DIY Truck Camper For short bed Tacoma

[GomerPile]

Looking forward to mo' bettah uncovid Sir - please? okay? Soonest!

Doors'n Windows foam - just went through five cans, key to it doing void filling is layers over time, gun in 1/2 to 3/4" serpentine coils and move on to next part and switch back once its toughened up... got to love the aerosol acetone gun cleaner, nice terry cloth towel with a spritz of cleaner and most oops are reversed!

If* you'll excuse hindsight comment - I use 3m Hi-Strength 90 Spray Adhesive AND the windows'n doors foam together, spray both sides to be bonded and while the spray adhesive dries to finger drag without grab do the gunned foam ribbon around the perimeter etc. then hold the EPS or polyiso board in place - the 3m 90 crackles as the bond loosens so it is massage the piece into place until the snap crackle and pop hushes - on full cure to remove its like chipping out rock plaster

I've thought better of Jeep products, looked at Tacoma then... up in the air, ideally i'd like to pass through from cab to camper (in emergency?) without leaving the vehicle,,, standing in a tshirt & jeans looking up at a 9' Brownie near Willow AK FROM EIGHT FOOT AWAY has that forever etched in my wish list -

The tacoma rear window is pretty small so not sure about a pass-thru. My truck has a pretty hefty roof rack that I could use with the front window as an escape....that does not help in the bear situation

As for Jeep vs Taco's. A lot of folks in my area are into Jeeps. I do think the Gladiators are pretty nice. I just can't get past the price personally.

Based on the issues locals have with Jeeps I would not touch a new one...just too unreliable. I've owned 3 Tacos and have 350K miles and the only issues have been brakes, tires, oil changes, etc. Taco's have a good aftermarket for off-road gear, less than Jeeps but still good enough IMO. There are a boatload of Taco's on the road with over 350K miles on the original drivetrain. Here in the northeast rust usually kills them before the engine gives up.

 

[Zoomyn]

Anyhow, brilliant content and decent covideography, keep up the good work.

I had a buddy building a microtrailer on one of those now illegal harbor freight small trailers - i coaxed him into into writing equipment suppliers of items he was interested using officious looking letterhead paper, giving them dates of outwards bound expos across Wisconsin and promising prominent mention if they'd help - and the packages started rolling in. His second Wisconsin winter in the camper he found another sponsor who married him and gave him a roof...

I got to see the end results in the trailers fourth year - mildew had won, an overwhelming scent of summer camp latrine and watched as someone paid him $100 and drove away with it...

Of that - i believe the black exterior color will be good but watch an occupied trailer & daily condensation dew cycles loading the interior up with humidity - the dark color will heat the interior more and warm air holds more moisture that has to dump back out as the air cools - if you can exhaust that warm humidity then we've got a near passive dehumidifier - look at the charts of airs moisture holding capacity across 20 to 90*f, also provide some slight 24/7 venting while camper is unused to keep a slug of damp getting an infinite loop ride trapped in the closed space... : )

 

[GomerPile]

 

[GomerPile]

 

[user 22017]

Looks great. Good job.

 

[GomerPile]

Some bonus content for Bluetti users who have external batteries.

 

[GomerPile]

 

[Zoomyn]

Apologies in advance : ) - umnnn with all that kindling looking so fine show us the smoke detector?

There is an efficiency cheat on window unit A/C's that might sabotage your build - they restrict evap condensate draining and have a tab on the condenser fan that splashes water everywhere so the hot side coils get misted w/ water evaporation shedding mo' better heat...

Depending on fan rotation it'll usually slime one side beyond the A/C case louvers - yeah there may be a sheet metal shroud but with near zero outside access there & dust & debris build up it may be hatching mold, moss & pollywogs rapidly...

I'd be trimming the slinger tab off fan blades and adding drain ports (for when basic camper drain pan level vs. runoff gets challenged)..

 

[GomerPile]

Apologies in advance : ) - umnnn with all that kindling looking so fine show us the smoke detector?

There is an efficiency cheat on window unit A/C's that might sabotage your build - they restrict evap condensate draining and have a tab on the condenser fan that splashes water everywhere so the hot side coils get misted w/ water evaporation shedding mo' better heat...

