Built / Turn Key 2000 Toyota Tacoma 4wd TRD w/ Callen Camper

[BajaSurfRig]

Summary:
- Built 2000 Toyota Tacoma V6 TRD 4x4 with 5 Speed Manual (Last year with no electronics in the 4x4 system).
-Engine Fully Rebuilt 10k ago by The Truck Shop in SD with receipts.
-Transmission fully rebuilt @ 156k (around 80k ago) with receipts by Miramar Transmission in SD .
-New Clutch @ 197k (around 30k ago) with receipts by Transmasters auto care off Miramar in SD.
-Tons of preventative maintenance (I am OCD with my trucks).
-Callen camper with deck/ kitchen drawer, fridge & second battery build out.
-Clean title in my name with smog certificate and fresh oil change.
-This truck passed Toyota’s multipoint inspection with flying colors (for what it’s worth) and has a large folder of maintenance records to back it up (organized chronologically).
-This truck doesn’t burn or leak anything and is ready and begging to be driven to South America…

Story/ Background:
We planned on holding onto this truck for a very long time (hence all the necessary and preventative maintenance), but the truth is that it is too small for us/ me (and my uncle is giving me a killer deal on his 99 4x4 F350 with a low mile 7.3 that I have been drooling over for decades). I bought this truck off a friend who had named her Kona, and the name stuck. I am 6’2” and I must sleep diagonally in the back if the weather is bad and must slouch slightly while driving (due to the moonroof). I would recommend that the new owner of this truck be 6’ or less in height. We also adopted a puppy down in Baja who is now over sixty pounds and still growing so the cab is feeling smaller and smaller with each passing week…
This truck would be perfect for a couple who wants a “go anywhere” solid camper. This truck was made for adventure, so I want to hear about your intention for it. To make a higher mileage Tacoma reliable it costs a lot of money, save yourself the time and headache and grab this one that is dialed.
Build Goals:
We built this truck to live out of during our 5 month dream trip through Baja. This truck can get pretty much anywhere, but won’t be winning any races while doing it. Since it was just my fiancé and I, I wanted to make sure that this truck would be dead reliable and not leave us stranded. It never left us stranded and got us everywhere that we wanted to go.
Previous Owner Maintenance:
-Car Fax Report shows that I am the fifth owner of Kona (my good friend, who is an engineer and equally as OCD as I am was, the fourth). The third owner bought it with around 50k miles and had all necessary maintenance handled at the dealer until my friend purchased it (unfortunately I don’t the receipts for this work but it does show up on the Car Fax report).
Work that I have receipts for from previous owners:
- 01/03/2014 Transmission and clutch were fully rebuilt by Miramar transmission. @ 156,515 miles.
-11/24/2014 Oil change @157,556.
-11/28/2014 clean and adjust rear brake shoes, install two new valve cover gaskets and install new spark plug tube seals; work done by Encinitas Aloha Auto Repair.
-04/07/2016 New clutch installed, flywheel resurfaced, new bellhousing installed and rear main seal replaced by Transmasters Auto Care. @ 197,626.
Maintenance Since I owned it:
I have receipts for all work performed at The Truck Shop and all work performed below.
-5/11/2016: Coolant Flush (with Toyota Red), Valve Cover Gasket, Adjusted One valve that was out of spec, Spark Plug Tube Seal, Fuel Filter, New Front Brake Pads, Upper Radiator Hose, Spark Plugs and Wires, New Timing Belt, Water Pump, Thermostat, Timing Belt Tensions Rollers, Oil change, Replace front and rear diff fluid, install new starter and fresh drive belts by The Truck Shop.
-07/07/2016: used OEM skid plate installed (for some reason the truck came without one), install breather lines into engine bay for: front and rear diff, transmission and transfer case by The Truck Shop
-09/01/2016: New OEM lower ball joints, Oil Change, First additional OME D43XL add a leaf installed into Dakar leaf packs (before Callen Camper install), sliders welded on by The Truck Shop.
-10/4/2016: Ceramic tint installed on the moon roof and front two windows. (The passenger window tint has a couple small scratches in it from our trip).
-11/03/2016: New steering rack installed, Oil change, lower control arm bushings replaced, power steering flushed, alignment by The Truck Shop.
-Optima Yellow Top 12/02/16 (With Receipt)

