T100 Extended Cab Truck Cabin Build

Anota

Observer
Also got my brother to grab this '97 SR5 which were going to build out as twin rigs. Hoping to do a drive from Rhode Island to San Diego in July of this coming summer

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The truck is looking good.

I hear you on not wanting to be too tall and wanting room to stand up at the same time. I am working on plans for my next build. I want to do a flatbed and build a camper with a hard-sided popup and insulation. Our simple rig gets the job done, but living in it for the last 6 months we would love to have more comfort.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
 

rruff

Explorer
What I also really want for this build is a space to stand up in so that begs for some actual engineering of a pop-up/ flip-pac roof in the bed of the truck

I was looking forward to your on-the-frame stand up camper build, but I understand why you abandoned it. Compromises.

I'm building a camper like that on a new Tundra. I did it 16 years ago on a '84 2wd Toyota. You can make them pretty light (mine should be ~700 lb for the shell, plus the truck bed is removed), and keep your weight low. But you still have the aero drag, and issues with low hanging tree branches. There will be two of us living in it though, and I figure it's the best way to do it for us.

Good luck with your build! It looks fun.
 

XJLI

Adventurer
How's the frame and rust underneath your truck? Was hard to find a northeast guy with one of these. I just picked one up cheap with 154k miles but it's pretty crusty, going to repair the driver's front leaf spring mount this weekend, get some junkyard lower control arms from the west coast and start cleaning and sealing up the rest.
 

ToyotaRoamer86

Adventurer
Well good luck with your decisions.. I have wanted to get a slide-in by my leafs are shot! Just a normal sleeping platform on the passenger side and a dog bed with hitch bike rack for camping.
 
The leafs in mine are pretty bad too. Does anyone know of replacements from a different truck that might work without too much effort?
 

Anota

Observer
bigeyedfish i was thinking that too. I was hoping for an alternative leaf pack to buy. Haven't looked into it though.


My leafs are straight/ flat now. My front end has been problematic shakes pretty violently when I'm braking. checked the brakes and everything is 75% and consistent. so i ended up putting all new ball joints and arms but hasn't made a dent on the problem.


XJLI my frame isn't in the best shape. What i decided to do was take the bed off and grind, patch, and recoat everything from the cab back. If you can do this i recommend it! Makes short work of a whole lot of BS. the next step is to somehow do the same to the front end which is pretty beat up by the rust. Id also recommend grabbing a $200 welder and attacking it yourself- quick learning curve and will save you a whole lot of money and time in the long run


In other news the truck got a new set of rims- ill post a picture up later along with the new design for the camper setup. Finally starting to piece together the front bumper. I found a great guy who can laser cut up to half in steel which is nuts. My setup should only be 1/8". Im building this setup as a temporary phase of the truck. Id like to get back to frame mounted setup but need to take some trips this summer with the truck before its out of commission for a while
 

Anota

Observer
Update photos- New shoes and all new front end. I've just been chasing rust and broken parts but now its finally time to get back to building a expo-worthy vehicle. Cap is stripped. A cab-over extension is underway with a full length pop up roof. All square aluminum so i can just add on to the cap as i build

Stripped cap! woohoo

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3" lift was added

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New 4runner wheels to spice things up

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Anota

Observer
Hey guys so I've been on and off with this thread quite a bit but the truck build has been making progress. Heres an update of some of the bigger things happening right now!

Scored this full width 3/16 plate jeep bumper for $100 and modded it to bolt to the existing mounting hardware. Its a little droopy but that will get fixed soon

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And for the 'Cabin build' here is where I'm at. I stripped the cap and built the cabover frame which was por15'ed and mounted to the existing cap frame. So this will get skinned with aluminum other than the top because a secondary roof will go on that is as deep (height-wise) as the bolted on part. This secondary roof part will be a full length pop-up roof! I love this setup because I can install and uninstall the entire unit myself without any trouble. Let me know what you guys things cheers
 

incendui

New member
Great progress, I love the idea of a light weight pop-top shell. What are you planning for the lift hardware? I've never been a fan of the FWC/Phoenix style of outside latches and inside lift panels/bars, would be great to see a DIY version of the VW westy lift hardware.
 

Anota

Observer
More progress on the truck -got the main camper body pretty much fully skinned. The pop top will hopefully get built this week and skinned!

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