Hey all, I am new here and new to the idea of truck campers, in the past we used tow behind trailers but now We are talking about taking a couple cross country trips a year and think that a smaller camper might be easier then a trailer type camper. For the most part we will mainly have it on when doing these trips and use it for overnight stays as well as living quarters while we are out on the other coast visiting family and such.

We are currently trailer/camper less, after a blown ttrailer axle totaled the trailer in Woming last year, but the truck was setup for towing heavy so I don't think the added weight of a truck camper would be a big deal. After the issue in Wyoming my wife is a litte resistant to a travel trailer or something with it's own axles, since "there are so many extra things to have issues with on the road" so we are researching truck campers.

The truck is a Dodge 2500 Quad Cab Short Box 4x4 truck, the truck is lifted 6" and rides on 37" tires, but other than that it tows a trailer pretty well since it's got a modified diesel engine, manual transmission and airbags in the rear.

The question are, how big is too big of a camper on a short box truck?
Is there a certain manufacturer that makes better options for short box trucks, in my searching all the campers I have seen said they will overhang 20+ inches or more on a short box and I fear that will look bad as well as possibly cause some stability issues.

In looking for a used camper what are some areas to look at for abuse or "known"issue spots in these types of campers?

Since I have a lifted truck would there be an issue getting into a bed mounted camper?

Thanks,
John P.