-01/05/2017: Top end rebuild… To make a long story short a previous owner had stripped the head trying to install a spark plug. There was a helicoil in the head when I bought it and it blew out of the head on my way to work one morning… All valves were adjusted at this point as well. A hi lift mount was welded onto the Callen Roof Rack and rear frame reinforcement plates were welded on as well. Also the super bumpers were installed on the front end at this point and the Timbren’s were installed in the back by The Truck Shop.
-2/15/2017: A new windshield was installed by The Truck Shop.
-2/16/2017: Safari Snorkel was installed by the Truck Shop.
-3/30/2017: Whole Engine Rebuild… Shortly after the top end was re done the bottom end went out. James at The Truck Shop oversaw the full rebuild of the engine. I knew that I was leaving on my dream trip through Baja with this truck in a couple of months with my girlfriend and wanted to make sure that everything was SOLID.
4/24/2017: Fan clutch bearing replaced by The Truck Shop.
5/11/2017: Exhaust hanger replaced by The Truck Shop.
5/15/2017: (5) 235/ 85 r16 BFG A/T KO2 Load Range E Tires. I modified the stock spare tire bracket so that the spare doesn’t rub on the axle, leaf springs or exhaust. These tires have around 15K miles on them and have been rotated regularly. Yes Load Range E is overkill for a midsize truck but I have had too many tire failures in Baja over the years and have had zero issues with these tires.
6/15/2017: Tundra brakes installed by The Truck Shop.
8/10/2017: Alignment and oil change by The Truck Shop.
During our Trip in Baja: We had the rear wheel bearings replaced and fresh differential fluid put into it. Obviously I don’t have a receipt for this but I have photos of the new bearings pressed onto the axles.
Since we have returned:
1/2/2018: Fresh Oil Change and Filter @227,113
- New Bosch windshield wipers January 2018 (I seemed to have misplaced the receipt for this)…
-A new OEM driver’s side seatbelt February/2018 (the old on was fraying and not retracting very well so I replaced it).
-New black OEM exterior door handles February/2018 (Both of these broke during different times during our trip. I will show you how to properly lube them so that it won’t happen on your trip).
4/30/18: Fresh Oil Change and Filter, and new transmission fluid @231,694 by Toyota of Carlsbad.
5/16/18: Alignment, New sway bar end links, new energy poly steering rack and sway bar bushings. This thing drives like a new Tacoma now, seriously.

Upcoming maintenance/ Know Issues:
-There is a small amount of play in the steering rack when you are going around a turn with the wheels fully locked. The rack isn’t leaking so all it will need will be new steering racking bushings in the next 10-20k miles… The truck tracks straight down the road and the steering is tight I just want to disclose everything. *EDIT: I installed fresh energy poly steering rack and sway bar bushings on Kona this weekend. The front end is super tight and perfect now.
-The windshield washer reservoir is cracked in it’s neck at the top. I have taped it and looked for a new one since I got the truck and haven’t had luck finding one at junkyards and auto parts stores. It still holds a full reservoir of fluid, just some will leak out as you are refilling it…
-The windshield has a small knick in it from a rock a semi threw at us on the transpeninsular. It is on the passenger side and isn’t growing so I have left it be.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Truck:

The front bumper is a Bambi Basher made by Badlands Bumpers (winch ready). When the bumper was installed I had the Truck Shop do the “end cap mod” which significantly increases the strength of the bumper/ frame connection when it comes to winching and getting pulled out of bad situations by your front bumper.
On the front bumper there is a set of Rigid Cube Flood Lights and an Amazon brand of Cube Spot Lights (these have surprisingly held up just as well as the Rigid’s). They are both switched right under the e-brake in the dash. All wiring for them outside of the truck is insulated in corrugated plastic tubing.
The sliders are Demello sliders that are welded onto the frame. (The welds were done by the Truck Shop in SD with receipts)
The truck has rear frame reinforcement plates welded onto the frame (Also done by the Truck Shop in SD with receipts) to strengthen the frame and help with the additional weight of the camper.
Suspension:
Front:
The truck has a full old man emu kit on it installed in late 2014 (around 35k miles on the shocks and front coils).
-OME 2881 Front Coil Set
-OME 90004 NitroCharger Sport Front Strut
-Wheeler’s Front Superbumps in the front and stocks in the rear on the lower control arms.
Rear:
-OME 60062 NitroCharger Sport Rear Shock
-Dakar CSO 46R Leaf Pack.
-(2) OME D43xl Additional leaves in both sides.
-Rear Timbren Bump Stops (Best $200 you will ever spend on a 4x4 camper rig).
-OME GS12 Greasable Shackles.
-TF Bline-04x 19” Rear Brake Line.
-OME Rear Muffler Hanger
This suspension set up works very well and there will be times that you forgot that the camper is on the back due to how smooth the ride is. The squishy bump stops front and rear work miracles on long washboard roads. Yes there are more expensive go-fast suspension set ups out there but Old Man Emu builds reliable no-nonsense suspension set ups. There have been many times when I have rolled into camp on dirt roads and people have come over to ask how the truck rides so smooth and what my secret is. This is my second first gen Tacoma and I spent a lot of time thinking how to fine tune the ride of one of these.

