Full Size - length questions

[velojunkie]

Hey all,
1st post, this forum is awesome! Been lurking for a while. Been traveling/camping for about 8 years, but I want to try something new. Traveling for a week in a '68 bronco isn't bad. Traveling for a month or 3 might be a little cramped, especially with 2 dogs and/or a girlfriend.

So... I'm looking for a fullsize truck. Leaning towards the '67-72 Ford 4x4's, since I like the body style and lack of electronic "features", but make/model/year isn't totally relevant to this post. What I want is something that can be self-sufficient for a while (2 weeks - 3 months) give or take. I've seen the earthroamer, turtle trucks, etc. I don't want that. For now I'm looking at a truck with a camper shell. I need to find the balance between weight, length and width. I really dig that blue Chevy 4x4 with the Pheonix Camper that Larry runs, but that camper is WAY out of my price range. I'm also not really interested in the fliptop tent things. Although if they are really weather tight that might be an option. I'll go anywhere from the BlackRock desert or high sierras in January to Death Valley in summer. Someday Alaska.

What I'd like your opinions on is what size truck am I looking for? Long bed/standard cab, short bed/excab, short bed/std cab, etc. Full size or medium size truck?
I want to access more places than not. Colorado rockies, Utah canyonlands, Sierra trails, Mojave desert, Alaska, etc. From experience on 4WD trails in the bronco, I know I don't want anything too long, like an quad cab longbed.
There will be random combinations of me, the girlfriend, two dogs living in the truck.
I'd like to be able to use my laptop in/near the truck while camping for extended periods, so I can drive SolidWorks from White Rim and get paid for it. In-cab office, external tent office?

Anyone with wisdom/experience driving fullsize rigs around trails and/or living in the truck for extended periods, please chime in. Is a long bed going to be a serious liability on the average trail? I'd probably be running a mild lift (2-3" with fender trimming), 33-35" tires, and don't mind some scratches and dents.

 

[bftank]

i'd go extended cab shortbed with and older pop up in your situation. the extended cab for your dogs and supplies. no need for a longbed with the two of you and the dogs, however they are nice if you might expand or extend what you are doing.

an f150 or f250 of the 70's vintage would be sweet. get it reliable and put a shell on it, with a platform and hit the trail!

something like this



pulled from this ad http://www.hoobly.com/0/0/959538.html

 

[78Bronco]

No need for fender trimming with the old fords. I had a 78 F150 and fit 35's with no lift or trimming. Personally I think you should aim for 78-79 Fords as they have high pinion front differentials and disc brakes.

 

[lstzephyr]

Yep mine is a fullsize. I can't say the girls have complained about the length while sleeping in the back but it is a long bed so interior length isn't too bad. A long bed truck is pretty easy to fit plenty of stuff along with a full size mattress in the back. With a mattress it is plenty comfortable to sleep in for two people. A custom bed or shelf system would work pretty well too. It also hasn't been too long to fit down any of the trails I have wanted to take it down. Personally I consider weight and traction more important than length and width. The width of the fullsize cab is pretty nice for two people and the various hoopla that ends up nearby while traveling. I always seem to have some sort of camera, drink, map, or bag in the middle seat.

All that said, if I had to start over I would probably pick a full size regular cab short bed truck. The dogs may make a extended cab more comfortable but without knowing how big the dogs are I can't really advise you on that. I found carrying my sister's two 50 pound dogs much easier in the bed(under the cap) than in the cab with me or in a suv type vehicle so my preference with a couple dogs and a girl would be a rcsb still.

For what you are wanting to do just about anything larger than a midsize suv would probably work well. Just get around as many of the vehicles you are considering and go from there.

Have you seen the pictures of Larry's old setup? He had a cap on the truck before his nice new phoenix. Larry's truck is one of my favorites as well.

