rruff
Explorer
Just in the planning stages for now, but I'll be ordering parts and materials soon. I'm posting this to get feedback and ideas. Looks like there are a lot of people on this forum with loads of experience and I'm looking forward to your insights. That means I want your opinions!
Purpose: Long term remote camping for 2 in the US and Canada. Mostly the desert SW in winter, and the western mountains in summer. By remote mean I isolated, away from the "normal" campsites, campers, and RVs, so decent offroading capability is necessary. BLM and NF land. By long term I mean months away from home. We'll be venturing to town about once a week for supplies, within a 1 or 2 hr drive, so we don't need to load up for long periods. Not expeditioning or hard core exploring.
Background: For 13 years ('91-'2004) I lived in a '84 Toyota 2WD pickup. Camping in remote areas, mostly in the western US, moving with the seasons. Working little. I had money saved up and spent less than $5k/yr. The first couple years it was just a small camper shell on the back. The truck (my home!) was stolen when I was parked at a friend's house, but showed up in a parking lot a week later, sans shell and a couple windows. So I built a larger shell in a friend's garage. Due to poor construction methods that one was having issues, so in 2001 I built a much nicer one. Big enough to stand in! It worked great, but in 2004 I became civilized (again!) and the camper+ truck was parked in my Dad's shed, many miles from where I lived. The truck needed work after many years of abuse, but I always intended to fix it up some day. That never happened and I recently had to get rid of it (gave it away). I'm going to build a better and more capable rig now, and the wife is totally on board and looking forward to it. She actually lived in my old one for a couple years so she knows what she is getting into!
Rig overview: 2016 Tundra SR DC 4x4 long bed. I considered a Unimog, a Fuso, a Sprinter 4x4, a Ford or Chevy 3/4 ton. The Sprinter was at the top until I read about very persistent emissions issues when they get ~100k miles. I liked the idea of an older truck that doesn't have electronics and computers. I do my own wrenching whenever possible, but on the road this is tough. Reliability is very important. I finally went with the Toyota because of prior experience (my '84 never left me stranded in 240k miles), and they still get the best reliability ratings. The Tundras have changed very little since 2007, so most of the "bugs" are fixed. It's only a 1/2 ton and I'll be near or over the GVWR, but based on testimonials of people who have gone 200k miles with a 2,000 load, I don't think it'll be a problem. It's literally 2x the weight and 3x the horsepower of my old '84 pickup!
Bed will be removed and a custom camper (built by me) installed in it's place. Rear seat removed for storage of heavy stuff (water, batteries, tools). Camper will be 6'2" high inside, 78" wide, 10' from cab to back. Spartan living accomodations. A bed (42"x76") that doubles as a couch. The cab-over is storage, not a bed. Small sink. Propane tank and portable stove. Table with 2 laptop slide-outs. 15 gal washing water, and 8 gal drinking. 100W solar on the roof plus a portable panel, and a AGM battery. Mostly storage inside using plastic drawers and cloth and bungy slings in the corners to hold soft items (like clothes). A porta potty for when it isn't suitable to go outside. A sunshower. No heat, no refrigeration. We'll be in moderate temperatures (typically 40s at night, rarely to freezing) and usually sunny climates which makes things easier. I'll probably carry a couple bicycles, and a portable kayak. I like to have things inside rather than hanging on the outside.
Suspension upgrades: I'm going to need to beef things up particularly on the rear. I figure about a 1500 lb increase over stock with ~1000 lb of that on the rear wheels and 500 lbs on the front. I'd rather not spend a fortune on this, but I'd like to have more ground clearance and a suspension that will do well on long stretches of washboard, with ravine crossings and rocks thrown in.
Front struts: Currently planning on Fatbob coilover struts on the front (~$500). These are adjustable for preload and provide up to 4" of lift on an unloaded truck. Lifts up to 2" on the front are safe on Tundra's, but if you get any higher you need to spend more money if you want the suspension to perform correctly. Since I'm not sure how the load will end up and I want to be right near 2 inches, I want adjustability. There are better adjustable struts from King and Icon in the $1500+ range, but I don't know if they are worth it.
