My 2013 Tacoma Access Cab Chinook build in progress

Did you save the original Toyota emblem?

 

No Dan, I did not. That old truck rolled away with a good 20R 4 speed drive train ready to go into some other lucky old Toyota...

 

Got a good start on the fender fabrication... patterned out the wheel wells with wood door skin. There will be a piece of diamond plate connecting the backs of the utility boxes but stepped back 1" to allow a bit more tire clearance. Then the 1/8" curved piece of aluminum will join that piece to the fiberglass camper.... then diamond plate pie sections will attach to the boxes front and back to finish the fender skirt... should look great... no fancy bending equipment available on a Sunday... used a barrel, some clamps and a section of 4" pipe....came out nice!

 

Superb!

 

Thanks Steve!

 

I am waiting for a piece of my wheel well project to be welded so I changed thought process today...
Finishing out the walk through is the hardest part of the interior so I got started. It is a really important area because I am mating the factory interior finishes to the new... and 3 different materials are coming together... and to boot, the factory headliner needs to be able to release in the event of side airbags deploying (hoping I never need them!)...
I patterned and cut a door skin frame to mate with the back of the factory (cut out) headliner. I then glued and screwed in a wood spacer that brings it up to the cab roof metal. There will then be another wood frame on top that will attach to the cab roof on top with sheet metal screws... I will pad this with foam and upholster it with the same vinyl as the pop up roof headliner. The hull liner wall covering will butt to this and look awesome and finished. The wood frame gives me structure that I can glue, screw, or staple to!
The factory headliner will staple to the door skin into the 1/8" thin plywood... easy release in the event of an airbag incident. The edge of the headliner and door skin edge will finish with grey foam pipe insulation that you see in the picture. I was going to wrap it with vinyl but it is the exact same color as the factory headliner already! All that clean living is finally paying off.

 

I have been taking a little time off but have gotten my walk through frame and spacers glued and screwed in... it does not look like much but it was a tedious little job. Every piece got scribed in so I have a good plane to upholster to... 1/2" foam and grey vinyl upholstery will be the finish... also needed to be cautious as I was working directly along side the side airbag curtains. All good!

 

The walk through roof is ready for foam. I patterned the top with doorskin strips and a hot glue gun and cut it out of 1/4" plywood so I can upholster it on the bench and install it last... I will upholster the vertical surface and staple on top then my top "U" will cover the fasteners... the rest of the exposed steel walk through frame will be covered in my grey hull liner material.
I also relocated the flasher relay (for turn signal and emergency flasher) to the steel frame where it will be hidden below the bed... it was originally mounted under the headliner and I have been driving around with it swinging behind me.

 

Finally got the T latches installed to secure the pop up roof... mounted 2 in the front and 2 in the back. I have been driving with the roof just lashed down and is great to have it secured. I will have a couple of straps as a back up from the inside after the tent gets installed...
Also the LP mounts are coming along... the side aluminum straps will get bent into a radius and a 1" nylon strap will secure the tanks...and a padlock on top.

 

Propane mounts ready for clear coat .... the 1" nylon straps will get stiched on the brackets and then they get installed on the back of the camper.

 

Clear coated the 2 propane mounts and my neighbor who does marine canvas stitched the nylon straps on for me. They are ready to mount on the back of the rig now...looking good!

 

Today I built and upholstered the microwave mount. I glued the hull liner material to the camper behind it but did not permanently attach it yet... I may want to do the upholstery work to the walk through first. I also need to run my braided romex wiring and position my outlet boxes.
It is nice to see little pieces of finished surfaces inside!

 

OMG, its happening! The interior build is starting!!!

 

Ha ha... it is Joe! The size of this project was so overwhelming that I have had to whittle away on it in small achievable pieces. I finally have a good plan for the inside!

 

The truck looks absolutely amazing, as if it came that way in the first place. Very nice work sir!

 

Thank you very much Joe... I am really happy with the results so far!

 

Today I worked on enclosing my fuel fil and extra fuel tank. Patterned it all out with FRP (fiber reinforced plastic). It will all get fiberglassed together. The fill that is accessed through the locking door will be isolated from the living space and have a drain through the bottom like the factory truck. The FRP on the outside of the gas tank will be the finished surface inside of the cabinet when accessing the valve and syphon bulb for transfering fuel from the auxillery tank to the factory tank...This is a really important job that I had not yet made a priority of.

 

Made a fuel fill drain out of a piece of pek tubing and FRP. It is installed in the bottom of the fuel fill compartment. I left the tube long until I get the wheel wells in so I have some options..... fiberglassed all the FRP panels together. I feel a lot better having the fuel fill isolated from the interior and a good overflow in place...... I filled up the other day with windows and door open... it was not a good situation.
I will paint the panels and inside the fill area with white bilge coat enamel...

 

Worked on the wheel well project today. Jacked the truck to remove the tires and mounted the diamondplate inside panels between the utility boxes. It sure finishes the basement and ties it all together! Patterned the front radius pieces with plywood and got started on them... sure wish I had a sheet metal brake. Did the 90° bends in a vise with a piece of hard walnut board and a w 2lb hammer. 1 down and 3 to go. Really happy with how it is looking!