Looking for feedback from slide-in owners

[Rams-n-Hogs]

Bob4x4 is correct. My 96 has the camper package. Overload springs, and the sway bar. That being said, I have a slide in, the lightest I could find. Weighs about 1880 dry. Knowing how this truck handles with it loaded, there is no way I would consider going any bigger. As it is, the truck is technically overloaded. I didn't even put water in it until I got to, (or close to) my destination.

 

[Grizzly]

The "crap" , and we definitely agree on that, that they put out nowadays (not for 40 years, though) is not due to assembly. It is design.



C'mon Griz. Take the plunge and just once put your money where your highly critical mouth is. You took a much bigger cheap shot at Americans than I have at Dodge Corporation. And I can back up what I claimed; you have not and probably cannot.



"You're one of those people that if you had the most perfect Dodge ever built, you'd never be happy and you'd belly ache about it anyway. If you hate your Dodge so much, go buy a Ford or a GM. I doubt you'd be happy with them either. "



I could respond in kind with: "You're one of those people that if he lived in the most perfect country ever built, you'd never be happy and you'd belly ache about it anyway. If you hate your country so much, go to mexico or china. I doubt you'd be happy with them either. "



But where would that get us? Lets be adults here and stick to FACTS: You back up your claims and I'll do the same. Maybe we can find more common ground than just the junk vehicles being built today.



You say the American workers are to blame for them. I say the Corporations calling the shots on how they are built are to blame.



A very simple disagreement that should be easily settled using FACTS.



Lets just start with the CHEAPER TO BUILD unitized bearing-hubs, and work our way all the way through the CHEAPER TO BUILD ball joints in the front axle to the undersized multi-piece axle shafts, and then on to the weak and crappy Death Wobble steering and suspension of the Dodge, which is the ONE most detestable and dangerous Dodge problem.



I'm not nitpicking about cheap seats and cracking dashes here. I'm talking major, serious problems that can make the truck downright dangerous.



You show me ONE problem in that Dodge designed front end that is a recurring ASSEMBLY problem only, and not a DESIGN problem and I'll shut up and stay off any thread you spout your anti-American crap on.



And I DO own a Great Chevy. One of the last Great trucks that company ever built. They build crap nowadays, too. And they are Bailout Welfare losers, too. I also own Great Chevy cars, like a '69 Z/28 and a '73 Camaro. I will soon be buying my classic '72 Blazer back, too.



My son and I were discussing how much of our limited vehicle restoration budget I MUST now sink into the Dodge, and JUST the front end alone will take $4000 to $5000 to get even close to as good as the Chevy's leaf springs and REAL dana 60. That certainly kills a lot of other plans for our other vehicles. The ones we are passionate about and LIKE to work on. This is just a daily driver work truck. But we DO love the Cummins!!



OR, as he pointed, I could probably pull the Cummins out and just put it in the Chevy for far less money and never look back or regret it. Every Dodge problem would be solved. Except for one thing: The 454 we built for the Chevy is actually a lot more powerful than the Cummins and we would like to enjoy it. But there is no comparison in fuel economy. I will need to choose between the mighty Cummins and the mighty thirsty, but more powerful, 454. My heart is with the Cummins.



There are things I like about my Dodge very much. Others that I hate. Most things I don't feel strongly about either way. The cost of ownership is what I am really beginning to hate the most. And the Cummins hasn't cost me a dime. The poorly designed Dodge has just about cost me it's last dollar, though.



Ironically, one of the things I like very much about this Dodge is how slow it is to rust apart. If it would just rust apart faster, I could feel better about canabilizing the Cummins and junking the rest sooner. But it's hard to butcher a truck that isn't rusted apart. They are rare in Iowa.

Where was your truck built?

 

[Bob4x4]

Forgot to mention 3500 rear brakes and 2500 rear brakes are not the same. There are 2 different sizes on the 3500's. The 3500's also were available with a larger frame rail.

 

[NevadaBackroader]

After reading throught your posts in this thread, it sounds like you have been there and done that. I would go with the lightest hard side camper I could find and put some bunks in the enclosed trailer. We go on extended family hunts where Mom and I get the camper and the kids and grandkids use their own tents. As for the weak suspension in the Dodge trucks, you would have to upgrade it anyway to haul that much weight off road. There is a lot of sense in the Army way of buying a 10 ton truck and rating it a 5 ton for offroad use.

 

[SSell]

Done a bunch of dry camping out of an 8', then a 10' slide in camper. bought them both used/ cheap, put some elbow grease in & sold them both for more than we paid. Then we bought a new 23' toyhauler, will be paying $350 a month on it for way longer then I care to think about. When something in a cheap camper broke, I cheerfully repaired/upgraded it. When something in a new camper breaks, you spend tons time researching who/how/where to use your warranty, nothing cheerful about it. Slide ins are like a submarine---they are tight quarters for 2 people. Priorities are a nice place to s##t, shower and shave, warm comfy master bed, nice kitchen is plus. Kids, dogs, drunk buddies, etc sleep in a tent along side it or you wont get to enjoy the warm, comfy master bed part. Buy a cheap/used cabover camper with a nice crapper, you'll have no regrets.

 

[HBarlow]

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..... Slide ins are like a submarine---they are tight quarters for 2 people. Priorities are a nice place to s##t, shower and shave, ... ... ... ... ... ... .

I read the words of a fellow former submarine sailor in those comments.

 

[mickeyblueyes]

ok stop fighting for a few seconds and take a look here. Camper, Alaskan truck camper RV - Alcan truck camper RV Site Map, Pickup truck camper RV information links to Alaskan truck campers

 

[DonTX]

I read the words of a fellow former submarine sailor in those comments.

Apparently a submariner as well as someone that never saw a Host double slide from the inside.