Wisco
Observer
Don't forget your flat brimmed hat and Monster Energy stickers.
slow, budget built '89 toyota pickup expedition rig
- Thread starter xlcaferacer
- Start date
Don't forget your flat brimmed hat and Monster Energy stickers.
Sounds bad *** brah. Don't forget to finance it all! YOLO!
I love your truck BTW. Back up lights look great. I wish I had more land/garage room and anything Toyota wasn't ridiculously overpriced in the NW or I would have a late 80s/early 90s truck.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Over the course of the winter I got a fair bit done on the camper shell. I got my storage/sleeping platform done. It has 2 storage bins on each side while the middle section consists of tool storage in the front third, while the back 2/3 is hinged in the middle to allow for easier access to what is stored underneath. The platform is not bolted down but it is screwed together and a pretty tight fit so that it really can't go a anywhere when on the trail.
Here are some pics of my platform:
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I also added some small windows to each side:
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I also added some interior LED lights and a couple 12 volt power outlets:
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And to extend my living quarters a little bit I added an ARB 1250 awning:
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I do plan on adding some sort of carpeting over the reflectix insulation down the road, but for now I am leaving it open so that I can inspect the shell's aluminum skeleton after some trail time. I have heard these type of shells are hit and miss as far as holding up to trail use. With the skeleton exposed I can band-aid cracks and broken welds and also decide if it is going to hold up to what I will subject it to without putting more time and money into it.
Here are some pics of my platform:
I also added some small windows to each side:
I also added some interior LED lights and a couple 12 volt power outlets:
And to extend my living quarters a little bit I added an ARB 1250 awning:
I do plan on adding some sort of carpeting over the reflectix insulation down the road, but for now I am leaving it open so that I can inspect the shell's aluminum skeleton after some trail time. I have heard these type of shells are hit and miss as far as holding up to trail use. With the skeleton exposed I can band-aid cracks and broken welds and also decide if it is going to hold up to what I will subject it to without putting more time and money into it.
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xlcaferacer
Adventurer
I did not spend the whole winter on building out the camper (just most of it):sombrero:. Recently I spent the day crawling around under the rig greasing stuff and searching for an annoying squeak. I was reminded why you should do this on a routine basis as I do as little maintenance as possible during the cold winter months.
The squeak was coming from my idler arm. Keep in mind that I had replaced the idler arm 2 years ago. I used a new idler arm from autozone and installed bronze bushings and a Blazeland idler arm brace. The bushings and the brace were definitely the strong point in the setup. The week point was the arm itself. While the brace kept it from bending and breaking, the pivot point where it attached to the steering centerlink had completely worn out. It was sloppy and dry feeling, and just plain worn out after 2 years on the trail.
While I am confident that the Blazeland brace did its job, I don't want to keep replacing parts every year or so even if they do have a lifetime warranty. I plan on keeping this truck for a long time so I invested in its long term health and bought this:
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That's right, my little budget build got a brand new, high dollar part. Total Chaos idler arm. Holy **** is this thing beefy! Real bearings and steel and gussets and bracing! Tim the Tool Man Taylor would be grunting repeatedly if he inspected this thing. At almost $400.00 there was definitely a bit of sticker shock but after seeing it side by side with my previous setup I think that it is definitely going to be $$ well spent.
I gave my old idler arm and brace to another Toyota guy in town and he was pumped. He then broke out two broken idler arms to show me how he treats his truck. Glad I had that brace installed for the last 2 years. Mine still worked, neither of his would have gotten him back home.
While I was crawling around under the truck I also noticed some scrapes and dents that weren't there a year ago. The scrapes were on my font lower crossmember and the dent was is my front skid plate. Like I said before I plan on keeping this truck and its IFS suspension for a good number of years to come.
It still only has 144,000 original miles on it. So I spent some more $$ on more high $$ stuff and ordered up a front skid plate and belly pan from Budbuilt. I already had Bud's transfer case crossmember and skid so with this addition I will be fully armored and able to slide over rocks from the front bumper all the way to the rear of the transfer case.
They have not been shipped yet but Bud promised that they will be here before I attend Cruise Moab the first week in May. With the added weight I am sure that my truck will be getting even slower. I'm good with it. The older Volksewagon guys are always happy and they go slow!
I will post some pics of the skids and a review of how the truck did when I get back from Moab.
