Diet Taco Build (FlipPac on 2015 Tacoma DCSB)

[DVexile]

Guiding Principle

The Toyota Tacoma has a pretty pathetic payload and expedition builds tend to get heavy fast. So the guiding principle for this build is to keep the Tacoma on a diet. Don't bolt things on just because everyone else does. Carefully choose modifications that give the most bang for the weight in my specific applications. Don't develop a "just in case" attitude that brings 400 lbs of recovery gear and armor. Be realistic about the most likely scenarios and accept that in the worst case "stuck" just means an unplanned camp site and a recovery bill. Don't adopt the Boy Scouts' ethic of "it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it". Hew to the ultralight backpackers' motto "if I don't have it I don't need it".

The Diet Taco at rest in its natural environment​

Starting Point

Based on my needs the base for the build is a 2015 Tacoma DCSB TRD Off Road with a windowless FlipPac. The photo above is of the very first camping site for the rig immediately after the FlipPac was installed (it started camping the very night of the install).

Completed Modifications

• BFG KO2 235/85R16 Tires
• Husky X-act Contour Floor Mats
• G-Tek Fab Door Sill Protectors
• Salex Organizers
• Raised Floor
• De-badging

Planned Modifications

• Tailgate reinforcement from Relentless
• Suspension upgrade, approximately 2.5" lift
• Fiamma side awning
• ARB or ShadyBoy rear awning
• ABS disable switch
• Remount FlipPac without bed caps
• Larger battery
• Connect FlipPac electrical
• Upgrade/improve FlipPac lighting
• Additional bright LED brake lights near top of FlipPac
• Brighter backup lights
• Rear differential breather extension
• A/C condensation drain extension
• On board air
• Matching wheel hub for spare (5 tire rotation)

I'll update the top posts in this thread as the build goes on. Follow links here to posts about specific modifications or build decisions.

And I must thank all the members of this great forum - over the few months before purchasing the truck and FlipPac the amount of information I extracted from here was incredibly useful in planning and beginning to execute my build. I hope I can "give a little back" over time with my build thread.

 

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Reserved for future summaries...

 

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Reserved for even more future summaries...

 

[tacozord]

Great! Looks like your FlipPac came in. Congratulations. That means it took you less than three months to get the FlipPac. Are you happy with it? Did you get any add-ons? Rainfly?

Also, how is the "Shark-fin" antenna affected? Did you have to modify or move it?

 

[DVexile]

Great! Looks like your FlipPac came in. Congratulations. That means it took you less than three months to get the FlipPac. Are you happy with it? Did you get any add-ons? Rainfly?

Actually it was a bit less than two months from order date to install date. They quoted me an install date about 7 weeks out when I ordered and they hit that date with no changes or delays. I didn't get any add-ons at all from FRP - just the FlipPac with no windows installed at their location. I will be getting a rain fly, but I'm going to get the one from SLO Sail instead as everyone seems to like it better than the one from FRP.

The folks at FRP were very nice, friendly and helpful. The installation went smoothly and easily and took a bit less than four hours. While they did the install I went shopping nearby in preparation for doing some of the build out. They kindly dropped me off at a nearby center that had a Home Depot, Costco, Walmart and a bunch of other stores useful for getting my truck ready for the first night of camping and building.

I only got to camp in the FlipPac for three nights and my days were very busy doing various build out activities - but so far I absolutely love it. It perfectly fits my style of camping in remote dry sites, often moving every day and valuing fast setup and tear down of camp. Every time I opened it up and climbed into the bed I was still surprised by how spacious it is and feels. I now have no regrets going with the short bed Tacoma - with the FlipPac open it seems huge inside.

Also, how is the "Shark-fin" antenna affected? Did you have to modify or move it?