Depending on fan rotation it'll usually slime one side beyond the A/C case louvers - yeah there may be a sheet metal shroud but with near zero outside access there & dust & debris build up it may be hatching mold, moss & pollywogs rapidly...

I'd be trimming the slinger tab off fan blades and adding drain ports (for when basic camper drain pan level vs. runoff gets challenged)..

I did figure in a bit of pitch so that water runs off to one corner. Removal is actually not much harder than a standard window unit. The wood trim comes off the front by removing a few screws. There are two tabs on the front that are accessible with the camper on the truck. From there, it just slides out.

I'm still unsure about how much use the AC will even get. Going to see how well it works and how much I use it.

I also have a small wood stove that will be going in soon. For me, the wood stove will likely get more use. I'm thinking about a pull-out drawer that replaces the AC as firewood storage. Of course a smoke detector will end up in there someplace. The sleeping berth window makes a good escape hatch onto the truck roof should things go sideways.

 

[Zoomyn]

This project has got to me, really nearly ready to make a leap and test my skills doing something similar ... just wait, there will be another video and I'll be daydreaming for another week : )

 

[bullfrog]

^^^Don’t even go to tnttt.com Lol!!!

 

[GomerPile]

 

[Zoomyn]

Beware melting flatscreens : )

But... what we really want to know is the UFO, umnn sink, just a one-off that flew in never to be repeated or are they 'out there' to buy?

I have a never-fired Salamander Hobbit stove that took 10 months to ship - once it arrived life had made some changes and its been waiting for a truck camper to ride in... Looking forward to see the high speed high temperature quick disconnect squirrel proof flue mockery, errr, mock up you choose to share with us : )

 

[GomerPile]

Beware melting flatscreens : )

But... what we really want to know is the UFO, umnn sink, just a one-off that flew in never to be repeated or are they 'out there' to buy?

I have a never-fired Salamander Hobbit stove that took 10 months to ship - once it arrived life had made some changes and its been waiting for a truck camper to ride in... Looking forward to see the high speed high temperature quick disconnect squirrel proof flue mockery, errr, mock up you choose to share with us : )

The sink and drain on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/3w7NCDF
https://amzn.to/3kjOT87
https://amzn.to/3QG8GKZ
The only issue is that the drain does not fit the sink. I had to use a 2 inch greenlee punch to open the hole in the sink. I think you might be able to accomplish the same thing with a sheet metal nibbler like this one: https://amzn.to/3Xle2Ob The amount of material is about one "nibble" all the way around. It's a nice sturdy sink.

The chimney is going to be interesting. I have some 4 inch exhaust pipe and a NEMA 4 electrical enclosure coming. I plan to weld the pipe to the box and make a hatch that will open up on the roof. I will just slide a section of pipe into that and will have a chimney. The thing that makes all this interesting is that the exit is on a 45 degree angle because the flat part is needed for solar.

 

[GomerPile]

 

[GomerPile]

 

[WayOutWest]

Amazing work! Can't wait to see the finished camper!

 

[GomerPile]

 

[Zoomyn]

I was hoping to see a pop-up pipe boot that collapses back under the cover lid : )



With a mitered 4” pipe to leave room when covered — and with hinge pins pulled it’d be sleek…

Wind gusts giving top flue the potion of motion is a worry - if a tripod brace the upslope flashing saddle would be doable, just to part and route glacier ice & drifts around the assembly perhaps to make breaking camp easier…

 

[GomerPile]

I was hoping to see a pop-up pipe boot that collapses back under the cover lid : )

View attachment 33619

With a mitered 4” pipe to leave room when covered — and with hinge pins pulled it’d be sleek…

Wind gusts giving top flue the potion of motion is a worry - if a tripod brace the upslope flashing saddle would be doable, just to part and route glacier ice & drifts around the assembly perhaps to make breaking camp easier…

Ya that would be sweet! I'm not sure how much stove burning I will be doing, so went with simple for now. I think the idea of the top pipe sliding inside the bottom pipe is very doable.