Enjoying this series. As a young pup I built a toolbox for my truck using angle iron as a frame... I killed every drill bit I owned drilling it. Between the burns handling the bits & the metal burrs... my poor fingers. LOL
Haha. Best complaint ever. Thanks for watching and commenting. Next one will be out next week and the one after that will show how I’m doing the upper camper walls. Stay safe out there. TbT
Thanks! I hope not. I’ll have 4 more mounts as well (show those in the next video) just to be sure. Thanks for the comment and the view. Stay safe out there. TbT.
Man! I hate when you get into a show and they give you 1 episode a week. MORE DAMN YOU!!! MORE!!!! lol Love the build I might take a lot of this for my flatbed build.
Haha I hear you. I wish I could work on it more, but I’ll be consistent over the build series. Thanks for watching and commenting and good luck on your build.
Thanks much appreciated. Almost done wrapping up the bottom exterior and will be moving on to the pop up and roof soon. Thanks for following along. Stay safe out there. TbT.
Thanks, I’m pretty stoked on how they came out. Next vid will have the other 4 mount locations in it. 2 front safety straps and 2 rear mounting points. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
The camper build looks nice. As former Tacoma owner - which was used to mount a camper similar to a FWC Eagle - I much prefer the chassis mounted bars with anchor points that are available from Four Wheel Campers. Just a 2 cent opinion - 2nd and 3rd gen bed walls are not the most robust. The same camper is now on a 1/2 ton and I had a welder modify the FWC bed bars to fit the new truck's bed mounting bolts.
I thought about that type, but my camper doesn’t have the same width overhang as the 4WC. My camper is going to be a bit smaller and lighter so I’m going the mounting I use will be fine. I don’t do any really heavy off-roading. Thanks for watching and commenting much appreciated. TbT.
Great progress as always man. I was a little concerned you were only running the bed rail mounts, good to hear you’re having other tie down points. Those brackets plus your multiple attachment points should be a very stout and secure system.
Thanks. Yes. I will have 2 ratchet straps holding down the back connected to the factory tie down points in the back of the bed and 2 ratchet straps in the front connected to the factory points as well just as a back up to the ones I built. Thanks for following along and commenting. TbT
I haven’t moved to that phase yet. I have a few more small items for the base to button up then I’m turning my focus on the pop up and roof portion. It’s coming, but I expected this project to take me 1 year since I have to squeeze it in around my job and life unfortunately lol. I’m still happy with the weight, but it’s getting heavier for sure. Want the finished product to be about 500lbs before gear, food water etc. Thanks for tuning in and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT.
Very nice build one of the best. One little comment, those Tacoma bed are not built out of metal, some kind of plastic. I will hold it to the frame just in case. Great work. 👍🏾
Yeah I agree. I will have 4 more anchor points other than the front bed real mounts for a a total of 6. The 4 others will connect to the factory tie down points…the rear anchor/tie down is connected to metal at least. I will definitely be keeping a close eye on it. I don’t really off-road, just desert dirt roads and FSR’s so not too much strain on it. Thanks for watching and commenting, much appreciated.
Thanks! I haven't kept perfect track of what I have spent unfortunately, but if I had to guestimate I would say $1200 -$1400 so far. About $600 in lumber, $300 in aluminum, $180 in foam and the rest is misc. glue, screws, hinges, windows, door hardware, struts, roof latches, etc. I hope to be under $3500 when completed. I'm repurposing as much as I can from my stuff and things I have salvaged etc. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Time stamp - 5:35 - critter runs across driveway, was that an extremely large bug or extremely small dog? Enjoying watching your videos, late to the party but get to binge watch.
This is just a rough-in. All of this gets removed and painted (e she metal and camper) in later episodes. I will paint and seal everything multiple times before completion. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
I was able to follow along and understand the reasoning up until this episode - My truck is much older than yours and I don't have a rail like this; are there other options for me to tie it down to the truck bed? I do have 4 rings in each of the corners but now I am a bit worried :(
Hmmm. I’m no expert I just went with what was available to me. I think they make some sort of tied down bracket for larger campers that connect to the frame of trucks you can buy or fab. Part of DIY I guess. Good luck.
Like the install design. What is the Tacoma bedrail material made of? Hardware: Are the three screws enough strength to hold the brackets? What kind of screws are they?
