Need recommendations for best Diesel Truck and slide in camper

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sandy - 12 May 2007 14:52 GMT

We plan to sell our 30' Winnebago and tow car for a diesel truck with
slide in camper. I know nothing about diesel trucks except that they
give better fuel mileage and run forever. Which trucks (Ford, Chevy,
Dodge, GMC) are the best and which should I stay away from?

Also appreciate opinions on slideins.....which are crap and which ones
are recommended?

Thanks!

Sandy

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Steve B - 12 May 2007 16:20 GMT

> We plan to sell our 30' Winnebago and tow car for a diesel truck with
> slide in camper. I know nothing about diesel trucks except that they
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Sandy

Can't help you with the slide in, but the Dodge Cummins and the Chev Duramax
are the top two choices for trucks. I wouldn't buy a Ford diesel because of
their history of problems. Dodge has a new 409 cid engine for '07. The '06
Dodge Cummins has 325 hp and 610 ft lbs of torque.

Steve

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SnoMan - 12 May 2007 16:36 GMT

>Can't help you with the slide in, but the Dodge Cummins and the Chev Duramax
>are the top two choices for trucks. I wouldn't buy a Ford diesel because of
>their history of problems. Dodge has a new 409 cid engine for '07. The '06
>Dodge Cummins has 325 hp and 610 ft lbs of torque.

I think I would go with the CTD here. While the GM hase a better rear
suspension (stiffer) on the 3500 dualie, it has a weak front axle
capacity wise and with a big cab over you will not have long suspesion
life with it up front, namely ball joints because deisel option raises
weight on front axle. Dodge started using a stronger front drive axle
in 2003 with bigger ball joints that seems so far to hold up better
under heavier loads. The down side is with 4x4 option on dodge the
axle never diconnects so the front drive shaft and differentail is
always turning even in 2wd costing you some MPG potenail due to added
drag. I am not sure I would rule out the new Ford diesel that is
replacing 6.0 PS. GM does have the best automatic tranny though of any
of them with a proven track record.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

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sandy - 13 May 2007 02:20 GMT

Thanks for your opinions. So....Dodge & Chevy are best and Ford not
as good? Also...the slide in we think we want to get will be a sort
of mid sized one. Should we get the 2500 or the 3500? Will fuel
mileage differ with them? And....we have a used car salesman pushing
a dually dodge 3500 that he has on the lot. Is there any reason to
get a dually? We plan to use the truck with the slide in for the
winter months (and the camper will be off it for most of that). The
balance of the year, the truck will be only vehicle. Thanks for your
help!

Sandy

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Bill - 13 May 2007 03:01 GMT

Be leery of a dully and a slid in camper. Usually the support legs will not
fit around that fat end.
Be leery of anyone pushing you into anything you do not want.
They do make a single wheel 3500 too.

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> Thanks for your opinions. So....Dodge & Chevy are best and Ford not
> as good? Also...the slide in we think we want to get will be a sort
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Sandy

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SnoMan - 13 May 2007 22:02 GMT

>Be leery of a dully and a slid in camper. Usually the support legs will not
>fit around that fat end.
>Be leery of anyone pushing you into anything you do not want.
>They do make a single wheel 3500 too.

It think this depends on the truck model (as not all fener flaars are
the same and the slide in unit itself because they make some that can
be made to work with dualies. Normally I am not much of a fan of
dualie P/U's but if you are getting a pretty big slide in I would go
with a dualie and in anycase at the very least a single rear wheel 1
ton becaus ethe 3/4 truck they make today is not the same animal in
cpacity as those made 15 and 20 years ago before they morphed them
into car truck to improve their ride for sales. There is nothing HD
about the rear springs on a GM2500HD and if you plan to travel with a
cabover you want some real beef in the rear springs, not on door
label.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

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Frank Tabor - 14 May 2007 02:45 GMT

>>Be leery of a dully and a slid in camper. Usually the support legs will
>>not fit around that fat end.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> -----------------
> TheSnoMan.com

Then why does a 2500 HD have a GWR of 12000 lbs, and the older 2500s only
have a GWR of 10000? I think you are so full of sh.t your eyes are
brown. Today's 2500s and 3500 are rated for way more weight than models
from even 4 years ago.

Signature

Frank Tabor
You fill a much-needed gap.

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Steven Vaughan - 14 May 2007 03:54 GMT

> It think this depends on the truck model (as not all fener flaars are
> the same and the slide in unit itself because they make some that can
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> -----------------
> TheSnoMan.com

Seems to me that the cargo capacity (and HP/Torque specs) of pickup trucks
has continued to increase for many years now. Thicker sheet metal does not
necessarily equal a heavier duty vehicle.

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lanman - 14 May 2007 13:46 GMT

>> We plan to sell our 30' Winnebago and tow car for a diesel truck with
>> slide in camper. I know nothing about diesel trucks except that they
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
>Steve

The new Ford F450 with its 6100lb payload capacity is hard to beat for
those wanting a slide-in. It's true Ford has previously had some
problems with their 6.0L diesel; but the F450 has a new engine, and
Ford still offers a 100K warranty on their diesels.

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Bill - 12 May 2007 21:31 GMT

I love GM's. BUT...

If I were to buy one it would be a Dodge. I would get the 6 speed too.

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please reply to bargerw NO @ SPAM bellsouth.net and remove the NOSPAM

> We plan to sell our 30' Winnebago and tow car for a diesel truck with
> slide in camper. I know nothing about diesel trucks except that they
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Sandy

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Rich256 - 14 May 2007 14:41 GMT

> We plan to sell our 30' Winnebago and tow car for a diesel truck with
> slide in camper. I know nothing about diesel trucks except that they
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Sandy

Look over the campers you might want and find out how much they
weigh. Then look at the truck specifications. Just had a long
discussion with someone about the camper/payload ratings that are in
the glove box of the trucks. Came to the conclusion that that those
weights are what is left over after subtracting 150 pounds for every
possible passenger and maybe a tank of gas.

For example a crew cab may deduct 900 pounds from the payload whereas
a regular cab might deduct 450.

A crew cab truck rated to carry 3000 pounds may show a payload rating
of 2100 in the glove box.

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