I need your expertise.

[deminimis]

Well, for reference, I went to the scales the other day. Came in at 11520 half-loaded (but empty water tank which, when filled will add another approx 500#). That's my crew cab dually with the Bigfoot. Yup, that's a good 100 over factory listed sans the H2O. My air bags, spacers, and copious suspension upgrades should make up for that little overage. I figured I would have been at 12k at least, so that was a nice little surprise. So, since you are thinking SWR, you're going to need to go considerably smaller with less creature comforts. I still recommend a pop-up from Hallmark as a great mix of comforts and weight savings. That was our first choice.

OrangeTJ, you need to get a Cognito leveling kit for that low front end.

 

[RedRocker]

If two of the four people you're sleeping are small children, a truck camper
might be one answer, but they're good for sleeping, not much room for
anything else. With two people you'll be tripping over each other to move
around.

 

[brennanriddle1]

most likely, 3 adults would be the norm. Sleeping for 4 is optimal.

The camper will mostly be used as a base camp type thing. I just need to tow the jeeps out to the deserts before the real exploring begins.

 

[Bogo]

Any of the Chevrolet/GMC, Dodge, or Ford 3/4 or 1 ton pickups with towing package, and diesel, largest gas, or second largest gas engines will pull a 19,500 pound trailer fairly well. The factory towing package is the key. It gets a bunch of changes to the transmission and controls that are not possible otherwise. With that load behind I can accelerate up any grade on an Iowa interstate. Note, I'm not saying I-70 west of Denver or I-80 east of Salt Lake City. I only have the 6L V6 gas engine in my 3/4 ton '99.5 Silverado, and 6.?L one in my 3/4 ton HD 2008 GMC. I'm not sure how the additional windage of the camper back will effect things. My cattle trailer only adds 1/2 again onto to the windage of the pickup alone. A camper back could easily double it.

If you decide to not go with duals, seriously consider 16 ply tires. They will handle the weight better, but mud treads are few and far between on them. You do see "work" treads which are more aggressive than truck/highway treads. Some larger mud tires have heavy load capacities. With the camper back and trailer tung weight you will likely need 16 ply or duals. Many of the more aggressive tread tires are not rated for dual use.

 

[deminimis]

Well, after two weeks+ of traveling and camping throughout Baja, I can report back that our camper easily handled the needs of four (plus a dog), with room to spare. A smaller camper would have worked well for us. One of the Hallmark Pop ups might be the ticket for you. Used the indoor shower twice (because at RV sites within cities due to some needed stops in CA), but other than those two times, the outdoor shower more than sufficed. So I'd recommend a wet bath at most, but and outdoor shower, even in Winter, is plenty and the space savings can be great (we have a dry bath, not by choice, but I took what was available, and it eats up tons of space.....for now -Mostly we used it to store a BBQ, dog foot and three boogie boards).

Another option is if you can find an older ratty Bigfoot on the cheap and go to town on it. The fiberglass clam shell design is very strong, thus so long as you have a good shell, you can custom build the interior to your specs.

To keep weight low, a truck frame mounted propane tank is a good idea (quick connects for ease of camper removal -a future investment for us).

Whatever route you go, one of the best piece of equipment is a Fantastic Vent. Can be set to fire up when interior temps reach a certain point. Instantly sucks air and moisture out of the rig. No "tent smell" even after 2+ weeks. Our former Sportsmobile smelled like a monkey house in less time (lacking a Fantastic Vent).