truck/camper combo advice/opinions.

[SeldomSeen]

Alright, here goes. I hope you guys have fun with this one. I currently have a Ram 2500 4 door long bed with a 2013 grandby shell installed full time. I love the rig, but am considering an upgrade. Here is where I keep getting in arguments with myself. I love the space of the ram. I took the 3/4 bench out of the backseat and built a platform for the two dogs to spread out on while traveling. I like not having to worry about payload and weight, or sacrificing power, etc. At 6'9", I like having elbow room both in the camper, and in the truck. Our little crew of four is quite comfy in the truck. I hate that the official length measurement with the hitch mounted bike rack on is just shy of a billion feet. I'm not a huge fan of averaging 13 mpg with diesel fuel. I'm not fond of parking in Denver as my daily driver.

So, after convincing myself that I don't actually want to drop an absurd amount of money on either a used earthroamer, or a Tiger, I'm thinking the next iteration of our setup is going to be a flatbed FWC, and this is where the internal debate fires up.

I can put a ute bed on the dodge, and get the grandby flatbed. That thing has a ridiculous amount of space in it. This would be the most cost effective option since my truck is paid for.

OR...I could order a 2016 chevy colorado with the new little diesel motor and a Ute bed installed from the dealer and put a flatbed fleet on it. The littler truck would be much easier to tool around town, as well as being a little more maneuverable on tight trails. I'd sacrifice quite a bit of room. I'd also be pushing the comfortable limits of overloading gvwr/payload ratings. Has anyone made the move from big to little or little to big? Any other considerations I should mull over?

 

[The Next Adventures]

how about keeping your current set up and getting a smaller pickup or car as your daily driver. Probably the most economical option, will save you the most in fuel costs and you will escape the hassle of driving with a camper full time.

 

[billharr]

At 6'9" you need to stay big.

 

[JJ1]

Any other considerations I should mull over?

You should consider selling me your Grandby so I can put it on my Ram 2500! (Seriously.)

 

[wuck]

how about keeping your current set up and getting a smaller pickup or car as your daily driver.

Years ago, I was driving an F250 Crew cab around. 30 mile round trip to work, kids to soccer, 12 mpg at best, and like your ram, just a bit shy of a billion feet long. I bought a used compact car (But, I'm a full foot shorter than SeldomSeen), got 20+ mpg, seems like the fuel cost difference paid for the part-time insurance on my pickup.

 

[llavaseur]

I would never consider downsizing from my Silverado 3500 Crew, Long Bed (with grandby shell) as my camping, traveling vehicle. Around town I seek out parking spots that are far away from other parked cars (don't want the car door dings) so size doesn't matter as far as trying to park. I do have a Camaro SS that I drive only in the summers and this is only because I leave the camper loaded on the truck from spring to fall.

 

[liftedlimo]

13mpg?! I'm in a 2013 ram 3500 4x4 6.7 and I get 18-20mpg with my new keystone. I'm building a new fairing to try and bump it up to 22mpg.

I have an older 4x4 BMW car for a downtown parking. You can get them for 6-8k now. Also the motorcycles are fun commuters.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Wander The West mobile app

 

[Vento]

I was thinking the same thing. 13mpg seems bad, I have an 06 and gets high teens and clears 20 on the freeway if I am real nice to it.

 

[JacintoKid]

My 07.5 Ram 3500 was the first year with the 6.7. I drove it 90K miles before I traded it last year. Loaded, with my Arctic Fox 990 (4500 lbs wet), I got 9-11 mpg. Empty on the highway, I got about 13 or 14. Empty, in town it was back down to about 10mpg. However, at 6'9", I would definitely stick with a full sized truck.

 

[Oryguntroutbum]

2014 2500 Ram short bed with 6.7. Just got back from a trip and let the computer do the work. Fully loaded camper and gear (minus water in the tank), by myself and I averaged 18 mpg. But I did baby it and drove slow. My 2008 6.7 didn't get as good but 13 seems a bit low.