The shark fin fits just fine under the overhang with at least an inch of clearance as installed by FRP. They leave the plastic bed side caps on with a single layer of foam gasket for the FlipPac. Based on the recommendations of other FlipPac owners that go off-road I'm going to eventually remove the bed side caps and go with multiple layers of bulb gasket instead. From what I understand that will lower the FlipPac and the overhang a bit. I suspect even then the shark fin will clear just fine but it will probably be looking rather close at that point. I don't have a good feeling for how much flex there is between the bed and cab in off road situations and so at this point I'm thinking that whenever I remove the bed caps I will probably replace the shark fin with the earlier model year's flat patch antenna instead. Actually I could just remove the antenna entirely as I don't use satellite radio nor do I have a nav unit, but the old patch antenna is only $60 new and by the time I go to the hassle of removing the headliner I might as well "do it right".

I have no idea how functional the antenna is under the overhang as I have no way to test it, but in theory it should still have a decent chance of working as the overhang above it is mostly just dielectric rather than metal.

 

[tacozord]

Actually it was a bit less than two months from order date to install date.

This is just awesome! I'm really surprised at how quickly it took. I called FRP back in October, and they estimated 2-3 months. But I didn't believe it after everything I heard. I then called AT Overland and they freaked me out when they said that one customer of theirs ordered a FlipPac and it took over six months to get. So either there was a production supply problem at the time or FRP simply caters to their own customers first before distributors.

Anyway, are you still in Southern California or have you moved on? If you're around, I'd like to check out your rig in person.

 

[el_topu]

️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Camelfilter]

Looks sharp & great thinking on keeping it light!

Check out the for sale section, I've a "feeler" posted up for my Slo Sails fly.

 

[dman93]

I'm not really familiar with the Tacoma bed caps, but why is it preferred to remove them? Leaks, security of the camper mount, possible damage to the caps??? Just thinking ahead in case I get a Taco ...

 

[dman93]

Looks sharp & great thinking on keeping it light!

Check out the for sale section, I've a "feeler" posted up for my Slo Sails fly.

See my PM.

 

[bat]

expedition builds tend to get heavy fast. So the guiding principle for this build is to keep the Tacoma on a diet. Don't bolt things on just because everyone else

:clapping:

 

[DVexile]

Anyway, are you still in Southern California or have you moved on? If you're around, I'd like to check out your rig in person.

Already tucked the truck back into storage in Las Vegas and am on the other side of the country from it right now Otherwise would have been happy to have you check it out.

I'm not really familiar with the Tacoma bed caps, but why is it preferred to remove them? Leaks, security of the camper mount, possible damage to the caps??? Just thinking ahead in case I get a Taco ...

The bed caps are just plastic, so they aren't that durable if off roading with the 300 lb FlipPac resting on them. A few people have mentioned theirs deformed over time. However, it is apparently a bit easier to get a good seal with the bed caps on as the caps cover some holes near the front corners of the bed that the FlipPac wouldn't cover on its own if the bed caps are removed. So when installing without the bed caps you have to do some additional sealing (usually with silicone RTV).

FRP appears to always install with the bed caps on. Back when AT still installed FlipPacs they always installed with the bed caps off. Both places attached the FlipPac by drilling into the bed rails in three places on each side. For FRP that also means drilling through the plastic bed caps as well of course.

Dave's build thread has some good pictures of the install without the bed caps using three layers of bulb seal instead.

Sometime this fall I plan to lift the FlipPac up just a bit while still over the bed to remove the bed caps and do the triple bulb seal method instead.

 

[DVexile]

Buying the Tacoma

So the story starts of course with buying a truck. In my case I had a 1992 Toyota 4WD regular cab long bed since 2000. The truck was not a DD, it was for camping only. And a number of years ago we relocated to the mid-Atlantic and so I'd left the camping truck in storage various places to use for camping trips in the southwest. Served me very well over the 15 years I had it, but now that we have a daughter we don't fit in a regular cab so well.

I camp most of the time in the Mojave, particularly often around Death Valley. I've done trips with both a mid size and a full size truck and certain places were a pain with the full size. I especially remember a trip down Lippencott road which would take about 45 minutes in my 1992 but with an Excursion along on this trip having to shimmy by narrow points and perform twenty point turns at hairpins with a spotter it took over two hours. At one point it got very dicey for the Excursion and we almost got very stuck. So I wanted to avoid going to a Tundra or other full size truck.

