wannadiesel

I think the 1st gen captain's chairs are some of the best seats I've ever had. I would much rather have a '92 or '93 extended cab D350 than a 2nd gen for your purposes. A 2wd 5 speed 1st gen is going to get the best mileage, too.

1STGENFARMBOY

Well i have had a 95 3500 CC flat bed 5spd, 97 3500 EC 5 spd, 99 2500 EC auto, now a W250 SC auto, with out a dought the 99 road the best, the 97 pulled the best, the 93 looks the best, and as far as seat comfort i think my 93 wins but i have ramcharger buckets in it and i'm (NOT) big so it fits me. I think if you can find a good southern truck you would be better off that looking up north for one, as far as mpg there has only been 2-3 mpg differance in all my cummins engins, outo or stick, i pulled a 30 ft tag 10,000lb camper to the south tip of florida with the 99 auto and got 13 mpg. just drive some different gens close to home to help out. I think any one would do fine with even the biggest slide-in with airbags. I'm so ready to retire, me and my wife are gona do the same thing your doing, i envy you cause i'm still 12 years away.

HAPPY MOTORING AND BE SAFE


Darwin

rlyons

I have traveled all over the US with mine and never had a breakdown or problem on the road in over 200,000 miles. It just depends on the condition of the truck, you can get a great 1st Gen or a bad one as well as a 2nd or 3rd.

rstl99

Thanks for the comparative description of those 3 trucks Darwin. Indeed I'll keep my eyes peeled for a southern truck (or western, they are spared the rust out in the western provinces, I'm in Canada - in the east here, they put the salt on pretty thick in the winter, and it eats away at pretty well every car or truck eventually).
Well, retirement is nice when it gets close, but it also means I'm not as young as I used to be, which is the trade-off I suppose. As long as the health holds out I look forward to what the next few years will have in store for me, discoveries on the road etc. Anyway, thanks for your good wishes, and I'm sure before you know it you'll be getting close to retirement too (but do enjoy the years before that too!). Funny thing about life is that the years seem to be slipping past faster and faster...
--Robert

rstl99

Indeed, condition is everything when it comes to a used truck, isn't it!! Finding one that's been well looked after by a conscientious single owner, and not beat up until it's time to sell and get rid of the sucker!

I plan on getting whatever truck I buy inspected by a reputable truck shop that can test diesel engine health, but will also look on this site for good areas to look at when looking at used Dodge Cummins of a certain "vintage". So I can weed out the undesirables and focus in on a good truck.

One reason I want a Dodge-Cummins on those long trips is that if the truck DOES suffer a breakdown, I can probably get it repaired almost anywhere in N-A (from Alaska to Newfoundland to Florida to California). Can't say the same for my diesel Toyota Land-Cruiser wagon, which wouldn't be an ideal travel vehicle anyway (can't carry a camper!)

I realize Fords and Chev also make diesel pickups, but I'll restrict my search to Dodge largely because of the Cummins. I'm sure Ford and Chev trucks have their fans, and that Dodge trucks have their critics, but the Cummins is probably the best diesel engine out there in passenger trucks, and that's the heart of the truck.

1STGENFARMBOY

Robert i own a 4x4 because i live on a farm and my wife or daughter will drive my truck in the hay field and i need low range, but if i was gona buy a truck for the mane purpose to carry a slide-in i think it would be a 91.5-93 250 extended cab 2wd with the factory captains chairs and console, put air bags on it and do some light horse power upgrades, for power and fuel milage, if you get a nicely equiped slid-in with maybe a slidout, it can weight as little as 2,500lbs and thats not a load on a 1st gen by any means, i guess what i'm saying is that if you like the way the older trucks look they will do the job nicely, with no worries, i would recomend to look over this site and maybe others like 1stgen.org, and cummins forum, and educate yourself in case of an emergency roadside repair, you will be suprised what you can learn in 2 months.

let me know if i can help in any way

Darwin

pwrtripls1

I will likely get flamed for this, but IMO if I want comfort for long hauls and a smooth ride I hop in the 2wd CCLB Duramax Chevy. Even with 5" straight pipe its very quiet and smooth on the highway. I hit 201k miles on it today and its an 05'. Never had one bit of trouble. I run an oil centrifuge to polish the oil so I dont do oil changes except every 15-20k. Not one single oil leak or dirty spot under the hood or truck. Also, the 11.5" AAM axle is extremely strong and reliable.

Dont get me wrong, the first gen rides like a dream with a load. Its got more than enough power, and rides every bit as smooth as the newer chevy. But the steering feel, quiet interior on the highway, lack of wind noise, and layout inside just makes long trips better in the Dmax.

The perfect truck would be a chevy or GMC with a 12v cummins in it, backed by a 6 speed allison tranny. LOL

JTCHess

For the larger truck camper highly recommend getting a 1 ton. 3/4 tons are stressed when hauling a 4,000 pound camper. I purchased my 93 D350 Club cab auto with a Fleetwood camper on it from the original owners. The camper was the largest made at the time and although it made the truck squat noticeably the truck handled it very well. Our friends had a slightly smaller Lance with a 3/4 ton Chevy. After one camping season they ended up with a 1ton chevy primarily due to handling issues.

pwrtripls1

Once it sits level on the overload springs the ride gets firm but stable. With all the weight up high, maybe the one ton has a rear sway bar? My 2500HD has the same rear spring pack as my cousins 3500 Chevy. But mine came with skid plates, steering damper, fuel return cooler, and front/rear sway bars. I think the new one ton trucks have 1 extra leaf spring I dont have.

