Help me choose a functional budget truck.

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Ballarat Bandit

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Hey guys, I've been lurking/studying these types of forums for a while. I'm looking to get a truck for hauling maybe some light towing and a camper or anything to keep me off the ground.

I used to have a 4runner ('95) and it suited my off-road needs pretty well (mostly desert use some mountains) but I would like more capabilities.

The SUV's main limitations were the inability to haul anything & the bed was too short to sleep in (I'm 6'1").

So, I'm trying to find something that will do it all: haul 4x8' sheets of plywood or a load of gravel and be able to 4wheel through canyons. I'm still stuck between a full sized truck (Ford f250 Chevy 2500) or a Tacoma.

Finally, how practical is it to store a flip-pac or FWC and use it occasionally?

I thought the FWC was an ideal solution but I could get by with a basic shell for now. I'm just trying to get the right truck then deal with the sleeping arrangements.

Sorry for the ramble but I need some sage advice from the experts! Thanks.
 
Be advised, as soon as you start out with the "basic" camper shell concept-you will wish you had more...

A 3/4 ton truck will leave you the capacity for future options. A 1/2 ton will limit your choices.
 
I don't find storing the FWC that big a deal. The process of taking the jacks on or off, and removing or mounting the camper takes me about an hour (don't leave your jacks on when the camper is on the truck!).

The decision to get a Tacoma or 3/4 ton truck is a big one. The taco is going to be better off road and last longer but runs the risk of being severely overloaded if you get a camper and a bunch of gear on it. My personal opinion is that you should get the truck that has the appropriate payload to suit your needs.
 
I don't find storing the FWC that big a deal. The process of taking the jacks on or off, and removing or mounting the camper takes me about an hour (don't leave your jacks on when the camper is on the truck!).

The decision to get a Tacoma or 3/4 ton truck is a big one. The taco is going to be better off road and last longer but runs the risk of being severely overloaded if you get a camper and a bunch of gear on it. My personal opinion is that you should get the truck that has the appropriate payload to suit your needs.

Thanks for the advice, if I can get where I want to go then I'm leaning toward a full-size for the payload uses mentioned.

Most of the places I want to go are fairly accessible (i.e. Mojave, the Panamint range and (greater DV) area, some of the Mono and Bodie area, and the Great Basin).
 
I have never seen "the perfect truck," but today I saw a 2010 Dodge 2500 Powerwagon. That's about as close to the perfect truck available from a dealer that I have seen.
 

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today I saw a 2010 Dodge 2500 Powerwagon. That's about as close to the perfect truck available

Except that's a Dodge. You know, the I-talian company? :eek: :p



(just teasing)
 
I have never seen "the perfect truck," but today I saw a 2010 Dodge 2500 Powerwagon. That's about as close to the perfect truck available from a dealer that I have seen.

I guess I should mention my budget is max 15K for a truck. I've read a lot of good things about the power wagon in that respect but I'm open to any make.
 
I agree with the posts about getting a truck that will handle the load. I started with a 1/2 ton.....and soon found that I needed a 3/4 ton. Do yourself a favor....get a 3/4 ton truck of your favorite flavor.
 
Barko's on the meds....

I'm open to the 7.3 (read nothing but positive things about them) but like the Power Wagon & 4x4 Tacomas I'm having a hard time finding anything decent in my area. I'm using Craigslist, and the Trader & keeping my eyes peeled.
 
I'd go with as new and as low of mileage of 3/4 ton Dodge diesel that you can find. You will have some room to grow into it :D I have an old one and love it.

Almost zero $$ in upkeep, very low maintainance if you can do it yourself. Runs great all day long, good mileage. My truck has paid for itself hauling home remodel supplies and towing my trailer to the dump...


I will be looking for a newer one soon and hope to score something 2002-2003 in your price range...
 
I'd go with as new and as low of mileage of 3/4 ton Dodge diesel that you can find. You will have some room to grow into it :D I have an old one and love it.

Almost zero $$ in upkeep, very low maintainance if you can do it yourself. Runs great all day long, good mileage. My truck has paid for itself hauling home remodel supplies and towing my trailer to the dump...


I will be looking for a newer one soon and hope to score something 2002-2003 in your price range...

Sounds like any of the big three would be good. You had your chance Mahindra ;). Originally was looking at Dodge but read on another forum that they had transmission issues and poor resale value fwiw. So, I'm more focused on the F250 (7.3L diesel preferably) or a Chevy 2500. Just hoping it will be capable enough for my occasional off-roading in the middle of nowhere (there's always mods).
 
No complaints about the truck I have, and I have nothing against the 3/4 tons and diesels, but if my truck were totalled in an accident today and I received $15K from the insurance co., I would buy a 2004-2006 Toyota Tundra double cab with the lowest miles I could find...

