urbex wrote:
I did notice this one seems a lot more cramped inside compared to newer stuff, but I figured given modern materials, construction techniques, the newer stuff would still be lighter anyways even with all the extra stuff in them.
Thing is, the materials and construction techniques have NOT changed. Most manufacturers still make the campers out of heavy wood, just more of it, to support all the extra stuff. On top of that they have replaced lightweight aluminum siding and roofing with this heavy "filon" stuff, and traditional heavy EPDM "rubber" roofing.
Even the ones that buck the trend and use materials like aluminum are HEAVY... The CampLite 6.8 "Ultra Lightweight" which would be comparable to your '75 SixPac lists a dry weight of 2023lbs, probably twice what your SixPac weighs.
Using modern construction materials and techniques would make the campers so expensive that nobody would buy them.
As far as hauling the camper in your truck, remember that you have put NOTHING in it yet, and do not have any of your family members along for the ride. Plus you are planning on adding the weight of a trailer tongue. By the time all is said and done you will have over double the weight of the empty camper on the truck.
You CAN do it, meaning nobody will jump out of the bushes and tackle you to the ground, and people have done it. Airbags to get the rear end up. WD hitch to get the front end back down. As long as the truck is in good repair and maintained, you will be as safe as anything. The load will dictate that you change your driving style to a presumably more careful and deliberate mode. But you may not like it when all is said and done. It really sucks when you go to all this trouble and expense, only to find out that you HATE driving your beloved truck with all this stuff on it. Then you have to see if throwing more money at it will fix the problem, trade trucks, or give up.
