Tacomarin’s Chubby Unicorn Build

Been working on the truck the last couple of weekends. Got a Pelfreybilt auxiliary fuse panel mounted with a Blueseas setup, and got all my lighting from @mattgecko wired up and installed inside of the Tradesman truck top. Many thanks to @Toynado for detailing out everything I would need to setup the fuse panel! It's not hard, just takes a long time to get everything wired up. Just in time for a small camping trip this weekend and next!

Plasti-derped Pelfreybilt fuse panel installed. I know this isn't cheap and I could have made something, but it's well thought-out and for the amount of time it would have taken me to make it I think it was well worth the money.


@mattgecko LEDs installed. Love how low profile these are and good pricing, good product, and quick delivery! Thanks! Still need to plasti-derp those hinges....




Wired all of that up to a 5 gang marine switch panel. I kept going back and forth on whether to do this or CH4x4 setup, but I just couldn't justify the cost of the CH4x4 setup for something like this. The panel is actually well constructed and the switches at least feel solid. I'm sure it's not as good as the CH4x4 switches, but it'll work for this. I did have to rewire it so that a switch would turn on the outlets/voltmeter, but otherwise it's pretty much plug and play.

$31 Cllena Dual USB Socket Charger 2.1A&2.1A + LED Voltmeter + 12V Power Outlet + 5 Gang ON-Off Toggle Switch Multi-Functions Panel for Car Marine Boat RV Truck Camper Vehicles (Red)

Here's the Amazon link.

 

WOW very nicely Done! Very clean SANO build!

 

Thanks! SANO?

 

HaHa, Im old, just a term we used to use for: really nice, almost OEM style mods. Motorcycle and Hotrods etc. Very Clean!!!

 

Found this, Online slang dictionary:

sano
adjective

• of a modification, performed so well that it appears to be stock or factory-like.Ohhh man, those motorcycle mods are so sano!

 

Haha well I take that as a big compliment then! I thought it was an acronym

 

Love the cap! Im looking into the tradsman also. My fiberglass cap cracked while on a 200 mile on dirt trip to Mendo last weekend! What height cap did you get? What weight canyou put on top of the cap? Thanks for the info.

 

Bummer about the crack! The cap is a 26” tall version. I also opted for extra reinforcement on it which they recommend if you’re doing off road travel. Not sure about the weight on top because I didn’t ask. I think they could probably hold an RTT but not sure. If you’re in the Bay Area and want to check it out let me know. Also would love to know your dirt route to Mendo!

 

Mendo is sick, lets chat soon on Insta.

 

This is the most impressive tacoma build to date! Definitely a big inspiration! Thanks so much! Will post some photos of my truck when it comes together.

 

Wow, thank you! More to come this weekend....

 

This is definitely a cool setup and it seems like you've done some great work. I'm pretty sure a lot of people would be interested in your build thread. Good idea for those tiles on the plywood.

 

@tacomarin your build out is exactly what I've been looking for. I built my sleeping platform a little different, I utilized two bins instead of drawers. Your camper shell set up is what I've been looking to do! So glad I found yours to see how it works together!

I have a soft topper, and it has its advantages, but the biggest drawback is the lack of head room. Hence the transition to the DCU camper.

Here are some photos of my sleeping platform. I wanted to make it as light as possible, and easy to remove because I use my truck for work. I also used 1/2" foam floor tiles as a pre-mattress and something comfortable to sit on while in the camper. The orientation of these came out a little off, but they work for now. The right/middle has three sections of 3/4" plywood to make it somewhat modular, and can be removed to put your feet down and move around a little easier. Very difficult to get good photos because of the lack of headroom with the softtopper haha. Will post more once everything is set up properly!

Check out my build thread, just created.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2017-tacoma-sr-work-expo-build.554856/

 

That is super clean! Looks great and that was a great idea to use the foam floor tiles! How stable is your platform without a base? My biggest regret with the platform is how heavy it is. But it's super bomber so I never have to worry about it flexing or over-loading it and since there are individual cabinets, I can take one out at a time if needed. Down the road I would like to remake the platform with an aluminum frame, but for now it works really well and so it stays.

The head room is definitely really nice. My wife and I can basically sit up inside of it, and actually spent most of a day hanging out back there with our dog waiting out a rain storm. It's not as nice in that regard as a pop-up camper would be, but it's really nice in the sense that we don't have to do anything to set up our camp besides park. It's also great for stealth camping. You might want to check out the Tradesman tops instead of the ARE version. There are more window options, you can get them fully insulated and skinned like mine, and there are tons of custom options. They aren't cheap, but they definitely aren't as expensive as the wedge campers either.

