Hello from a new Tacoma lifer. :)

Hi everyone!,

Jack Michael here (pronouns: she/her).

I'm stoked to be a new member of the Tacoma empire that is tacomaworld.com. I drive a silver 2019 TRD Off-Road. I recently added a rail-mounted heavy-duty bed rack and topped it with a Guana Nosara tent from Off Road Tents (and both the tent and that company are A+, I gotta say!). I've been interested in overlanding for a few years, but most of my travel (both offroad and on) takes place via motorcycle (a BMW F 750 GS). Finding ways to stuff as many fishing poles, guns, books, and art supplies into my vehicle is my primary hobby - both on the bike and in the truck!

My next Tacoma project is building out a custom truck bed camp kitchen, á la the Decked system, but a little less chonky and with a little more...elegance? I'm planning to build the system from plywood, heavy-duty full-length drawer slides, & marine spar varnish, then top the system with diamond plate flooring or a heavy-duty rubber topper. Still trying to think of ways to make the whole thing waterproof without rewinding and adding a camper shell or a bed rack that doesn't interfere with a tonneau cover...so please hit me up if you have ideas on that front. Also looking for retractable awning ideas that only need 2 points of attachment and would extend over the tailgate area. Masters of Tacoma mods, please lend me your wisdom! ;P

This summer, I'm planning to do a bit of an experiment to see how long I can live out of this setup in a way that mimics an artist residency (basically a place to sleep, a place to use the bathroom and shower, a modest kitchen, and - top of the list - a space where the user can get some much-needed rest, relaxation, and the isolation/inspiration to make artwork and scheme up new creative ideas). Maybe I'll try to design a wheel-mounted easel for painting on, ha! (And yes, I'll post hella-detailed plans if I do.)

Thank you in advance for any help/wisdom/resource links, and happy driving!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

Welcome to TW, Jack!

Sounds like you've got some pretty good plans!

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to TW!