The squeak was coming from my idler arm. Keep in mind that I had replaced the idler arm 2 years ago. I used a new idler arm from autozone and installed bronze bushings and a Blazeland idler arm brace. The bushings and the brace were definitely the strong point in the setup. The week point was the arm itself. While the brace kept it from bending and breaking, the pivot point where it attached to the steering centerlink had completely worn out. It was sloppy and dry feeling, and just plain worn out after 2 years on the trail.
While I am confident that the Blazeland brace did its job, I don't want to keep replacing parts every year or so even if they do have a lifetime warranty. I plan on keeping this truck for a long time so I invested in its long term health and bought this:
That's right, my little budget build got a brand new, high dollar part. Total Chaos idler arm. Holy **** is this thing beefy! Real bearings and steel and gussets and bracing! Tim the Tool Man Taylor would be grunting repeatedly if he inspected this thing. At almost $400.00 there was definitely a bit of sticker shock but after seeing it side by side with my previous setup I think that it is definitely going to be $$ well spent.
I gave my old idler arm and brace to another Toyota guy in town and he was pumped. He then broke out two broken idler arms to show me how he treats his truck. Glad I had that brace installed for the last 2 years. Mine still worked, neither of his would have gotten him back home.
While I was crawling around under the truck I also noticed some scrapes and dents that weren't there a year ago. The scrapes were on my font lower crossmember and the dent was is my front skid plate. Like I said before I plan on keeping this truck and its IFS suspension for a good number of years to come.
It still only has 144,000 original miles on it. So I spent some more $$ on more high $$ stuff and ordered up a front skid plate and belly pan from Budbuilt. I already had Bud's transfer case crossmember and skid so with this addition I will be fully armored and able to slide over rocks from the front bumper all the way to the rear of the transfer case.
They have not been shipped yet but Bud promised that they will be here before I attend Cruise Moab the first week in May. With the added weight I am sure that my truck will be getting even slower. I'm good with it. The older Volksewagon guys are always happy and they go slow!
I will post some pics of the skids and a review of how the truck did when I get back from Moab.
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Fundy Rider
New member
I have a 94 extra cab with the 22re and feel it is a great setup for expo travel. Doing things the hard way to learn about the vehicle even if it takes years to get to where the truck needs to be.
I have gone back and forth with the idea of a flipac, rtt, or a commercial cap. Having gone from the wilderness to the commercial cap have you been let down by your decision and wish you could go back to the wilderness vs the commercial cap?
I feel the commercial cap can be set up to be used for a longer season since it can be set up with insulation and some kind of heat. Thinking Dickinson propane fireplace which uses the flue for both intake and exhaust so the interior is not affected by the propane and will help keep the condensation down with the dry heat of the unit.
I'll get my build up one day as it gets more together. Motor rebuilt and now on to frame and rear suspension work. THanks for taking the time for your build!
I have gone back and forth with the idea of a flipac, rtt, or a commercial cap. Having gone from the wilderness to the commercial cap have you been let down by your decision and wish you could go back to the wilderness vs the commercial cap?
I feel the commercial cap can be set up to be used for a longer season since it can be set up with insulation and some kind of heat. Thinking Dickinson propane fireplace which uses the flue for both intake and exhaust so the interior is not affected by the propane and will help keep the condensation down with the dry heat of the unit.
I'll get my build up one day as it gets more together. Motor rebuilt and now on to frame and rear suspension work. THanks for taking the time for your build!
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
I haven't had a chance yet to test out how the commercial camper is going to work out yet as far as sleeping quarters go. But I always liked sleeping in the bed of my truck when I just had a normal topper. The extra head room that I have with the commercial topper and actually having a sleeping platform should make it that much more enjoyable.
As for a comparison between my old Wildernest and the commercial topper they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Most obvious is internal space. The Wildernest was downright spacious when opened up. The downfall to the 'Nest was with high winds. Absolutely miserable to sleep in during desert windstorms. It was also a pain to set up and take down if you wanted to go somewhere as you had to store all the bedding and then fold it up. It was also not the warmest thing when the temps dropped. A little buddy heater did make it very tolerable though. Also couldn't stealth camp with the 'Nest open and when closed up I found it clostrophobic as the tent material hung down several inches with the top closed.
