1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Let's see those Alu-cab setups

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by turbosmitty, Jul 28, 2018.

  1. Dec 30, 2018 at 8:47 PM
    #21
    Larmo63

    Larmo63 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2016
    Member:
    #201559
    Messages:
    438
    Gender:
    Male
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2019 Tacoma Access Cab TRD Sport
    Big tent envy here.

    That looks business and you guys look pro.

    Bravo!
     
    Ngneer, DAS Taco and turbosmitty[OP] like this.
  2. Dec 30, 2018 at 8:59 PM
    #22
    ghost2

    ghost2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2018
    Member:
    #263384
    Messages:
    64
    Love the setup. Should be running the same thing soon. I wanted windows on the canopy which had to be special ordered so hopefully soon.
     
    Ngneer and turbosmitty[OP] like this.
  3. Jan 6, 2019 at 5:01 PM
    #23
    cmorse01

    cmorse01 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2018
    Member:
    #277242
    Messages:
    3
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2016 TRD Sport
    Very nice - do you have a rough weight of the canopy, tent & awning? I'm encouraged by the minimal difference between your empty mileage and mileage with canopy & tent. I'm waiting on a canopy camper and am hoping not to have a huge mileage hit with it mounted semi-permanently.

     
    Ngneer likes this.
  4. Jan 9, 2019 at 6:07 PM
    #24
    Broccoli

    Broccoli Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2015
    Member:
    #166833
    Messages:
    2,096
    Gender:
    Male
    Airdrie Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2016 trd sport blazing blue,
    Hey got my alucab canopy with no paperwork, wondering if you could pm/scan me some pics of the install process/manual. Hopeing to get it done this weekend.
     
    Ngneer likes this.
  5. Jan 9, 2019 at 6:48 PM
    #25
    AverageGuyTaco

    AverageGuyTaco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2017
    Member:
    #232959
    Messages:
    212
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2017 TRDOR-DCLB
    What is your hot water heater setup?
     
    Ngneer likes this.
  6. Jan 31, 2019 at 8:57 AM
    #26
    lumis

    lumis Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2018
    Member:
    #244415
    Messages:
    64
    Gender:
    Male
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2019
  7. Mar 15, 2019 at 11:45 PM
    #27
    Seabass

    Seabass Give it to me. I'll break it for you

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2010
    Member:
    #34455
    Messages:
    7,650
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Adam
    AZ
    Vehicle:
    '06 Sport 4x4
    Just a bunch of old crap
    Gen 3 tent and Shadow awning. Tent bedliner color matched to the truck (original indigo ink pearl pigments but with extra pearl added).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp0orqboMbk

    20190309_182504.jpg

    I added bubble levels to the side and rear of the tent that tells me how many inches I need to raise a side/corner with the orange leveling blocks. Worked great on the first try. Park where I want, check the levels and their readings, add blocks (1 per inch of needed raising) and drive up. Level the first time without any guesswork.
    screen_058dac0b89525d70_1552169373710.jpg

    LED strip lights installed to the bottom of the Shadow awning housing. Plenty of light to see what you're doing on that side. Will likely add more to all of the awning arms for more light coverage, as long as they stow away with the tent and don't get in the way.
    20190309_190737.jpg

    Lighter sockets in rear passenger cubby so I can easily plug in the Anderson to it to power the lights/USBs inside the tent
    20190304_161114.jpg
    20190304_161125.jpg

    High rise load bars up top for the kayak, Maxtrax, etc. I have the low rise mounts too, but the high rise ones work better for stabilizing the kayak actually
    20190303_151729.jpg

    40" LED light bar is going on the front of the tent below the hinges next.
    20190228_230028.jpg

    Coming soon:

    Dual battery setup so I can run solar on top of the tent (done)
    Kayak v shaped mounts for tent load bars (no longer needed)
    New bed rack being built that will be stronger for this heavier setup. I'll use my old rack in the meanwhile. New one will be twice as strong and have jerry can holders, propane tank mount, etc but still be cab height so I can access gear in my truck bed under the tent without having to remove anything (done)
    More LED strips under the tent after it's moved over to the new bed rack so I can have full bed and tailgate area cheap lighting that's USB powered from the cubby sockets (upgraded to hard wired touch lights)
    More LEDs higher up in the tent that switch on or plug into the USB ports. The lower stalk lights are ok but don't give as useful light as higher lights provide (done, touch light)
    I don't like my shoe bags in the tent with me over my head, so I'm going to rig up some bags that hang outside by the ladder like others have. Something easy to remove but won't blow down in wind (done)
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2023
    Ngneer, TacoSR523, grogie and 5 others like this.
  8. Apr 16, 2019 at 12:55 PM
    #28
    Teegs

