but I'd say get a early 80s Mazda truck with a diesel and put a camper shell on it. Then you'd stay with the diesel theme, it's light weight, and you could have storage.
Those trucks would still weigh a ton, especially with an IDI in it. You do know that classic Beetles/Super Beetles are ~1800lbs or less, right? An IDI engine is 1,000lbs just by itself. The hitch on my RV is probably rated 3,500lbs (typical for Class C RVs). Going by an 89 Ford Ranger (rebadged Mazda B series) they are around 3200-3500lbs by themselves.
I may put off selling the truck/buying a Beetle a while longer, since I do need to deal with all the crap I pulled out of storage and have loaded in the trailer. A lot needs to be sold, some needs to be maybe moved in the RV, etc. So going to the LTVA is probably still the best option for the short term since I can be there for many months, working on that daily as I feel like it.