The bedrail is made of steel like the triangle shaped brackets I made. They’re attached with grade 8 bolts to the rail. The camper is through bolted and plated on the inside and out. Also ( in the next episode 6) I add 4 more attachments for a total of 6 anchor points 4 will connect to the factory tie down points. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT 🤙🏼
This is awesome. I ordered the ovrlndr camper bc I'm not that handy like you--I love to see how this turns out with the price breakdown. You could def sell your plans to others. Will there be a pop up fabric for the top?
Thanks for watching and the nice comment. The top is going to be hard walls (same construction as the lower main walls) that will fold down/up and the top will pop up. I’m about halfway done building that portion and it’s going well so far. Should have that in episode 7. Thanks for watching. TbT.
Total length is 5’ and the sleeping portion (cab over) adds 3 more feet for a total of 8’ . Sleeping bed will slide out or fold out when needed and fold up opening the camper to 5’ when I’m in there. It’s small for sure, but we’re weekend warriors and live in SoCal so most of our camping time is outside. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Very interested in this build. I am thinking about a similar build, except on a 2000 Toyota Tundra that rode out an EF-3 tornado that basically damaged every body panel in some way. Nothing terrible, just many dents and scratches. The bed was damaged, so I had considered just removing it, building a flatbed, and building a camper on the back that would stay on the truck, permanently. I was wanting to build a tall one, without the pop-up. Do you think that would be too much weight for the truck? I had even considered cutting the back of the cab off and permanently affixing the camper so that you could enter & exit through the cab, as well. Lots of ideas floating around, in this head of mine. I had wondered about this type of construction, but I live in the hot & humid Southeast. Curious to see how you waterproof the exterior...I built a custom teardrop camper 10 years ago and have had that thing all over the eastern U.S.; from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, and from the mountains of Virginia to the Plains of Missouri. We love the teardrop and will keep using it, but I am feeling the need for a new build and this truck just might have come along at just the right time!
Wow. Sounds like a fun project. I think that year tundra is a good platform for sure. My ex father in law has the same year and it’s still going strong. If it was my project and I was going to remove the bed, I would take a look at the factory payload limit and subtract the weight of everything you take off and add that saved weight to you payload. Then from that you’ll get you allowed payload starting point. I’m not an expert on this by any means so just my opinion here. After you have your new payload weight you have a camper weight goal to stay under that weight. If you build it walls similarly to my foam insulation you could probably build a tall walled fully incapsulated camper with a weight of under 400 lbs I’d guess. (Camper base, walls, top, back door only) maybe even less than 400lbs depending on your choice of plywood /siding. Then depending on how many windows and how much you want to add to the interior design you’ll know how much more weight you can add after you build the outer shell. Take a look at Bison campers they just came out with a camper like the one you may build. It’s crazy heavy though (like 1300lbs or something) but I think you can DIY something lighter for sure. You’ll probably have to add airbags or new heavy payload leaf springs for the added weight as well. Good luck and thanks for warning and commenting. TbT. PS. I’m a weather nerd and seeing a tornado is on my bucket list. Cali weather is so boring. 😂
@@TravelingbyTacoma Tornadoes are NOT boring. I live in a very small town in the far NE corner of Alabama. We live on top of Sand Mountain. We went through a spell of having so many tornadoes that the NWS had people out here in radar trucks every time that storms were forecast for about 4 years. In our little school district, we had EIGHT confirmed touchdowns between Feb. 6, 2008 and November 15, 2019. It was crazy. Things have been a bit quieter lately, but everyone takes these storms very seriously. This Tundra belonged to my wife’s cousin at the time that the Nov. 15, 2019 tornado completely LEVELED a brick shopping center right in front of his house. It was less than 50 yards from where his truck sat, right in front of his house. They lost every tree in their yard, and all of their vehicles were torn up, but it didn’t damage the house, at all. Those things are crazy.
Wow. That’s a wild story. Glad everyone is good. I don’t think I want that kind of experience lol, but one day I’ll be in the South chasing storms. My girl is from the South so she just rolls her eyes at me. lol
Thanks for the view. I’m hoping to keep it a around 500 lbs before adding gear, water, etc. Considering a 4wheel camper is about 900+ I think I’ll be ok. I may add airbags or new leaf springs if needed. I have a Icon add a leaf now, but it may not be enough in the end. Thanks for commenting and stay safe out there. TbT.