Camper:
This is a Callen Camper with a full walk on roof rack (Brand new rack and shell would run you $5,000+). These campers are highly sought after for camping in Baja due to their durability (fully welded 1x steel frame) and great insulative properties (you can actually sleep in when the sun first hits your camper in the morning). We re-painted the inside of the camper a nice white color which makes the camper feel much larger inside.
-It has a fantastic reversible 3 speed fan in the roof (wired to the deep cycle battery).
-It has 2 iron man awnings an 8’ and 4.5’ one. They have bright LED lights that will light up your whole camp. We have had these out in pretty heavy winds in Baja and had no issues as long as you stake them out properly.
-Custom platform built by me with ½” finish-grade 5-ply plywood that is screwed, glued and sealed with marine varnish. It has a pull-out kitchen drawer with a two burner stove in it (the stove comes with the sale of the truck and if you want some of the kitchen supplies we can work something out). It also has a small safe hidden in a back compartment that can hold passports and some cash. We made his and her drawers in the cabover and little bookshelf to store art supplies and books on the road. There is a ton of storage in the drawer/ box system.
-My fiancé sewed the cushions/ bed covers (they are made of sunbrella material and 6” multi-density memory foam) and the bed is a queen size bed wide (but a tad shorter as this is a Tacoma bed). She also sewed the curtains (which are black out shade material). All and all this a very comfortable bed set-up that lets you sleep in much later than others.
-If you are interested in bedding that fits the bed, we are happy to include what we used (obviously washed and folded), waiting for you in the sealed bedding compartment in the camper.
-On the roof rack of the truck there is enough space to hold a ton of surfboards and gear (we had 11 boards on the roof during our trip). There is also a mount for a hi-lift, quick grabs to hold a shovel (I am keeping mine as it is lucky), a 3-gallon propane tank, and a front runner dual jerry can holder bolted to it as well (with the sale you will also get two 5 gallon jerry cans).
Electrical:
Truth be told this was my first ever 12v wiring project, but I had zero issues with it during our 5 months in Baja. I spent months working on this after work building and fine tuning it and watched a ton of YouTube (Andrew St. Pierre and Ronny Dahl videos were the most helpful). Good news all the crimps are heat-shrinked and solid. On top of that any wiring that was run out of the vehicle (or anywhere that there could be potential rubbing issues was insulated with corrugated plastic wiring housing.) This system is grounded to the bed and to the frame (I figured that redundancy couldn’t hurt).
-It has a Vmax SLR 155 AGM 12v 155ah Deep Cycle SLA battery that is less than a year old.
-It has a 100-watt Renogy solar panel that is flat mounted to the walk on roof rack. The deep cycle battery only gets charged by this solar panel. We had no issues with this as we were in sunny Baja but if you plan on using this in a more overcast or shade laden area you will want to also install a splitter (allowing the alternator to also charge the battery when the starting battery is full). I decided against going this route as to not put any strain on the stock alternator.
-Solar controller is a MPPT 30 amp
-Blue seas fuse box (all electrical pertaining to the deep cycle battery runs through the fuse box and it is all labeled on the cover of the fuse box).
-Built in to the camper are 2 (12v cigarette plugs and USB ports).
-Newer Engel MT45F purchased 3/9/17. This is currently hard wired into the truck (it sits behind the driver’s seat but is wired into the deep cycle battery in the camper). (If you are going to arm wrestling me on price I am going to keep the fridge for my next truck).
Interior:
-The truck has nice fitted husky floor mats in the front and extra cab (as well as the stock Tacoma floor mats below those ones.)
-It has Wet Okole Seat covers that have seat warms built into them (so nice on a cold day).
-It has a blue tooth/cd/radio deck on it with a microphone on the steering column.
-It has window visors on the front windows (not sure the company). This is the first truck that I have had that has ever had these and they are amazing for leaving your windows cracked on a hot day or driving in the rain and allowing nice airflow…
Flaws:
-Toyota’s of this era did not have the best quality especially in the darker colors. The hood has a little bit of clear coat starting to show it’s age in some places. The roof was especially bad before our trip so we decided to paint it white to help keep the temperatures down in the cab and help the fridge out.
-This truck is 18 years old now and has some desert pin striping and some misc. scratches.
-On our trip down in Baja the weight of the camper started to take it’s toll on where the sheet metal below the bed meets the frame at the two front points (Callen campers are well built but heavy, usually the camper out lives the truck it was built for). We had a mechanic down there install plates to help distribute the weight across a larger surface area of the sheet metal/ bed (Toyota’s design essentially puts all the weight of the bed onto four small point loads on the frame). After thinking about how to further improve upon our fix I had a fabricator in Guerrero Negro make the removable support legs that distribute the weight of the camper down to the rock sliders. With this repair the camper is solidly mounted on the truck and shouldn’t cause any further issues in the future.
-The plastic trim pieces on the bottom of the front seats are a little loose and can be a nuisance sometimes.
Price Drop: $12,500 OBO. I am in no rush to sell this and will wait for the right buyer. Please don’t waste my time and I won’t waste yours. I can meet you at the San Diego airport once deposit has been paid and am more than willing to have any mechanic look over it.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Reserved for future photos...