    Teegs Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2017
    Member:
    #235568
    Messages:
    467
    Gender:
    Male
    A Khaya is on our dream list around 15-20 years from now when we'll need more creature comforts. That said, all the Alucab stuff I've seen looks sick, and incredibly well built. Super jelly of those of you who are kitting out with them!
     
  9. May 15, 2019 at 10:50 AM
    #29
    Seabass

    Seabass Give it to me. I'll break it for you

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2010
    Member:
    #34455
    Messages:
    7,650
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Adam
    AZ
    Vehicle:
    '06 Sport 4x4
    Just a bunch of old crap
    Got a beefier rack built by Avid Off Road to support the heavier weight of the Alu-Cab setup. Super heavy duty and I had 2 more tabs installed so I can mount the tent on 3 load bars instead of just 2. Added jerry can and propane mounts to the rack as well to keep those items up out of the bed. Also installed some waterproof surface mount pods under the tent to light up the tailgate area. Hard wired them to the tent hard wiring and added a waterproof latching switch with LED ring for easy on-off when the tent is plugged in to the truck. I also removed my old 2" closed cell foam mattress topper and put this 1/5" cooling memory foam topper and it's way better. I can also close the lid much easier with this topper and that includes having the ladder up there, 2 queen pillows, a sheet over the topper and mattress, and a queen size Pendleton wool blanket up there all the time. Last thing was to run 2 15' USB extension cables to the hinge end of the tent (where I prefer to have my head) so I don't have to fumble around with the USB/LED pod block when I want to plug in my phone and other things.

    20190510_132556.jpg

    20190513_102907.jpg

    20190511_160312.jpg

    20190511_204750.jpg

    20190511_155956.jpg

    The hose included with my Partner Steel stove just reaches the propane tank while still mounted. No need to take the tank off to run the stove on my tailgate at least.
    20190512_142701.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  10. Jan 24, 2020 at 10:27 PM
    #30
    baldbeardedtaco

    baldbeardedtaco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2018
    Member:
    #265223
    Messages:
    3,264
    Gender:
    Male
    FL
    Vehicle:
    18 TRD Sport DCSB MGM
    That black on mgm utility style looks good! I’m guess this is the explorer model? How much for just the shell
     
    Ngneer likes this.
  11. Jan 25, 2020 at 2:09 AM
    #31
    mgmdclb

    mgmdclb Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2019
    Member:
    #280479
    Messages:
    1,295
    Gender:
    Male
    The Maritimes, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2018 MGM DCLB Sport
    Looking good, keep these setups coming.
     
    Ngneer likes this.
  12. Jan 25, 2020 at 8:51 PM
    #32
    Fletcher37

    Fletcher37 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2019
    Member:
    #303607
    Messages:
    391
    PNW
    This thread has me regretting my current plan of Diamondback bed cover, Max Modular rack, iKamper Skycamp Mini. The black Alu Cab canopy with tread pattern setup looks niiice with the 3rd gen tent on top.
     
    MJTH likes this.
  13. Feb 10, 2020 at 11:57 PM
    #33
    Seabass

    Seabass Give it to me. I'll break it for you

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2010
    Member:
    #34455
    Messages:
    7,650
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Adam
    AZ
    Vehicle:
    '06 Sport 4x4
    Just a bunch of old crap
    Recent upgrades:

    180W Sunflare solar panel and a Victron MPPT controller to keep the dual batteries healthy

    20200202_124957.jpg

    20200201_120658.jpg

    Small upgrade but a favorite - National Luna touch light hard wired to the tent power. Finally a fixed overhead light in the tent that's worth it. Good light fill even on the lowest amber mode. 2 more of them are already mounted under the tent for bed lighting and I love them.