 

[redthies]

I have owned 67-72, 73-79, and 92-97 Fords. I like the looks of them all, with bump-sides (67-72) being my favorite. But, if you are going to travel out of a rig for an extended period, I would go with a 92-97 era. They are still mechanically simple and strong, yet comfortable enough for longer trips. They are generally more reliable, and parts will be a whole lot easier to get when you do need them. I loved my '69 F100, but I would NOT want to do a trip longer than a few hours in it. You can get the older trucks reliable and comfortable, but it will take time and money. I have been looking at 92-97 super cab F250s with very low miles in near perfect shape for $2-3000. A 67-79 F250 4x4 in similar condition, will sell for 3-4x that amount. That's a lot of travel cash! My wife and three dogs and I spent six months living out of our 92 F350 cc 4x4 while traveling all around the southwest and deep into Mex. it was totally reliable and comfortable.

 

[DGarman]

Long Bed Pickups on Trails

I had a '72 Ford F-250 (standard cab, 8' bed) for about 4 years and it worked great on the trails. 133" (I think) wheelbase, a big help on steep uphills and downhills. I wouldn't want to go much longer, though. My job during that time was doing GPS work on routes, roads, and trails on public land. 10 to 20 days a month, and there was only a small percentage of trails that I couldn't do and had to be done by a smaller vehicle (Jeep, quad, or motorcycle). If you don't mind a few scrapes and scratches, a fullsize truck will go through a lot of tight spaces!
My truck had 2" springs front and rear, and 37" KM2s with no trimming, and a high pinion 44 front and a married 205 t/case from a 77-1/2 to 79 Ford, which really helped out clearance in the front. I'd recommend those years as far as Fords go. No electronics and a carburetor. The best of both worlds!
F-150s of the same vintage are good too, just without the payload capacity.
If you stick to the 133" wheelbase limit, you'll be able to go pretty much anywhere you want to.

Good luck in your search,
Dennis

 

[Buliwyf]

I'm going to vote for an extended cab long bed.

The extra 13" a long bed adds deosn't really affect my travel at all. And the slightly longer wheelbase rides smoother. The truck still feels small compared to a CC. I see alot off high center problems with long bed CC's, going over the top of a sand dune or crossing dry river beds. But even then they usually make it through, a shorter extended cab should have little trouble. But I'm not familliar with your terrain, I'm in Ohio.

The difference between using a long bed and short bed are very substantial to me. That extra foot is huge when it comes to cargo and campers IMO.

I'd recommend a used lightweight slide in camper. Replace the cushions and rebuild the cabinets/wood as needed. A fun project I'd like to try, then have it repainted on the outside by my local starving body shop. Often you can rebuild them far better than how they comae out of the factory.

I'd love a Phoenix camper painted flat black (cold up here during times of the year I camp), but those are way too expensive for the amount of travel I do. A good tent works fine for me, and there's usually a lodge/hotel nearby for really nasty cold weather, where I go.

 

[Alaskan1Ton]

I have owned 67-72, 73-79, and 92-97 Fords. I like the looks of them all, with bump-sides (67-72) being my favorite. But, if you are going to travel out of a rig for an extended period, I would go with a 92-97 era. They are still mechanically simple and strong, yet comfortable enough for longer trips. They are generally more reliable, and parts will be a whole lot easier to get when you do need them. I loved my '69 F100, but I would NOT want to do a trip longer than a few hours in it. You can get the older trucks reliable and comfortable, but it will take time and money. I have been looking at 92-97 super cab F250s with very low miles in near perfect shape for $2-3000. A 67-79 F250 4x4 in similar condition, will sell for 3-4x that amount. That's a lot of travel cash! My wife and three dogs and I spent six months living out of our 92 F350 cc 4x4 while traveling all around the southwest and deep into Mex. it was totally reliable and comfortable.

Well said. I agree, bump sides look cool but parts will be harder to find. Also I do not like the divorced transfer case that these have or the Closed knuckles that they have. Also the tranny's if Manual are no syncro so down shifting can be hitchy in my experience. 92-97 F series is the best, you'll get a better ride and fuel injection and parts availability. The only drawback to the F150's and F250's of this era is the Twin traction beam front axles. If you dont beat them they will be ok but I've yet to take a TTB truck out onto a trail and not have alignment issues when the trip was over. The dana 44 in the f150 is kinda weak and the f250 dana 50 is only a hair stronger. I have a 96 F350 with a dana 60 straight axle up front and its almost bombproof. My truck has a 133" wheelbase and I get around pretty awesome. I will add that I run a much larger tire and it really helps with approach/breakover/depart angles in my opinion. The smallest tire I run is a 35" and the largest I run in summer is 40". Of coarse with a larger tire you have to deal with loss of power, loss of mpg, Chances of Parts breakage increases, higher center of gravity, etc etc etc. i have a 460 motor and the 400 ft lbs of torque allow me to run 40" tires pretty decent so power loss is only noticed on hills at highway speed, but idling through the trail I hardly notice.

