Been a minute since we updated on here, and...a lot has changed 😅
Installed Rock Sliders
After several close calls with the rocker panels on trails here in the ozarks I decided it was time to break out the welder and add some Trail Gear rock sliders. I'm a novice welder, but the install went smooth and the welds turned out surprisingly decent - even with the little Harbor Freight flux machine I used.
Built a Tauler Jack
After hearing a ton of good things about the
Tauler Jack from Brennan's Garage - a uniquely compact alternative to the common Hi-Lift perimeter jack - I had picked up a kit along with an 8000lb Reese trailer jack. And while I had the welder out I figured I'd throw it together. The process is pretty straight forward with the clear included instructions and, though it lacks the vice/winching ability, I'm super impressed with how much smaller (25"), easier, and safer the Tauler Jack is compared to the Hi-Lift we'd previously carried.
TUNE Outdoor M1 Install
After our first multi-week trip out west in the GFC as a family of four it became apparent that, while we loved the GFC and it worked great for 1-2 weeks at a time, we'd need a bit more room if we intend to be on the road longer term. As fate would have it on that same trip we ran into a couple in SE Utah that had just had a new Tune M1 camper installed and we fell in love with the unique cantilever design that provides a massive amount of interior space at a very reasonable weight penalty ( at 360 lbs for a model for our Tacoma's 5ft bed it's only about 80lbs more than our GFC). So we put down a deposit and had an install scheduled only a couple months later. We opted for the king-size bed extension which gives the camper a massive 72" x 80" east-west sleeping platform while still having 34" of passthrough to the bed. Now all four of us can sleep comfortably up top east west or north south and the entirety of the bed can be used for gear/interior hangout space in inclement weather if needed.
Here is our more in-depth initial review of the Tune M1.
Once home we quickly dove into dialing in the interior of the new camper. I fabbed up some bed stiffeners using a late model set from Amazon to help shore up the bed rails.
In an effort to further reduce weight I decided to rebuild our existing half-platform/drawer storage out of 8020 - though it did reduce the weight by 39% it was an incredibly tedious process that I wouldn't necessarily recommend unless weight savings is paramount. We were really happy with the finished product though, complete with a 58" drawer and hydraulic assisted Partner Steel Stove lift (by far the most oVeRlAnD thing I've ever done to a truck
). We put together
a pretty detailed build guide here incase anyone's interested in building a similar 8020 aluminum drawer platform.
I also came up with a slick removable mounting solution for our Olympian Wave 3 heater and requisite CO detector using the Tune M1's integrated T-track ( the camper has something like 450ft of T-track built in which makes customizing SUPER easy) and a cheap TV mount.
Drilled some holes and installed some L-track in the bed using stainless steel rivnuts to make securing our ARB fridge and other gear easier while under way.