Thanks. Well, it finally stopped raining here in SoCal so I should be back on the project soon. Painting is next so I wanted good warm weather for that. The total weight (dry weight) I’m hoping to be about 500lbs. We’ll see what happens. I will weigh my truck empty and with the camper on so I’ll have an exact weight at some point and will share. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I think I’m headed towards fold up/down hard insulated walls like the base of the camper. The fold up walls will be 24” tall and the roof will add another 2-3 “ of height. Total headroom about 6’4. I’m 6’5 lol but not sure I can go the full 6’5. We’ll see. The roof (cap)will be like the walls, but covered something like a motorhome or trailer is covered in for the best weather protection. That’s the plan for now, I think it will work out. Should have that in the episode after next. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Enjoying this series. As a young pup I built a toolbox for my truck using angle iron as a frame... I killed every drill bit I owned drilling it. Between the burns handling the bits & the metal burrs... my poor fingers. LOL
Haha, sounds fun. Thanks for continuing to follow along much appreciated. Stay safe out there. TbT.
I've never seen anything like those brackets made to support the camper in place. That's quite ingenious.
Thanks!
Worst part of watching your video is.....anxiously waiting for next episode...😂 Awesome work sir!!!
Haha. Best complaint ever. Thanks for watching and commenting. Next one will be out next week and the one after that will show how I’m doing the upper camper walls. Stay safe out there. TbT
A lot of thought went into the design and it ended up beautiful. The brackets are so secure. The sliders will ease dismounting and mounting.
Thanks. It’s working well. 🤙🏼
Great job !! Well thought out !! That camper's not going anywhere !!
Thanks! I hope not. I’ll have 4 more mounts as well (show those in the next video) just to be sure. Thanks for the comment and the view. Stay safe out there. TbT.
Nice work. I enjoyed all of your camper build videos.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy the build. Appreciate the views and the comments. New video out next week. Stay safe out there. TbT.
You are making really good progress, the camper is coming along great! Can’t wait to see the end result ❤
Thanks!
Man! I hate when you get into a show and they give you 1 episode a week. MORE DAMN YOU!!! MORE!!!! lol
Love the build I might take a lot of this for my flatbed build.
Haha I hear you. I wish I could work on it more, but I’ll be consistent over the build series. Thanks for watching and commenting and good luck on your build.
This is amazing. You have done really nice work.
Thanks! Appreciate the nice comment and the view. Stay safe out there. TbT
Nice job your doing
Thanks and thanks for commenting as well.
awesome work dude, definitely very motivating!
Thanks man. Glad you’re enjoying the build. Thanks for the comment and the view, much appreciated. Stay safe out there. TbT.
nice DIY!😄
Thanks!
Looks awesome, making a lot of progress!!!
Thanks much appreciated. Almost done wrapping up the bottom exterior and will be moving on to the pop up and roof soon. Thanks for following along. Stay safe out there. TbT.
Good thinking
👍🏻
Very nice attachment points. Can’t wait to see how this build turns out when it’s done
Thanks, I’m pretty stoked on how they came out. Next vid will have the other 4 mount locations in it. 2 front safety straps and 2 rear mounting points. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
The camper build looks nice.
As former Tacoma owner - which was used to mount a camper similar to a FWC Eagle - I much prefer the chassis mounted bars with anchor points that are available from Four Wheel Campers. Just a 2 cent opinion - 2nd and 3rd gen bed walls are not the most robust.
The same camper is now on a 1/2 ton and I had a welder modify the FWC bed bars to fit the new truck's bed mounting bolts.
I thought about that type, but my camper doesn’t have the same width overhang as the 4WC. My camper is going to be a bit smaller and lighter so I’m going the mounting I use will be fine. I don’t do any really heavy off-roading. Thanks for watching and commenting much appreciated. TbT.
I marvel every time I watch your videos -love your channel-so very well explained-I hope to follow all your good tips -👍🏻🛻
Thanks for watching, glad you’re enjoying the series. Should have a new episode out next month. TbT
Great progress as always man. I was a little concerned you were only running the bed rail mounts, good to hear you’re having other tie down points. Those brackets plus your multiple attachment points should be a very stout and secure system.
Thanks. Yes. I will have 2 ratchet straps holding down the back connected to the factory tie down points in the back of the bed and 2 ratchet straps in the front connected to the factory points as well just as a back up to the ones I built. Thanks for following along and commenting. TbT
No teaser for next month??...roof? Still light enough to muscle around by yourself, impressive.
