My Build leading up to my road trip to Alaska!

If you are interested in some pics from the trip... check it out here:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/travel/238084-road-trip-san-diego-alaska.html

Now back to the build.

I did a lot of research about a year and a half leading up to the trip. I tried to do as much as I could with a kind of limited budget since I was still in school (graduation trip) and had to save up for the expensive gas in Canada!

So after much research I came up with a rough list:
- Camper shell
- some sort of roof rack
- Gas cans (10 gallons)
- 2 spare tires
- some sort of lift/new suspention
- new tires
- already did the billet grille
- did banks exhaust already
- had a K&N drop in
- got rid of secondary filter

For the Suspention:
I went with the Bilstein 5100's all around.
I set the front at 2.5 and also did a add a leaf in the back (which doesnt do squat with the truck loaded down). The dealership wouldnt do the TSB rear leafs so I just did an add a leaf.

Add a leaf:


Front torn apart with the old ones still in:


Note: you can rent spring compressors from Kragen and a bottle jack works great to get the 5100's back in the truck (in the front of course).

Camper shell and Rack:
I decided to do a campershell with a con ferr roof rack bolted on top. I found the rack on craigslist and later found the camper shell on craigslist.

I completely sand blasted, primed and painted the rack and cut out 3/4 ply for the floor.
(girlfreind sand blasting )


camper shell with rack bolted on:


My dad helped me fab up a bent handle with a welded nut to tread onto a treaded rod to hold the tire down.
I also used baja rack's fuel can holders with Blitz 5 gallon fuel cans


For the tires:
i went with Falken Wild Peak A/T LT265/70/17. My dad has them on his 3/4 ton chevy and loves them and I do have to say they are awesome. They look brand new after a 9500 mi trip to Alaska over all sorts of terrain! those in SD i recommend El Amigo tires (690 out the door). Kinda ghetto but totally worth it. For the 2 spares I found two brand new BFG A/T cheap and found a FJ Stealy online for the second spare.

Shot of the tires:


I would not recommend putting that much weight on top of a camper shell.. the shell ended up cracking half way through the trip after 120mi of rough dirt roads.


I had to tie the door shut..


Opening it up.. ghetto style.. oh yes and the slider shattered, but duct tape fixes everything


I sold the cracked camper shell and rack for 525 so i used that to buy a baja rack that uses the factory holes in the roof and I have another camper shell on order (didnt want to drill any more holes in a camper shell haha). I will post pics of that in a couple weeks. I went with the snug top rebel with vented windoors!! I am panning to do a sleeping platform as well.

I didnt do one for this trip due to time constraints with finals and graduation and all.

 

Love the truck and can't wait to see where it is going...

 

you got any pics of the new roof rack?

 

You know I don't have a pic of the truck with the new bajarack. I did get the new mounts on and they work really well. I will post pics of the rack tomorrow! Should get the new camper shell in a week or so.

 

BajaRack




I will post more when I get the camper shell on there

 

New snug top rebel with vented win doors

 

Sleeping Platform:
So basically i took a couple different versions and added my own twist to it.
Materials: 2 sheets cabinet grade 3/4 ply, 1 2x8x10 i think, 1 2x6, 4x4in steel cutoffs, home depot indoor/outdoor carpet, screws and acorn nut. Used a table saw, chop saw, carpet knife, drill press, reg drill, and a router.


I will post dimensions another time...
but basically measured the bed width, divided by 2 and ripped the 3/4 ply on the table saw. then cut the ends off to fit length. Used an angle finder to cut the angle on each corner. i think I took off somewhere between 1/8 or 1/4 for the carpet and it is pretty snug.




For the cross pieces (2x8) cut the dimensions nice and tight (esp with crappy wet home depot wood). Then used the angle finder to get the angle of the bed cutouts and matched the table saw blade to the angle. This way the wood fits tight in the bed cut out. I also notched the end so the wood sits flush with the ledge.


Notice the angle cut down the side:


For the middle piece I measured the length and matched the angle on each end so it fits nice. Then routed a slot in the 2x8 in the middle and the end of the 2x6 for the sqaure metal piece to sit flush. Then counter sunk the holes for the screws and screwed it down to both ends of the 2x6.
I guess I need some paint...


The middle needs a support.. yes even with 3/4 ply. I am not that heavy (150) and the middle dropped when I got on it.. I like this way bc it leaves the entire space below open without a divider for a brace.
You can see the slight angle that will match the angle on the 2x8


I will post some pictures to better explain all the angles.. but for now look at the pic with only the cross pieces and center support and look at your truck bed cutouts and try to picture it in your head... the bed cutouts look like this \ / and thats the angle i cut the 2x8
then the centerpiece end has to match that angle as well..

 

Sub'd for interest in that sleeping platform. Looks sharp. I'm in suspense waiting to learn more about those angles!

 

Great looking truck! Love the sleeping platform and how you designed that. Very clean. Do you have any additional pictures of the middle support? Have you changed the design at all since you built this? If you could have done it differently what would you have done? I am interested as I am planning on getting a topper soon and would want to do something very similar.