I have been on the hunt for a mog for quite a while. I know very little, but have read and listened quite a lot.
Where I have come out is that I would like a 10 bolt, fast axles, 395 85 R20 tires, and a turbo motor. Working gears are a near necessity. Fast axle 10 bolts are hens teeth. I am told 1/100 had them. I almost bought one with the exact spec I was looking for (and still may do so), but the rust and maintenance was more than I wanted to deal with (still seems like a good truck, just not for me). Ideally, I would like a SWB too, but AFAIK, that particular spec just does not exist.
So why do I want what I want and whether it is a good idea or not. I got a lot of good advice here about going "fast." Basically what it came down to is $$$$$ and you are really going from something like 55-60mph to 65-70mph and you are spending double to do so. That is ok by me, but it means either (1) running taller tires on a 6 bolt mog and risking portal failure or (2) a claas overdrive or AV super fast ring and pinion on a 6 bolt mog and still risking portal failure or (3) fast axles on a 10 bolt or a claas on a 10 bolt (I suppose 8 bolt would be ok too but I have not seen many of them around) or (4) a US spec U500 (lots of money upfront, not sure who around me could fix it, and the price of repairs is much higher than an SBU -- I missed one at $52k in the depths of the recession and still kick myself to this day, oh well).
That is before you get to adding enough power (220/240/260 hp upgrades) which is also $$$$$.
Among the choices, fast axles and a 10 bolt seemed most reasonable as the claas is basically $10k and another failure point. Maybe I am wrong, maybe I would end up with a claas eventually I don't know.
I am also in the US I am limited to 25 years old with original motor. And I don't want to spend more than say $35-40k. OTOH, I have eight vehicles already so I can wait and bide my time until the unicorn appears (it took me seven years to buy a jag, I finally bought a Porsche I wanted since I was 16 etc.).
Is it a good idea for me? More important, is it a good idea for you? For me, I don't plan to go much of anywhere special as I don't like to go far from home (stop laughing ok?). But I do need to travel on Us interstates which are suicide at 55mph in my experience. 65mph is fine, 55mph is asking for trouble. YMMV. Basically I want an SBU in lieu of a 3/4 ton domestic pickup. Haul stuff, tow stuff, camp out of it, take it off-road once and a while. No mongolia like Charlie for me. But if you are going way off the beaten path, I can't think of anything better than a ten bolt SBU. From everything I have read they will run at full GVWR at "max" speed all day every day which is fairly optimal for a small camper. They come in extra long wheelbase and seem quite reasonably priced in that spec which is ideal for a camper and even in the normal long wheelbase they have a good sized bed. And, you have a 10,600kg or so GVWR which means weight is not the big issue it is in other builds (6 bolt mogs are typically 7500kg or 8000kg) with approximately 5000kg or 12,000lbs for load/camper/stuff. Nothing wrong with a 6 bolt, but the premium for a 10 bolt seems worth it as it is not much on the base truck and there does not really seem to be a downside to going for 10 bolt.
So my two cents anyway.
PS a Werner PTO winch seems like the business, but there are others available that would do the job.
