Been a while since I visited, thought I'd add comments to this.
We put a moderately equipped Hawk on a 2012 F150 with the 5.0L gas engine. Bought the truck before I really decided on the camper (was looking into a travel trailer at the time) or might have gone with a 3/4 t. Reading all these didn't make me feel much better about it.
So after a year of ownership of both now, here's an update. We didn't get to spend as many nights in the camper as we thought because of the way work winded up for us this year. Starting this year, we're both semi-retired (yeah, that means laid-off but almost eligible for SS to live off young workers until that cow runs dry).
Several short trips around to MO campgrounds and parks. A 4-day trip to IN, TN and KY almost to NC border and back. A 4-day long weekend to Southern IL area. And a 17-day trip from our home near KC, MO to Glacier NP, a grand circuitous route through Idaho Lolo Pass to Ponderosa Lake area, and back up through Salmon to Lolo again; over through Yellowstone and wandered across WY, down to Denver and back home across KS.
Hit a deer in the dark iby Burning Prairie, IL on the interstate on our first real multiday trip. Saw her at the roadside just before she ran out, doing about 68mph (the only place in IL where they have a forested median with water on both sides of the road. Braked like a sumbits -- so hard I worried I was gonna lose control, then remembered what everyone said about center-punching, got off the brakes and aimed right at her. Wife said she went flying off the road into the brush. Dented the bumper, broke the license plate holder, got some hair on the frame, that was it.
The fuel economy sucks across Kansas and Nebraska. of course, the crosswind wind always blows out there. I've made the trip many dozens of times in all types of vehicles, and it always robs the gas mileage by 5mpg minimum. We were getting about 14mpg checked at fill-ups. As usual, I tell myself I'm gonna relax, drive 60-65 and save money. Right.
Before I know it, I've got it at the legal 75mph, the 5.0L F150 runs like it doesn't know it's got 1225 lbs on it (scaled). Gobs of power, plenty for passing big trucks and running up all the big hills between there and Glacier on I-90.
Long story short, that trip was 5800 miles and we averaged a by-God honest 15.8 mpg for the entire trip. After checking it three times on the long-haul road stretches, it appeared I was getting NO better doing 65 mph on the freeway than I was doing 75 mph. Given that diesel is 60-65 cents a gallon more expensive here and just about everywhere else, I don't think that option offers me any more economy.
At least three times on that trip I had to dynamite the brakes to avoid someone doing stupid stuff; pulling out from an intersection, stepping off a curb, swerving over into my lane to avoid some other idiot. Brakes never failed to stop short enough. I credit this largely to the fact I maintain 360-degree situational awareness, and I don't try to drive a multi-ton vehicle like a sportscar just because it can go fast. I have many thousands of miles under my belt, from gun-jeeps in Vietnam, tracked carriers in Germany and the States, semis carrying logs, lumber or bulker tanks, step-vans full of candybars, and little straight trucks delivering tons of paper on city-delivery. Most accidents are caused by driving too fast for conditions (road & weather conditions, visibility, probable presence of potential hazards), rather than not being able to stop short enough when you realize there's trouble.
The next truck may be a 3/4 ton, but adding a few extra thousand pounds to vehicle weight in order to get bigger brakes and wheels seems well, excessive. Payload is more of a reason to me. Interestingly enough, 4WC on their Facebook page mentioned an F150 with 7-bolt wheels and 2500# payload. The way my little 5.0L engine pulls, that would be of high interest to me. I agree that the lack of availability of diesel in some areas is a bit worrisome to me, and whenever I do the calculations, the fuel economy between diesel and gas seems right about the same at the moment.
Interestingly enough, the wife and I got the truck out and took a Sunday drive last week along the MO river road and back, about 75 miles. It was leisurely, poking along at 45 mph or so, going through a few little towns on the way, and some back area two-lanes between farms. The economy gauges in the truck were telling me I was getting between 18.5 and 19 mpg with the camper on (but no gear loaded). I hope that's a sign the engine's getting broke in (about 14K on it now) and we can enjoy even better on the road. I anticipate I will have to keep the brakes maintained more than if driving the truck unloaded, and maybe shocks as well. Everything is stock right now, and I think tires will be the first change so I can feel better about going off-road. As it is now, we use state parks and a few selected (quiet) commercial campgrounds as our camping sites, so that isn't very challenging to the vehicle. Hope to be seeing some of the back-country areas as well in the future, but may just get a jeep or other 4X4 for those expeditions rather than drag a truck and camper through it. Ya never know...
