As new trucks get harder to find, more expensive by the day, and more complicated every year, people are looking outside the box for transportation alternatives.  The kind of vehicle that you can drive on the interstate and fix with the box of Craftsman tools your dad gave you is starting to make sense in today’s complex world.  If you are willing to step back in time, then this truck may be for you.  Take a close look at this 1973 Ford F250 Camper Special for sale on eBay out of Meridian, Idaho.  With just 38,854 miles on the odometer, this well cared for long bed truck has been bid up to just $7,000 at this writing.  With new truck prices at insane heights, is it a good idea to find a simple truck like this to use in today’s complex world?

Every morning for the past two weeks I have passed by the site where they are building yet another house in my small town.  Parked out front is the contractor’s 1979 F150, along with a smattering of later model Ford, Chevy, and GMC trucks.  While not in the great condition of the truck you see here, it is obvious that this work truck has been respectfully cared for during its life.  However, the ladder racks, toolbox, scratches, and small dents tell the story of a truck that is still on the road earning its keep 43 years after it rolled off the assembly line.  Built Ford tough as they say.

Honestly, with new and used truck prices at ridiculous levels, why not find a well-cared for older truck and use it for your everyday needs.  The drawbacks would be fuel economy, Spartan level comfort, yesterday’s safety standards, and a lack of electronic doodads to entertain you.  The positives would be utter reliability, a lack of depreciation if you cared for the vehicle, and a certain sense of style as you tool on down the road in your old truck.  Just don’t let people call you Walt Kowalski.

The truck you see here is a bit older than the contractor’s ride, but the low mileage and the fact that it is a Camper Special would put this on anyone’s radar.  Camper Specials were trucks equipped with options tailored for adding a slide in camper or towing a travel trailer.  They were usually equipped with heavy duty parts such as springs and shocks, a larger engine, and often extra cooling for the transmission and engine.  Camper special type trucks also had a spare tire compartment in the side of the bed rather than under the truck.

Inside, we can see that this low mileage truck looks fantastic.  It even has a seat cover that looks fresh out of a K-Mart Blue Light Special.  The rubber floor mat appears undamaged, the door panel looks factory fresh, and someone has added a set of aftermarket speakers.

I guess those speakers make the AM stations you would get on this radio sound a little better.  Other than that, we can see that there is some cracking of the dash pad and more on the steering wheel.  The seller tells us that this truck was mostly driven around a ranch.  Perhaps a reader with more knowledge of the peculiarities of these trucks can tell us if the cracking we see happens regardless of whether the truck was garaged or left in the sun for days at a time.  Obviously being exposed to the elements will damage anything, but if they all crack like this then it is no big deal.

The seller tells us that the engine we see above is a 360 cubic inch big block.  This engine was introduced in 1968 and phased out in 1976.  From the outside it looks exactly like a 390, but the stroke is shorter.  Befitting their role, these engines were loaded with heavy duty components.  Also interesting is that this truck is equipped with factory air conditioning.  The seller tells us that the dash fan switch works intermittently and will need to be replaced.

Make no mistake, new trucks are incredibly nice.  They get good fuel mileage, they ride great, and they have gobs of room.  They have also become frightfully expensive with the chip shortage not helping availability any.  A truck like this could be a perfectly useable alternative until market conditions made it more favorable to return to the world of newer vehicles.  Looking at the average payment for a new truck, you could make the argument that a truck like this would pay for itself in short order.