New Truck for my FWC

[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.

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...

2014 F150 SuperCab...

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.

 

[Pax2525]

the best truck is the one you can afford. But seriously I'm sure both would be fine (I own a Ford) and boils down to what price you can get each one for. I would look at miles on the truck and interior options to help decide also. Tundras also come in a 8' bed, just to throw that out there also. Good luck and looking forward to see what you get

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

We've had great luck with Ford trucks, but there is nothing wrong with a Chevy. Are you sure you want to lift the truck?

 

[CCH]

Keep in mind that lifting IFS trucks properly is not an inexpensive venture. Factor that into your budget. Also consider the axle ratio in your initial purchase if you plan to put larger tires on at some point -- generally associated with a lift. Many of the half tons come built for maximum mileage and not turning large tires. Another thing that is not cheap to change. The closer your stock vehicle comes to meeting all your needs at the outset, the more money you'll have in your pocket in the long run.

 

[brandonhopper]

the best truck is the one you can afford. But seriously I'm sure both would be fine (I own a Ford) and boils down to what price you can get each one for. I would look at miles on the truck and interior options to help decide also. Tundras also come in a 8' bed, just to throw that out there also. Good luck and looking forward to see what you get

I think that is the plan. Yeah I looked into Tundras but that extended cab long bed is very hard to find (I'll keep an eye out). Thanks for the advice I appreciate it.

 

[brandonhopper]

We've had great luck with Ford trucks, but there is nothing wrong with a Chevy. Are you sure you want to lift the truck?

Im not trying to do too much lifting but I think that front bumper of both trucks needs to come off the ground a little bit so it is more offload capable (and I looked at the undercarriage of my buddies new Siverado 1500 yesterday and the rear differential is pretty close to the ground). I think a small lift and maybe one step up in tires would give me enough clearance.

 

[brandonhopper]

Keep in mind that lifting IFS trucks properly is not an inexpensive venture. Factor that into your budget. Also consider the axle ratio in your initial purchase if you plan to put larger tires on at some point -- generally associated with a lift. Many of the half tons come built for maximum mileage and not turning large tires. Another thing that is not cheap to change. The closer your stock vehicle comes to meeting all your needs at the outset, the more money you'll have in your pocket in the long run.

I will definitely do some research on those costs and factor them into the budget. I think I am more concerned about clearance than larger tires. Thanks for the comment.

 

[Theoretician]

If you want a lift of any more than about an inch or two then I'd switch to the solid axle 3/4 ton pickups. Lifting IFS just gets absurdly expensive beyond that - you're either paying for lots of good parts and labor for the installation or paying for lots of ****ty parts and rework later on.

Outside of that, you made no mention of payload ratings. If you're going offroad then you don't want a spring or something breaking due to overloading. The F150 is available with a heavy duty payload package that can bring the payload up to ~3000 pounds with specific wheelbases and either the 5.0 V8 or the 3.5EB. The 2.7L can see a payload of up to around 2200 pounds. To my knowledge the other half-ton pickups aren't competitive with that, but you should confirm that. NMFire even recommends staying below 85% of GVW when offroad so that trucks aren't breaking down constantly, but that's probably a bit conservative for our purposes.

 

[MotoDave]

Coming from a guy with a hawk on a half ton (Tundra) - if I were buying a truck to haul a camper full time, it would be a 3/4 or 1 ton.

You didn't specify if the camper stays on full time or you only load it up for trips?

 

[brandonhopper]

If you want a lift of any more than about an inch or two then I'd switch to the solid axle 3/4 ton pickups. Lifting IFS just gets absurdly expensive beyond that - you're either paying for lots of good parts and labor for the installation or paying for lots of ****ty parts and rework later on.

Outside of that, you made no mention of payload ratings. If you're going offroad then you don't want a spring or something breaking due to overloading. The F150 is available with a heavy duty payload package that can bring the payload up to ~3000 pounds with specific wheelbases and either the 5.0 V8 or the 3.5EB. The 2.7L can see a payload of up to around 2200 pounds. To my knowledge the other half-ton pickups aren't competitive with that, but you should confirm that. NMFire even recommends staying below 85% of GVW when offroad so that trucks aren't breaking down constantly, but that's probably a bit conservative for our purposes.

As long as the truck has enough clearance in the front to do some moderate off-roading then I'm happy. What do you think the price of a quality 3.5 inch lift would be on an IFS truck? Around $1500? Out of the options that I have for the size I want, the payloads are approximately: 1500 (Silverado 1500) and 1700-2000 (F150 w/o and w/ HD Payload Package) I believe my camper is around 1,000 lbs but I think I'll weigh it in the next couple weeks before I make any decisions.

 

[brandonhopper]

Coming from a guy with a hawk on a half ton (Tundra) - if I were buying a truck to haul a camper full time, it would be a 3/4 or 1 ton.

You didn't specify if the camper stays on full time or you only load it up for trips?

I'm not positive whether I'm going to keep it on full time or not. I keep it on my '04 tundra full time right now and I love it. I don't do too much driving besides going on trips.

 

[Bruce]

I hate to say it, but, if I were you, Id sell them both. It sounds like you want offroad capabilities and a long bed truck isn't the right choice. Unless you have a massive emotional attachment to the camper, sell it and get one that fits a short bed...my .02. It will also open up the possibilities for your truck purchase-resale on a long bed is tough.

 

[MTCK]

The only way to gain clearance under the differential is with bigger tires. I’d grab either of those trucks, throw some 285’s on, some quality shocks and maybe an add a leaf and go.

I’m a frequent advocate of heavier trucks too, but if you were making it work with a short bed tundra either of those trucks should do it. Check axle gearing and get the lowest ones you can. Make sure either one has a six speed auto as the extra cogs help get moving.

 

[Nathaniel0712]

I would go with the Ford. Rock solid and in my opinion ford builds a tougher truck. That said I currently drive a 3/4 ton Chevy and love it however it definitely doesn't have the same tough feeling that the Ford does.

 

[Pax2525]

Just saw you cruising through San Clemente. Enjoy this part of So Cal!