Kudos on the great build-out!

 

Hey thanks for the compliments!

The platform is incredibly stable, I built it to pretty tight tolerances, so it almost snaps into place. There is zero deflection on the sleeping platform. Also I built everything to lay on top of a Tacoma rubber bed mat, this helps keep things from sliding around as well. Made for some awkward notching, and different heights for the vertical supports for the platform though.

The dry weight for my whole set up is somewhere right under 100 lbs. I used 3/4" plywood for left side sleeping platform, and 1/2" plywood for the right side storage cabinet. Could of made it all out of 1/2" plywood but I feel like that would jeopardize some of the strength. I also pocketed out openings with the help of a CNC rounter to save a little weight as well. Building something out of aluminum could be cool, but I feel like its a lot of engineering.

Your kitchen set up looks very turn key. Everything is right there at your fingertips, really slick set up!

I'm going to call tradesman today and see about pricing. I got a quote from ARE for a 26" DCU shell all the options I wanted, like windows in the side doors, window in the rear tail gate, and a sliding window at the front, total was around $2,350. Seems like a really good price. I was planning on insulating it myself and adding some type of fabric for a headliner, also planning on cutting into the roof for a skylight, and building a roof rack around my gear and solar shower. I'm sure the price would go up considerably if I chose to have ARE do all these things. Would be smart to cross reference pricing for the Tradesman shell though.

Looking forward to your updates!

 

I haven't weighed mine, but I would estimate that the dry weight of my platform is around 200 lbs. It's definitely heavy. I went back and forth between 1/2 and 3/4 ply, but when I was at the lumber yard the 1/2 ply just looked too flimsy. Looking at it now after it's built I think it would have been fine, especially for the base and verticals. But making everything out of one thickness made it a lot more efficient for planning out my cuts. And of course I found out a coworker of mine has a CNC router that I could have used AFTER I built everything. Oh well. Maybe for a later retrofit.

I think Tradesman would be a bit more than ARE for that setup, but wouldn't be too far off. Are you going to paint it or keep it plain white? I definitely recommend a sliding, fold down front window. If you ever want to clean that window without taking your cap off, you're gonna need to be able to fold it down.

 

Yeah keeping the thickness the same makes it so much easier. The drawers came out really well! I'm sharing your build with a friend who is trying to do drawers. I keep telling him how difficult they are, but the usability is second to none!

For the shell I'm going to keep it white because my truck is white. I didn't know they made a fold down front window? That would be really useful for cleaning, I thought they just had a sliding window at the front?

I also noticed you have sliding side windows? That also seems like a good idea. I'm also tempted to just get the headliner installed like on yours? The finish looks really nice!

Waiting on an estimate from them now. I got an estimate based on the same options ARE quoted me.

 

Yeah drawers are definitely not the easiest. Fortunately they weren't the first drawers I have ever built, but they were definitely the biggest. Even if you are really precise you are bound to get some warping in the build up and if you don't have enough clearance, you'll get binding. If your friend is looking for slides, these are the cheapest I found. They work really well. The only downside with big slides like these is that you can't separate the two parts of the slides so attaching the drawers is a bit of a pain in the ass. Your friend might want to look into the skateboard bearing method that a lot of guys are doing in this thread. It seems like a really good way to go. Maybe not quite as robust at full extension, but definitely a lighter option.

Not sure if ARE has the drop down slider option... I think they do. Tradesman definitely does and it's what I have. Sliding side windows are great also for the warm nights. On mine I got the insulation, interior skin, and full carpeting. Not sure if they do the carpeting without doing the interior skin, but they might be able to do it. In my mind a thin aluminum truck top sounded like it would be cold AF, so I went with full insulation. But you could certainly insulate and skin it yourself, which would have a lot of pluses too. For instance, I can't run wires through the frame any more because I would have to rip all the carpeting out, drill out the rivets, etc. If you skinned it yourself, you could put in some access panels for running wires down the road, etc.

Anyway, I could ramble on forever about it. It would be awesome to check out your platform someday since you're nearby. Maybe at one of the meet ups down the road if not before. Also if you want to check out the topper sometime let me know!

 

Mine will be carpeted but no skin or insulation so it is an option.

 

Man there's so many options. I feel like the bare aluminum would dent easily too, and also be very warm in the summer.