I haven’t moved to that phase yet. I have a few more small items for the base to button up then I’m turning my focus on the pop up and roof portion. It’s coming, but I expected this project to take me 1 year since I have to squeeze it in around my job and life unfortunately lol. I’m still happy with the weight, but it’s getting heavier for sure. Want the finished product to be about 500lbs before gear, food water etc. Thanks for tuning in and commenting, it’s appreciated. TbT.
Cool vid
Thanks!
Very nice build one of the best. One little comment, those Tacoma bed are not built out of metal, some kind of plastic. I will hold it to the frame just in case. Great work. 👍🏾
Yeah I agree. I will have 4 more anchor points other than the front bed real mounts for a a total of 6. The 4 others will connect to the factory tie down points…the rear anchor/tie down is connected to metal at least. I will definitely be keeping a close eye on it. I don’t really off-road, just desert dirt roads and FSR’s so not too much strain on it. Thanks for watching and commenting, much appreciated.
Great. Waiting for the top build video. 👍🏾👍🏾
Another great video! Any estimate on how much you may have spent so far?
Thanks! I haven't kept perfect track of what I have spent unfortunately, but if I had to guestimate I would say $1200 -$1400 so far. About $600 in lumber, $300 in aluminum, $180 in foam and the rest is misc. glue, screws, hinges, windows, door hardware, struts, roof latches, etc. I hope to be under $3500 when completed. I'm repurposing as much as I can from my stuff and things I have salvaged etc. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Time stamp - 5:35 - critter runs across driveway, was that an extremely large bug or extremely small dog?
Enjoying watching your videos, late to the party but get to binge watch.
Haha thanks. It think it’s a bougainvillea leaf blowing buy lol. Thanks for watching and commenting. It’s appreciated. TbT
Why did you not put some calking under the metal to prevent water from getting under the metal?
This is just a rough-in. All of this gets removed and painted (e she metal and camper) in later episodes. I will paint and seal everything multiple times before completion. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
I was able to follow along and understand the reasoning up until this episode - My truck is much older than yours and I don't have a rail like this; are there other options for me to tie it down to the truck bed? I do have 4 rings in each of the corners but now I am a bit worried :(
Hmmm. I’m no expert I just went with what was available to me. I think they make some sort of tied down bracket for larger campers that connect to the frame of trucks you can buy or fab. Part of DIY I guess. Good luck.
Like the install design. What is the Tacoma bedrail material made of? Hardware: Are the three screws enough strength to hold the brackets? What kind of screws are they?
The bedrail is made of steel like the triangle shaped brackets I made. They’re attached with grade 8 bolts to the rail. The camper is through bolted and plated on the inside and out. Also ( in the next episode 6) I add 4 more attachments for a total of 6 anchor points 4 will connect to the factory tie down points. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT 🤙🏼
This is awesome. I ordered the ovrlndr camper bc I'm not that handy like you--I love to see how this turns out with the price breakdown. You could def sell your plans to others. Will there be a pop up fabric for the top?
Thanks for watching and the nice comment. The top is going to be hard walls (same construction as the lower main walls) that will fold down/up and the top will pop up. I’m about halfway done building that portion and it’s going well so far. Should have that in episode 7. Thanks for watching. TbT.
Nice work! I have enjoyed watching the progress of your build. What is your total length of the floor that sits in the bed of the truck?
Total length is 5’ and the sleeping portion (cab over) adds 3 more feet for a total of 8’ . Sleeping bed will slide out or fold out when needed and fold up opening the camper to 5’ when I’m in there. It’s small for sure, but we’re weekend warriors and live in SoCal so most of our camping time is outside. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
Very interested in this build. I am thinking about a similar build, except on a 2000 Toyota Tundra that rode out an EF-3 tornado that basically damaged every body panel in some way. Nothing terrible, just many dents and scratches. The bed was damaged, so I had considered just removing it, building a flatbed, and building a camper on the back that would stay on the truck, permanently. I was wanting to build a tall one, without the pop-up. Do you think that would be too much weight for the truck? I had even considered cutting the back of the cab off and permanently affixing the camper so that you could enter & exit through the cab, as well. Lots of ideas floating around, in this head of mine. I had wondered about this type of construction, but I live in the hot & humid Southeast. Curious to see how you waterproof the exterior...I built a custom teardrop camper 10 years ago and have had that thing all over the eastern U.S.; from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, and from the mountains of Virginia to the Plains of Missouri. We love the teardrop and will keep using it, but I am feeling the need for a new build and this truck just might have come along at just the right time!
