2nd Gen Tundra Truck Bed Camper Build (ARE DCU Topper)

[JaceStout]

Hello!

My name is Jace and this will serve as a place to document the camper build out on my 2007 Tundra. I haven't seen many campers done the way I'd like to do it, so I figured I'd share for others to see. Hope you enjoy!

Truck details:
- 2007 Toyota Tundra 5.7 V8 4x4
- OME Front Lift w/ Heavy Duty Springs
- OME Rear Lift w/ Dakar Leaf Packs
- ARB Front Bumper
- Warn 15,000lb Winch
- ARB Rear Air Locker
- TransferFlow 46gal Fuel Tank
- Method Race Wheels 18x9 et18
- Toyo Open Country ATIII (295/70/18)
- Sony Car Play Head Unit
- ARE DCU Commercial Topper

The cliff notes on the story of me ending up with this project are as follows.

I started with a 3rd gen 4runner that I still miss to this day.

This truck then got traded to a guy for a 1st gen Tacoma and most of my parts got moved over to that rig.

I had the roof tent on the Tacoma for a while but ended up breaking it while on a trip to Yellowstone last year. This lead me to remove the RTT and build a crude sleeping platform in the back of the Taco to get me by until the RTT was fixed. At this point we realized how much more we loved sleeping in the back of the truck vs. having to set up/take down a RTT. Not to mention no wind noise from the tent flapping around! Well, me being 6' tall and the Taco having a 6' bed, it was less than ideal. That coupled with the fact that I couldn't even come close to sitting upright in the Taco while having a bed platform tall enough to store gear under, I quickly realized I needed to go bigger. I used to do a fair bit of 4 wheeling but I don't do that much anymore so the 2nd gen Tundra is more than capable for what I do these days, especially with the rear locker. I found the Tundra locally here in Colorado and pulled the trigger. Sold the Taco, and started hunting for a suitable topper. After doing a ton of research I realized what I was really after was a commercial topper with the two big back doors instead of the tail gate.

Here's the Tundra as I purchased it.

I finally decided that I wanted an ARE DCU topper. I found a local dealer in Denver and walked in to go over the options list. The main thing here is that I wanted it to be as tall as possible (within reason) so that I could sit up in it once it was completed. This was the one thing that always drove me nuts about the Taco. I ended up getting a 29" version with windoors on the side and windows on the rear doors.

Then I finally replaced the old bald tires and TRD Rock Warrior Wheels with the method race wheels. Here's a shot from Moab last weekend.

I have started building out the truck bed camper already. I'll post progress pictures as I get them edited.

 

[JaceStout]

First things first was the installation of the heater. I chose to use a Webasto heater I got off eBay. I chose this unit because I've seen it used in person here in CO with zero issues. This heater happened to fit perfectly between the bed humps in my Tundra.

The Webasto has a rubber gasket that goes between the mounting surface and the heater body itself. I used this as a template to drill my holes. I then ground away the bedliner to give it a metal surface to mount to.

Here it is mounted to the truck.

 

[JaceStout]

The next step was to build the floor to build the camper off of.

First things first I had to fill all the holes in the floor. The previous owner must have had something mounted to the bed, or under the truck, as there were a few holes that needed plugging. Since I am using cork for the insulation I figured it would be fitting to use little cork stoppers I found at Ace.

The next step was to build the frame using 2x2s. I cut them to fit the perimeter of the bed with some slats in the middle to add some support to the top sheet to make the floor feel as solid as possible.

I bolted the frame to the floor in various points using some leftover 90 degree brackets from an old project.

I then used some expanding foam between the bed and the 2x2s to keep the cork chips in their respective 'chambers'.

Then it was time to add the cork!

After that I added the top sheet of 3/4" plywood to the top. I was able to get away with a single 4x8 sheet here. For an 8' bed you'd need two sheets for sure.

The Webasto heaters I've personally seen used in the past have been in Previa vans tucked under the passenger seat. They were tucked up under the seat pretty far and the carpet around them never got hot or caused any issue. That being said I wasn't super comfortable having wood around the heater so I decided to cut around it. This heater is more than capable of making this camper uncomfortably hot, so I didn't think a small non-insulated area would be a big deal, the heater can definitely make up for it!

The cork insulation was purchased from The Maryland Cork Company. I used one bag (the smallest amount they sell) of 3/4" chips and had plenty left over. I bet it would evenly cover an 8' bed truck at 1.5" thick.

The next step is to stain/seal the floor and then start on waterproofing.

