First of all, welcome to MOC! This forum abounds with friendly people who might be able to give you some insight!
I, too, am new to the world of 5ers, and the people here gave me plenty of good advice when I first joined.
As you can see from my signature, I too am a Ford guy, but that said, any of the big three diesels will be able to do what you want. Since you are a Ford guy, though, I will throw out the idea that if you can swing it, the 2005 Ford Super Duties are rated to tow more and can come with the trailer brake already installed in the dash. I highly recommend it. Obviously, if you go with a long bed truck, the slider is not a must, but I would suggest that if you go with a short bed—as I did—that you should also go with a slider. Then you have to make a decision on manual or automatic; in fact my first ever post at MOC was on this topic. I decided to go the automatic route with the 16k Pullrite SuperGlide, and am grateful that I did. It earned its keep upon trying to back the Montana when I first brought it home. It Is pricey at over $2k installed, but I look at it as a one time insurance policy and ticket to a modicum of peace of mind. I went the 4WD way, even though there will be limited need for it here in the South and I most likely will not take the truck off road very much, but it was on the truck I liked, so I went with it. I would suggest before you do anything, however, that you investigate the hitch weight of your unit. That will most likely point you where you need to go in regard to your truck. With the heavy hitch weight of our 3295RK, I do not have a lot of head room with which to work, and that is a worry.
Hope that helps a little; let us know when you get the truck and take that Monty out on your first trip!
Hybrid Mode