I was looking for quick camp setup and tear down as I like to "explore" and move frequently and I wanted something a bit more comfortable and weather sound for the rest of the family. So that ruled out a Jeep of some form or an SUV. Basically something more like a camper would be best I thought.

I had looked at pop-up campers like a FWC but the weight was just excessive for the mid-size trucks and I felt that would force me into a full-size truck. So I was in a quandary for a couple of years.

Then near the end of 2014 I saw a FlipPac out in Saline Valley. I hadn't seen one before and given its light weight it seemed like just the thing to suit me. It meant I could go with a mid size truck. With that, the Tacoma was back in the picture.

I needed to fit two adults and a child seat now, and of course three adults by the end of the service life of about twenty years. Driving distances could be quite long hitting various National Parks and so that ruled out and Access Cab. I didn't particularly want the extra wheelbase of a Double Cab Long Bed and I was interested in the TRD OR package as well. Dave's build thread here convinced me a DCSB with a FlipPac would provide plenty of room, no need for the DCLB.

Considering the various package costs I thought the TRD OR package was a good deal compared to an SR5 with additional upgrades, even if swapping the suspension. Certainly going with a base model made the price difference wide enough I could argue skipping the TRD OR and using the saved money for more upgrades. In the end I decided I liked enough of the SR5/TRD comfort features that I wouldn't go base model and at that point for me the SR5 just didn't make sense considering how much more I got with the TRD OR compared to the SR5 for a modest increase in cost. Obviously different people with different needs would reach a different conclusion!

I love manual transmissions, but the 6 speed on the V6 did not seemed to be loved by very many people and the TRD OR brought a number of useful features only implemented with the automatic transmission. Oh, and after having driven my 1992 22RE 4 cyl up passes at 35 mph for the past 15 years I was going to treat myself to a V6 for sure.

And so I ordered a DCSB V6 AT 4WD TRD OR. Oh, and the tow package as well. Though I never expect to tow the added wiring harness in case I ever do along with the alternator and trans cooler are well worth it on their own given the surprisingly low cost of the tow package.

Did I mention deserts? If you've actually lived in one day to day you'll know the only vehicle color for a desert is white. Even things like beige, grey or silver absorb more solar radiation than white with noticeably higher cabin temperatures. Since my vehicle is stored outdoors in a desert I saw no need to bake it by choosing any color other than white. I admit other colors look nicer, but function before form for me always.

I ordered with no other options - not even floor mats or door sill protectors because I was going aftermarket with all of those. And so after a six week wait my truck was ready to pick up. In one mad day I bought the new truck, put new tires on it, transferred gear from the old truck to the new truck, put the new truck in storage and drove the old truck away to be sold the next day. I got to drive the new truck for all of 20 miles before leaving it behind to wait for the FlipPac to be ready.

Here's what it looked like just new, but with the stock tires already changed out (to be discussed in a future post):

Stock except for new tires (BFG KO2 235/85R16)​

 

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Tires - BFG KO2 235/85R16

Since the truck is not a DD the question of tires is almost entirely about off road performance - though there could be long highway spells getting places too. Tread wear also not a concern as the vehicle is so low mileage tires will be replaced due to age before even 50% tread wear.

I pretty quickly settled on the BFG KO2. I've run the KO on my previous truck for years and years and it did quite well on the kinds of trails I drive. The KO2 looked to be an improvement all around, so I planned to wait for the KO2 to come out in my desired size before swapping tires. I probably could have done more due diligence and research about alternatives to the KO2 - the KO was by no means a perfect tire and the KO2 is too new to really know how much improvement there really is. But in the end, each alternative I read about also had its detractors just like the KO did and I decided to go with what I was familiar with.

So the question of size.

I decided narrow pizza cutter was best suited to my needs. I never do mud or dunes but do occasionally encounter sandy roads that might cross the apron on a dune system. Otherwise it is dirt, gravel and rocky roads sometimes steep. I may encounter off road passes with snow from time to time. After some research it seemed pizza cutter was the right approach for me. This article was a particularly good read.