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Reserved for more photos....

 

[BajaSurfRig]

TTT

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Some photos of the rig set up off the grid somewhere... Our limiting regent while staying off the grid was the amount of water that we would carry. Behind the passenger seat and next to the Engel fridge is the perfect amount of space for (3) 7 Gallon water jugs.

DSC_0018 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr

Shade is king down south. We would hide under the awnings and wait for low tide. They are also a great place to dry out towels and wetties.

DSC_0388 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr

 

[sandyvan]

Nice rig! ...RIP Callen Campers, I had one on an F350 they are almost overbuilt....

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Price drop to $16,500... Have had some interest but no solid offers yet. Would like to sell this in the next couple of weeks as I am picking up my F350 at the end of the month.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Bump to the top!!

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Hump day bump.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

I am pretty firm at $16,500 for the current set up but am willing to work with someone on the price by taking things off the rig that I could use on my next set up: (Potential list: Engel Fridge ($-800), Ironman Awnings (-$500), Scanguage II (-$100). I am picking up my new rig in ten days and ideally would like to sell this before picking up the new one, don't be afraid to shoot me an offer the worst that I can say is no.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

I am planning on picking up my new to me F350 this upcoming weekend and would ideally like to make a deal this week...

This rig could be yours

[url=https://flic.kr/p/23UmEF6] DSC_0177 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/22q8iEK] DSC_0831 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr[/URL]

 

[BajaSurfRig]

I just installed some new Enery Poly Steering Rack and Sway Bar bushings on the truck this weekend (I didn't have the sway bar on yet in the photo...) and the front end feels incredibly tight and drives beautifully.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/HtS4SX] 20180513_184035 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr[/URL]

On the camper there were two small things that have been bothering me and I have been waiting on parts to fix.

The rear exterior light on the camper had a cracked lens and the fantastic fan cover had small crack in it (from lightly kicking it while strapping down boards in Big Sur a couple of weeks ago). I installed the new orange cover on the rear exterior camper light (orange is better than clear as it attracts less bugs).

[url=https://flic.kr/p/25Li8Ji] 20180513_172335 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr[/URL]

Here is a shot of the new fantastic fan cover:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/HtS4hP] 20180513_172416 by Matt Sawyer, on Flickr[/URL]

I would like to sell this in the next week so don't be shy in reaching out and making me an offer. Trust me you don't want to miss this dialed adventure rig, I know I will.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Kona just got an alignment. I also installed new sway bar endlinks yesterday as the old ones were beginning to show their age. This thing now feels like it rides on rails going around turns with all of the fresh bushings in the front end!!

Would like to make a deal in the next week or two.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

We made a walk around video showing Kona the adventure mobile. We are also lowering the price to $14,500 (minus the fridge, 8' ironman awning and scan gauge). We would like to sell the rig this week. Whoever gets this will be stoked, shoot us a PM, you don't want to miss out.