So with the new setup I loose a lot of space but I don't have the setup time. I can just fold my bed in half and throw the cooler in and I am ready to roll down the road. I also gain some warmth and if I need to stealth camp I can leave my swing out tire carrier shut and climb through one of the side doors and I look just like any other parked car.
I see the flippac as the new and improved version of the Wildernest with much quicker set up time. I actually looked for one but they were way out of my price range even on the used market. I really like the new version being made by (I think) Adventure Trailers. Aluminum and composite construction with a more wind friendly design to the tent, pretty sweet!
I also considered no topper at all and going with a roof top tent mounted on a bed rack but decided against it because I wanted a topper on my truck for storing my stuff in. I think I will be very happy with the setup I have built, but we just ordered a new Tepui roof top tent for my wife's 4Runner so after we use that a bit this summer I might change my mind again on what the perfect truck camping setup might be.
As for a comparison between my old Wildernest and the commercial topper they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Most obvious is internal space. The Wildernest was downright spacious when opened up. The downfall to the 'Nest was with high winds. Absolutely miserable to sleep in during desert windstorms. It was also a pain to set up and take down if you wanted to go somewhere as you had to store all the bedding and then fold it up. It was also not the warmest thing when the temps dropped. A little buddy heater did make it very tolerable though. Also couldn't stealth camp with the 'Nest open and when closed up I found it clostrophobic as the tent material hung down several inches with the top closed.
So with the new setup I loose a lot of space but I don't have the setup time. I can just fold my bed in half and throw the cooler in and I am ready to roll down the road. I also gain some warmth and if I need to stealth camp I can leave my swing out tire carrier shut and climb through one of the side doors and I look just like any other parked car.
I see the flippac as the new and improved version of the Wildernest with much quicker set up time. I actually looked for one but they were way out of my price range even on the used market. I really like the new version being made by (I think) Adventure Trailers. Aluminum and composite construction with a more wind friendly design to the tent, pretty sweet!
I also considered no topper at all and going with a roof top tent mounted on a bed rack but decided against it because I wanted a topper on my truck for storing my stuff in. I think I will be very happy with the setup I have built, but we just ordered a new Tepui roof top tent for my wife's 4Runner so after we use that a bit this summer I might change my mind again on what the perfect truck camping setup might be.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Haven't updated in a while so here goes: my truck and camper worked great all summer long. I had over 20 nights camping on the trail. I did have a few problems that kept nagging at me and always has since I bought the truck. As I have stated in past posts, my garage is small and my truck never really fit in it in order for me to work on it. The camper multiplied this problem. Before the problem was that the truck was too long to park in the garage and now with the commercial topper it was also too tall!
While I had some good nights on the trail living out of what my friends eventually dubbed "the ice cream truck" I decided to sell the setup and finally build what I should have in the first place. Here is some pics of "the ice cream truck" coming down Rose Garden Hill at the end of the Kokopelli Trail enroute to Cruise Moab 2016:
The truck worked awesome and I didn't even notice that the camper was there on the trail. I slept comfortably and had; perhaps, the goofiest looking truck on the trail. Which is what made the setup kinda cool (at least in my eyes).
Over the last couple weeks I sold the commercial topper and bed platform and built what I should have to start out with years ago. I finally got rid of my old Lincoln tombstone stick welder and bought a Hobart 210 MIG welder and got to work building the flatbed of my dreams. I have wanted a flatbed with side boxes ever since seeing Chris Collard's early 80's Toyota in Moab over 15 years ago. You can check out glimpses of it in his story here on the Portal by searching "Got Baja" parts 1-3. Well, hear is my version of what has been my dream for so many years! Hope Chris approves of my version of his inspiration.
It was built around two side storage boxes and accommodations for a roof top tent that would sit at cab height or slightly below that. I don't have the RTT yet but I stole the one off of the wife's 4Runner to use for an upcoming, pre-winter trip to the San Rafael Swell in Utah. I think it turned out pretty alright:
I used a 60" side box on the passenger side to utilize as a camping gear storage box and a 48" side box on the driver side to utilize as tool and spare parts storage. I went with a short box on the driver side so that I can still tuck in a fuel can and a water can on the side of the bed towards the tailgate and not take up any space in the main bed area.
I used plastic sheet material for the bed flooring and the for the cab side and driver side, and rear cover plates in order to save on the weight.
With this new bed setup I accomplished several key things:
1: I am not as tall anymore.