Wow. Sounds like a fun project. I think that year tundra is a good platform for sure. My ex father in law has the same year and it’s still going strong. If it was my project and I was going to remove the bed, I would take a look at the factory payload limit and subtract the weight of everything you take off and add that saved weight to you payload. Then from that you’ll get you allowed payload starting point. I’m not an expert on this by any means so just my opinion here. After you have your new payload weight you have a camper weight goal to stay under that weight. If you build it walls similarly to my foam insulation you could probably build a tall walled fully incapsulated camper with a weight of under 400 lbs I’d guess. (Camper base, walls, top, back door only) maybe even less than 400lbs depending on your choice of plywood /siding. Then depending on how many windows and how much you want to add to the interior design you’ll know how much more weight you can add after you build the outer shell. Take a look at Bison campers they just came out with a camper like the one you may build. It’s crazy heavy though (like 1300lbs or something) but I think you can DIY something lighter for sure. You’ll probably have to add airbags or new heavy payload leaf springs for the added weight as well. Good luck and thanks for warning and commenting. TbT. PS. I’m a weather nerd and seeing a tornado is on my bucket list. Cali weather is so boring. 😂
@@TravelingbyTacoma Tornadoes are NOT boring. I live in a very small town in the far NE corner of Alabama. We live on top of Sand Mountain. We went through a spell of having so many tornadoes that the NWS had people out here in radar trucks every time that storms were forecast for about 4 years. In our little school district, we had EIGHT confirmed touchdowns between Feb. 6, 2008 and November 15, 2019. It was crazy. Things have been a bit quieter lately, but everyone takes these storms very seriously. This Tundra belonged to my wife’s cousin at the time that the Nov. 15, 2019 tornado completely LEVELED a brick shopping center right in front of his house. It was less than 50 yards from where his truck sat, right in front of his house. They lost every tree in their yard, and all of their vehicles were torn up, but it didn’t damage the house, at all. Those things are crazy.
Wow. That’s a wild story. Glad everyone is good. I don’t think I want that kind of experience lol, but one day I’ll be in the South chasing storms. My girl is from the South so she just rolls her eyes at me. lol
👍
Thanks for watching. 👍🏻 TbT
I was waiting for this! Thank you! What is your guesstimated final weight?
Thanks for the view. I’m hoping to keep it a around 500 lbs before adding gear, water, etc. Considering a 4wheel camper is about 900+ I think I’ll be ok. I may add airbags or new leaf springs if needed. I have a Icon add a leaf now, but it may not be enough in the end. Thanks for commenting and stay safe out there. TbT.
Great work! What’s the final weight your thinking it’s gonna be when done?
Thanks. Well, it finally stopped raining here in SoCal so I should be back on the project soon. Painting is next so I wanted good warm weather for that. The total weight (dry weight) I’m hoping to be about 500lbs. We’ll see what happens. I will weigh my truck empty and with the camper on so I’ll have an exact weight at some point and will share. Thanks for watching and commenting.
@@TravelingbyTacoma thanks for the feedback. Your doing an amazing job keep up the great work. I give you a lot of credit.
What’s your plans for the roof? How far are you going to extend it up for bed space?
I think I’m headed towards fold up/down hard insulated walls like the base of the camper. The fold up walls will be 24” tall and the roof will add another 2-3 “ of height. Total headroom about 6’4. I’m 6’5 lol but not sure I can go the full 6’5. We’ll see. The roof (cap)will be like the walls, but covered something like a motorhome or trailer is covered in for the best weather protection. That’s the plan for now, I think it will work out. Should have that in the episode after next. Thanks for watching and commenting. TbT
waiting for EP 7.
Thanks for following along.
Is that thing is so awesome will you build me one
Haha. Thanks!
This thing is kinda trash not gonna lie. Should have bought a 4runner so we can camp in style but I have to go with some dude in a taco 😢
Come on… we all know you really wanted a Tacoma 😂😂😂
@@TravelingbyTacoma you’re right. It’s looking sick tho
😉🤙🏼