Any Ford RV/ Motorhome experts on here?

[Rembrant]

This light weight 8' pop-up was about all I wanted to carry with my '95 F-150. I added air bag helper springs in the rear and ran load range E tires (still had "C" in this picture) which made it OK. But I wouldn't have gone bigger. And when I replaced that truck I got an F-250.

I spent quite a bit of time as a kid in one of those slide-in campers (on the back of a 1978 F150 4x4 with a 400 and 4spd).

A tow behind or slide-in camper would be ideal for us, IF we had a proper truck to pull one/haul one. My wife and I just have a couple small cars, and I don't think my old blue Flareside would make much of a tow rig. Maybe when I finish the 85 4x4 I'll put a hitch on it and we'll see. At 40k per year miles and more, my old VW only has a couple maybe 3 years left in it, so maybe I'll get a truck after that. Who knows.

For now, Mrs. Rembrant has called off the dogs on the RV. We were going to go see a couple, but decided to hold off, at least for the time being. We have our 20th anniversary coming up in a month, and we were thinking of a trip somewhere...or maybe an RV...but for the time being, we'll just keep planning.

[Gary Lewis]

I spent quite a bit of time as a kid in one of those slide-in campers (on the back of a 1978 F150 4x4 with a 400 and 4spd).

A tow behind or slide-in camper would be ideal for us, IF we had a proper truck to pull one/haul one. My wife and I just have a couple small cars, and I don't think my old blue Flareside would make much of a tow rig. Maybe when I finish the 85 4x4 I'll put a hitch on it and we'll see. At 40k per year miles and more, my old VW only has a couple maybe 3 years left in it, so maybe I'll get a truck after that. Who knows.

For now, Mrs. Rembrant has called off the dogs on the RV. We were going to go see a couple, but decided to hold off, at least for the time being. We have our 20th anniversary coming up in a month, and we were thinking of a trip somewhere...or maybe an RV...but for the time being, we'll just keep planning.

It may be a good idea to think about it for a bit. The right truck and a trailer might not be more expensive that a complete RV.

[85lebaront2]

Bill - 11 1/2' camper in an F150? My 9 1/2' was a good match for my F250, which was rated at ~9000 lbs if I remember correctly. (With a QJet on a 390/C6 combo.)

You have to remember, when the F150 was introduced, all of the big 3 did something similar, it was to beat the "light duty" emission rules. Ford took an F250 and downrated it, GM's "heavy halfs" just had beefed up springs. Example, F100 in 1977 had ball bearings for the rear wheels, F150 had roller bearings, same 9" rear. Mine came with a 300 and C4 so had a 3.25 gear. My trailer guy is a Chevy/GMC guy, and he is the one who told me that. I did have to stick a pair of helper springs to level it, but had the adjustable shackles all the way as slack as they would go, then it rode level with the camper in it. I had the camper special 390 in mine, and I designed a dual system that went down the right side and out on a 45° angle, also built a slide out rear bumper system for it.

[PetesPonies]

I used to have a Wolverine 11.5' slide in camper I hauled in my 1977 F150 (after I swapped in the 390 and C6). I towed our 1981 Omni behind on a tow bar (it was a 4 speed) that way we didn't need to break camp to go somewhere.

We went from tent camping to a popup, then the slide in and finally a 30' Wilderness 5th wheel with a slide out living room and dining area. Current wife's idea of roughing it is a Holiday Inn Express.

My wife and I agree . . roughing it is a low dollar Motel :) You couldn't make up camp. And for what you pay in fuel and set up fees . . there's no way you can explain how driving that RV makes dollar sense?? A steak house, a beer and back to the Motel is just fine :)

[Rembrant]

My wife and I agree . . roughing it is a low dollar Motel :) You couldn't make up camp. And for what you pay in fuel and set up fees . . there's no way you can explain how driving that RV makes dollar sense?? A steak house, a beer and back to the Motel is just fine :)

Pete,

I completely agree, and that is what we've been doing for 20+ years....both low dollar and regular dollar hotels. We've done a lot of traveling by motorcycle, both Canada and the USA coast to coast, and pulling up to a hotel at the end of a long day sure is nice.

What I didn't mention originally is the main reason my wife got on an RV kick in the first place. We have two 70 lb Basset Hounds...one is older, and the other is a senior, and the wife wanted a way to bring them with us. They're a real hassle to lift in and out of a car, let alone a truck.

A truck and a camper trailer makes more sense than an RV, and that's what EVERYBODY does here....but that only makes sense if you already have a full size truck as your daily driver, which most people do around here. I do not.

An RV is more about the novelty of traveling in one, and the ability to use it anywhere. I could explain the reasoning even further, but it's kind of a moot point right now. It was more her than me that wanted one, and right now it's been kicked to the back burner...lol, so I'm off the hook, at least for now.

