<82”?!

Why not park the truck in the garage, measure from the floor bed vertically and have your max ht? Not sure where the number crunching comes in.

 

He doesn't have a Tacoma yet. Read the first 10 words in the post you quoted.

 

Doh! Time to sleep......

 

Happens to the best of us.

 

These are the two quick examples of Caribou lite + Tacoma that I could find.







Probably wouldn't be my choice of combination.

 

Those two set ups are really appealing. If I had room in the garage, I'd definitely go with a trailer. Way more bang for the buck -- and so great to have the truck without the camper whenever you want. Unless I'm willing to jack my house up, or buy a low-rider truck -- both thoughts have me smiling from ear to ear -- I think the pop-up dream is gonna half to wait. In the meantime, a Tacoma with something like that iKamper set up seems like my best bet. Very sleek design. I especially like that it's light weight, streamlined, and doesn't detract from gas mileage. Let me know if y'all have any other suggestions for low-profile truck-bed campers, and I'll be sure to let you know if I discover anything along these lines, as I imagine I'm not the only one out there looking for workable, lightweight pop-ups for third gens. Thanks again, y'all!

 

Thanks also for those pictures of the Caribou Lite + Tacoma set ups. Such a great camper, even if tricky to make work with a Tacoma payload.

 

The lightweight popups are great in a full size truck. They are just a bit too much if you want to stay in the payload of the midsize segment.

Now, a bit of a warning, the iKamper being MPG friendly might be unique to me. My truck is completely stock aside from the rack and tent, and I have always been blessed with better than average MPGs. Even if I'm driving like an asshole, I don't pay at the pump as much as the next guy. The one thing I am actually lucky at.

 

Yep. Looks good, but I would just about bet that those don't work with the payload. Many do not even know what payload is, and many that do know disregard it and say it's fine to go over. Personal choice for each of us to make.

 

Here's a link to the Harker EDC pop-up I mentioned, which seems to do a good job balancing payload limits with camper amenities:

https://harkeroutdoors.com/collections/products/products/2016-toyota-tacoma-short-bed-camper

 

personally, i much prefer the trailer method for camping--i can drop it and setup as a home base, instead of picking up every time i want to use the truck. i've got my sights set on a sunray 139t trailer once i get the truck finances squared away.. more importantly, it's less than 20k fully equipped with lights, heat/ac, and bedding, where that harker outdoors unit is halfway there at $8k, and is just a bed-mounted raw tent without anything else.

https://sunsettrailers.com/sunray/

i do understand the van/rtt setup-- it makes sense for overlanding/boondocking, and my grandfather despised towing trailers, so he always went with a small self-contained conversion van. but the stories he has of trying to use campgrounds, and then having to go into town, only to come back and people stealing his campsite while tossing his set up lawn chairs and firewood are endless...

 

Those Sunrays seem great. Classic look, latest amenities. Lots to like there. And I hear you on the cost front especially. My original — and still preferred — plan was to get pop-up camper van. A rebuilt 1980s VW would suit me wonderfully, but they’re often upwards of $60k. And a newfangled version — often built on a Mercedes Metris body — is even pricier. And don’t even get me started on the high-top vans everyone likes these days: $100k+ easy. I’m starting to understand why many folks just build out their own vans!

 

watch the used market. it's normally a little more hassle, but many of the used conversion van builds are somewhat cheap--at least compared to the new mercedes van builds!

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1996-Roadtrek-190+POPULAR-5030022334

and it might not be 1980's vw, but there are vw's out there!
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1997-Winnebago-RIALTA+22RD-5030395001

 

The vans are cool, I've seen quite a few of those out and about.

My favorite pithy summary of camping is this: "every solution is a compromise." I personally found that determining the best way to go is drawing up a realistic list of compromises, and deciding which ones I can best live with.

Example:

Trailer

• Heavy off road trips are going to be round-trip day excursions (no point to point on trails too tight for articulated vehicles).
• Parking when towing (ie lunch stops) can be challenging.
• Costs more and has higher maintenance than a tent, but is still less than a van or bed-camper.
• Consumes more gasoline
• Needs a large storage footprint

Van/bed camper (as an occasional use RV)

• 'Spensive. High initial cost, and high recurring costs of maintenance and insurance. You just took on a new engine.
• Tiny living compared to a trailer. Most popular layouts have you sleeping on a convertible dinette. Two people cannot reasonably do tasks in the galley at the same time.
• Risk of losing a campsite from a day excursion.
• Is more capable off road than a trailer, but not nearly as capable as an empty truck on a day excursion, or a truck with a RTT.
• Consumes more gasoline than a RTT, but less than a trailer.
• Also needs a large storage footprint.

Van/Bed camper (as a primary vehicle)

• Also expensive. Surprisingly so.
• Contains all compromises from occasional use RV, excluding insurance cost and needing storage space.
• Inability to perform certain tasks as a daily driver.

Bed/roof Tent

• You have room to sleep, read, and fart. Galley tasks and hygeine must be done out in the elements, rain, snow, or sunshine.
• Very easy to overcomplicate things and become a victim of gadget fever: every piece of gear adds to your set-up/tear-down time and reduces vehicle payload.
• Like a van, there's a risk of losing a campsite to day excursions.
• Emergency bug-out capability is reduced. By this I am imagining a scenario where someone contracts sudden injury or illness and wishes to evac to a hospital. It will take time to unshackle the vehicle from camp.
• Needs indoor/garage storage for gear not permanently affixed to truck.
• Gear that is permanently affixed will alter the weekday haul capabilities.

-

After making a list that way, I chose a trailer, and then I made more lists to narrow it down to type of trailer.

And I gotta say, something that can still squeeze down a good 90% of America's dirt trails and gives me some stretch-out space at the end of the day, I'm pretty happy with it.

 

Thanks for all these links and tips and lists, y’all! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me think through this.

 

I think a Caribou Lite + Tacoma would be a completely doable combo, especially with a 6’ bed. It’s not going to be as fast as a V8 of course, but it’ll get better MPGs. People used to haul campers like this around on 100 hp 4 bangers back in the day. It may be exceeding the payload of a 3rd gen a little on paper, but get some airbags (which would be best for your garage clearance issues too) and I wouldn’t have any problem running this camper on a 3rd gen, but that’s just me. Definitely on a long bed tho.

The dimensions look to me like it just miiiiight just be doable for your garage. The 62” has to be to the bottom of the legs. The “??” range in this pic of the 2nd gen does look to me like it might just be under 20” (I think 2nd and 3rd gen bed heights are pretty close, but I’m not exactly sure).

 

Airbags do not fix being over payload.

 

I didn’t say they did. I was just suggesting them to control the sag and to also allow more clearance for his garage. Nobody cared about payload like they do now until forums. I acknowledge that it’s over and that concerns some people, but I’d run it no problem. Most of the built rigs on tw are way over payload, especially with a couple passengers.

 

really depends on one's perspective of 'over payload'.
this is legal in europe.


imo, the current SAE payload specifications are a little overbearing, with far too much emphasis placed on allowing lawyers and insurance agencies to tell what is and isn't possible.

 

Yup. Legal. Also not allowed to travel at normal speeds and require special licenses. Any other apples you'd like to compare to oranges?