sasq40 wrote:
im either thinking to make a belly bar out of 1.5 square tubing, mounting it to an existing hole in the frame, and making a rear bar that's inserted into the hitch.
That's exactly what I did. On the rear, I was able to stick some tubing into the open outboard ends of the transverse tube of the receiver hitch. A little grinding was needed for it to fit. On the front belly bar, there was stuff in the way of putting it in the ideal location, it had to go too far back. So I put a couple ratchet straps from the bumper of the camper to the bumper of the truck to make sure it didn't slide rearward.
Good luck, I hope it works out!