Home on wheels tacoma and flippac

2013 toyota tacoma 5 speed manual. 5.29 gears, rear locker, 35's, flippac camper, smittybilt synthetic winch, james dean creations 1985 factory toyota stripe kit, thule rear swingout, dirt bike carrier, custom schwinn ebike chopper, 2 boosted mini x's, diesel heater. shower, sink bathroom is all in here, just wasn't captured with photos or video. video of a walkaround-

Over the past few years, it has felt as if every time I dialed my setup in, something would happen to put it all on hold. During this time, I would say over 90% of my daily conscious awareness was towards dialing everything in. For quite some time, it was difficult to not feel as if I may be fighting an impossible battle. I made a commitment with myself to see things through no matter what, and I sure am glad I did! I have been immensely enjoying my home on wheels, and all is operating now as it should.
I also love that it's as if others can feel all that has gone into this, and my dream machine acts as supports for beautiful conversations of aspirations in all facets of life and invites others to share experiences that they are most fond of in their lives. It truly makes my soul smile to participate in these conversations, and to contemplate all that may be watered by others as a result of these exchanges.
Cheers to making and following through with commitments to ourselves, and bringing into fruition, all that we feel truly called to do.
Dreams don't work unless you do

 

Anyone else running a flippac?

 

@HomerTaco

 

Yep. See this one on Fakebook a few times. It's a nice build.

 

The old school stripe kit looks great! Nice rig!

 

Thank You!! this is where I ordered it from
Toyota Stripes and Decals - Discontinued factory stripe kits, logos, graphics and decals. (jamesdeancreations.com)

They have tons of factory Toyota stripe kits available. This is my 2nd set, in a different color. Really happy with the quality! People are always guessing my truck is a 1985 hahah

 

I had one briefly… the guy I got it from lucked out and got probably the last Flippac made before the company, FRP, faded away. He barely used it before starting a van build, so I got a mint condition one.

I never really loved it, the outdated and heavy boat construction, the constant stress of long term failures (hinge sealant shrinking, letting water in and corroding the mild steel, causing the constantly loaded torsion bar to rip the lid apart like a sardine can…), the heaviness on the 1st gen.

Anyway, it’s a cool design with amazing space, but the lack of being a 4-season tent (wet snow where I go would collapse it) made me sell and get a much more modern designed camper.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ATbREzm17rd5kdLt1



The new camper (now on my 2nd gen, but was on the 1st gen):

 

Yes you may have noticed the stainless steel plate I added to the outside. I also have them on the inside as well. threads right through the hinges and all the way through, to help eradicate the issues with the inner metal channel failure. I covered it in this post on my facebook page. I have been very comfortable with it in the winter with the diesel heater didn't have much experience with snow though. Winter keeps getting more and more mild in NJ. Sweet camper! the vagabond drifters are nice.

 

Nice, good solution and foresight to reinforce the hinges. Glad it's working out for you - it's a cool camper for people that fit the use cases like you.

 

Thank you, I figure I will continue to fabricate and improve as anything unfolds. I thought I would be able to run it without a torsion bar with the new push bar I had made. But even in perfect conditions inside of a shop, it was completely unrealistic for me to consider doing twice a day. Maybe that was the main factor for those who did the torsion bar delete to move on from it hahah. I have 2 torsion bars, and a full extra hinge kit. So I'll keep these components going for as long as these sets last me. Only other platforms I would really consider at the moment are something like the fourwheel camper project M or something similar. Still just cant beat the flippacs weight at less than 300lbs. Surprised that you mentioned weight for it as a con. How much does the vagabond drifter weigh? Are you sure it wasn't gear you ran with it?

 

Maybe it’s because I had solid sides or something, but my Flippac was really heavy. I never got it on a scale to get definitely measurements, but the Vagabond weighs 300lbs and the 1st gen handled the weight way better. Maybe part of it is the weight of the vagabond is lower down.

maybe FRP just filled the cavities with lead since it was the last one that the guy I got it from kept harassing them to pick up.

 

That would be pretty crazy! yeah we have loaded and unloaded mine with 4 people. Which is no small feat with how high my truck is hahah. Are you going to put any panels on your roof? I went with 2 200 watt flexible panels on mine. Most days it keeps my bluetti ac200p topped off at 100%! It's amazing how much cheaper panels have become in just the last few years

 

I’m on hold with Amy mods… I first had just a 10 gauge wire running from the AGM single starter battery to the fridge and camper lights. No issues with how I use it. Got a goal zero 500x and it lasted about a day and a half running the fridge when the truck was parked for a week, so I bumped up to a 1500x and haven’t needed the full capacity yet. So I like having the roof completely empty for both clearance and stealthiness. Many people see my camper closed up and just think it’s a contractor shell which is good living in a city.

Imm planning on moving on from my Tacoma and camper, so I’ll probably never get solar panels for it.

my dad (and other Vagabond owners) do have panels. Either the flexible ones attached with

$7 3M VHB 100x200mm~ (4" X8") Double Sided Foam Adhesive Sheet Tape 5952 Automotive Mounting Industrial Grade Very High Bond 5952 (1 Sheets 100x200mm)

3M VHB tape or rigid panels attached to some type of rack/mount.

 

ahhhh ok, nice! so you don't have too much setup on in the bed so you can easily just sleep in it without the camper deployed? And yeah I went with 3M on mine, then also did gorilla tape around the perimeter to try to keep water from getting under the panels and getting to the double sided mounting tape

 

On the weight thing, I’m sure my Flippac is way lighter than my first setup. The Leer cap with CVT RTT was definitely heavier based on how the suspension sat.
I’d love to figure out a 4 season tent to retrofit and make it as it should have been.

 

yeah I just keep the rainfly on full time, and remove it at really cool spots when I'm 100% sure it's not going to rain. I want to modify the rainfly down the line, but want to just enjoy it for now since I was working on so many things with my setup non stop hahah. I want to do full size windows, and also do a window on the whole top section, would be too good to stargaze from inside

 

looks like a better setup than what I had lol

what state/region?

I did this in Utah for a summer. It did get kinda hot.
I wonder if i could do this in the southeast given the difference in climate. Though it may not be drastic.
Somewhat hot during the day, but surely must cool off a bit at night

#FuckRent

 

hahah thank you! I'm on the east coast. Mostly in new jersey, upstate NY, pa area. I love staying up really late, but the temperatures have me going to bed earlier and waking up earlier so I don't get cooked out in the morning hahah. I find myself pretty comfortable though. I definitely spend more time in the camper during cooler temps. Diesel heater allows me to keep it really comfortable during cold weather too. Maybe one cooling systems won't demand crazy amounts of power. My 2 rechargeable fans keep it at least tolerable and comfortable enough to sleep when it's super hot and humid. can always cool off with a cold beverage or ice cream if i really wanted to from my super efficient dual zone iceco fridge and freezer

 

Thank you!!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3LmSoxa4rQ