New Truck for my 4WC

[brandonhopper]

I am lucky enough to have an uncle who passed his four wheel camper down to me a couple years ago. I currently have the camper on my '04 Tundra. I haven't done much to the truck besides upgrading the leaf springs for the camper weight and throwing on some AT tires.
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The only bummer is that the truck is 2WD. It works fine for poorly paved and dirt forest roads but as soon as it gets in the sand those back wheels start spinning. I love my camper and I think it has plenty of life left in it so I am now researching what 4WD truck I want to be the base of my rig. Im thinking about going for an extended cab with a long bed so that the truck isn't too long but so that my camper doesn't hang out on to tailgate at all (like it does now). I have a neighbor with an off-road equipped f250 that I talked to and he is pushing me towards a half ton truck. My 4.7L, 8 cylinder Tundra does great with the camper weight so I think a half ton will work fine. I've done some research and narrowed my search down to the F150 SuperCab and Chevy Silverado 1500 (extended cab, long bed). Im looking to buy used around the 20k mark for a truck in good condition with low miles.
2010 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT...
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2014 F150 SuperCab...
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The Chevy is a 5.3L and the Ford is a 5.0L and besides that they are both V8s and the specs look pretty similar. I have no brand preference so I guess my question is, which one of these trucks is a better overlanding base truck and if not one of these trucks then which one. (I plan on just doing a 3 or 4 inch lift and some AT tires at first but I may want a winch and some other additions in the future). Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[Buliwyf]

A half ton is fine. I picked an F250 though for it's tough locker friendly axles, and easy to do correctly, leveling kits. Ford and Dodge would be my picks for 1/2 tons right now. I used to like the Tundra.

How long is that camper? Would it fit flush in only a long bed? The short bed Super Duties aren't exactly short. 6.5 to 6.75 feet, IIRC.

 

[marshal]

5.0 is a better engine IMO. However i would look for a 2015+ F150. the improvements are monumental and the aluminum body is fantastic

 

[brandonhopper]

A half ton is fine. I picked an F250 though for it's tough locker friendly axles, and easy to do correctly, leveling kits. Ford and Dodge would be my picks for 1/2 tons right now. I used to like the Tundra.

How long is that camper? Would it fit flush in only a long bed? The short bed Super Duties aren't exactly short. 6.5 to 6.75 feet, IIRC.

Do you have any idea what the cost would be for a rear locking diff and a 3 inch lift on a half ton like the f150? Ive been looking at f250s as well. The camper is 8 foot so I would want it to fit flush with an 8 foot bed.

 

[brandonhopper]

5.0 is a better engine IMO. However i would look for a 2015+ F150. the improvements are monumental and the aluminum body is fantastic

Yeah I've done quite a bit of searching and from what I've seen the extended cab long bed f150 2015+ is very rare and a little out of the price range.

 

[marshal]

Yeah I've done quite a bit of searching and from what I've seen the extended cab long bed f150 2015+ is very rare and a little out of the price range.

its worth it

 

[rruff]

My 4.7L, 8 cylinder Tundra does great with the camper weight so I think a half ton will work fine. I've done some research and narrowed my search down to the F150 SuperCab and Chevy Silverado 1500 (extended cab, long bed). Im looking to buy used around the 20k mark for a truck in good condition with low miles.
2010 Chevy Silverado 1500 WT...

Did you look at the Tundra in double cab and 8' bed? Paid $31k for mine last year, new.

 

[Buliwyf]

Do you have any idea what the cost would be for a rear locking diff and a 3 inch lift on a half ton like the f150? Ive been looking at f250s as well. The camper is 8 foot so I would want it to fit flush with an 8 foot bed.

My E-locker was a $390 option. I don't remember if the rest of the Fx4, kit was included in that, or extra for that as well. If you're buying new, a rear locker is a must have, it's nearly FREE that way.

An aftermarket locker is $500-600 with 500-600 in labor. If you choose to do the rear, minus well re-gear to 4.10-4.56ish at the same time. So that's another $300. And if you re-gear the rear, you have to re-gear the front, and if you have to re-gear the front, minus well add a locker there as well. I generally recommend a Detroit Locker rear, and Truetrac front. Lately, with modern TCS on Fords, a Detroit Truetrac front and rear works great with the factory TCS doing the braking for you.

I'd expect a 2" leveling kit to be around $500 done correctly. BDS makes nice kits. Bilstein has a good F150 kit that doesn't overstress the shocks and UV joints, like a puck would.

 

[brandonhopper]

Did you look at the Tundra in double cab and 8' bed? Paid $31k for mine last year, new.

I would consider a double cab long bed. My idea with the extended cab is to not have a ridiculously long truck so that it can get around switchbacks but the double cab probably isn't a huge difference from the extended. Thanks.

 

[brandonhopper]

My E-locker was a $390 option. I don't remember if the rest of the Fx4, kit was included in that, or extra for that as well. If you're buying new, a rear locker is a must have, it's nearly FREE that way.

An aftermarket locker is $500-600 with 500-600 in labor. If you choose to do the rear, minus well re-gear to 4.10-4.56ish at the same time. So that's another $300. And if you re-gear the rear, you have to re-gear the front, and if you have to re-gear the front, minus well add a locker there as well. I generally recommend a Detroit Locker rear, and Truetrac front. Lately, with modern TCS on Fords, a Detroit Truetrac front and rear works great with the factory TCS doing the braking for you.

I'd expect a 2" leveling kit to be around $500 done correctly. BDS makes nice kits. Bilstein has a good F150 kit that doesn't overstress the shocks and UV joints, like a puck would.

Thanks for the info. I think if I go with the F150 I will keep the same size tires on (switch them to AT) and install that Bilstein kit and a rear locker. See how that works before I pay up for a BDS 4 inch lift w/ fox suspension and re-gear everything. I appreciate the recommendations.