Rear: On the back I'm thinking an add a leaf and air bags both, and better shocks. Even though the load won't be varying that much, I still like the adjustability of the airbags. One benefit is being able to level the truck a bit when parked. But which bags? The usual suspects are made for highway hauling and have short travel. Very poor for articulation. Daystar cradles are an option. I've only found one viable long travel bag maker and that is Slam Specialities. Has anyone used those? They aren't designed for offroad, but they do have good travel. For shocks I'm considering Ranchos which have adjustable damping, and are not expensive. They may not be adequate, but I can swap them out easily if they aren't. I'm still debating whether I want a sway bar on the back. I'll probably see how it is without it.
Tires: I want larger ones since they provide the best ground clearance. The truck comes with 32" diameter tires and it appears I can go up to 34" without too much trouble. That'll give me 3" of total lift in the front with the 2" suspension lift, and I'll adjust the back so it's level. I'm going to be in sand a fair amount in winter, and occasional mud in summer, but mostly it will be hard packed dirt and gravel. And of course pavement. Tires with deep lugs would be best, but I'm not sure if I want to make the on-road compromises in rain traction, noise, comfort, and mpg. There are many all-terrain tires which split the difference, but I get the impression they are mostly show, and compromise road ability for little or no offroad gain. I'm currently leaning towards the Michelin LTX M/S in LT295/70-18. Thoughts on tires?
Camper construction: I've looked at a lot of alternatives, but I feel more secure with what I know. I built the last one out of home made sandwich panels, using 2.5mm Luan for the outer skins (5mm on the floor), with styrofoam and wood stringers (pine) in the middle, then covered all exterior surfaces with a layer of fiberglass mat and polyester resin. On this one I'm thinking I'll use marine plywood (3mm Okume for the walls and top, 6mm Meranti for the floor), with 1" extruded styrofoam in the walls, and 2" in the floor and ceiling. I'll use redwood for the edges and stringers, narrow ones ~12" apart, and wider ones where the plywood is joined. This camper will be flat on top rather than 3-piece, mostly for ease of building, especially on the curved front. The front is a separate piece. All exterior surfaces will get a layer of fiberglass (light cloth, vinylester resin, gelcoat). I've been doing experiments and PL Premium looks like it will work well to bond both the wood and the styrofoam, plus it works at cold temperatures, so I can get started this winter.
It'll have one side door, with a retractable step (8" drop down), a large hatch in the back that lifts up, a window on each side and in the hatch, a vent on top, and maybe a skylight as well.
Why not pre-made panels? I haven't priced any but testimonials from others indicate they are expensive, and then you need to join the edges and provide reinforcements around windows and doors, and any place where you want to attach something. In other words I don't think there is much time saving for the cost. Plus I'd be dealing with something I'm not familiar with. There is an advantage in having less wood to rot, but I'm not planning to be in environments where it's likely to be an issue. And if I'm paying attention to my rig, there shouldn't be any water intrusion anyway.
Windows: I haven't thought about them much, but I need to get windows I had jalousies on my other one and thought they were fine. That doesn't seem to be a popular choice though. Anyone know why?
Camper mounting: I've read a lot about pivot mounts but I question whether it's necessary for my application. I hard mounted my last one and it didn't have any problems after many miles of rough roads and ravine crossings. The panels will have vertical stringers in the walls, and side to side in the top and bottom. This should make them fairly flexible in twist. Plus I won't have a strong and stiff structure inside that ties the walls and floor together and prevents movement. Recently most light trucks have gone to a closed channel (boxed) frame, but not the Tundra. It's open C under the bed, and consequently is more flexible than most. I've noticed that at least a couple people on this forum have hard mounted custom campers to older pickups and they don't mention any problems. I'm leaning towards hard mounting mine to keep it simpler and lighter, and closer to the ground. Unless someone talks me out of it.
