My offroad 5x8 Cargo Trailer Camper Conversion

Jmanscotch

is wandering
Congrats! 2022 Tacoma sounds exciting, bored of the Lexus?

Thanks bud, been using your trailer much this winter?

Selling the Lexus was three-fold:

- I spent about $5,000 repairing it (DIY and shop fees) over the last 2 years (on top of $8,000 in mods) and just had a distaste for it lately due to that.
- With the new kiddo, I don’t want to work on my vehicle on weekends anymore, I want a low mileage vehicle that’s reliable, with a warranty, that gives me my family time back. In the past, I’ve always been too frugal not to just buy the 100K mile rig and avoid the depreciation.
- Due to the two aforementioned reasons, I posted it for sale locally for “why not” money and had a dealership drive 3 hours round trip to pay me $7,000 more that I paid for it (two years ago), so I called that a win and moved on. Plus, with that crazy good sale price and a little side fund I have, the new Tacoma will be paid for in cash and I can live with that decision at this point in my family’s path.

Looking at Tacomas, a new one is actually the better deal compared to a 2-4 year old one, so I opted to order one $500 under MSRP…just have to wait 6-8 months for it (DCLB is the cause for a longer wait).

Bought a 2003 Avalon with 200k miles on it to cruise in the mean time…man is it a cushy beater, loving it!

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Jmanscotch

is wandering
New vehicle update:

I convinced the wife to entertain the Porsche family DD option (after proving it’d fit a car seat)…

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She ultimately said it was cumbersome and would be horrible off-road, so we moved on and actually found a 2021 Tacoma (slightly used) that was a fair deal and available months before a brand new one, so we went for it.

Bonus being it was Cement, which they stopped offering for 2022.

76D63B68-99A3-4E38-B3FE-763D2E08DC00.jpeg

We’ve been shopping trailers and just can’t find something that checks at the boxes, so entertaining another build…but man the time involved is definitely a big con right now…so we’ll have to wait and see. Might wait until next summer to dive into a decision.
 

ITTOG

Well-known member
New vehicle update:

I convinced the wife to entertain the Porsche family DD option (after proving it’d fit a car seat)…

View attachment 723381View attachment 723382


She ultimately said it was cumbersome and would be horrible off-road, so we moved on and actually found a 2021 Tacoma (slightly used) that was a fair deal and available months before a brand new one, so we went for it.

Bonus being it was Cement, which they stopped offering for 2022.

View attachment 723383

We’ve been shopping trailers and just can’t find something that checks at the boxes, so entertaining another build…but man the time involved is definitely a big con right now…so we’ll have to wait and see. Might wait until next summer to dive into a decision.
Ahhh, yes, a much better buy. Looks really good.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
911 is a nice rig. Drove my neighbors Cayman 6spd manual and the 911 felt huge and heavy in comparison. Absolutely loved the Cayman!! But grandpa ie the vehicle buyer at that time was 6ft 2 and couldn’t handle manual ?. Settled on the loaded SLK350 which has been a fun car. But definitely not! A Cayman!!! Gramps passed away a few yrs ago and the SLK350 is my no kids vehicle I typically use it a few times a week. Gets better mileage than the Expedition.
 

Jmanscotch

is wandering
Agreed, but for a heavy feeling car, it’s still phenomenal.

The Cayman GT4 in manual is where it’s at for driver feel, borrowed one back in December and had blast with it. My only gripe is the interior space and seats, Porsche gets so aggressive with the bolstering for us bigger Americans ?

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Jmanscotch

is wandering
Welp, we pulled the trigger on a new trailer and ended up with a 2019 Aliner Titanium 12.

It’s a hard sided popup, ~1,700 lbs dry, has plenty of ground clearance for now, the right features to fit the wife’s and kid needs, Dexter torsion axle suspension and a few key issues I need to fix for ou use.

With the kiddo, it might be a bit (next spring) before I get into modifications on it, but I’ll post a new build/mod thread for this one once we’ve dove into it.

Going to use it a bit over the next few months and make sure we like it and see what all she needs to make it work for our specific use. It’s a seemingly good jumping off point for our situation right now, but needs some tweaks.

Initial thoughts are tongue extension with storage and lock-n-roll hitch, electrical system overhaul, get rid of the fridge and AC and install a toilet, maybe change the suspension to a more traditional leaf spring and shock, outside grill and table mount and other little changes…so we’ll see.


60BB02D9-ED86-456F-9D5B-87FD56944F54.jpeg4D7DA63A-683B-4F52-82E7-76CC4437239B.jpeg609221BD-B19F-4945-A1BA-FBA7811F9712.jpeg6F45CB82-0CFE-4392-9341-340B210BAC53.jpeg
 

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