Eating crow....2018 Ram Power Wagon build

[Clutch]

We have both as well. The F150 and a Hyundai Tucson. A troopy wouldn't work for me. I like having the open bed. Too many times I've used it to haul things that would be a p.i.t.a. to fit in an SUV. Or my truck if it had a canopy for that matter...

One of the reasons I got rid of my 4Runner years ago, was using it too much like a truck. Bags of concrete, loose dirt (threw down a tarp first), loads of wood, etc...spilled about of a gallon of premix for the saw in it once. That was fun!

That said, a trailer and a SUV works well. I have an 5X8' trailer that works like a fullsize truck bed, without the need of a fullsize truck. Why I get by with having a canopy on the truck too. Anything too tall (or dirty) goes in the trailer.

Like the SUV for camping too, kinda nice have the side doors to access gear without having to crawl to the front of the bed of my truck. Used to hate SUV's, but it is kind of a toss up now. Though a crew cab truck covers all your bases. Why I keep on looking at regular cab trucks, I don't know!

 

[Todd780]

That said, a trailer and a SUV works well. I have an 5X8' trailer that works like a fullsize truck bed, without the need of a fullsize truck. Why I get by with having a canopy on the truck too. Anything too tall (or dirty) goes in the trailer.

Thought of that too since most of the vehicles I've owned have been SUV's. But, I have nowhere to store a utility trailer. Truck is just easier. Realistically it get's about the same fuel mileage as the midsize and full size SUV's I've owned anyway.

 

[Clutch]

Thought of that too since most of the vehicles I've owned have been SUV's. But, I have nowhere to store a utility trailer. Truck is just easier. Realistically it get's about the same fuel mileage as the midsize and full size SUV's I've owned anyway.

Love my trailer, but there days wouldn't mind ditching it either...kinda why I am looking at RC's with an 8' bed. At least this week...next week it will be something else.

 

[Tex68w]

Yea I agree that a trailer gets a lot of that done when used in conjunction with a SUV. I am a firm believer in having a shell on a truck now and that kinda eliminates the full utility of the truck bed as it is. There will be a truck back in the drive way within the next few years, but for now two SUV's and our trailers can easily get any work needed done. Waiting for the new Ford Bronco info to be announced as we speak, fingers crossed it's not a let down. But if nothing else, the TRD Pro we have now will continue to be an excellent daily driver for me and will provide me with endless aftermarket options to choose from during my continued build.

If I were to consider a 3rd Gen Taco I would immediately rip out the rear seat of a Tacoma double cab as I find the space completely inadequate for adult passenger use. Doing that renders it nothing more than a single cab but with a short, shallow bed and a permanent interior space for a fridge. Less power, a majorly complained about engine/tranny combo, horrid seat position, no front locker, and leaking windows, I am not sure that I can justify that for only a few thousand less than what I paid for the much superior PW that I am selling now.

 

[Bayou Boy]

I am not sure that I can justify that for only a few thousand less than what I paid for the much superior PW that I am selling now.

More and more I'm thinking the only two trucks to consider if you are going to do actual trails while carrying stuff to travel/camp with are the PW or a 3500 truck, depending on the load you need to carry. Half tons and smaller are just too lightly built to travel offroad with 1000# of stuff on/in them.

 

[Clutch]

More and more I'm thinking the only two trucks to consider if you are going to do actual trails while carrying stuff to travel/camp with are the PW or a 3500 truck, depending on the load you need to carry. Half tons and smaller are just too lightly built to travel offroad with 1000# of stuff on/in them.

Shoot, it is a wonder how I got to 390’000 miles with my Tacoma...and it is built lighter than a half ton.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Shoot, it is a wonder how I got to 390’000 miles with my Tacoma...and it is built lighter than a half ton.

When you reach a million miles and toyota offers to swap you into a new one for free you better hope they still make manual trans.

 

[Clutch]

When you reach a million miles and toyota offers to swap you into a new one for free you better hope they still make manual trans.

I would probably turn them down if it didn’t have a manual.

“Thanks, but I’ll just keep this one going...”

 

[Wallygator]

It'll be interesting for a while but I will eventually find myself back in a truck at some point. I want to like the 3rd Gen Tacoma but there are far too many complaints and those who have jumped ship on that platform for me to take a chance on it.

Trade the 4Runner in for a Tacoma, Tundra or Super Duty? lol

I personally find it handy having a pick up around and not sure I could go back to an SUV again.

This.

Just buy a 5x10 truck bed and then you can do it all. 4Runner is a great vehicle!

 

[Clutch]

Hey, that is the trailer I have! Sans the rear load ramp. Made my moto ramp into the tailgate. Less of a parachute.

Have been meaning to put some 2X12 sides on it so I can haul dirt/compost for the garden. Trailer is so much easier to load than a truck bed too. Fricken bedsides are super tall on full-size trucks these days, not to mention how high the trucks are in general.

Ford used to advertise how low their beds were for loading...of course no one really uses their trucks for work anymores...

 

[Wallygator]

I have the same trailer with a spare tire bolted to the side. Its a lifetime trailer. I have thought about adding a rack and throwing a tent on it for base camp moto camping. 4Runner tows it well

 

[Clutch]

I have the same trailer with a spare tire bolted to the side. Its a lifetime trailer. I have thought about adding a rack and throwing a tent on it for base camp moto camping. 4Runner tows it well

Mine didn’t come with spare mount. So I welded one on. Changed the jack out too, to one that pivots out of the way. The original center mount would hit the tailgate when lowered.

I was getting ready to weld up a rack for a RRT, and I found another Wildernest for my truck.

Good friend of mine bought a V8 4Runner over summer, pulls a popup camper with it and loves it. He had a Tacoma before that.

 

[Wallygator]

Mine didn’t come with spare mount. So I welded one on. Changed the jack out too, to one that pivots out of the way. The original center mount would hit the tailgate when lowered.

I was getting ready to weld up a rack for a RRT, and I found another Wildernest for my truck.

Good friend of mine bought a V8 4Runner over summer, pulls a popup camper with it and loves it. He had a Tacoma before that.

Yeah forgot to say i changed my jack out also for one with a handle in front so could add the tractor supply box on the tongue. Keep spare moto stuff i there, wheel chocks, air pump, etc. Great trailer

 

[Grump E-Vet]

I am a firm believer in having a shell on a truck now and that kinda eliminates the full utility of the truck bed as it is

If Ram gets smart they will just take the new 1500 and switch that bed out and just make it a big BoF SUV, like they did in the late 90s making the 2nd Gen Dakota into the 1st Gen Durango (sounds like it may be happening but under Jeep nameplate at Warren). Doing that might be a pretty good use of that space vs a shell. Of course that means it will be IFS so if you wanted a “true off road rig” you could do an axle swap. Even though I am putting in an order for the new Gen 4.5 PW this week, I have to say that air bag suspension and bilsteins I think it would be plenty capable. If you added a conservative lift or even a leveling kit and ran something as conservative as 35s it would be plenty capable. Anyway that is my thought when I think about the shell you put in that truck...

 

[Grump E-Vet]

More and more I'm thinking the only two trucks to consider if you are going to do actual trails while carrying stuff to travel/camp with are the PW or a 3500 truck, depending on the load you need to carry. Half tons and smaller are just too lightly built to travel offroad with 1000# of stuff on/in them.

I think the Ram 1500s with the air bagged suspension and V8 would be okay with that weight I know mine has been. The problem with these arguments are the same ones you have when discussing Dual Sport or Adventure bikes, it really comes down to your definition of “off-raid” and reality of the situations you get in.