I'm going to disagree here and say yes there are truck campers for half ton trucks that you can safely haul. Sometimes keeping it simple is best especially with truck campers. Don't go too big if you don't need it or else you will be beating the whole "go anywhere" concept. Some brands like Northstar, Livin lite, adventurer all make lines that can go on half to pick up with no problem. 
Everyone thinks that half tons are like childs toys, but the new ones are not. Coming from a diesel guy his whole life, the new half tons are beefy trucks! And do compete with the older 3/4 trucks. 
So I say if you don't want to drive around a 3/4 or 1 ton truck all the time then yes go look for a say F150 with a payload package and start searching for truck campers!