My truck is like a cheap swiss army knife....steel/wood flatbed above the hump, dump cylinder, steel and wood sideboards (in a nod toward vanity, the wood is finished in the Shou-Sugi-Ban method), Army style vinyl canopy with quickly removable hoops, a little 2000lb crane in the back (the deck is 48" high) bathtub sized toolbox mounted 14" above the deck so the spare can live under there (and retain my 12' deckspace).....And finally a little Army Gichner S-250 shelter slides right in the back....I have no intention of ever building the World camper on the back as I just sleep under the canopy in the Summer. The truck does so many different things well I'll never change it. (my daily driver btw...dumped a Tundra for this) I've welded on lots of tricky little points for hardware, ladders, steps etc.......My only real requirement camping is a dry, secure place to sleep. I like to do the living outdoors and this allows me to pack far more stuff to set up outside.
First Clue for you: Earthcruiser in Oregon gets FG beds in all the time and sells them reasonably (easy peasy...save your big money for later).......Probably aluminum for you as your weight will build quickly. (Custom Aluminum bed is about $20k new with nice toolbox up front). My truck weighs exactly 10,000lb configured as lightly as it is. I bet I could save 800 lbs w/ an aluminum bed. ........ Start Googling "flatbeds" etc. and note all the different types of configurations, hardware and tricky little doodads. Then research the vendors of latches, hinges, truck equipment etc. to know what's out there and what is possible. Lastly, if you're going to build a World camper, go for it...lots of study, design, theory, experimentation etc...(not to mention all the opinions)....I hope you're not considering sliding a travel trailer, or pickup camper in the back.....In the event you want to preserve the utility of your truck and not have a spit and kleenex constructed camper in the back.....Take a gander at an Army surplus Gichner S-280 shelter; surprisingly light, double wall aluminum w/ 3" of foam, absolutely weathertight, lifting hooks, easily modified, ugly as hell (but not as ugly as a Fleetwood or Jayco in the back.) Put in a real, full sized toilet and full sized couch or loveseat, build your cabinets, punch a few holes....There's a couple of guys out there that run these on their FG.s....Good luck!
Use balance beads...better, faster, more....