    20200209_175707.jpg

    20200210_200452.jpg

    20200210_200700.jpg

    Also replaced the fixed length ladder with a telescoping one. Lots more tent entry options, and it stows away much easier in the tent

    20200109_135537.jpg

    20200109_135427.jpg

    20200109_135823.jpg

    20200109_135630.jpg

    20200109_135715.jpg
     
  14. Mar 21, 2020 at 2:21 PM
    #34
    woodsman117

    woodsman117 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2018
    Member:
    #260720
    Messages:
    345
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2015 Barcelona Red TRD OR
    OME HD lift, HD Dakars, Duratraks, RCI IFS Skid
    Excuse me while I clone this. Cheers!
     
    Ngneer likes this.
  15. Mar 30, 2020 at 6:52 PM
    #35
    DAS Taco

    DAS Taco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2020
    Member:
    #322072
    Messages:
    2,215
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    DAS
    Vehicle:
    2017 TRD Offroad
    Beautiful canopy!, that's exactly what we want for our Tacoma !
     
    Ngneer likes this.
  16. Apr 3, 2020 at 5:24 PM
    #36
    Seabass

    Seabass Give it to me. I'll break it for you

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2010
    Member:
    #34455
    Messages:
    7,650
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Adam
    AZ
    Vehicle:
    '06 Sport 4x4
    Just a bunch of old crap
    Install paperwork? LOL I wish
     
    TireFire likes this.
  17. Apr 22, 2020 at 7:00 PM
    #37
    danasince1979

    danasince1979 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2018
    Member:
    #262578
    Messages:
    76
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Dana
    Wydaho
    Vehicle:
    2017 Black Tacoma TRD OR DCSB
    OME BP-51s and 96 leafs. 285/70 R17 BFG ATs. Alu-Cab Explorer Canopy & Expedition Tent.
    Hey there. I just came across this thread and wanted to add my experience plus some photos. I've been camping in the desert for the last few weeks and just got the truck sort of cleaned up, so I figured now was a good time to snap a few pics. Full disclosure, I live on a dirt road so it's not really all that clean.

    I bought the canopy and tent from OK4WD last spring (edit: I want to add that they were great to deal with). So, I have been living with the setup, and camping for at least 3 to 4 weekends a month last summer. Plus a couple of week long, and a couple of month long trips between then and now. For the most part, I'd say my camping 'style' is pretty minimal. I have a couple of totes for food and kitchen items, a 5 gallon can or two for water, and a 2 burner stove fueled by a 1 gallon propane tank. Other than that, I toss in a duffel bag with clothes and toiletries and I'm good to go. No 12v fridge, or fancy drawer system... at least not yet. The one exception to said minimalism is probably this tent.

    I admit, 4k seems like a ridiculous amount of money for a bed that you mount on your vehicle's roof and don't even sleep in 7 nights a week. That said, I do use this thing a lot, and when I do, I'm usually setting up camp each night after dark, and breaking down camp before sunrise the next morning. Biggest plus, you can keep all of your bedding and the ladder inside the tent. No packing/unpacking. All I have to do is lift the lid and I'm ready for bed. In the past, I've had a soft shell rooftop tent, mounted at different times to both my roof, and to an expedition style trailer. I've also had an off-road teardrop style trailer. Each of these setups, including the current one, have their own strengths and weaknesses. The trailers are awesome if you are carrying gear for multiple people and/or you will have a base camp that you return to every day. But, on the way there and back, you'll be dragging a trailer behind you. At least with the teardrop, you're bed is ready to go whenever you pull over and you have a place to get out of the weather when it's crap out. Before all that, I camped on a sleeping pad in a ground tent for years. A lot of years. I definitely need the mattress these days.

    If I had purchased a long bed (slight buyer's remorse), I would have probably just gone with the canopy and added drawers or a platform, plus a Paco Pad on top of that, and been very content. At north of 6', there's no way I'm sleeping comfortably in the back of this tiny little truck. Also, storing a comfortable sleeping pad, sleeping bag, blankets, and pillows, takes up space in the bed or cab, and setting up/breaking down all of that twice a day isn't very fun and takes way more time than I have patience for. ADD. What was I saying? O yeah, so the canopy seemed like a no-brainer though. I couldn't find a used one, and new, I'd have paid about the same for something that weighed twice as much. Yeah, it's not carpeted and there aren't a bunch of fancy windows that tilt, lift, or slide, but to me at least, that was even more of a selling point.

