What truck with a FWC

[Doff]

Hi all

We are on the count down for purchasing our truck and camper. I am having a tough time trying to figuring out what truck. The truck will be my daily driver and the camper will come on and off. We live in the mountains so I will be driving in the snow during the winter. With the camper we plan to do long road trips and disbursement camping. Lots of rough dirt roads, but usually nothing too technical. We want a full size truck to accommodate children and dog. Currently we are looking at the Ram Power Wagon, Ford Tremor, Ford FX4 and the Chevy Z71. I Was pretty set on the Power Wagon, but the roughly 12mpg has me doubting now. I love the idea of a diesel, but I think the roughly extra 10k would be stretching our budget too thin. Does anyone have any input or opinion on any of these trucks? Pros? Cons?

Thanks!

 

[BBZ]

You will get lots of different answers but ultimately it will come down to what works best for you.

Which camper and how loaded? Most people will tell you that you will need a 3/4 ton truck.

We have an old Grandby that I remodeled. I made it light (1000 lbs) as we are fair weather campers.

We have a f150 super crew with 6.5 bed. Its perfect for us, two dogs and two adults. When loaded (like loaded to go on a month long trip) we are right at gross vehicle weight. added air bags and better shocks and e rated tires.

I need my truck for work so the camper comes off and on.. I thought about an F250 for awhile, but honestly, they are just to tall and would imagine loading and unloading would be a pain.

Our truck has the 5.0 motor and gets around 16-17 mpg with camper on...

 

[Karlton]

As BBZ asked - what camper and is it a shell or fully appointed?

I just moved up from a Tundra to a Silverado 2500HD for my Hawk because it has quite a few features and we carry a lot of stuff. But I ran it on the Tundra for 3 years with no issues, but we traveled lighter.

 

[JaSAn]

I prefer Ram, but that is just a personal choice; I would also consider a Ford for my next truck.

I carry my Grandby on a stock Ram 2500 4X4 Hemi. At 8000 lbs fully loaded for a 4 week trip I am under GVWR with no modifications needed to carry the camper comfortably and safely. I average 16 MPG highway and 13 around town without the camper. The camper costs me about 1 - 2 MPG.

The bigger brakes, full floating rear axle, and beefier frame that a 3/4T has are important to me.

 

[larryqp]

I had a 2009 ford Ranger with an eagle shell for 3 years, due to a complete loss in an highway accident, I replaced it with a 2016 F150 FX4 supercab, and a new 2019 Hawk shell. It is my everyday driver, but the camper never comes off. I get 15 mpg combined, a little better on long highway trips. I added a new custom rear spring pack built by Alcan Spring company in Grand Junction CO, with OEM hight and 1100 lbs more capacity, load range E tires. I previously had airbags, but removed them. I removed the larger of the 2 back seats, and left there smaller seat. I built a "basement" behind the driver's seat and a large cabinet behind the passenger seat.

At times I miss the smaller ranger, but love the quiet comfortable ride I get in the F150. It comes down to personal choices and compromise. I would not do a custom spring pack if you plan to remove the camper, my guess is the truck would not handle or ride well, but for me it has been great. Good luck

 

[Doff]

It will be a fully featured Hawk and will plan to have it stocked with 5 days to 2 weeks worth of supplies and toys. I’d like to do as little modifications to the truck as possible (will probably do airbags regardless of what truck we pick).

 

[heinphoto]

If you use the "build" tool on the FWC web site and choose the model and options you want, it provides a relatively accurate estimate of the dry weight of the camper. Then, add the weight of water, all your gear, passengers, etc. to estimate the fully loaded weight.

With that knowledge you can evaluate the GVWR and payload of different trucks to determine how well they are designed to handle that load. Unless you are going with a lightweight shell, that analysis will likely put you in the 3/4 or 1 ton range. That doesn't mean a 1/2 ton won't work, but it may require suspension upgrades, and some of the components like brakes may be stressed at times.

Based on this kind of an analysis, we ended up going with an F350 for our Grandby, and it handles the load very well. We probably could have gone with an F250, but would have been much closer to the GVWR, and these days there isn't much of a penalty in price or performance in choosing F350.

 

[Durango1]

I'm happy with my Ram 3500 chassis cab in a regular cab configuration with a Grandby flatbed and a crossbox behind the cab. It works for the two of us with a 20# dog.

However, in your situation I'd seriously look at the Ford Tremor. (I've been tempted myself but Sioux says no!) Most of the features of the Power Wagon (which has serious weight capacity issues) but in a true one ton truck.

 

[Espresso]

I have no opinion on the truck brand, but I strongly believe at a minimum you need a 3/4 ton. It is a safety issue. You have children and a dog and you won't be travelling light.

The 3/4 ton is both designed and built to carry more weight. If you get a 1/2 ton, you will be doing suspension upgrades, but you will never turn your 1/2 ton into a 3/4 ton. I have a Ram 1500 and my next truck will be a 3/4 ton.

 

[Karlton]

Agreed that a 3/4 ton would be an 'off the lot' option without lots of mods.

