Alright, here goes. I hope you guys have fun with this one. I currently have a Ram 2500 4 door long bed with a 2013 grandby shell installed full time. I love the rig, but am considering an upgrade. Here is where I keep getting in arguments with myself. I love the space of the ram. I took the 3/4 bench out of the backseat and built a platform for the two dogs to spread out on while traveling. I like not having to worry about payload and weight, or sacrificing power, etc. At 6'9", I like having elbow room both in the camper, and in the truck. Our little crew of four is quite comfy in the truck. I hate that the official length measurement with the hitch mounted bike rack on is just shy of a billion feet. I'm not a huge fan of averaging 13 mpg with diesel fuel. I'm not fond of parking in Denver as my daily driver.
So, after convincing myself that I don't actually want to drop an absurd amount of money on either a used earthroamer, or a Tiger, I'm thinking the next iteration of our setup is going to be a flatbed FWC, and this is where the internal debate fires up.
I can put a ute bed on the dodge, and get the grandby flatbed. That thing has a ridiculous amount of space in it. This would be the most cost effective option since my truck is paid for.
OR...I could order a 2016 chevy colorado with the new little diesel motor and a Ute bed installed from the dealer and put a flatbed fleet on it. The littler truck would be much easier to tool around town, as well as being a little more maneuverable on tight trails. I'd sacrifice quite a bit of room. I'd also be pushing the comfortable limits of overloading gvwr/payload ratings. Has anyone made the move from big to little or little to big? Any other considerations I should mull over?
