New Tacoma owner, Canopy Camper for Family, is it possible/safe?

I am a new Tacoma (and first time truck) owner. My wife and I would really like to get a canopy camper (GFC, Vagabond, OVRLND, Topo, etc.) but I am trying to figure out if it would actually work. We're a family of four (wife and I, and two small kids) and my main concern is weight. I was surprised to learn how little weight Tacomas can handle (only about 100 lbs more than our Scion XB, which blows my mind).

The truck would be a daily driver, used for weekend ski trips, and family camping trips. No serious off-roading at all, just the occasional mellow Forest Service or fire road. I'm not interested in fully building the camper out as we'd like to keep using the truck as a truck too.

Anyway, is this even possible/safe? Any families out there with a canopy camper set up? What modifications are suggested? I've been looking a bed stiffeners and different leaf spring packs. Thanks for any info!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Family of four in a Tacoma is gonna be tight no matter what. You'll be comfier now more than ever since the kids will grow. Weight wise, as long as you don't bring the kitchen sink, you'll be OK for weekend warrior type camping trips.

That said, I'd peruse the GFC and Vagabond forums on this site and read through the discussion to garner ideas on what did and didn't work for folks.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...d-tricks-thread.585193/page-106#post-27642050

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vagabond-drifter-camper-buildout-and-mods.540940/

Some great, relevant build threads

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...drifter-build-thread-and-trip-reports.649655/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...build-adventures.460232/page-13#post-26697541

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out! I know it'll be tight, not too worried about that though, we're used to it and a full size truck wasn't in the cards anyway.

 

Thanks! Are these links in reply to my post? Not quite sure how they are related, thanks for any insight!

 

If you want the camper, get it. Put the kids in a ground tent.

 

That's what I was thinking! Again, I am not worried about space, more weight. Between passengers and gear it seems like it'd be pretty easy to max out the truck. I was wondering if other folks have done this and what mods might be needed.

 

More than likely you'll need a heavier leaf pack even if you don't hit max payload. Bed stiffeners are debatable, but they certainly don't hurt.

I run a 3 leaf AAL just for my occasional pop-up trailer plus cargo, probably in the neighborhood of 600 pounds on the rear axle when I'm running heavy. I've discovered that on stock suspension even moderate loads plus a moderate bump in the road will make contact with the bumpstops.

Can't tell you how many mini-spats have gone down because an unexpected whoop on the interstate make contact, causing me to blurt out a gratuitous "fuck!!" And then I get the inevitable question from the passenger seat "was that really necessary?" Apparently I am a living Bill Burr sketch.
. Anyways... stronger suspension. It's a relationship saver.

For running a camper, you'd probably want a full pack swap (I've been eyeballing icon RXT lately) that closely matches your extra full-time weight.

You'll be running heavier for sure. And I'll withhold my opinion about it, but there are several members on here that are at least 50% over their GVWR, and maybe one or two that are more than double. Most of them will say being at your max weight is child's play. I would only caution the usual boilerplate about running a heavy vehicle, which is keep it under 70 and give yourself plenty of braking room. Otherwise, have fun with whatever you do.

 

Thanks, that's super helpful. It's good to get a sense for how much weight folks are really carrying. I've been eyeballing the icon RXTs too.

 

Welcome!

 

RXTs on option 3 here to deal with the added weight of a 200lb ARE shell. Ride is quite a bit better than my All-Pro standard packs, not too harsh even though they advertise option 3 for heavier loads.

 

Thanks for the info! Do the stock shocks need to be swapped out with the RXT option 3 leafs?

 

I've got the Bilstein 5160s in the back but read on here (and possibly on the install sheets) that stock length shocks work fine. If you want to take advantage of extra travel the springs allow for you can pick up an extended travel shock at a later time.

 

Welcome to tw