I just sold my 01 F250 V10. I loved that truck and the engine. It was a regular cab and with a kid on the way, we needed an extended cab. A friend of mine found me a good deal on a 05 Chevy 1500 extended cab. It has 97k miles, runs good, nice to drive, pretty good fuel economy (15mpg). The funny thing is my wife and I both miss the old V10. It rode like a tank, was bare bones basic truck and got pretty bad gas mileage (10-12). We have a pretty light truck bed camper that we use for ski trips, bike trips and just general camping. I use the truck as a driver to trail heads and around town. I only put about 6-8k miles a year on a truck. Now that you have the backstory, here is my question.
We really want to do a Baja trip about a year after the kid (Fall 2017ish) is born and maybe do some other Mexico trips. I know you can take any vehicle you own and have a great trip. My concern is the 1500 is too light duty to have a safe/reliable trip to Mexico. I am planning on a leveling kit, overload springs in the rear and then do the known issues fix on the Chevy. Would I be better off selling the Chevy, finding a V10 250/350 for trips like this than modifying the Chevy? Have any of you done Mexico trips with a Chevy similar to mine? I am nervous not having the solid front axle. I am nervous about the electronic 4x4 in the Chevy also. I did a lot of work on my old Ford so I knew how to fix and work that truck. I have never owned a Chevy before and all the electronic stuff scares me. On my Ford, I had replaced all the ball joints, shocks, hubs, brakes, even replaced a spark plug. I just scratch my head at this new truck. Anyway, I know this is the internet so just give me your opinions and personal experience. Thanks everyone!!
We really want to do a Baja trip about a year after the kid (Fall 2017ish) is born and maybe do some other Mexico trips. I know you can take any vehicle you own and have a great trip. My concern is the 1500 is too light duty to have a safe/reliable trip to Mexico. I am planning on a leveling kit, overload springs in the rear and then do the known issues fix on the Chevy. Would I be better off selling the Chevy, finding a V10 250/350 for trips like this than modifying the Chevy? Have any of you done Mexico trips with a Chevy similar to mine? I am nervous not having the solid front axle. I am nervous about the electronic 4x4 in the Chevy also. I did a lot of work on my old Ford so I knew how to fix and work that truck. I have never owned a Chevy before and all the electronic stuff scares me. On my Ford, I had replaced all the ball joints, shocks, hubs, brakes, even replaced a spark plug. I just scratch my head at this new truck. Anyway, I know this is the internet so just give me your opinions and personal experience. Thanks everyone!!