Paralysis by analysis on purchase

[montechie]

I feel you, my wife and I are contemplating a larger build and test drove a 2500 Ram Rebel gasser yesterday and am scheduled to drive a F150 Tremor 5.0 402a this weekend. I currently have a Gladiator Rubicon, and have had Tacos, older F150s, etc.

Personally, the Rebel rode great, we took it down this narrow, frost-heaved road that's good at creating head toss and claustrophobia with steep shoulders. It tracked well and was easy to keep straight with little driver input, no head toss or tail shimmy. Surprisingly quiet engine, but that could be the active noise cancellation they have. Payload for this truck with the Rebel group 1 options was ~3000 lbs. Way more maneuverable than I expected, advantage of Ram in general, I think Ram's HD/SD trucks tend to have the shortest wheelbases. That hood and the wide mirrors still made it feel huge though. For a standard duty, I'm not convinced that rear coil linkages are a great idea if you are going to haul heavy loads frequently. Leaf springs ride rougher, but distribute load on the frame better IMO. Just a thought if you're wanting it long term. Personally I prefer the Ford 7.3 and feel more confident in it's longevity than the Hemi lifters. I do really like that ZF-8 transmission in the Ram over the Ford/Chevy 10-speed though. I also prefer the Ram 2500+ shock mount location over the F-250+ when it comes to the trails I enjoy.

On the F-150 side, there's also some good engine options, non-Tremor I'd say not to overlook the 2.7 eco. Sleeper reliability and designed differently than the 3.5. I talked to the local mechanics I work with and trust, and for new engines would choose the 5.0. My area eats lifters like candy. The 3.5 is reliable, and the 2.7 more so, but there's greater maintenance and overall cost to turbos if you keep your trucks a while, plus 5.0 vs 3.5 mpg isn't cut and dry, depends on how you use them and will stay "in-boost" vs out. The transmission is the main gotcha, but Ford just replaced a part for the main issue supposedly.

You really need to drive multiple, ideally rent them if you can. Decide what the end goal and need is, then walk back from there for the tool that addresses it.

 

[montechie]

In my opinion, you want a 2500 or 3500.
Even though Proj M is light, having the option to build it out without having to count grams will be nice. It also gives you much more options if you decide to get another slide in camper in the future.

So I vote Ram 2500 (or 3500). But personally, I’d go F250/350 w 7.3.

This is also why we're seriously looking at a 250/2500+, I can make a light enough build for a 1500/150, I did for my Gladiator, but getting a 2500+ gives us the option to change our minds later and just get a slide-in or a different slide-in. Which even lightweight ones will put you at 2K lbs after water, gear, bikes, bike rack and ...oh yes plus my wife and I.

The F-150 Tremor 402a high package payload I'm going to drive is 1495lbs. A 7.3 F-250 SC 8' bed FX4 I'm also looking at was around 3950 lbs I believe.

That 7.3 Ford sounds nice. I don't consider myself nostalgic for the v8 sound, but I had started the Ram 6.4 Hemi, pretty quiet, but then someone started a 7.3 F-250 and it RUMBLED. I definitely rubber necked that.

 

[OVRLNDFX4]

Love the tremors but is it because of all the extra add ons that lower the payload cap? My 19 XLT SCREW 4x4 has 1800lbs of cap but has nothing i dont need. no moonroof or fancy options. I added leather seats that pretty much it.

 

[montechie]

Love the tremors but is it because of all the extra add ons that lower the payload cap? My 19 XLT SCREW 4x4 has 1800lbs of cap but has nothing i dont need. no moonroof or fancy options. I added leather seats that pretty much it.

That's certainly most of it. I was surprised the high package Tremor was still close to 1500 lbs with metal bumpers, more skids, steps and some beefier underpinnings than a Lariat which is generally close to the same payload with similar creature comforts. The weird foldout door/tailgate on the 402a Tremor also has to be hefty. Originally the F-150 Tremor could be optioned with the greater off-road/bad road goodies without adding luxury items, but not anymore.

 

[deserteagle56]

I was doing some reading about the 3.5s having really improved to where they extremely reliable now.

Bought a 2016 F150 4x4 Supercab with the 3.5 Ecoboost new. 80,000 miles on it now and never been in the shop for any reason. Change oil/filters and rotate tires is all I've ever needed to do. Overall fuel mileage since new, hand calculated, is 20.5 and that includes a lot of miles towing a trailer with a side by side.

Change the oil on those Ecoboost engines AT LEAST every 5000 miles (not the Ford recommended 10,000 miles!) and they will last.

 

[AbleGuy]

So ignoring the brand names choice issue for a minute, when you look at the basic argument of going for a half ton or a three-quarter ton, I found early on it made much more sense to go with the three-quarter ton.

I originally had a 4wd Ford half ton four-wheel-drive regular cab long bed and was always concerned about weight capacity issues

And from day one I wished I’d spent the extra money to get a heavier duty truck.

My next camper carrying truck was a 4x4 Chevy three-quarter ton regular cab long bed and I carried a variety of big and small campers on that for 13 years. With never any a problem.

Then I found a really good deal on a used Chevy three-quarter ton extra cab short bed, the heavy duty three-quarter ton model. I loved that truck from day one and all of its abilities to do everything I wanted with it.

Yes, it rode kind of rough. But it was a 4wd heavy duty pick up truck after all. And I actually liked the bouncy ride in it. Gas mileage was never anything to brag about, but that’s never been an issue with me from an affordability standpoint. I

I felt the trade-off was worth it because it was more important to have a truck that would do everything I asked of it without limitation.

So the thing is, if you get a half ton and decide later it doesn’t do what you want it to do, you wasted a lot of money on the depreciation of it when you go to sell or trade it in and get the three-quarter ton or the three-quarter ton HD you should’ve bought in the first place.

Truthfully, I’ve never met a three-quarter ton pick up owner who said they wished they’d gotten a half ton instead, for what it’s worth.

 

[OVRLNDFX4]

FWIW here is mine. Ive beefed up the suspension with Deaver heavy duty leafs as well as 2.5 fox shocks with 35's and E rated tires. Even with a fully built camper with a 16g water tank i still have bit of rake. Would a lower spec (meaning less luxury) be an option to counter the lower payload of a fully spec'd luxury option?

 

[SnowedIn]

Yeah, as much as the PW would be an awesome truck, the abysmal payload is a disqualifier for me. My Gen 1 Ridgeline has a 1600lb payload, though the towing is horrific at 5000lbs.

If I'm not mistaken, the PW comes with a sheet in the glovebox explicitly saying not to use it for slide in campers, and I don't think I'd want to run a 400 or whatever pound camper-shaped topper on one if I was driving on terrain that actually called for swaybar disconnects up front and front and rear lockers.

 

[TallNorton]

Ended up with a great deal on a Colorado Trail Boss. Got an end of the month price I couldn't pass up.

It's the right vehicle for now, and when we have more time for extended trips we'll get something that suits that purpose.