Too much to like about the d-cab Tundra; awesome 4.7ltr V8 engine, front coils suspension, roomy interior for passengers, great bucket seats (counts far more than people realize), hauls plenty of stuff other than a camper, ridiculously strong resale value, fair mpg for a V8, decent aftermarket support (lockers, bumpers, skid plates, lifts, etc.), good safety ratings, solid off-road performance, excellent reliability, etc.

If money were no object, I would be all over a Power Wagon... On a budget, with performance, reliability and off-road capability in mind.. the Tundra gets my vote.
.
 
Sounds like any of the big three would be good. You had your chance Mahindra ;). Originally was looking at Dodge but read on another forum that they had transmission issues and poor resale value fwiw. So, I'm more focused on the F250 (7.3L diesel preferably) or a Chevy 2500. Just hoping it will be capable enough for my occasional off-roading in the middle of nowhere (there's always mods).


In my area the Dodge diesels have the highest resale value. As for Dodge diesel automatic transmissions, yep they are the crappiest of the big 3. But if you don't tune them way up (500+ HP) or tow over 10,000 pounds they last a long time. My truck has one of the worst ones and I anticiapate 150,000 miles out of the tranny.
 
Or, you could get a Dodge Cummins with a manual trans and have the best motor and the greatest reliability. Just watch the manual Dodge with its super low gears compared to the difficulties the Tacoma's high gears and the Jeep's auto trans and poor articulation has in this video:
 
Or, you could get a Dodge Cummins with a manual trans and have the best motor and the greatest reliability. Just watch the manual Dodge with its super low gears compared to the difficulties the Tacoma's high gears and the Jeep's auto trans and poor articulation has in this video: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=dMiVIjvddMs


Some better tires probably would have helped too.
 
Oh come on you can't honestly use that video to compare a dodge to a Tacoma...I will put my Tacoma up against a dodge any old day and guarantee you the results will not look like that video. the Tacoma does not appear to be in low 4 and the line on the obstacle was way off. Gene I assume that was you in the Dodge you drove the line correctly and you know that makes all the difference....real tires help to

Cort
 
Hello Cort,

Nice to meet you. You have a very good point about the line taken.

Actually the Dodge is being driven by my 16 year old son. The Toyota was in low gears at all times. Toyota's crawl ratio is only about 40:1 vs. Dodge at 80:1. I have traveled with these same other people on many trails. The result is always the same on the rough stuff. It all comes down to the ability to be able to drive as slowly as possible, decent tires, and locking diffs. I was a died in the wool Toyota guy for many years. But since I have switched to the Dodge, I'll never go back to a mini truck (plus the newer Toyotas just are not what they used to be). There are two late model Toyota's that travel with us on many trips; one is a 4 cylinder Tacoma, the other an FJ. The Dodge actually uses less fuel per mile than either of them and that includes the Dodge carrying much of the extra supplies that the smaller trucks don't have any space or payload to handle. The small trucks have a short fuel range of maybe 250 miles off road, the Dodge 650 miles with the standard 38 gallon tank.

In the USA you can get away with vehicles breaking axles, breaking chassis etc. In the USA the distances simply are not all that far and help always comes along. What we call "off-road" in the USA is a "walk in the park" compared to other parts of the world.

I am an exe professional mechanic and I have traveled all over the African Sahara and Arctic Canada, often repairing vehicles in the field. What I have seen of trucks overloaded and the failures and dangers because of it has literally cost people their lives. Southern Algeria, Mali and Niger are graveyards of European tourists who have overloaded vehicles. The resulting broken axles, burned out clutches and broken chassis costing them their lives. Sadly, many of them with their young children along. One case in particular was actually an overloaded HJ55 (diesel version of FJ55) with non free floating axles, attempting a crossing of Niger. A broken axle stopped them in their tracks. Without a chance of rescue as this is cross country travel, no roads to follow, nobody coming along. The young Swiss couple actually suffocated their 5 year old son to put him out of his misery before they too died of dehydration. This I know for fact, these people were from my village in Switzerland where I used to live. The mother documented the ordeal in a journal that she left on the driver's seat.

I know we are in the USA, the land of Spots and Cell coverage, but my lessons from the truly wild parts of the world remain in my memory. I like to plan for worse case scenario, it has paid off.

I may be an old fart, but now being a father, and a spouse of a woman who just fought 6 months for her life (and thankfully won), I am all about safety. I totally agree small trucks have a place. If your mini trucks are lightly loaded fantastic! But as soon as a mini truck is loaded with a full camper, even a pop-top, you are at risk. If nothing else, in emergency braking, nothing stops a camper like a 3/4 ton truck. BTW: I also only use manual trans', don't trust automatics.

Sorry, it is a really long explanation to suggest to the original poster that as he looks for a budget truck, think about safety, think "really big brakes", think about your children if you have them. A lot of **** can kill you that you have no control over, but that makes it all the more important to make the odds in your favor in the choices that you do have control over.


Gene
 

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