Thanks for the speedy responses you guys! My bad....by first gen I meant the 78-83 pickups. Which also happen to be my favorite. Like a lot of people, I want a 4x4 sunrader but realize they are too far and few between. Although they are pricey when they do come up, that doesn't concern me as much because that's what the market dictates they'll sell for. And having a rig that was purpose built from the sunrader factory (allbeit with some well-documented flaws), is waaaaay better than scabbing together a rig IMHO.
I came across that ad a while back of a guy who built a diesel 4x4 conversion and he said that he swapped it over to a 4x4 chassis. Any reason why? Were those chassis better than the standard 2wd chassis of the same year? Or was this so he didn't have to scab running gear into the 2wd chassis - which I think would have been easier. FWIW, I do think these sunrader's should be on dually axel. Makes a lot more sense for the weight that needs to be supported not to mention the stability factor as well. Yes I'm in California (San Diego) but smog is the least of my concerns as I would probably register it in Arizona anyways. Welding frame extensions and/or gusseting doesn't scare me the least bit. But swapping running gear or transplanting a sunrader camper onto another chassis does. And unless I get really lucky in the next couple years and see a 4x4 on CL to buy, I think I'll be forced to find a neglected 2wd sunrader and start tackling some of my fears