 

[Doff]

Ya I totally agree on the 3/4 ton. That’s why I’m looking at be ram power wagon 2500 or ford tremor. Do ya’ll think the mpg between 3/4 ton trucks is negligible? Or do some have substantial better mpg. For major road trips it’s hard to stomach 12mpg not weighted and probably 8-10mpg with a loaded camper

 

[veryactivelife]

I’ll just add this. Pay attention to the weight ratings, particularly with the truck options included as each option adds weight and takes away from what all the makes claim for payload capacity. Also what your camper is actually going to weigh with options, gear, food, water, etc. Then throw in passenger weight. You’ll be surprised at how it adds up.

Dean

 

[Wango]

i really like the tremor and the power wagon, may buy a buddies PW as my daily. Would not go with either for a truck camper. The PW doesn't have a lot of payload, not too sure of the tremor. When i put mine together i researched a lot, then chose the truck that had the minimum needed suspension wise. Then began building the truck up to handle the camper and still perform off-road as well as i wanted.
i feel i actually saved money this way and like the way the truck came out.
Either would most likely work, and i see people with them and tc's out here and there, but most of the pw's i see with campers have airbags on them too, i have seen a bunch of the prospectors that have a lot of the pw parts added but have a leaf spring rear as well.
Good luck.

 

[Beach]

"12mpg not weighted and probably 8-10mpg with a loaded camper" We have a 2012 F250, 6.2 gas/Hawk. On our last trip from Texas to Tenn, N.C., Virginia and Back home, we saw as low as 11mpg(mountain driving). Got home and the computer said overall trip avg was 12.8mpg. I do the speed limit on back roads but run 70+ on in terstates.

 

[OutToLunch]

I have a 2013 F150 Supercab with an ATC Ocelot camper on it. Just got back from a trip to the San Juans in Colorado and averaged 15.7 mpg (interstate, two lane roads and dirt forest service roads in the mountains). I bought my truck years before I even thought of buying a camper. While my setup works for me, my wife and our two dogs, if I had to do it over again, I would have bought a 350/3500 series truck. I am at payload currently and would prefer the mental comfort and safety of knowing that I have payload to spare with a one ton and the brakes to stop it. Just me.

 

[Oilbrnr]

Where are you going off-road that you need a PW or Tremor? If you're doing crazy stuff like I do, I could see it, otherwise I'd go with either the RAM with a Cummins or an FX4 250 with the 7.3. Build the rest as needed, and budget like $6k for suspension.

The PW or Tremor (gas) is going to yield right around 11. Thats what I average running around empty (9,400). Pulled a 7k boat this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised. More confident about making the trek from Phoenix to Lake Powell next year.

See the build that TFL Offroad did with their 250/Hawk combo, and if you search you can also see a video of my rig there too.

 

[JackLab]

New to site, new Tundra crewmax limited TRD owner, just ordered Raven FWC. I've seen Tundras with Raven FWC in photos. What rear suspension changes have other Tundra owners done to handle weight, FWC 1250# dry as ordered? I don't plan on extreme offroad travel and will only have FWC on for part of the year, daily driver the balance of year. Had 2015 F250 diesel to pull 30' airstream, lots of trips, worked well for that but as daily driver, rough ride, 270K miles later, wanted smaller camper/smoother ride, sold both.
FYI: my payload capacity test: strapped in a 250 gal tote centered in the bed and added 175 gal of water which is 1457# plus tote weight of 50#(+-) and drove the truck on at highway speed. too much weight. reduced to 157 gal, 1307# plus tote weight of 50#(+-) and drove the truck on at highway speed. manageable, not great, still too much rear sag.

Add a leaf kit, all new leaf springs, air bags, sumo springs/timbren?

Any recommendations others have found successful / unsuccessful or thoughts?
Thanks

 

[Karlton]

I had a 2007 Tundra and did a leaf spring upgrade from Boise Spring Works. There are lots of options for suspension upgrades, and the two most common approaches are air bags or leaf springs. See if there is a spring shop in your area that could do a custom leaf pack. If not, lots of use Old Man Emu components.

Add a leaf kit, all new leaf springs, air bags, sumo springs/timbren?

Any recommendations others have found successful / unsuccessful or thoughts?
Thanks

 

[Vic Harder]

My thoughts:

If you modify the spring pack, you turn it into a virtual 3/4 or 1 ton truck, with the same ride your F250 had empty.

You need to think about the wet/packed/travelling down the road weight., not dry weight. Add 20# propane, 160# of water, your own weight, passengers, luggage, camping gear, dogs, food...

 

[jimjxsn]

New to site, new Tundra crewmax limited TRD owner, just ordered Raven FWC. I've seen Tundras with Raven FWC in photos. What rear suspension changes have other Tundra owners done to handle weight, FWC 1250# dry as ordered? I don't plan on extreme offroad travel and will only have FWC on for part of the year, daily driver the balance of year. Had 2015 F250 diesel to pull 30' airstream, lots of trips, worked well for that but as daily driver, rough ride, 270K miles later, wanted smaller camper/smoother ride, sold both.
FYI: my payload capacity test: strapped in a 250 gal tote centered in the bed and added 175 gal of water which is 1457# plus tote weight of 50#(+-) and drove the truck on at highway speed. too much weight. reduced to 157 gal, 1307# plus tote weight of 50#(+-) and drove the truck on at highway speed. manageable, not great, still too much rear sag.

Add a leaf kit, all new leaf springs, air bags, sumo springs/timbren?

Any recommendations others have found successful / unsuccessful or thoughts?
Thanks

TRD sway bar, ride-rite air bags and load range E tires has worked well for me.