Full size with service bodies?
- Thread starter Stroked 550
- Start date
Stroked 550
Adventurer
I couldn't agree more, having a spotter is priceless..... I was the spotter and my buddy was driving it was his 1st time offroading he had the boulder on 1 side and a cliff on the other lol...
he definitely had the pucker factor but I got him through some really gnarly conditions lol
And speaking to the bigger subject pf ripping up the side of the body of your truck. Even some of my gnarly old beat up four-wheel drives I've owned, I didn't want to rip upthe side off the truck. I don't think there's any more likely to rip in the side off on a utility bed, but it would be a little harder to fix. If you did it. Try to avoid that.
Stroked 550
Adventurer
yeah thats my concern is that it would be harder to fix if it did get banged up... im debating between a jeep, tacoma, bronco and diesel reg cab with a service bed
billiebob
Well-known member
I'd say the Tacoma would be the best buy, a Bronco with a built in camper the coolest, a diesel pickup... likely the most expensive all in, and a Jeep, probably the most compact, main stream, easiest to customize as an overlander. But I love the Bronco idea with a carburetor... definitely the biggest attraction at the campsite.
Stroked 550
Adventurer
yeah I can get a tacoma for a pretty good price, the major drawback for me is being tall and the lack of power they have.. I was driving my buddy's and t was constantly reving up to maintain speed on the hills on the freeway
I can get the diesel pickup for a decent price, roughly the same as the tacoma because Im looking at 1990s-2002 models
the jeeps are great and do everything I need but I was thinkin it would be cool to have a diesel because of the fuel economy , put them 4L and they will crawl up anything
thats a sweet bronco
I can get the diesel pickup for a decent price, roughly the same as the tacoma because Im looking at 1990s-2002 models
the jeeps are great and do everything I need but I was thinkin it would be cool to have a diesel because of the fuel economy , put them 4L and they will crawl up anything
thats a sweet bronco
billiebob
Well-known member
That is why god gave you 2 legs and a clutch. No matter what you drive or how much power you have eventually you need to downshift. Drive any new car, even the fast ones like an A8 and you will note they are constantly shifting. Our inability to pick the correct gear is why everything comes with automatics only. The A8 reaches top speed of 150mph? in 5th gear and loses speed in 6th, 7th, 8th. But the fabulous mileage you talk about with those diesel pickups is ONLY when they are empty. Throw a camper and all your overland gear in and you will get half that mileage.
Stroked 550
Adventurer
between the tacoma i drove and my current ram with a cummins on the freeway my truck isnt downshifting on a regular basis like the tacoma does
Im not going to running a camper on the truck, right now I use a regular tent but maybe at some point Ill get a rooftop tent
is anyone willing to share pics of your service bed setups?
Im not going to running a camper on the truck, right now I use a regular tent but maybe at some point Ill get a rooftop tent
is anyone willing to share pics of your service bed setups?
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
Wow, Looks great Paul!
Thanks, Mike. You had what turned out to be the perfect FWC for what we wanted to do. Price was very right, too. 95% of the inspiration for this project came from this forum. I don't think I would have had the nerve to do this thing on my own, without the help and support provided herein. All the info here is priceless. Thanks again to all you guys!
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
So long as the body doesnt add a stupid amount of weight (many are VERY heavy), the only concern I would add would be attachment method to the chassis.
Ive seen many installations that are complete hack jobs.
And over time when done wrong can have catastrophic effects on the chassis itself.
Ive seen many installations that are complete hack jobs.
And over time when done wrong can have catastrophic effects on the chassis itself.
What I found, when searching for the right utility bed for our project, is the one you want is the shorter ones. Lower profile, with no tray on top. As utility beds go, they tend to be the lighter ones anyway as they are just smaller.
As for mounting to the frame, we pulled it off an F-250, where it had been since '74, installed it on the F-350 the same way it was. Don't really see how one could mess that part up.
The beauty of our camper is we mashed it together from parts gathered up cheaply. We have less than $25k in it. Dreamed of an Earthroamer, or some other pricey camper. No way we could afford it.
As for mounting to the frame, we pulled it off an F-250, where it had been since '74, installed it on the F-350 the same way it was. Don't really see how one could mess that part up.
The beauty of our camper is we mashed it together from parts gathered up cheaply. We have less than $25k in it. Dreamed of an Earthroamer, or some other pricey camper. No way we could afford it.