That it for now. I think I've covered the main points. If you have comments or suggestions or questions on any aspect of my "plan" lets hear it!
Purpose: Long term remote camping for 2 in the US and Canada. Mostly the desert SW in winter, and the western mountains in summer. By remote mean I isolated, away from the "normal" campsites, campers, and RVs, so decent offroading capability is necessary. BLM and NF land. By long term I mean months away from home. We'll be venturing to town about once a week for supplies, within a 1 or 2 hr drive, so we don't need to load up for long periods. Not expeditioning or hard core exploring.
Background: For 13 years ('91-'2004) I lived in a '84 Toyota 2WD pickup. Camping in remote areas, mostly in the western US, moving with the seasons. Working little. I had money saved up and spent less than $5k/yr. The first couple years it was just a small camper shell on the back. The truck (my home!) was stolen when I was parked at a friend's house, but showed up in a parking lot a week later, sans shell and a couple windows. So I built a larger shell in a friend's garage. Due to poor construction methods that one was having issues, so in 2001 I built a much nicer one. Big enough to stand in! It worked great, but in 2004 I became civilized (again!) and the camper+ truck was parked in my Dad's shed, many miles from where I lived. The truck needed work after many years of abuse, but I always intended to fix it up some day. That never happened and I recently had to get rid of it (gave it away). I'm going to build a better and more capable rig now, and the wife is totally on board and looking forward to it. She actually lived in my old one for a couple years so she knows what she is getting into!
Rig overview: 2016 Tundra SR DC 4x4 long bed. I considered a Unimog, a Fuso, a Sprinter 4x4, a Ford or Chevy 3/4 ton. The Sprinter was at the top until I read about very persistent emissions issues when they get ~100k miles. I liked the idea of an older truck that doesn't have electronics and computers. I do my own wrenching whenever possible, but on the road this is tough. Reliability is very important. I finally went with the Toyota because of prior experience (my '84 never left me stranded in 240k miles), and they still get the best reliability ratings. The Tundras have changed very little since 2007, so most of the "bugs" are fixed. It's only a 1/2 ton and I'll be near or over the GVWR, but based on testimonials of people who have gone 200k miles with a 2,000 load, I don't think it'll be a problem. It's literally 2x the weight and 3x the horsepower of my old '84 pickup!
Bed will be removed and a custom camper (built by me) installed in it's place. Rear seat removed for storage of heavy stuff (water, batteries, tools). Camper will be 6'2" high inside, 78" wide, 10' from cab to back. Spartan living accomodations. A bed (42"x76") that doubles as a couch. The cab-over is storage, not a bed. Small sink. Propane tank and portable stove. Table with 2 laptop slide-outs. 15 gal washing water, and 8 gal drinking. 100W solar on the roof plus a portable panel, and a AGM battery. Mostly storage inside using plastic drawers and cloth and bungy slings in the corners to hold soft items (like clothes). A porta potty for when it isn't suitable to go outside. A sunshower. No heat, no refrigeration. We'll be in moderate temperatures (typically 40s at night, rarely to freezing) and usually sunny climates which makes things easier. I'll probably carry a couple bicycles, and a portable kayak. I like to have things inside rather than hanging on the outside.
Suspension upgrades: I'm going to need to beef things up particularly on the rear. I figure about a 1500 lb increase over stock with ~1000 lb of that on the rear wheels and 500 lbs on the front. I'd rather not spend a fortune on this, but I'd like to have more ground clearance and a suspension that will do well on long stretches of washboard, with ravine crossings and rocks thrown in.
Front struts: Currently planning on Fatbob coilover struts on the front (~$500). These are adjustable for preload and provide up to 4" of lift on an unloaded truck. Lifts up to 2" on the front are safe on Tundra's, but if you get any higher you need to spend more money if you want the suspension to perform correctly. Since I'm not sure how the load will end up and I want to be right near 2 inches, I want adjustability. There are better adjustable struts from King and Icon in the $1500+ range, but I don't know if they are worth it.
