Thanks Guys! Everyone's input is SUPREMELY appreciated! It appears I've got to look into trading out my Sequoia! :-( (SUCKS because I simply ADORE & LOVE that truck!).
I've been looking at various campers, and I sincerely can't find much that will work for our particular family's needs and desires (very comfortably) that is inside the handling limitations of my Sequoia. The last thing I want to do is total out my truck and camper (possibly my family) if I goof up while driving the sucker a little tired (long road hauls tend to zone drivers out and I don't want a SNAFU going FUBAR with my DW and tax deductions in the rear - I would never be able to live with myself if I ended up hurting one of my beloveds - screw the truck and camper.
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Given this TT is such a HUGE expense, and it's a one-n-done type deal for us, it's better we "go big or go home". Get what we know we need that has most (if not all) of what we want, right off the bat, saving the "regrets" for later. Besides, we're going to be long-hauling this beast quite a bit every summer, and shot-hauling it at least once a month. Cramming my chitlins into tight confined spaces, everyone in everyone's nose, is a good recipe for Mommy and Daddy going bat-sh** over the deep end insane! So given this, we'll be needing to think about "upgrading" our TV into something capable of handling the trailer.
We borrowed a friends 20' +/- TT (hybrid) from Pensacola, FL to Walt Disney two summers ago, and we learned for the sake of our kids health and our sanity, we needed more room. However that TT proved to us that we NEEDED one of our own! :-) Without a WDH, our Sequoia LOVED that sucker behind it. Took a bit getting used to watching my rear-view for approaching big-rigs so I knew "the suck" was coming as not to be surprised by it. But all-in-all we all LOVED the convenience and fun that camper provided - but it was SMALL for our family!
As some of your suggestions have referenced, I was already looking into a '05 Ford 6.0L (diesel) Excursion 4x4. I'll take a look at the 2500 Suburban as well. However, I'm pretty sure a diesel will be more adept at pulling the monster camper up and down the western mountain passes with more efficiency than a gas engine will. Again, it's that "go big or go home/if you do it, do it right" ideology :-) - And I don't want to fuss with having a tuner change out gear ratios if I don't have too as gas engines need different ratios than diesel pushers do for max efficiency (right?).
Looking around, it appears that all the 6.0L's are going for a pretty penny. It's actually a good thing as the trucks are holding their resale value, and for American made, that's not something to shake a stick at. Brief research online shows that maintenance is on the pricy side, but easy to do and not all that costly when you really think about it. What's $150 every 7k miles or $500 ever 15k when you get the benefit of so much utility at your fingertips, really?
The good thing is I should be able to find an Excursion, circa 2005, with ~100k miles on the clock for a 1:1 trade for my Sequoia. Possibly a VERY small loan on top of the trade (but I doubt it as my Sequoia is worth a few g's more than the Excursions are selling for and has a good bit higher resale value too).
So! If I swap TV's with an '05 Excursion, add in a Hensley or Propride weight distributing hitch to the sucker, and possibly airbags to the rear suspension along with the trailer brake module, I should be good to go for safely hauling my most precious while pulling the monstrous 35.8' Sprinter 316BIK behind it's tail end, right? Given a safe 60-65MPH HWY speed? With the potential of the diesel, I should also be good over most mountains, right (albeit maybe a bit on the slow 35MPH up/down side)?
What's the difference between the Hensley, Propride, and Equal-I-zer hitch setups?
The only negatives of this trade (I can see right now) is the slightly higher fuel price of Diesel over Mogas, and the (slightly) higher routine maintenance costs? Any other drawbacks? I've heard a lot about the issues with Ford's 6.0L V-8, but I've also heard equal about how solid the engine is. Plus knowing I can get 1/2mil miles out the sucker is a HUGE + too...
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks again for all your help!!!!
Doug