I am thinking of a Ford F350 to build a "Poor-Man" Earth Romer talk me into it or out of it...

[Rezarf <><]

I am looking at building a bunkhouse on wheels for my family of 5 (my wife and I and three small kiddo's). Think Earth Romer on a working man's budget, or better yet, a dorm room with bunks over the frame and cab.

I have been poking around for a host vehicle and I know I need/desire the following:

• 4 Doors
• 5 seat belts
• Long bed chassis
• 4x4
• Non-dually
• Diesel
• Suspension load rating for the "camper" from factory
• Comfortable interior for long trips
• Easy to find parts/service
• Sub $10k initial price

After poking around a few different websites and builds I think for the money I am willing to spend the Ford F350 7.3 looks like it fits the bill pretty well. I haven't seen the Cumins in the price range I am looking for and the ones with the Cummins seem to hold their value a bit more. I know for my budget I am looking into trucks with 200-250k miles on them already.

I have a few Land Cruisers in the stable for true exploring, as a result, this truck will be a camping/hunting/family vacation rig as we try to get to every national park before the kids graduate. It will not serve double duty in any other way.

It is hard to beat the parts available both factory and aftermarket for the big Ford.

So, for my budget at no more than $10k to get into the truck, what would you shop for and why?

 

[Betarocker]

For $10k, a diesel will be in rough shape.

Ford; Either the body/chassis will be rusted/beaten (7.3L), or the engine will probably be needing serious work(6.0L) or replacement(6.4L).

Dodge; pretty much the same, with the engine being to only thing worthwhile.

My opinion is either get a gasser, or double your budget.

 

[Copperhead14]

Where are you located

 

[Buliwyf]

Might be easier to start with a Crewcab DRW F450/550 4x4 with a cargo box on it's back. Convert the box to a camper.

Switch to big single wheels when your budget allows.

 

[ChuckB]

Great question! I’m in a very similar situation with three kiddos. I have been looking at the same trucks, both Ford and Dodge. Also have a LC too .

I went to a small RV show today for the first time just to look and was thoroughly unimpressed with the build quality.

I’m interested to see what others have to say on this subject.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Darwin]

What camper box to you intend to go with and how much will it weight? Chances are you will probably be overweight.

At that price range I agree with the others that a diesel is probably not the best choice, the Ford will be beat to hell, and turning radius is not very good on those especially with a long bed and four doors.

If it's for occasional use, which it sounds like it is. A gasser will get the job done and be less to maintain.

 

[Rezarf <><]

What camper box to you intend to go with and how much will it weight? Chances are you will probably be overweight.

If it's for occasional use, which it sounds like it is. A gasser will get the job done and be less to maintain.

Good to know. What makes the gas engines survive at that price point better than the diesel?

I plan on making my own camper box.

 

[Superduty]

I've driven the Ford V10 and was never impressed with it. So much so, I couldn't imagine using one to drive all over the country. I have a 99 Ford F350 diesel 4x4 CC LWB that I bought brand new and I've always liked the way the diesel drove.

I have no idea what a truck like mine would sell for used. i surmise most will have about 200k miles on it. The engine, if taken care of, will still be good for more miles, but I would guess many other parts will start needing replacement on a somewhat regular basis with that many miles?

The box trucks will need to be converted to 4WD and then super single the rear. By that point he will be over 10k into the truck.

 

[quickfarms]

Any crew cab 1 ton 4x4 for that price is going to have issues or be an older truck. It will take a lot of work to find a good one.

 

[pappawheely]

4x4 will be hard to find but did you consider a school bus? Most have been both well maintained, and babied. Plenty of room; conversions are everywhere.

 

[Buliwyf]

I've already found a few 4x4 box trucks. Not too hard to find.

Construction and pipe line companies use them. We have 5 of them. Sadly, the 450's have about 2 years to go. My 350 has 1 year to go before it hits it's mileage quota for replacement. I think they'll be over your budget though. I think the 450's will sell for $20k. They were $85k trucks.

 

[Rezarf <><]

Yeah, I am not afraid of an older truck. I do my own work. I daily drove a FJ40 for 15 years so I can turn a wrench if the electronics don't kill me. If a truck has good bones and the motor is strong, the rest is gravy. Preventative maintenance on a 250k mile truck verse a 120k mile truck that are unknown to me are about the same in terms of going through it. I realize the older one has a much higher chance of needing attention.

I have time on my side.

 

[Tex68w]

The Ford V-10 is a dog

 

[hobbsrt]

I think its a great idea. The price of these things is crazy! I also don't like all of the electronics think keeping it straight forward is the best option. I am doing a similar build on a 2001 GMC 2500 Crewcab long bed. I put an aluminum flatbed on it and got me a Four Wheel Camper Grandby. You can see the build in this forum. Not quite done but getting close. Good luck on the build.

 

[LeftCoastKiteboarding]

I'm a little late to this thread but...

I picked up a 2002 7.3L in great shape for $10k (in California no less). Crew cab, long bed, 4x4. Yep, it has 230K on it but has been cared for and has a lot of upgraded stuff. Interior is in near perfect shape and comfortable. Just took the wife and 2 nieces camping and everyone rode in comfort the 5 hours each way. If you are willing to look for awhile there are decent 7.3 trucks out there. Just takes awhile. I think I spent about 6 weeks looking for mine and ended up driving a couple of hours to get it. Not too bad. As for carrying capacity, right now we are carrying a 3K camper. It hauls it fine. I'm still reworking the suspension a bit and will be about $1000 all in on the upgrades. Not bad.

The down sides: HUGE turning radius. It's not a trail rig. It's ok for us because most of our time is in Baja where we don't need that. It's big and loud. Maybe thats a plus too The 7.3L trucks don't have the massive power of the newer ones...but that's offset by the simplicity and lower maintenance costs. (Throw a tuner on and you can get pretty solid performance with only a few mods.) The ride is not as 'sophisticated' as the newer trucks, especially when loaded, but for us it's ok.

Upsides: Lower operating costs due to simplicity. User serviceable with the cab on. The newer trucks are pretty complicated and some service requires removal of the cab. Amazing longevity if cared for. 500K is not at all unusual. Pretty cheap parts available all over the world since this is basically a International motor put in all kinds of stuff. (unlike the newer ones made in-house by ford). MUCH more tolerant of sub-par fuel than the newer trucks. A pretty big deal if you plan to get out of the US. Guys with the newer trucks can rack up pretty big bills if they run regular non-ultra low sulphur diesel.

Just my thoughts...