Getting an F350 doesn’t mean it has to be a dually, they made single rear wheel F350s.
The F250 is just as capable with a few simple upgrades you’ll be doing anyway, it has the same rear axle, frame, etc.
However, you don’t want a four wheel drive F250 of that vintage because they have that awful-steering, tire-wearing twin I beam front axle setup. If you’re getting a four wheel drive, get an F350, it has the very superior solid-axle front end.
It’s ridiculous to get a single rear wheel truck on the basis of it being narrower. The camper is going to be as wide as a dually anyway, you gain nothing and you lose a lot of capacity and stability. A flatbed or service body will be as wide as the camper too.
(They did make special narrow ones but if you’re carrying a camper and want boxes, one of those won’t do.)
If you’re still concerned about that, be aware that duallies that were originally built as a cab & chassis have a narrower rear axle and the track width isn’t as wide as on trucks that came with pickup beds on them. That’s because the inside tire couldn’t be moved inboard on pickups without also moving the pickup-bed wheel wells inboard - and then nothing would fit in them like campers or the proverbial 4x8 sheets of plywood.
That’s not an issue with flatbeds and service bodies. The rear axle is narrower and inside tire is further inboard and the outside one isn’t as far outboard.
The 7.3 doesn’t have to be a “low output” motor. There are all sorts of things you can do to up the power and retain reliability. It’s more expensive to do it right and keep or improve reliability at the same time but still way cheaper than a new or newer truck that has a million electronic ways to leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way to get it going.
The others who have posted so far are right - those “service bodies”, the ones with all the storage boxes built in, are HEAVY. Especially when those boxes get full of stuff.
They also almost always leak and get a little damp inside.
But they absolutely rock for space. With the exception of a few that were originally built for campers, it will take a little cutting and welding to modify one to accept most campers. The inside bed width between the tool boxes, toward the rear, needs to be widened on at least one side.
With a service body or flatbed, they’re also right, you’ll end up quite a bit taller.
Bad for stability and getting in and out.
The other truck to consider is a ‘94-‘98 Dodge with a 12 valve Cummins and either a manual transmission or a $5000 fully performance-built automatic. Super reliable, zero electronics. But getting harder to find in low-mile nice shape.
The earlier model Ford and Dodge diesel pickups - if in really nice shape - are commanding pretty high prices. The old “it’s a 20 year old pickup, it isn’t worth much” way of thinking is out the window. They’re in high demand because of their simplicity, something you can’t get in a newer model. Simplicity IS reliability.
2017 Northern Lite 10-2 EX CD SE
99 Ram 4x4 Dually Cummins
A whole lot more fuel, a whole lot more boost.
4.10 gears, Gear Vendors overdrive, exhaust brake
Built auto, triple disc, billet shafts.
Kelderman Air Ride, Helwig sway bar.
