You can do it either way but I would remove them. I think it only took me about 5-10 minutes to remove them with a crescent wrench and then I put them in my back seat. If you don't remove them, you will need to make a 20" standoff to keep the camper from sliding forward and having the pods hit you tail lights.
Carry a 4x4 to lay across the front of the bed to prevent it from rubbing on the front of the bed becuase the top of you bed juts back 1-1/2". I have mine spaced back 3" and it worked well on both my 2004 and 2015 truck. You won't have to worry about raising it up either as it will just clear the bed rails if you have a rubber mat. Just make sure you have a rubber bed mat and don't put it straight on a plastic bed liner.
The only option on mine is a roof ac, no radio, extended cab or oven. I've weighed it several times and loaded ready for a trip full of fluids it weighs 2,400# so makes it very nice on my 1-ton but your 2500 will be able to handle it just fine.
twodownzero: I've had mine for 10 years and about ready to upgrade because my trips are fixing to get a lot longer. I'm sure I'm going to miss Itty Bitty too.
