matlif,
I know you only want to hear from people who have done what you are thinking about doing, but there are other factors in play here for your eventual set up satisfaction. If you are too aged or weak to work a trailer hookup situation, I would at least re-evaluate the viability of a TC for you. Yes, there is virtually no set up, but a TC has it's achilles' heel. It becomes less and less viable as you get older and less firm.
How do I know? Born 1943. My TC window is fast closing.
If staying the course, be sure to spend a lot of time going up and down the steps and the two big steps to the bed, on the exact TC you are looking at (and on a similar truck not on the showroom floor), over and over before you make your final decision. Also, go thru the motions on everything you would do, long term in and around a TC. It's like shopping for a mattress. You need some amount of time in the saddle to see how well you will adapt.
Other concerns: it is very difficult to light the water heater in a strong wind. Make sure you can reach, adjust, fill, and drain all the 'stuff' that makes a TC work. You will need leveling blocks. Apply two bubble levels on the drivers/rear of the TC to keep it level, especially for long term.
If it is just you staying in the TC, you don't need a lot of space to be comfortable. Even for two consenting adults, we like our little Lance Lite (1842 pounds, wet) as there is not much there there to worry about and has everything we need. It's 10' 2" tall from the ground on our 4WD truck (w/ 3"front lift, 10' before lift), 4" less tall than a full size TC, which has the highest bed level of the big three. It's 86" wide, the narrowest hardside around for a F.S. pickup. It's on a 6.5' short bed pickup, so maneuverability is great. The newest and much improved version of the 165-s is the Lance 465. If you are coming from a TT, there is a certain 'paradigm shift' that takes place either now or later. Now is advised. A TC is not a TT. The shift is:
"Always, always, always, get more truck than you think you will need".
Dozens and dozens (did I say dozens?) on here have gone the 'incremental' route and worked their way up to a much larger truck after a lot of trial-and-error. A Ford F-150 with the highest GVWR package IS in the ballpark when it comes to hauling an 1800 pound, dry TC, but you will want to upgrade the tires, suspension, shocks, and be sure it has a mongo, aftermarket transmission cooler. Even with the largest gas engine, it will be slow on the hills and mpg will be poor. Knowing what I know now, i wouldn't buy an F-150 to haul an extended period live-in camper. The high-powered V-6 you are talking about makes all its HP in the high revs, not a place you want to spend much time in, and very little of what you really need to haul a 10K pound rig around which is torque. The Ford V8 may be less HP, but will put out more TQ for hauling.
Jeanie and I have no qualms about our proposed trip around the U.S. mainland, counter clock wise next fall taking 4 months to circumnavigate the boundary states. (leave Sept. 1st and arrive back on the west slope about New Years day, 2015) We have learned to do the narrow-TC-ballet and have no claustrophobic tendencies. And, truth be told, we are used to it, warts and all.
The height of any TC is measured from the bottom of the box to the top of anything on the roof, usually the railing or fridge vent cover, or if you have an air conditioner, it becomes the clearance gage.
I built a TC garage last fall. To accomodate any size camper made it extra tall to clear.
Good luck, sir, on your quest.
regards, as always, jefe