 

[trailscape]

Nice start. It's always interesting to see other DCU builds. I think they are a great option.

 

[JaceStout]

Nice start. It's always interesting to see other DCU builds. I think they are a great option.

I totally agree. I thought I'd miss the tailgate, but honestly, not one bit!

 

[trailscape]

Yeah, I can't see going back to a tailgate and sold mine off several years ago. I love some of the fancy pop top campers out there now, but it's a tough sell when you can do a lot with these.

I'd probably consider a Tradesman for my next build. The quality and available options are a good step above the typical commercial model.

I'm redoing my bed setup soon. I had some water intrusion that rotted the far corners of the wood. It's something to watch out for.

 

[JaceStout]

I'm redoing my bed setup soon. I had some water intrusion that rotted the far corners of the wood. It's something to watch out for.

That's my next step. Any tips? I have a tube of silicone I was going to use on all the seams in the topper as well as where the topper meets the top of the truck bed and then hose it down and check for leaks once it was dry. The doors are going to be the trickiest part I think. They tend to let a lot of water in when I'm pressure washing the truck.

 

[86scotty]

Nice work, subscribed! I have a lot of similar upgrades going in to my 2nd gen right now as well. Pretty soon I'll start a thread. I'm going to mount a Webasto/Planar in the rear corner since open floor space for Home Depot runs is pretty important to me. Present plan is the right rear corner since there's nothing under it but exhaust pipe but space to run the heater in/out pipes.

Did you see much MPG difference with your wheel/tire setup?

 

[Wallygator]

Subscribed!

 

[pigsammy]

This ought to be a great setup when you're done.
I'm eager to watch this build.
Keep posting updates!

 

[JaceStout]

Did you see much MPG difference with your wheel/tire setup?

The Nittos that were on the truck when I got it were the same size, so not really.. I haven't done any favors to the gas mileage of this truck with the mods I've done. Haha!

Subscribed!

Rad!

This ought to be a great setup when you're done.
I'm eager to watch this build.
Keep posting updates!

Thank you! Will do! Should have an update after this weekend.

 

[sdnative13]

Interested in following this. Doing something similar will an older callen topped.

 

[Wallygator]

I'm seriously thinking about ditching my RTT and going to the DCU. Can you please post side view pics and pics that are eye level so I can get an idea of what the topper looks like. I would also choose the 29'er but would like to see what it looks like on the truck...thanks!!

 

[JaceStout]

I'm seriously thinking about ditching my RTT and going to the DCU. Can you please post side view pics and pics that are eye level so I can get an idea of what the topper looks like. I would also choose the 29'er but would like to see what it looks like on the truck...thanks!!

I'll try and remember to take a photo from the side. This is the best I have right now. I'll be honest, it looks a bit goofy. The gap between the back of the cab and the topper sort of drives me nuts but there's nothing I can do about it. Function > Form, right?!

 

[JaceStout]

Sorry for the delay. Been too busy enjoying summer to update this. I've made some progress on the truck over the summer, but not as much as I would have liked.

Stained and sealed the floor.

Next (with a lot of help from a friend) I got the electrical system in the truck functional. If you have questions I'll try my best to help, but my friend honestly spec'd most of this stuff and helped me a lot with the wiring. He has since moved to Europe and that's why the wiring is so rough. I just wanted it functional before he left, I'll go back and clean it up once I start doing the actual wiring for the camper. First, here are the main components I used.

100Ah battery for the camper to run on.

Fuse block

40a DC-DC charger, Solar Controller (this will come later, but I wanted to have the infrastructure in place), and kill switch.

Except for the battery, this could have likely been installed in a way that I didn't have to get rid of the little seat, however, I very rarely have anyone else in the truck besides my girlfriend and my dog so out it came. I got a nice piece of wood and cut it to fit fairly flush against the back bulkhead. I painted it black and secured it to the truck using the factory seat mounting points. It's not going anywhere. I also tied in the battery hold down into the lower seat mounting points as well. Everything is very secure.

Here's a photo of the mess of wires and everything installed onto the board.

Kill switch mounted in the camper.

As it sits the DC-DC charger turns on with ignition and charges the battery using the alternator in the truck. I'll run everything in the camper off the fuse block which is controlled by the kill switch. When I park the truck for long periods of time I can turn the kill switch and shut the camper down completely that way nothing will drain the battery. Should there ever be an issue with wiring in the camper catching fire I can also kill the source immediately while in the camper. Hopefully I never need to use that function!