[njsteve]

The left side door is a must. You need to be able to get in and out of your car without stepping on your seat, crawling out the open window, and squeezing down the side of the car. You can always buy a winch later. You can't always buy a door.

If your car sits too low for the car door to open and swing out the trailer door, you can do what I did: I built a set of internal wooden rails out of 2"x10" planks so the car can sit up a few inches higher in the trailer and the car door clears just fine.

With a 1500 short wheelbase chassis you definitely need the weight distributing bars and the sway control. The bars transfer a large amount of trailer weight (based on the bar rating, such as 1000 lbs per bar) to the entire truck instead of just onto the rear suspension. Without it, your truck will be just about popping a wheelie while driving with very litle weight on the front end. Remember the majority of your trucks braking (and 100% of its steering) is done with the front wheels. With no weight on it, it won't steer or brake in an emergency.

Get the heaviest duty axles you can get with the largest brakes they offer. Especially since you are pulling with a 1/2 ton chassis with minimal brake capacity. That loaded traler behind you will weigh more than your truck does.

I pull a 25-year old 24" Pace trailer with my 1995 K2500 4x4 Diesel Suburban. Gets 9.2 mpg fulled loaded with a 4,000 lb car and 10.3 mpg with the trailer empty and 13.8 mpg on its own.

What fuel tank capacity do you have with that 1500? You're probably looking at 7 or 8 mpg towing.