I've noticed with diesel motors there is a huge difference between 55 mph and 65 mph on the fuel economy.

 

[Desertratduo]

Hi there,
here's a plug for the Chevy Colorado diesel /Fleet combo. We love ours!! The truck is very comfortable and handles the load well (altho we did installer additional leaf springs after airbags failed) and still gets great mileage (22.1 gal avg over 16,461 mi trip across Canada). Had no problems getting fuel or DEF. We feel the performance outweighs the additional costs of the diesel option in truck. We go up (speed) and down (autobraking) hills without problems. Anyone out there considering the Colorado Diesel we would be happy to answer questions...

 

[michgoblue]

I have 9000 miles on my Colorado Duramxax diesel and use it both as my camper hauler and as a daily driver. With my Phoenix pop-up I average 22-25, and even towing a trailer over the Canadian Rockies I still averaged 18.5.

I just wish I could fit a full size Hawk or something similar on mine as I cannot afford a new Fleet and good used ones are hard to come by since they sell so fast!

 

[Vic Harder]

Every time I see you guys getting 22+ mpg I wonder about getting one of these. I just did the math and even if I figure you get 2x the fuel economy I get in my 2500HD, the ROI is still 31 years.

So, I guess I will wait a bit longer...

 

[michgoblue]

For me it was worthwhile as I was replacing my daily driver and needed something with good fuel economy for that. The truck is so comfortable that we've been driving it way more than my wife's Infiniti hardtop convertible, so saving wear and tear on that as well.

 

[smlobx]

I have a similar set up to the op ('16 F-350 long bed cc with '16 Hallmark Everest) although I am a bit longer and can commiserate about parking in the city. If I had to do it over with I would love to put a flat bed on mine and an even larger camper! Way too much wasted space that would make for more useable storage or living space.

Like others have said I too bought a beater, in my case a 2 wd Ranger that gets about 25 mpg and have saved enough money in fuel costs over the past few years to have paid for it.

As another data point I got 15 mpg on a recent 3000 mile trip with my F-350 to Canada and am happy...

 

[kmcintyre]

I have the RAM 1500 w/ the 3.0L diesel and love it. I had the Eagle on a V8 Dakota and it did fine but I couldn't pass anyone very quickly. With the diesel, no issues. I have the camper on it permanently and get about 19ish on average. I have 3.92 gears which probably eats 1-2mpg and 20" rims on it which may hurt a little. I wish I got 25mpg but am overall happy. You have a lot of options.

 

[klahanie]

At 6'9" you need to stay big.

Tend to agree. And I'd use your height as a major deciding factor.

I'd test the Colorado for "fit" and research the Fleet FB for (sleeping) bed and interior height specs, ditto the Granby FB. Another possible consideration is if the FB will be on full time, as many seem to be. Will you still need the use a PU or trailer ?

I like the 3rd option proposed, that of a shorter DD. But again, can you fit in one comfortably and do you have somewhere to park/store it (always a consideration for more "stuff")

Do your research then go with what will make you happy - but in a prudent way - life is too short to do otherwise...

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Seldom, if you decide to go for a new camper give the ATC gang a call as well. The N-S king size bed in our Bobcat sure beats the E-W sleeping arrangements in our previous camper.

I am surprised that your mileage is down in the 13 range, that is what we get with the big truck and a (3,000 lb wet) hard side camper on. Is it related to terrain, or could you have a maintenance issue that doesn't show up other than in mileage?

 

[CougarCouple]

Every time I see you guys getting 22+ mpg I wonder about getting one of these. I just did the math and even if I figure you get 2x the fuel economy I get in my 2500HD, the ROI is still 31 years.

So, I guess I will wait a bit longer...

Hi Vic
How do you figure the ROI? Is there line item for service/maintenance calculated in. I guess what stuck out was the 31 years.Russ

 

[klahanie]

^ I too wondered about the ROI reference. A personal use truck for a camper. Are they not an expense, the product of discretionary spending ?