1st Gen Tundra Flippac - Novice Build Advice

[Clutch]

Agree, do this all the time. I have a thrown together rack salvaged from Thule rack parts that holds bikes upright inside in case I take more than one. Plus no need for a lock. And in Colorado we can head to Moab for a fun weekend of bikes in January - April but drive through snow and rain for a couple hours on the way there. Road salt on bikes seems like burning money.

Long trips...I just pull the wheels, toss it inside. Takes up space but better than getting beat to hell on the rack.

If you really had to, could always use a case, and mount that to a carrier.

That or sell the Tundra and buy a Transit....only 9% dirt roads, 1% offroad....do you even need 4WD?

 

[abiker]

do you even need 4WD?

Yep, maybe 1% isn’t accurate, but my point was that it’s a daily driver, and we drive 100-300+ on a given weekend without getting on dirt, but once we get there, the last 5-50 miles are rough roads or 4x4 trails. If we didn’t have 4wd, we wouldn’t be able to get to the places we want to go... we’d be stuck with the RVs and vans parked right off the pavement. On road trips, we get a lot more time on 4x4 trails, but that’s part of the reason to make sure the truck is set up well, so that we can do more of it.

 

[Clutch]

Yep, maybe 1% isn’t accurate, but my point was that it’s a daily driver, and we drive 100-300+ on a given weekend without getting on dirt, but once we get there, the last 5-50 miles are rough roads or 4x4 trails. If we didn’t have 4wd, we wouldn’t be able to get to the places we want to go... we’d be stuck with the RVs and vans parked right off the pavement. On road trips, we get a lot more time on 4x4 trails, but that’s part of the reason to make sure the truck is set up well, so that we can do more of it.

Yeah, sounds like me. My trip last week was maybe 3/4's of mile off the main road after driving 150 miles...but it was a rutted mess to get into it. Surely would of gotten a 2WD Van stuck.

A 4WD Transit or Sprinter sure would fit the lifestyle the best...but man, I sure don't want to pay for it. I don't mind towing trailers, so that becomes the augmented storage that I would get with a van.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

My 5100's were set on the middle notch.

 

[SportsmanJake]

Go to "pick and pull" and get a Sequoia front sway bar and use a set of Tundra double cab end links (they are longer). You will notice a big difference in your handling.

Could you explain any more about this?

Also, am I the only one who cannot see OP's pics?

 

[Clutch]

Also, am I the only one who cannot see OP's pics?

I can't see them either.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Could you explain any more about this?

Also, am I the only one who cannot see OP's pics?

Not much to explain. The Sequoia has a thicker sway bar than the Access cab Tundra. Just grab the sway bar and the two mounting brackets. The end links off the double cab are longer, thus they work better with a lifted vehicle. I used urethane bushings when I did the swap. Total cost was well under 100.00 and it made a very noticable difference in handling.

 

[abiker]

Also, am I the only one who cannot see OP's pics?

Dang it, should be fixed now - including the first post with my truck.

 

[abiker]

A 4WD Transit or Sprinter sure would fit the lifestyle the best...but man, I sure don't want to pay for it.

Yep, the dollars are crazy, and something bugs me about driving around something that you could stand up in the back - that either means you're driving a hugely tall vehicle, you have awful clearance, or both. Pop tops have always made more sense to me. One day I'm gonna ditch the day job and design one of these to work on a bigger truck:

 

[Clutch]

Yep, the dollars are crazy, and something bugs me about driving around something that you could stand up in the back - that either means you're driving a hugely tall vehicle, you have awful clearance, or both. Pop tops have always made more sense to me. One day I'm gonna ditch the day job and design one of these to work on a bigger truck:

We had a VW Westy for about 8 years...death trap but loved that thing. Was just looking at them on CL...must resist!

My buddy has a Sprinter...kinda liked being able to stand up and change into the cycling or moto clown suit while inside at a trail head. Though I used to do that with my VW but the top popped.

A low roof Transit with a pop top would a be a nice modern version of the VW we had...but that whole 4WD conversion thing is too much to spend. $13-15K on the conversion alone. Especially when you can buy a nice used 4WD truck for $10K.

Better hurry up on designing that...bunch of guys released pop up canopies this year.

I love my Wildernest, had 2 so far, because when open it is huge space that packs down really small (like your Flip Pac)...but not crazy about the tent material. Always wanted to redesign the top into a hard shell. Guess you could do in the style like an old hardside pop-trailer camper.

Or do a Dormobile style but with the roof flipping over 180º like the Wildernest and use a hard material that collapses in on itself. Dome shape would be nice for deflecting wind.

Mollusc style but hard material.

Like the Quickup Camper idea, but it never went into production.

This is pretty cool too.

 

[JCMatthews]

Your pictures aren’t working so I assume you have an access cab. Sell it. Buy a double cab. Figure out how to fit both bikes where the backseat is. Put your flip pack on it, and build it out the way you want.

 

[mtnbike28]

If you only take one bike, you can do it inside. I have a 5' bed 1st gen Taco and carry my bike inside when traveling and use the rack when just around. I like being able to lock up my bike inside when visiting a town. I can take a picture or two if you want.

 

[PaintRock]

Based on what you want to do, I don't think I'd mess with the lift. 265/70r17s will fit with no lift. Or, you can add the Bilstein adjustable height shocks, since you need shocks anyway, and have just a little added clearance around the tires. I don't have a lift at all on mine and run 265/75r16 BFG AT KO2s just fine (they are the same overall height and width as 265/70r17s). However, my clearance does tend to get a little tight with enough mud, snow, and/or ice buildup in the front fender wells. That's where the extra clearance would be nice.

I can be a bit of a minimalist. If you're already able to get by in the woods with what you carry on your back, I would aim for more of a minimal buildout of the flip pac. Having the fridge is awesome. I would add some kind of fold-down counter for food prep and a sink, folding seating, and maybe look into heater options and an outdoor shower. If you did it right, everything could fold up and you could still fit a couple of bikes inside when you break camp.

By the way, I can't see your photos either.

 

[abiker]

Got eaten by work. Fixed photos and found some inspiration, then checked what it would be in CAD. However, mulling over it while working the day job, it really seems like keeping them inside (somehow) is going be ideal... so I'm going to try and look at that in CAD as well.

 

[austintaco]

A friend of mine races all over and she set up her van or bought her van through https://www.vandoit.com/go. They have some cool setups for keeping the bike inside and living around it. It’s a van, but it might give you some ideas. Here’s one pic from their site.