Recommend a 4x4 fullsize truck for $10k or less?

I am not sure if this is even possible, but I wanted to see what people would suggest.  I would like to find a 4x4 truck with either a 6 or 8 foot bed to carry a relatively light slide in camper (four wheel camper Granby or Hawk model or similar).  Almost 1960-as new as you can get for the price is fair game, the main requirements would be reliable enough with proper maintenance to take on a 1200 mile trip, and readily available parts.  The only exclusions would be Ford diesels (I already have one and can't even get it running), and Tundras because I don't have the skill or patience to maintain one (to be fair I haven't worked on one, but if it's anything like a 4runner or Tacoma it's a definite no).

Do you expect this truck to have 4 doors?  At your price point you are likely limited to a single cab (2 doors)  

I'd likely point to a F250 w/ the V10 gas because it seems less trouble prone than the standard 5.4L.  Or I'd seek out a GM 2500 w/ 5.3L or 6.0L gas

John Welsh said:

Do you expect this truck to have 4 doors?  At your price point you are likely limited to a single cab (2 doors)  

Even single cabs are crazy expensive still. Out here a 2017ish XL FI150 2WD with a 150K miles is still 15-16K and sell instantly. 

This is one of those cases where a small payment to get a better truck will be cheaper in the long run. Yes you have a payment but you will have less costs overall when you factor in maintenance. 

The only things I would expect would be 6-8 foot bed, 4x4 with low range, and assuming it was maintained properly and nothing was obviously wrong to have a reasonable chance of driving up to 1200 miles at a time without needing a tow truck, preferably for as cheaply as possible.  $10k would definitely be the upper limit, if it's not reasonable to do it for that I would probably come up with a different plan.

Where are you located?  In a rusty climate?

John Welsh said:

 Or I'd seek out a GM 2500 w/ 5.3L or 6.0L gas

What does it take to avoid engine fires in those? I have gone to the self service junkyards regularly for close to 20 years at this point and those are the number one burned vehicle to show up there by a wide margin.

In reply to Tk8398 :

They're reliable and any small town mechanic can fix them with their eyes closed. My 2002 suburban is still out there chewing up miles. 209k when I sold it. 

I'm a Ford guy, but would probably recommend a GM. I'm not a fan of the modular/Triton engines. If you are willing to go a bit older, the 90s trucks with a 460 would be a good choice provided you don't care about getting 10mpg everywhere you go. The small blocks back then didn't make enough power to be anything but aggravating with a slide-in mounted.

Pre-90s Ford stuff is now collectible and you won't find anything much that isn't stupid priced if it's in nice shape. The only upside is you may find a extended cab F250 that would be reasonable because those aren't 'cool'. But a lot of those had lackluster engine choices (351M and 400M turds).

Nissan Titan would handle it and can be had for "cheap". 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you're struggling with an IDI or a run of the mill 2000's taco/tundra, the only option that might be easier is a GMT800 chevy.  You can find them in your price range but it's still going to have 20 year old truck problems to deal with.

In reply to John Welsh :

California, so mostly not rusty except for a few areas of the state.

mjlogan said:

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you're struggling with an IDI or a run of the mill 2000's taco/tundra, the only option that might be easier is a GMT800 chevy.  You can find them in your price range but it's still going to have 20 year old truck problems to deal with.

That's fair, I bought the idi because I thought it would be simple but I have had it for 2 years and can't keep up with the fuel leaks so it has mostly sat in my driveway.  My sister has a Tacoma and my mom has a 4runner and I have worked on both enough to know that they are complicated and expensive enough to maintain that if I had one I would hate it.  I work on other cars (diesel Mercedes, Subaru, Neon, Boxster, V6 Alfas and turbo dodges many years ago, etc) without too much trouble though.

If the IDI is nice otherwise, spend the $10k on having it fixed.  It will be slow everywhere but at least it will get you there.  Make sure to budget for a suspension refresh, getting the A/C working again, some sound deadening, brakes, and modern rubber.  

If 4Runners and Tacos are "complicated and expensive", $10k used 4x4 trucks are not a game worth playing.  

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

That is what I planned to do, but at this point I would be looking at trying to find a shop that works on them and having it towed who knows where.  

I may just not be able to afford what I wanted, new it would be a $150k+ rig with the cost of the truck and camper, looking at used prices I was thinking $15-20k was doable but maybe not.

Should be able to piece together a late model truck and a decently equipped camper for 35-50k.  Camper is 10-20k depending on how new and how feature-rich you want, truck is gonna be 15-30k for anything you would want to take out to the middle of nowhere.  

GMT900 would be my first choice due to the 6 speed automatic. 
GMT800 is my second choice. Great truck but 4 speed transmissions are outdated and annoying (regardless of Ford Chevy or dodge)

I have found the Chevy trucks to be real easy to work on and very reliable. The Tundra is a great truck too but a total pita to work on and expensive to fix if you're paying a mechanic 

My hands are too big to work on a Toyota, and everything I have done on them is so annoying and expensive.  Lower ball joints on my sister's 2011 Tacoma were $600 because you have to either buy the whole control arm or Amazon/Rock Auto trash that lasts two years of you are lucky, and you have to pull the steering rack to get a clamp on the driver's side tie rod boot, etc.  I will have to look more at the later Chevys, the 88-98 ones have held up even worse than Fords but I do see the later ones on the road often.  I believe the earlier ones are pretty hard to get to pass California emissions testing but otherwise they don't seem too complicated or annoying.