With all the big 3 truck makers, the rear axle is the same in both 3/4 and 1 ton. So to even out what ever you buy just get a rear sway bar kit and firestone air bags. Those 2 things will make for the most stable platform with a slide in camper.


One thing I've been confused about since the begining of the post is, are we talking about a slide in camper or bumper pull travel trailer?

rstl99

Thanks again Darwin, that sounds like a reasonable approach. Thanks for the link to 1stgen which I didn't know about. Indeed, loads of useful information on this site for someone like me, on the outside looking in! Cheers.

rstl99

Sorry, allow me to clarify: I'm talking about SLIDE-IN camper, for sure. Dont' want to be pulling a trailer, or else I'd consider using my 92 Landcruiser diesel wagon for the road trips. Rather, I want something solid, reliable, and self-contained. Briefly considered camper-vans (modified with internal stove, fridge, table, bed) but find them a little cramped, and they generally have thirsty gas engines. I like diesel (own 2 diesel vehicles right now) and always heard great things about the Cummins (though someone is suggesting GMC Duramax so maybe I should broaden my search a bit . If I can get something that will return 20mpg or so for long stretches, it's probably worth getting diesel (over 1000's of miles, the difference in fuel cost may be significant).

So: slide-in camper for sure. But since I'll be travelling solo or at most with another person from time to time, I don't want to get a HUGE camper, but a resonably-sized one. Maybe a popup. Again, I'd be buying the camper used, so would have to exercice care in not buying one that leaks or has mould issues...

There's just something about a good pickup with camper on top that appeals to me, seems a perfect vehicle for travelling in a self-contained way to out-of-the-way places, secondary roads, northern roads, etc.

Thanks for all the thoughts and advice folks, I really appreciate it!!

--Robert

pwrtripls1

A slide in is a great idea. I wish I had one for my trips from Houston,TX to Williston,ND. That 1,650 mile one way trip can get a little long. And even though my rear seat folds down flat like a twin bed, I'm 6'2" and sometimes have a little trouble sleeping. A slide in camper with a small quiet Honda generator would be great!

You are right about the cummins reliability. Its been proven for millions of miles. The Duramax hasnt been around as long, but there are many on the road with several hundred thousand miles still running strong. I know of one and have pics of an 05' GMC Duramax that was traded in with 751,000 miles on the stock motor, turbo, and trans. Both the cummins powered trucks and Dmax trucks get very good mileage. The Allison trans is the best auto trans offered IMO. Very strong and reliable.

The old 7.3L powerstroke's were also very reliable, but dont get as good mileage.

1STGENFARMBOY

I'm sorry to keep interjecting here but any camper with any canvas such as a pop-up type whether it be a pull behind or a slide-in pop up i think after a short time you will wish you would have got a hard side, because of mold on the canvas, if it's raining when you need to leave and it's wet when you put it down it (WILL) mold if you don't get a chance to open it back up and air it out, this from experence, although the pop-up style slide-ins are very light i would go ahead and take 500 lbs more for hard sides, you can get one like your describing that weights 2,000 lbs and thats almost no load in the bed.
just my findings in 28 years of camping and having every kind of camper (except) for a class B that there is, and believe it or not i'm quickly going back to the first kind a slide-in

Darwin

rstl99

Thanks for the support to my truck camper notion. Being able to sleep on the road, without having to worry about the cleanliness of sheets (or presence of bed bugs!) in the Starlight Motel, has great appeal to me.

Wow, Duramax with 751K, that is SERIOUS mileage! A used GM equipped like that would obviously be much costlier I would assume (than a Gen 1 or Gen 2). Anyway, shouldn't be going on about non-Cummins here I suppose ;-) My first (and only) pickup truck was a 79 GMC 1/2 ton with a small v-8 (315?). I remember it pinged often on acceleration because engine was a bit underpowered, but I always missed that truck. It had a cap on the back, and my ex-wife and I went on camping trips to Vermont with it, sleeping in the back on cool nights. We were young, and so many life experiences awaiting us, but I remember fondly driving and sleeping in the back of that truck.

rstl99

Hi again Darwin, by all means keep interjecting, I really appreciate hearing about other people's experiences with campers and such. Yeah, mold is not good, one reason tent trailers never appealed to me. I hadn't thought about that with the pop-ups, thanks for letting me know . I heard about the old Alaska campers, which were kind of all-metal pop-ups from what I heard, but they're pretty well antique now, and not found in my parts anyway. So as you suggest a smaller hard side may be the better solution for me. Possibly makes a better stealth camping setup too, for those times when I just want to pull over somewhere and get in the back.
I've never used a slide-in camper setup, but have heard from folks like you who've tried other solutions and felt the slide-in was the best solution. But then again, it all depends on someone's needs and requirements. Anyway, probably straying from Dodge Cummins discussion, but helpful nevertheless.
Cheers!