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(Super) Camper Special Confusion...

LEB Ben

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Can someone please help un-confuse me (on this topic anyway). It comes in the form of the Super Camper Special and Camper Specials. I was under the belief that from 73-76 the truck, a 2wd F350 to be exact, with a 140" wb was the super camper special. Then in 77 and through 79 they dropped the 'super' for whatever reason...and the 'camper specials' were still 350 2wd 140" wb trucks. Is this correct or incorrect? Reason I ask, is I've seen 250 4wd labeled as camper specials. I thought the trailer special package would be applicable in that case. Can someone please straighten me out. Thanks.
 

fatherdoug

Tonto Papadapolous
I was under the impression that the camper specials were 250's and the super camper specials were 350's?
 

LEB Ben

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This was discussed in another thread but I can't find it.

Sorry if I confused you.smilietease

Don't remember that...and yes, you did confuse me...and your truck is what confused me. Keep in mind, I'm easily confused.

I was under the impression that the camper specials were 250's and the super camper specials were 350's?

Hell if I know. but I was almost certain SCS's were the 140" wb 2wd 350's with the spare tire door in the bed from 73-76. Then I thought the truck remained the same, but they dropped the 'super' from 77-79...and was simply a 'camper special'. Then I see Mark's truck and it's a 78 250 4wd standard wb for a super cab...but it's a camper special??????????
 

BKW

Ford Parts Guru
No more confusion, because...

1973/79 F350 Regular Cabs on the 140" wheelbase (all 2WD):

1973/76 Super Camper Special / 1973/79 Trailer Special / 1977/79 Camper Special - Ford dropped "Super" from the name after 1976.

There were F150 & F250 Camper Specials, but these were not on the 140" wheelbase.

1977 was the first year for 4WD Camper Specials.

No F350 was available with 4WD until 1979, and 4WD was not offered with the 140" wheelbase.
 
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LEB Ben

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Thanks Bill. So then does that mean with the exception of the extended wheelbase, bedside tire storage and the 350 badging that the 'camper specials' had the same general principals? IE upgraded electrical system, stouter suspension, etc?
 

BKW

Ford Parts Guru
Thanks Bill. So then does that mean with the exception of the extended wheelbase, bedside tire storage and the 350 badging that the 'camper specials' had the same general principals? IE upgraded electrical system, stouter suspension, etc?
Yes, that's correct. Camper Specials (C/S) also came with a pigtailed wire harness/plug (it was placed inside the glovebox at final assembly).

This plugged in to the C/S only taillamp harness, which had an extra feed wire for this purpose and was used for the camper's clearance lights.

The C/S taillamp harness is the ONLY way to verify if a truck is a C/S...or not, since there are no codes on the Warranty Plate or within the VIN that decode to a C/S.

No extra feed wire...it's not a C/S.
 
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LEB Ben

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Alright thanks...it had been confusing me and hanging me up for a while, much appreciated.
 

LEB Ben

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So, then what is the trailer special?


I nabbed this from Scott's write-up...it focused on Bronco's, but I'd imagine this is the general idea:

Ranger429

Light duty trailer towing package:
Good for towing up to 2,000lbs.
This package included a heavy duty radiator, external oil cooler, seven lead trailer harness, heavy duty turn signal flasher and the Trailer Special emblem on the T-gate.

Heavy duty trailer towing package:
Good for towing up to 6,000lbs.
This package included a heavy duty alternator,heavy duty battery, HD rear shocks, bigger radiator, rear sway bar, swing out recreational mirrors, amp meter, oil pressure gauge, HD front springs, external oil cooler and the Trailer Special emblem on the T-gate.
 

flareside_thunder

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Sweet, thanks Ben. I had a hunch....When I was a freshman in HS, I used to walk home everyday and everyday I'd stop and talk to this old man about Fords in general...he had a 76 Camper special with 37k miles on it.....he died and his dumbass son scrapped it.
 

BKW

Ford Parts Guru
To clarify:

Tailgate Trailer Special emblem only applied to 1976/79 Econolines, 1977/79 F100/350's and 1978/79 Bronco's.

1973/76 F350 Trailer Specials on the 140" wheelbase had cowl mounted emblems. 1973 was one year only.

Scott (and etc) is aware of this, since I typed this info in a subsequent post in Scott's thread.
 
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Yes, that's correct. Camper Specials (C/S) also came with a pigtailed wire harness/plug (it was placed inside the glovebox at final assembly).

This plugged in to the C/S only taillamp harness, which had an extra feed wire for this purpose and was used for the camper's clearance lights.

The C/S taillamp harness is the ONLY way to verify if a truck is a C/S...or not, since there are no codes on the Warranty Plate or within the VIN that decode to a C/S.

No extra feed wire...it's not a C/S.

So the Camper Special badging doesn't mean anything ? I have that harness, I took it off and saved it.
 

LEB Ben

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So the Camper Special badging doesn't mean anything ? I have that harness, I took it off and saved it.


Keep in mind...damn near anything could be ordered on any truck, so unless something was specific only to a certain package, how else could you tell? So I don't think Bill is saying the badges don't mean anything, from what I'm gathering is that most of the stuff, except for the specific harness, could be had on any other truck...so you could essentially have ordered a truck with all the same options as a camper special (except the harness), yet it wouldn't have been deemed a 'camper special'.
 
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BKW

Ford Parts Guru
So the Camper Special badging doesn't mean anything? I have that harness, I took it off and saved it.
Even though all Camper Specials (C/S) have emblems so stating, every once in a while someone claims their truck (that has no emblems) is a C/S, cuz it has Western mirrors, has/had a camper on it, has the side tool box and etc.

Emblems don't mean a whole lot on a 30+ year old truck that could have had all sorts of parts swapped around. Western mirrors, the side tool box and most other things a C/S came with, were options on all trucks.

So...without that extra feed wire on the taillamp harness, it cannot be a C/S...as this is the only way to prove it is...or isn't.
 
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I think my truck (might be) a trailer special, the reason I think this is that every super camper special I've seen has the chrome trim package as well as sway bars and overload springs. Mine has none of these options but has the 140" wb with the side mounted spare. If anyone has a "plain jane" model like mine I would love to see some pictures of it.
 

BKW

Ford Parts Guru
The only F350's on the 140" wheelbase were either 1973/79 Trailer Specials (T/S's), 1973/76 Super Camper Specials (S/CS's), or 1977/79 Camper Specials (C/S's).

A "chrome trim package" has nothing to do with a truck being a Super, Trailer or Camper Special.

All 1973/79 F350's had front/rear sway bars. Depending on the GVW, some S/CS's & T/S's had overload springs, some did not.

All C/S's, S/CS's and T/S's came with front fender emblems so stating. If the emblems are missing, the fenders may have been changed. The same fenders fit all 1973/79 F100/350's.
 
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Thanks Bill, The truck had the original paint still on it when I got it so I doubt the fenders were changed. GVW is 10,000 and it never had sway bars from what I can see. The under side of the truck is very clean and original and shows no sign of them ever being there. Could it have been ordered that way? It's a weird truck but I'm having a blast learning about it and driving it.
 

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