 

[velojunkie]

Thanks for the responses so far.

A couple things to add. My dogs are only 40lb. I live in CA unfortunately, so anything '75 and up has to be smogged. A lot of people have problems with carbureted vehicles and passing smog. I do like the 92-97 F-series, although there are lots of hoses and wires running around the engine compartment. It's next to impossible to find any truck in CA that has manual trans. Maybe it is due to the current economy, but you only see 90's trucks beat to death with 200k or more, or new super duty quad cab diesels with 12" lift that people can't afford. Although, I guess I could just rebuild all the components and start off basically "new".

I don't have a problem doing some mechanical work or welding to swap out components. If I were to get a bumpside, I'd probably swap in a ZF and NP205 if I could find them. Maybe change out the front axle, or at least the knuckles. Or, if a newer truck, swap the TTB for a solid axle at some point. I have never seen an F350 single cab for sale around in the past year. That would be nice though. As for TTB vs solid axle, would it be worth the effort to SAS?

Should I skip the 1/2T and concentrate on 3/4 or 1T trucks?

Any ideas for a camper shell for a LB bumpside? Most shells I've seen have a slant to the front window which wouldn't work too well for that body style. Regardless of year, that's probably what I'll do first, get a shell and put a platform and drawers in it. A used slide-in camper in the future is a possibility.

Key-lock - are there any openings for that job? Driving around the wilderness on trails and getting paid for it sounds good to me!

Alaska1T - my dad's 69 F100 2wd and my bronco both have granny 4-speeds from that era. Only 1st and R are unsynchro. I'm used to them so it isn't a big deal, other than not having overdrive.

 

[BurbanAZ]

to my any of the before mentioned years for ford full size trucks are good, as long as its mechanically sound. If i were you since your looking now and already know what you want dont get something you have to swap the front axle out, the transfer case, and a bunch of other stuff if you can just look a little longer and find what you want with those parts already in it and save time and money. If you have trouble finding it near you maybe broaden your search and just drive a little ways to get it if you need to. I love the suburban since they have a ton of room in them so basically like a truck with a camper but all insulated. If your set on a truck id get like other said mid 90's for the most comfort, or late 70's for overall durability. I love the old trucks too but old trucks are just not as tight, interior usually not as good, rattles, etc.. if you dont mind the little bit of maint. then the old truck is probably the way to go with solid axles and just have a beast of a truck that can go most places. The long bed fords though have a crazy long wheel base so keep that in mind if your worried about it being too long.

 

[lstzephyr]

It sounds to me like you will just have to travel a bit to get the truck you want. It isn't ideal but most things like that aren't. If you are wanting to live out of the truck for months at a time then what is a couple days in it driving it home.

I would stick to 3/4-1ton trucks. Weight adds up quick when you are traveling, trust me. The heavier trucks can take the weight easier and still be able to handle offroad stuff.

How hard core are you wanting to go with trails? A 2wd wouldn't be half bad in 90% of the situations I have been in and it would really shine with a locker. I rarely bother to put my truck in 4wd unless it is snowing or muddy. 4wd does add a bit of comfort/safety margin though. I almost got stuck in a muddy college parking lot thursday, so maybe stick with 4wd and ignore me lol.:snorkel:

I worked for a season driving trucks offroad in colorado. I was at a ski resort and doing general maintenance type jobs. It was on average about 2-3 hours of 4wd a day. I would bet that other jobs that require offroad driving would be forest service, power companies, and oil patch stuff. Just an idea.

 

[NothingClever]

You might want to consider an older 4WD van which hasn't been outfitted. You'll have all-terrain/all-weather capability and an easily-accessed, protected living and workspace. The empty shell will allow you to outfit it over time from Thermarests and water jugs to drop down bunks, freshwater plumbing and stove.

In the absence of that option, I wouldn't discount the FlipPac for your intended trips.