2: even with the RTT I am not as heavy as I was (I have not weighed it for comparison, but I am no longer sitting flat on my overload springs). I will be even lighter next year as I plan to purchase a Tepui Ayer which is the smallest tent that they make and should shave 40 pounds over my wife's Tepui Autana that I have mounted presently.
3: by cutting off excess overhang and ditching the swing out rear tire carrier, I am now over 2' shorter than my previous setup. I can now fit in and work on my truck in the garage with the door shut!
4: even with 35's I can now run down the highway at speed without having to deal with excess wind drag.
5: and the final accomplishment is that I didn't really lose that much storage space. By utilizing side storage boxes I made organizing easier and stuff way more access able than before.
I still need to build a tail gate but I ran out of steel. I am psyched with how it turned out functionally, and I as a side effect I think it makes the truck look a little more ************! I hope there are a few of you out there that enjoy the results.
While I had some good nights on the trail living out of what my friends eventually dubbed "the ice cream truck" I decided to sell the setup and finally build what I should have in the first place. Here is some pics of "the ice cream truck" coming down Rose Garden Hill at the end of the Kokopelli Trail enroute to Cruise Moab 2016:
The truck worked awesome and I didn't even notice that the camper was there on the trail. I slept comfortably and had; perhaps, the goofiest looking truck on the trail. Which is what made the setup kinda cool (at least in my eyes).
Over the last couple weeks I sold the commercial topper and bed platform and built what I should have to start out with years ago. I finally got rid of my old Lincoln tombstone stick welder and bought a Hobart 210 MIG welder and got to work building the flatbed of my dreams. I have wanted a flatbed with side boxes ever since seeing Chris Collard's early 80's Toyota in Moab over 15 years ago. You can check out glimpses of it in his story here on the Portal by searching "Got Baja" parts 1-3. Well, hear is my version of what has been my dream for so many years! Hope Chris approves of my version of his inspiration.
It was built around two side storage boxes and accommodations for a roof top tent that would sit at cab height or slightly below that. I don't have the RTT yet but I stole the one off of the wife's 4Runner to use for an upcoming, pre-winter trip to the San Rafael Swell in Utah. I think it turned out pretty alright:
I used a 60" side box on the passenger side to utilize as a camping gear storage box and a 48" side box on the driver side to utilize as tool and spare parts storage. I went with a short box on the driver side so that I can still tuck in a fuel can and a water can on the side of the bed towards the tailgate and not take up any space in the main bed area.
I used plastic sheet material for the bed flooring and the for the cab side and driver side, and rear cover plates in order to save on the weight.
With this new bed setup I accomplished several key things:
1: I am not as tall anymore.
2: even with the RTT I am not as heavy as I was (I have not weighed it for comparison, but I am no longer sitting flat on my overload springs). I will be even lighter next year as I plan to purchase a Tepui Ayer which is the smallest tent that they make and should shave 40 pounds over my wife's Tepui Autana that I have mounted presently.
3: by cutting off excess overhang and ditching the swing out rear tire carrier, I am now over 2' shorter than my previous setup. I can now fit in and work on my truck in the garage with the door shut!
4: even with 35's I can now run down the highway at speed without having to deal with excess wind drag.
5: and the final accomplishment is that I didn't really lose that much storage space. By utilizing side storage boxes I made organizing easier and stuff way more access able than before.
I still need to build a tail gate but I ran out of steel. I am psyched with how it turned out functionally, and I as a side effect I think it makes the truck look a little more ************! I hope there are a few of you out there that enjoy the results.
austintaco
Explorer
That came out great! Both of the setups worked well, but this one will definitely be more "krawlable" and still have space to live out of.
BajaSurfRig
Well-known member
Your rig is so rad! It is inspiring me to build a new bumper and try and get my flip pac working! I like seeing that you have gone through a handful of camper set ups, as there never seems to be a perfect set up. How many miles are on your '89 yota at this point?
seanpistol
Explorer
Awesome.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Thanks. Just turned 150,000 miles. She's still getting broken in.
snowaddict91
Adventurer
That flat bed looks **************! Though the ice cream truck is more up my alley.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Grill is chrome too. Gives me some uptown street cred when I wheel with my buddies in their 100 series Cruisers with leather seats, burled wood dashes, and air conditioning. Thanks for noticing the one shiny thing on the truck!