I need to upgrade my truck to a 250/2500

TGlide

TGlide

New member
I will be taking delivery on a Hallmark Milner in about a year. My current truck is a 2007 Toyota Tundra with 170k miles. Best vehicle I’ve ever owned. Unfortunately, the weight of the Milner with passengers and camping equipment will exceed my cargo capacity. I’m looking at upgrading to a 3/4 ton for the extra capacity and less stress. What are folks thoughts on Chevrolet, Ford and Ram trucks and their availability. I guess Ram Trucks are currently more available. I know this is probably a very subjective question.
 
RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
I was in the same boat when building my latest camper.

The choice was going to be my first Domestic vehicle ever, so i had no brand loyalty.

I went and drove ALL of them and quickly settled on the Ram. Mainly due to MUCH lower road noise in the cab than the Ford, and i liked the interior MUCH better, and the seats fit my fat ass nicer. I've had it 2 years now and absolutely love it!

All the top 3 are very close to the same price, specs, features etc when ya really break it down.

Its all about personal preference, so go DRIVE them all before beating yourself up reading 1000000 opinions of others.

For something like this, a huge purchase you'll have for a long time, special order it exactly how you want it, and youll be much happier in the long run.

I waited almost 3 months for mine, missed a few possible trips because of said wait, but at the end of the day, it was the right decision.
 
tacollie

tacollie

Glamper
Good choice on getting a beefier truck to carry your camper. Our F250 replaced a 08' Tundra to carry out camper. This was my first domestic vehicle after owning 12 Toyotas. It was a fleet truck with 86k miles. It's been super solid.

We ended up with a Ford for a couple reasons. I like their gas engine offerings better than RAM. I would have loved the 7.3 motor but I have been completely happy with the smaller 6.2. If I was going to buy a diesel truck I probably would lean towards the RAM because of the Cummins. Ford offers factory e-lockers on any of their trucks which was appealing to me.

We much preferred the interior layout of the Ford. It is smaller than Tundra but I'm only 5'9 and 180 lb. The RAM is quieter but the F250 is still quieter than all our Toyotas. The Ford does ride rougher but I was planning to replace all the suspension bits. I am a bit of a Luddite so the techy stuff RAM offers doesn't appeal to me.

The Ford cab height is a little taller and the short bed is a hair longer. Aesthetically I like how campers sit on them better. That may just be me though.

We didn't look at the GM offering because of the IFS. We do use our truck off-road and the GM ifs isn't great imo. They do make good trucks and I would have strongly considered one if we stuck to more maintained routes.
 
D

deserteagle56

Adventurer
My only advice would be to skip the F250/2500 and go straight to an F350/3500. Doubt if you would even notice the difference in ride but the extra carrying capacity can be handy, especially if you decide to upgrade the camper in the future. Price difference is minimal also.

Yes, and whichever truck you choose, get an e-locker for the rear axle. Makes a world of difference when traversing uneven terrain, as I found out. Unload one front wheel and one rear wheel and you aren't going anywhere, even with 4wd.
 
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nickw

nickw

Adventurer
I was in same boat - lots of factors, but overall I don't think you can go wrong with any brand. I chose a RAM 2500 / Hemi since it was much less than the comparable Fords I could find and I could find 0 Chevy's, partially due to supply chain issues and it's hard (at least it was when I was looking) to find a Ford with a super low "tradesman" spec.

My new 2021 2500 out the door was $44k...the best deal I could find on a Ford was ~$53k....

Engine wise - meh, 7.3 is cool but they are all capable.

One of the biggest advantages of the Ford is the flat floor in the back, that is very very nice.

RAM's seem to have a bit more offroad goodies - probably due to AEV involvement.

Chevy's seem to ride the best.

I prefer the look of the Fords personally but being able to jump on the AEV site and pick any upgrades I want for the truck (mild to wild) is cool too, I like the AEV "OEM" engineering approach...

Pick your poison, pros/cons, they all have them!
 
tacollie

tacollie

Glamper
New there isn't a big difference in price between a 3/4 and 1 ton. When we bought our truck there was a substantial difference in price for used trucks. I'm not sure if it's still that way.
 
D

deserteagle56

Adventurer
surlydiesel said:
Go with the 1 ton, especially with the RAM. The coil springs on a RAM 2500 aren't really great for heavy constant loads. At least with the leaf springs in the 3500 you can add a leaf easily or a helper spring. You could do airbags on the 2500 with coils but that tends to add sway.
Click to expand...

^ This.
I have a slide-in camper on my Dodge/Cummins 3500 so I spend a bit of time on the RV forums where they discuss cab-over campers. Most people who have tried it advise staying away from rear coil AND air suspension because with a high-center-of-gravity load like a camper the sway is terrible. Any off-camber road becomes terrifying.

I had my cab-over camper on a 2500 with leaf spring suspension. But because my camper is pretty tall and heavy it was such an unstable combination that now I have it on a 3500 dually. Night and day difference in stability.
 
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