Dude you found a unicorn

 

That's a nice find. I would add the air dog lift pump right off the bat to protect that fuel pump. I have the same engine and year in my shop truck and it has been pretty reliable. I did the delete at about 150k because I was getting codes. Just make sure that you romp on it often to exercise those turbo vanes or you will start getting codes on startup.

 

I think so too. Also, crawling underneath....so very little to no rust. I was looking at a 2019 Duramax last year, and was amazed at how much rust there was (Minnesota truck) in just 2 years (no rust on the '14 Tundra).

 

That's the crappy wax coating that gm applies to their frames . Just terrible ! If you live in the rust belt It wears off within a year or so

 

Thanks. Just watched their video:
https://youtu.be/ujokaEkF8Z0


Which codes?

I am torn now because I have a nest egg saved up for Tundra mods, and now have this.

 

I don't remember the codes but it is easy to look them up as it is quite common. My problem is that everyone drives this truck like they are driving Miss Daisy. When I had my Super Duty, I never once got the code since I would pin the boost whenever possible.

As for the AirDog, the fuel pump on this truck is very expensive and when it ingests air it goes out. One of the nice features of this lift pump is that you get additional filtration which is never a negative for a diesel.

 

Are you adding a fuel sump also with the addition of the Air Dog Lift Pump installs?