But what diameter?

It seems that a 33" was almost a prerequisite for calling a vehicle an "expedition" vehicle. But with the Tacoma that came with a lot of fuss. You'd have to lift to 3" to fit a 33" on. Unfortunately at 3" lift you'd really need to swap the UCAs as well to ever get good alignment. You would also risk having the CV boot ribs rubbing leading to premature failure, so you are probably swapping the CV boots. The steep CV angles also may necessitate a bearing swap to reduce vibration. Lastly the increased rotating mass and diameter seemed to leave some folks deciding to re-gear their diffs. Also the standard pizza cutter 33" in the form of the 255/85R16 isn't available in KO or KO2 and I'd have to swap wheels to 17" to get something similar or look to a different tire (like a KM2). That seems like an awful lot of cascading problems or upgrades to properly support a 33" tire.

Alternatively a 235/85R16 comes in at about 31.7" in diameter and can be put directly on stock with no issues whatsoever. I'd still want to lift, but now I can go to just a 2" or 2.5" lift which doesn't necessitate new UCAs, CV boots and lower risk of bearing vibrations post lift. And compared to a say 33.2" tire I've lost a whopping 0.75" of clearance under the differential by going with the slightly smaller tire.

So in the end I decided 0.75" was not worth all the additional (potential) troubles with going to a 33".

BFG was estimating the KO2 available in 235/85R16 on April 15th. Unfortunately that was after my FlipPac install date and so I'd probably not be able to put the KO2s on until the fall when I'd next get to work on the truck. But then it turned out they were available earlier than expected and in fact I could get them the very day I purchased the truck. If I lived where my truck lives I would have sold the brand new Rugged Fails taken off on craigslist probably for a good $400 for the set of 5. However, logistically selling used tires from across the country was not a realistic option. Fortunately it turned out Discount Tire would give me a $250 trade in on the set of 5 and their price for the KO2 was within a dollar of TireRack's price. So just a couple of hours after picking up the truck from the dealer I pulled into Discount Tire and traded in the Rugged Fails with 32 miles on them for the KO2s I had ordered a few days earlier to be ready.

Photo of tires in previous post.

 

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Floor Mats and Door Sills

If I could have gotten a vinyl floor I would have, and in a few past model years you could. But carpet only for the Tacoma these days. The standard quality mat for a long time has been the WeatherTech and I was all set to go that route. But I soon learned WeatherTech are extremely rigid, the plastic is more like a trash can lid than rubber. A number of people had been complaining about poor fit because the rigid plastic wouldn't deform to close gaps on vertical surfaces. Husky had their WeatherBeater line in competition but these were also rigid plastic. I wasn't sure I was going to like either options.

Then I found that Husky now made X-act Contour mats which are made from a more rubbery flexible plastic. I honestly think these should be the new standard for quality mats and people should give WeatherTech a pass unless they specifically like the rigid plastic for some reason. The Husky mats went on discount from Amazon just before I was to take delivery on the truck, so I had them drop shipped to be waiting for me when I got to Las Vegas to pick up the truck. They are simply wonderful in every way. Love the fit, thickness and pliability. They fit over and use the front mat latches in the Tacoma perfectly. The rear single piece mat fits perfectly and stays in place with a combination of traction nubs on the bottom of the mat and perfectly snug fitting underneath the front seat mounts.

I really hadn't even considered door sill protectors - didn't think I'd need them. But I did realize that they could probably get pretty torn up. I looked at the various plastic options - including OEM and wasn't too impressed.

One of the reasons I went with the Tacoma over other midsize options was the extensive third party after market support. Similarly I wanted a 2015 rather than waiting for a 2016 for this mature support. I found over on TacomaWorld a guy selling metal door sill protectors. G-Tek Fab is the name and I decided to go with those. Probably overkill, but I do quite like them.

Floor Mats and Door Sill Protectors​