 

[Ford F834]

My wife and I agree . . roughing it is a low dollar Motel :) You couldn't make up camp. And for what you pay in fuel and set up fees . . there's no way you can explain how driving that RV makes dollar sense?? A steak house, a beer and back to the Motel is just fine :)

Right here is one of the best reasons to stay out of motels, especially cheap ones. Being bitten is one thing, bringing them home is quite another... I don’t care how nice the place is, I turn any hotel room inside out before I bring in a bag or so much as sit down on the bed. Honestly I sleep much better in my own tent in the dirt.

[Nothing Special]

You have to remember, when the F150 was introduced, all of the big 3 did something similar, it was to beat the "light duty" emission rules. Ford took an F250 and downrated it, ....

My '95 F-150 still was one of those down-rated F-250s, or beefed up F-100s or whatever you want to call them. With a fuel injected 351W it had plenty of power to move the camper, even with a CJ5 in tow. But the payload rating on it was still only about 1500 lbs and my little camper weighed 1200. That left 300 lbs for me, my wife and kids and a weeks worth of food and clothes. With the weight that high it was spooky at first (the air bags helped that a lot). But it was still a lot to ask of the brakes. And I sweated every time I came up on a weigh station (some states that type of vehicle is exempt, but not all). Can an F-150 haul that much? Yes. Can it safely? That's debatable. Can it legally? Absolutely not. Should you do it? I can't answer that.

.... An RV is more about the novelty of traveling in one, and the ability to use it anywhere. I could explain the reasoning even further, ....

That's all very true. Like I said above, I love traveling in a motorhome. Is it worth the downsides? Fortunately(?) for me I didn't need to answer that because I needed it to tow the Bronco.

 

[Rembrant]

So Mrs Rembrant has me looking at RV's again. We've been looking at them for a few years now, on and off. We don't really have any intentions of going all that far, but we do have some friends with lots of property to use. Good friends of ours have an unused lake lot, and another friend of mine has 40 acres on the ocean with lots of space we are welcome to use. Anyway, current budget prices pretty much put us between the late 80's and the late 90's.

Most of the ones we've been looking at have 460's. In these E350 cutaways, when did the 460 get EFI, and what EFI did it get? We've looked at a few with the V10's...later 90's and 2000-2001.

Some of them are in really nice condition, and very well kept and maintained. The early EFI systems are a real boogie man for me, so I'm curious what if any fuel systems should be steered clear of.

[Gary Lewis]

So Mrs Rembrant has me looking at RV's again. We've been looking at them for a few years now, on and off. We don't really have any intentions of going all that far, but we do have some friends with lots of property to use. Good friends of ours have an unused lake lot, and another friend of mine has 40 acres on the ocean with lots of space we are welcome to use. Anyway, current budget prices pretty much put us between the late 80's and the late 90's.

Most of the ones we've been looking at have 460's. In these E350 cutaways, when did the 460 get EFI, and what EFI did it get? We've looked at a few with the V10's...later 90's and 2000-2001.

Some of them are in really nice condition, and very well kept and maintained. The early EFI systems are a real boogie man for me, so I'm curious what if any fuel systems should be steered clear of.

The MPC shows the 460's getting EFI in '88, with the exception of the F53 Stripped Chassis, which apparently stayed carb'd in '89 so much have been EFI'd in '90.

But I don't know that I'd worry too much about the first gen EFI. It was EEC-IV, which means speed density and bank-fire. The 460 didn't get EEC-V with MAF and sequential until '96, and then only in CA. But if you are staying stock then the EEC-IV shouldn't be a problem.

And the 460 had the C6 until '89 when it got the E4OD. The early E4's had some problems, but if you are going to drive very many miles the OD would be really nice to have.

[old55pete]

The MPC shows the 460's getting EFI in '88, with the exception of the F53 Stripped Chassis, which apparently stayed carb'd in '89 so much have been EFI'd in '90.

But I don't know that I'd worry too much about the first gen EFI. It was EEC-IV, which means speed density and bank-fire. The 460 didn't get EEC-V with MAF and sequential until '96, and then only in CA. But if you are staying stock then the EEC-IV shouldn't be a problem.

And the 460 had the C6 until '89 when it got the E4OD. The early E4's had some problems, but if you are going to drive very many miles the OD would be really nice to have.

Here is another thought. What about something in the range of a 24 foot fifth wheel. Back in the day I had a 24 footer that I pulled with a 67 Jeep Gladiator J3000. A half ton pickup. Granted I had upgraded the engine from the stock inline six to a 350 Chevy.

One of the things I liked the most about this setup was that I get to the spot to set up camp, drop the gate, unplug the light cable, pull the pin and off to the hunting spot I went.

Another plus is that if you have a como system between the trailer and the truck, passengers can ride in the trailer. I call it a plus because when you have teenagers you can stick them in the trailer and not have to listen to them.

You have a flair side with a warmed up 302, that should be plenty to safely pull one of these and they pull a lot better then a bumper pull trailer. Plus the added advantages already mentioned above about trailers.