Rear: On the back I'm thinking an add a leaf and air bags both, and better shocks. Even though the load won't be varying that much, I still like the adjustability of the airbags. One benefit is being able to level the truck a bit when parked. But which bags? The usual suspects are made for highway hauling and have short travel. Very poor for articulation. Daystar cradles are an option. I've only found one viable long travel bag maker and that is Slam Specialities. Has anyone used those? They aren't designed for offroad, but they do have good travel. For shocks I'm considering Ranchos which have adjustable damping, and are not expensive. They may not be adequate, but I can swap them out easily if they aren't. I'm still debating whether I want a sway bar on the back. I'll probably see how it is without it.
Tires: I want larger ones since they provide the best ground clearance. The truck comes with 32" diameter tires and it appears I can go up to 34" without too much trouble. That'll give me 3" of total lift in the front with the 2" suspension lift, and I'll adjust the back so it's level. I'm going to be in sand a fair amount in winter, and occasional mud in summer, but mostly it will be hard packed dirt and gravel. And of course pavement. Tires with deep lugs would be best, but I'm not sure if I want to make the on-road compromises in rain traction, noise, comfort, and mpg. There are many all-terrain tires which split the difference, but I get the impression they are mostly show, and compromise road ability for little or no offroad gain. I'm currently leaning towards the Michelin LTX M/S in LT295/70-18. Thoughts on tires?
Camper construction: I've looked at a lot of alternatives, but I feel more secure with what I know. I built the last one out of home made sandwich panels, using 2.5mm Luan for the outer skins (5mm on the floor), with styrofoam and wood stringers (pine) in the middle, then covered all exterior surfaces with a layer of fiberglass mat and polyester resin. On this one I'm thinking I'll use marine plywood (3mm Okume for the walls and top, 6mm Meranti for the floor), with 1" extruded styrofoam in the walls, and 2" in the floor and ceiling. I'll use redwood for the edges and stringers, narrow ones ~12" apart, and wider ones where the plywood is joined. This camper will be flat on top rather than 3-piece, mostly for ease of building, especially on the curved front. The front is a separate piece. All exterior surfaces will get a layer of fiberglass (light cloth, vinylester resin, gelcoat). I've been doing experiments and PL Premium looks like it will work well to bond both the wood and the styrofoam, plus it works at cold temperatures, so I can get started this winter.
It'll have one side door, with a retractable step (8" drop down), a large hatch in the back that lifts up, a window on each side and in the hatch, a vent on top, and maybe a skylight as well.
Why not pre-made panels? I haven't priced any but testimonials from others indicate they are expensive, and then you need to join the edges and provide reinforcements around windows and doors, and any place where you want to attach something. In other words I don't think there is much time saving for the cost. Plus I'd be dealing with something I'm not familiar with. There is an advantage in having less wood to rot, but I'm not planning to be in environments where it's likely to be an issue. And if I'm paying attention to my rig, there shouldn't be any water intrusion anyway.
Windows: I haven't thought about them much, but I need to get windows I had jalousies on my other one and thought they were fine. That doesn't seem to be a popular choice though. Anyone know why?
Camper mounting: I've read a lot about pivot mounts but I question whether it's necessary for my application. I hard mounted my last one and it didn't have any problems after many miles of rough roads and ravine crossings. The panels will have vertical stringers in the walls, and side to side in the top and bottom. This should make them fairly flexible in twist. Plus I won't have a strong and stiff structure inside that ties the walls and floor together and prevents movement. Recently most light trucks have gone to a closed channel (boxed) frame, but not the Tundra. It's open C under the bed, and consequently is more flexible than most. I've noticed that at least a couple people on this forum have hard mounted custom campers to older pickups and they don't mention any problems. I'm leaning towards hard mounting mine to keep it simpler and lighter, and closer to the ground. Unless someone talks me out of it.
That it for now. I think I've covered the main points. If you have comments or suggestions or questions on any aspect of my "plan" lets hear it!
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