    If I could have afforded the canopy camper from them, I probably would have gone that route. All of the other wedge and topper style campers are pretty nice and I'm sure I'd be stoked to have any of them, but Alu-Cab's design has two things going for it that many of the others don't. The bed platform, along with all of your bedding, can be lifted via struts to stand up in the camper. Aka no panels to rearrange. Also, the rear man-door that replaces the tailgate looks much more logical. I could be wrong, but climbing over the tailgate, then having to pull both it and the lift glass shut from the inside, seems inconvenient, to say the least. Back to my setup though. One of the other reasons I went with the combination camper, is b/c it gets really cold and snows a f**k ton here. With the separate tent, I can remove it and store it in the garage for the winter months, hopefully making it last longer. Mostly, I'm thinking about that 270 degree rubber gasket. It's probably easily replaceable, but I'd rather not have to mess with that.

    So after a year, I feel pretty confident giving both of these components a very positive review. There are a couple of very minor things that I'll cover later.

    On to the photos. Here's a walk around showing everything buttoned up:

    IMG_20200422_170114.jpg IMG_20200422_170148.jpg IMG_20200422_170211.jpg

    I'm kind of torn on the Hitch Swing though. On one hand, I really like being able to move the bikes away from the tailgate without unloading them. And, it does lift the farthest end of the bike rack up giving you a little more clearance there, as well as extending the rack out far enough to clear the tailgate when lowered. On the other hand, you lose a lot of departure with this thing attached even without the bikes and folded up, as pictured. I've lightly tapped it on the ground a couple of times already. That said, I'm not doing any serious off-roading with bikes on the back and am usually just driving forest roads and two-tracks to get to that singletrack. The adapter and rack could easily be left at home if I was just recreational driving.

    Break for now. I'll be back after dinner with some detail pics...
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2020
  18. Apr 22, 2020 at 8:45 PM
    #38
    danasince1979

    danasince1979 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2018
    Member:
    #262578
    Messages:
    76
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Dana
    Wydaho
    Vehicle:
    2017 Black Tacoma TRD OR DCSB
    OME BP-51s and 96 leafs. 285/70 R17 BFG ATs. Alu-Cab Explorer Canopy & Expedition Tent.
    Here's a walk around with the canopy all opened up. I opted for two cabinets, both mounted on one side, so that I could keep tools or whatever locked up while leaving the other sides open. I sometimes leave the dog in the truck bed while I'm on a ride or inside a store.

    IMG_20200422_170720.jpg IMG_20200422_170816.jpg
    IMG_20200422_170843.jpg IMG_20200422_170951.jpg IMG_20200422_171053.jpg

    One of those minor issues I mentioned above can be seen in these pics if you look very closely. That is, their paint hasn't held up awesome. I mean, it's not falling off or anything, but it's definitely chipped in a few places like on some corners and edges and from nothing more than normal use. The load bars are a little worse. Just taking the plastic end caps on and off will inevitably shed some paint. The tent looks perfect still though.

    Lastly, and to be fair, I received the two cabinets at different times (about a month apart), but the finish is slightly different between them. The one closest to the cab has more of a gloss while the other matches the canopy and tent. Again, NBD. The cabinets are hidden and even if all the paint comes off the entire package, it's aluminum so it won't rust. It might even look awesome raw?

    I added some dollar store, rubber shelf liner to the bottom of the cabinets to keep stuff from sliding around.

    Then, I ran a feed from a breaker off the battery to a small panel, which I mounted in the upper right corner of the rear cabinet. Ignore the fact that there are fuses with no wires and wires with no fuses. I'm still in the middle of an electrical project but I ordered a bunch of parts weeks ago and everything is taking foreverrrrr to ship. Basically, the rear hatch light will end up on a 2 amp fuse; I'm adding a weatherproof LED strip tucked into the bottom channel of each of the side doors. It should fit perfect in there and be pretty discreet. Those will have dimmers and be on a 5 amp fuse. The tent, which has an outlet and light, will end up on a 10 amp fuse (more on that later), I have a 10 gauge ran to the passenger side bed cubby where I'll be installing an outlet panel right in the cubby door. That panel will have a battery meter, dual USB, 12v lighter socket, and power pole outlet for a fridge down the road. 20 amp fuse goes here for now. I ran a 14 gauge to the driver's side cubby. Plans for this space are most likely a switched 12v water pump with quick connects for input/output hoses. I got that idea from this . I've been looking into the upright tanks like the ones made by Front Runner, mounted to the front of the bed for a water supply. It looks like these guys have basically reproduced the entire Front Runner product line and are selling them for considerably less. A couple of Rotopax mounted up there would work too. Or, that water port on the wheel well posted on the last page would be pretty slick. Either way, water faucet! I've obviously had way too much time off work.

