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[Spawn Sack]

"every diesel auto manufactor has had troubles complying with strict new emissions laws. first 2003 than 2008 and finally 2011. even the heavy duty trucks has had its fair share of problems. i have haD the egr deleted on my truck since 2007 so i have never had any issues personally, but like i tell everyone, only buy a diesel if you need one."

True that. May dad has an 2001 Dodge 3500 with the V6 diesel. He has ben looking at a new diesel for several years but he keeps coming to the same conclusion: with the new emission standards, the new ones suck! He has not had a single issue with the older Cummins. Is does not make near the power of the newer V8s, but still hauls their 3000+lb Bigfoot camper no prob. He has had several people offer to buy it without it even being for sale! Sometimes newer technology isn't always better.

[bigblockfox]

eco boost first came out in 2011. i have never seen one in the shop for anything more than an oil change. ford developed this engine which is a 3.5l twin turbo v6 with direct injection and varible cam timing. sorry to sound like a salesman which im not, but thats how impressed i am by this engine. all it will take is a test drive and you will see what i am talking about.

[bigblockfox]

my buddy has a 95 3500 with a 12v cummins and its a workhorse. almost has 400000km and still going strong. also make a ton of power. thats one thing about toyota. they last for ever because they dont have enough power to break. jk.

[adecadelost]

SpawnSack, I should also mention that if you are going to go with a smaller truck like the tacoma and going to run a camper on it you would befit greatly from upgrading your suspension on it.  Adjustable shocks like the Rancho 9's will help a lot and allow you the stiffer ride when loaded with the camper and a softer ride when unloaded.  You should also install airbags on it as well this well help a lot with sway and porpoising especially on the highway.
It made a big difference on mine and I wouldn't run a camper on the import size trucks without it.

[bigblockfox]

very good points. i also added a helwig rear sway bar and that also made a big difference. i had no rear bar before so anything was an upgrade. another thing to consider is tie downs with springs to absorb shock off road. my bro in law and i were away on may long and going down some ruff roads and his camper was justed chained to the pickup and it took a beating.

[Spawn Sack]

eco boost first came out in 2011. i have never seen one in the shop for anything more than an oil change. ford developed this engine which is a 3.5l twin turbo v6 with direct injection and varible cam timing. sorry to sound like a salesman which im not, but thats how impressed i am by this engine. all it will take is a test drive and you will see what i am talking about.

A 3.5L twin turbo! Sounds like something I'd expect to find in a BMW or Audi sports sedan. However, I can't knock it until I've tried it. I'm at least interested in this motor and am going to do some more research on it.

[Spawn Sack]

very good points. i also added a helwig rear sway bar and that also made a big difference. i had no rear bar before so anything was an upgrade. another thing to consider is tie downs with springs to absorb shock off road. my bro in law and i were away on may long and going down some ruff roads and his camper was justed chained to the pickup and it took a beating.

SpawnSack, I should also mention that if you are going to go with a smaller truck like the tacoma and going to run a camper on it you would befit greatly from upgrading your suspension on it.  Adjustable shocks like the Rancho 9's will help a lot and allow you the stiffer ride when loaded with the camper and a softer ride when unloaded.  You should also install airbags on it as well this well help a lot with sway and porpoising especially on the highway.
It made a big difference on mine and I wouldn't run a camper on the import size trucks without it.

Very good suggestions by both! Thanks guys. This suspension talk is a little out of my leauge. Where does one get work like this done? I would definitley need a staff member who could help/sell me exactly what I neeed for my (future) truck. I get a pretty good discount at NAPA, LORCDO etc so if I could supply my own parts I would save a fair bit over what a shop would charge me for the parts if they bought them.

What kind of ball park prices are we talking here? Any place you'd reccomend going for such work? Kal Tire perhaps?

[Noahs Arc]

Replacing shocks is easier then changing brake pads.
While you're in Napa why don't you ask the guy what they sell the most of for certain gens.
For tacos I'm betting wheel bearings (constantly) and steering rack issues.
I love my 01 24v cummins. 22 mpg and all the towing and power you ever need. I've fished all over this province and very rarely been turned around for having a big truck.

[1son]

Hey Spawn Sac my dads got a camper in the driveway forsale. Its got a retractable roof that would sit on the back of a pick up in pretty good condition if your interested let me know.

[yoda]

Interesting. I have a 2010 ram1500 with eco.  Just wondering how this northern lite would do with it?
Keeping in mind that i would want to pull my springbok 176 with a 70hp behind it.
Have wondered what a good camper setup would be. Must investigate this northern line, never heard of it before.
know people with Bigfoots, but are they too heavy for my truck? Usually better to be overpowered for the situation in hand?

[bigblockfox]

the northern lite we were talking about is strictly for small to mid size trucks. with your ram 1500 you have to run a larger unit. both bigfoot and northern lite make campers for your application depending on what size box you have.

[rjs]

the northern lite we were talking about is strictly for small to mid size trucks.

not necessarily true ! I know a few people that like the imports on there full size truck, cause the don't over hang the box on the sides as much and can make it down  narrower goat trails !

usually involves making a platform to sit on to raise it so the overhang in the front clears the cab

[tanked_darren]

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20130514&id=16478708
I'd stay far away from that eco-boost.  Nothing beats a naturally aspirated v-8

Buy a 3/4 ton GMC.  Those vortecs are bullet-proof.  I work on a site with a lot of GM trucks (like over 50), and we beat them hard only problems are leafs cracking on the 1/2 tons, but they are ridden really rough 24/7, and it's fixed with adding a leaf.

In 8 years I have seen 1 motor blow up.  Probably because nobody ever changed the oil.

I wish GM would build a 1/2 ton with a small diesel.

[bigblockfox]

ford have sold prob close to 3/4 of a million ecoboost since 2009 so i am sure your going to have a few ones with an issue and intill you drive one you wont understand anyway. we have sold a ton at our dealership and haven't had 1 truck come in for troubles. don't believe everything you read on the interwebs. again the 6.0 vortech is a great engine but its a gas hog. lucky to get 10mpg unloaded. with gas being $1.50 a litre that doesn't cut it.

[Damien]

Funny about all this talk about adding new shocks, air bags etc to make my new truck do what I need it to do...  That would signal to me that I was about to make a wrong decision on a vehicle.