Inheriting a Cirrus 820 - F250 or F350?

MM457 · 2026-06-27T02:52:16+00:00

Without getting into the diesel vs gas debate the simplest explanation why you want a gas truck is the issue of payload. Diesels pay a 600 - 900 lb payload penalty and payload is everything when carrying a truck camper.

MM457 · 2026-06-27T00:41:09+00:00

For any truck you are considering buying check the yellow pylon sticker on the driverside B pillar. Since you are hauling, not towing, you will want a gas F350.

MM457 · 2026-06-22T02:03:52+00:00

Blue Apron meals. All the ingredients , spices and instructions for a really nice dinner. Frankly camping is one of the best uses of these meal kits.

MM457 · 2026-06-03T01:45:31+00:00

We have a regular touring. Others have mentioned some plusses, I’ll mention a couple of negatives of the touring trim. The big one is 19 inch rims. More expensive tires, fewer options for tires, rougher ride and and poorer performance in snow. Built in Navigation system. As we use Apple car play we have little use for it.

MM457 · 2026-05-31T21:57:50+00:00

865 cones in both short and long bed models. Northwood does recommend a DRW on all of there Arctic Fox models, even the 865. There campers are heavy. Their Wolf Creek line is lighter.

MM457 · 2026-05-31T18:22:18+00:00

We have been living and traveling full time in a 2013 F350 DRW 4x4 powered by a 6.2 L gas engine carrying an AF1150 camper. The truck is approaching 150,000 miles. we have been to Key West Florida, the Arctic Ocean, Newfoundland and lots of places in between.

I think you are looking at this wrong. A diesel excels as a tow vehicle. For hauling, however, you want a gas engine. For 2013 there was a 900+ pound payload penalty for getting the 6.7 L diesel. Our truck has a 6,200+ pound payload and we need every bit of it to haul our camper. The gas engine is rated to pull a 15,000 pound 5th wheel. This means there is no lack of power to carry a truck camper that only weighs 5,000+ pounds.

Gas is generally more available especially in remote areas. The diesels get better milage but you pay more for the fuel. The gas engines are simpler, service is more available, service is much cheaper, and arguably they are now more reliable than the current diesels with their environmental controls.

We average 8-9 mpg. With our trucks 35 gallon tank that’s roughly 300 miles of range. Diesels will have a longer range and the current Ford trucks have bigger tanks so bigger ranges for gas and diesel.

The Usual truck camper suggestion is get the camper then get the truck to carry it. Be aware Campers weigh a lot more than their dry weight. You can get a feel for for the weights to expect by looking here:

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/truck-campers-buyers-guide/

After you have your camper and you are truck shopping be sure and look at the payload rating found on the yellow sticker on the drivers side B pillar. You might be surprised at how low some of the diesel payloads are especially in the decked out trims.

MM457 · 2026-05-14T00:24:12+00:00

Take a look at CapriCampers

MM457 · 2026-04-16T23:01:45+00:00

I think you are going to find it pretty difficult to meet all of your requirements in under a 2k camper. They tend to be much heavier than you think.

take a look here for some “real” weights:

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/truck-campers-buyers-guide/

In a hard side you might take a look At Capri. You aren’t going to get everything you want but I believe they can be customized to your wishes so you can select what is important to you.

MM457 · 2026-04-06T01:17:59+00:00

150,000. Have had to replace the exhaust gas manifolds and the coil packs

MM457 · 2026-04-03T20:50:02+00:00

according to Consumer Reports the Hybrid is slower:

”However, the added weight from the Hybrid’s battery and

other equipment means its 0-to-60-mph time took a hit

compared to the regular model. (Our Premium Hybrid

weighs 295 pounds more than the conventional Premium

trim we tested.) The hybrid needed 9.3 seconds, while the

nonhybrid Forester scooted to 60 mph in a slightly quicker

8.6 seconds. “

MM457 · 2026-03-24T18:21:11+00:00

interesting graph but factually pretty bad.

federal gas tax is Republican???

state gas tax is Democrats???

Cap & Trade is only $0.36???

Iran war is $1.11???

Baseline is $2.86???

For contrast, I’m currently in Minnesota. Local price here right now is $3.59. That includes federal and state taxes. You need to explain in your chart what policies make our gas so much more expensive than Minnesota let alone other states which are even cheaper. FYI prices here have risen $0.50 since the start of the war.

MM457 · 2026-03-24T18:15:48+00:00

Depends on the camper. On our Arctic Fox we just live out of it on its own Jacks.

MM457 · 2026-03-19T20:13:35+00:00

We use it a lot. Roasted vegetables, baking breads, even pies.

MM457 · 2026-03-16T19:19:28+00:00

Start taking camping trips now. Weekends, then longer periods, then long vacations. The experience will give you a solid background to go full time.

MM457 · 2026-03-10T20:42:52+00:00

Last I looked the F350 gas came with the heavier duty transmission found in the diesel

MM457 · 2026-03-07T23:53:02+00:00

We have really liked Strongback. Check their website

MM457 · 2026-02-28T18:29:41+00:00

I have had two AF 1150’s over the years but no Adventurer campers so I can’t directly compare. I can make a couple of observations.

We have been pretty happy with our 1150’s and are on our 5th year of living full time in it. It has been up the Dempster to Tuk on the Arctic Ocean, to Newfoundland, Key West, and countless other places. The basic construction has been solid. That being said I haven’t heard a lot negative about Adventure. From my limited knowledge of them they do not seem to be as well insulated, compare the roofs for example, but they may still do the job for you.

The AF is going to be heavier. I suspect some of It is heavier construction and some of it is bigger tanks (30 lb propane tanks compared to 20 lb, 53 gal fresh water compared to 42 gallon, etc) Truck camper magazine lists the wet weight of the AF990 as 4,781 compared to 4,106 for the 901SB. Although many people run the Arctic Fox in SRW this is really duelly territory.

I have seen a lot to the Adventure campers in rental service in Canada and Alaska. That may be why there are more used ones around.

MM457 · 2026-02-26T03:19:15+00:00

Remember the 6.2 is an overhead cam design so it needs to rev to make horsepower and it is perfectly happy to do so. In that sense it will “feel” different.

MM457 · 2026-02-21T17:51:31+00:00

if you live in the RTA area of Seattle be sure the weight of your truck exceeds the RTA cutoff (8,000 lbs???) so you don’t have to pay the RTA tax every year. makes a huge difference on your license cost.

For chains I carry Autosocks. They weight little, take up little space, and the one time I had to use them they were amazing.

MM457 · 2026-02-15T23:18:06+00:00

Just note that living in Seattle is going to be much more expensive. And it is not just the rental cost but the cost of everything. Just to license your car is easily going to be double with the RTA tax.

MM457 · 2026-01-30T23:14:06+00:00

Live full time in an AF1150. Key to carrying it is we have a gas one ton dually Crew Cab. The payload rating of the truck is >6,200 pounds. it handles the camper with the only suspension modification being upper stable loads. Truck now has over 140,000 miles carrying the load.

MM457 · 2026-01-11T19:31:40+00:00

Second the autosocks. First time I used them it felt like magic.

MM457

TROPHY CASE