Is it just your wife and yourself? Children? Pets?
Never owned one or wanted one.....but once you have one you may find that "car" no so important - and I've owned all styles!
A 1/2 ton truck of any brand will handle the 17' trailer. When you ask brands it is strictly a matter of preference of those that have owned them (many all of them). Model of that brand is also "preference" and dependent on your needs. A couple, couple with kids/dogs etc. may want different things. Cab configurations come in regular cab (single cab with one long seat across it for 2 or a tight 3), crew cab (my preference) with 2 rows of seating - a bench type, split, buckets in front and a bench/split bench in the rear or a mega type cab which is just a bigger crew cab. YOU need to look at all of them and see what fits YOUR family. I see more crew cabs than anything across all brands.
Trim levels are again preference. Do you want leather? Do you hate it? Do you want to pay for it? Those amenities usually come with several others in a "package"; some of the things you may want/need and others you don't. You will need to know what it is that's important to you.
If taking a long trip to Yukon I wouldn't dream of taking a vehicle any older than a 2014 - and only if I knew it and what it had been through. Going cheap on a TV when taking on a trip like that having not owned trucks, trailers or maintained either is not a good idea.
Gas vs diesel? For what you're asking I wouldn't consider a diesel; there are no upsides to me but JMO. They do offer a huge benefit in tow power...which you won't need with a 17' trailer. They offer a benefit in longevity which you won't need. They used to offer a significant increase in fuel mileage/fuel expense but not so much anymore. What the do for sure is demand a large increase in purchase price.
Pick the cab configuration and amenities you want from any of the Big 3. For engines I would go with the 5.7v8 in Ram, 6.2v8 in Ford and the 3.5L v6 EcoBoost in a Ford. All should be plenty capable of pulling that trailer in that terrain. Keep rear axle ratio in mind; I wouldn't worry about anything like a 4.10/3.92 but would look to something in the 3.55 range for that kind of terrain. Low numbers (3.21/3.42 etc.) are good for getting better gas mileage but just aren't cut out for strenuous towing in hills/mountains. If you have other questions just fire away. I'm sure others will be posting their thoughts. OH! By the way, when you return be prepared to sell the "car" instead of the truck....they ARE that much better!!
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