    IMG_20200422_171121.jpg
    IMG_20200422_171148.jpg
    IMG_20200422_171402.jpg

    Here are a couple shots showing how the canopy and cabinets mount to the bed rails:

    IMG_20200422_171316.jpg
    IMG_20200422_171344.jpg
    IMG_20200422_171454.jpg

    Break for air.
     
    Ngneer, TacoSR523, grogie and 4 others like this.
  19. Apr 22, 2020 at 9:09 PM
    #39
    GladiatorNOT

    GladiatorNOT Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2019
    Member:
    #287171
    Messages:
    632
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2017 TRD OR
    Old Man BP51 coilovers Dakar HD leaf springs Icon Delta control arms TRD Pro rims with Kenda Klever RT 33x10.5 tires Exhaust mod TRD front skid, RCI tranny and transfer case skids Southern Style Slimline front bumper Baja Designs S8 bumper light Warn Zeon Platinum 10s winch 4.88 Nitro gears ARB front locking differential ARB twin air compressor X2 Power 27 battery RCI rear bumper with Rigid SRQ lights RCI rock sliders RLD canopy Dometic CFX3 55 refrigerator TRD Pro grill Front & Rear anytime camera Seat Jackers Diode Dynamics Pro fogs
    Nice post! I was originally going to go with a Alu canopy camper but because there is no easy way to mount and dismount them I decided to go with the setup you went with plus the Alu drawer system. Ended up getting the drawers and there was a bunch of problems with them so I sent them back. Was a little concerned with the quality of Alu after that so decided to get a RLD canopy and a Bush Alpha tent instead. Trying to decide what water system I want to go with now.

    Just ordered a 1up bike rack and trying to decide what kind of swing out I want to get if any. Have you had any problems with yours? Does it rattle or make any noises?
     
    TacoSR523 likes this.
  20. Apr 22, 2020 at 9:53 PM
    #40
    tacomarin

    tacomarin ig: @travelswithchubbs

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
    Member:
    #230087
    Messages:
    1,847
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Steve
    Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2018 DCLB TRD OR
    Prinsu Cab and Top Rack VO Drifter LED Interior, License Plate, and Reverse Lights Huskyliner Weather Beater floor mats Salex Center Console Organizers 35% Front/15% Rear Tint Debadged and De-stickered Anytime Front and Rear Cameras Brute force front bumper BAMF HC Dual swing out 285/75r17 BFG KO2 Front: ADS 2.5, EXT, RR, Clickers Rear: OME Dakar HD, ADS 2.5, EXT, RR, Clickers Stainless steel brake lines (+4 in rear) Wheeler's Offroad Superbumps Front and Rear Wheeler's Offroad U-bolt flip ECGS CV Axle Bushing SCS Stealth 6 17x8.5 wheels, matte dark bronze
    Don't know how I stumbled onto this thread but here I am. First - there's no perfect setup. I've got a DCLB with platform and a canopy and think I should have gotten a DCSB with a wedge camper. There are always compromises!

    On the bike rack thing - I just upgraded to a Wilco and a 1Up. Here's some more info on it: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hitch-mounted-bicycle-racks.444016/page-6#post-23173229

    The Wilco, IMO, is the superior swing out setup. It's bomber. No wobble or rattle at all. The anti-rattle mechanism is seriously impressive.

    Yes you do sacrifice departure angle, but unless you are doing some serious crawling with your bikes on back, you'll be fine. If you're taking bikes AND doing some serious off-roading, just bring the 1-up and leave the swing out at home. That's the beauty of the modular system!
     
    thebaker likes this.
To Top