A 1976 Ford F-250 Highboy Camper With a Matching Vintage Motorcycle

Few vintage pickups stir as much enthusiasm as the Ford F-250 Highboy, and the example featured here pairs a 1976 truck with a period-correct Wolverine Pup camper and a front-mounted 1978 Honda XL125 motorcycle. Under the hood sits the original 360 cubic inch FE V8, backed by a four-speed manual and the truck’s signature divorced transfer case. Free Wheeling graphics and a Warn 8274 winch round out a setup that looks ready for a weekend far from paved roads.

The Highboy nickname covers Ford’s tall three-quarter-ton 4x4 F-250s built from 1967 through early 1977. What set them apart was a transfer case mounted on its own frame crossmember rather than bolted to the gearbox, a layout that demanded extra drivetrain clearance and pushed the body noticeably higher off the ground. Early trucks ran a Dana 24 case before the sturdier NP205 arrived in 1973, and the 360 FE V8 became the standard eight-cylinder choice for four-wheel-drive F-250s from 1968 through 1976. Buyers wanting more displacement had to look elsewhere, since Ford never factory-fitted the 390 or 460 in these trucks.

The sixth-generation body arrived for 1973 with fresh sheet metal, yet the four-wheel-drive F-250 retained its narrower frame rails while rear-wheel-drive models moved to a wider layout. Disc brakes finally reached regular-cab trucks in 1976, a meaningful upgrade given how much these vehicles weigh when loaded. Ford also offered an optional 20-gallon auxiliary tank between the rear rails to supplement the in-cab main tank, a practical addition considering the appetite of that V8.

The Highboy era ended partway through the 1977 model year. Ford bolted the transfer case to the transmission, adopted the wider frame, and added integral power steering, which allowed a lower ride height. Enthusiasts began calling the revised trucks Lowboys, and the earlier machines inherited the Highboy label by contrast. Early-1977 examples are unusual because they combine the divorced case and narrow frame with the 351M and 400 V8s that replaced the 360.

Values for clean, period-correct Highboys have climbed sharply, with well-preserved trucks selling for six-figure sums. This particular 1976 F-250 stands out because it keeps its original drivetrain intact while layering on the camper and motorcycle combo that a buyer in the mid-1970s might have chosen. For collectors chasing a slice of American truck history, that combination is hard to beat.