NYCO's '06 Boosted Blue Betty

we're definitely excited for the change

 

Thanks for the Summit info.

@NYCO and @JLink you guys need to update your sig pics to show off those GFC's

 

won't get any good pics until it gets into the wild in the spring... first pic in the OP will have to do for now

 

I have awarded the latest iteration of you build 178 expo points based on the v0.1 Expo Points scoring system. The GFC was a good points booster. To increase your expo points consider mounting more things to the outside of your vehicle.

Full scoring sheet is attached. If you would like to file an appeal you may do so in my build thread.

 

damn if you count my extra RTTs, bed rack, tires, light bars and pods, jerry cans, rotopax and other items not mounted on either truck i'd be able to add another 186 point

 

got some work done in the camper this weekend... wanted a storage option for my jack, spare parts, recovery gear and other small items. the storage will also double as a dog bed at night for one of the doggos. big dog will most likely be on the floor where there should be more space.

redwood baseboard and stained pine top.


split the front lids to allow easier access in case i have items on top. added a couple magnets to help keep the lids closed while bouncing around.




baseboard is easily removable with a couple of pins. allows for more space if needed as well as easy access for larger items i wanted to store like our propane firepit and toilet that might be tougher to get in the main opening. the magnets also help to keep the baseboard lined up since the pins do allow for rotational movement.




next up is to figure out how i want to have power in the bed then wire up the camper lights and fan. also need to mount the fridge.

 

The more I look at the GFC and similar products (any camper really)... I just can't figure out how I'd store all my crap and leave enough room for a living space. The fast setup and probably more durable outer shell are appealing, but I like that I can pop the RTT and get full use of it without unpacking anything from the bed. What do people do? Move stuff to the cab when at camp?

 

the largest items that take up our space below is the kitchen setup... that gets taken out anyway and stored below the truck at camp when not used...

besides that, clothes which stay in the camper. fridge stays. chairs are normally outside the truck when at camp. firewood would come out when at camp and stored under the truck. we'll have a paddle board stay inside but will be off to the side behind the fridge.

what else would you have taking up space? the way we laid out our shit, we'll have a good amount of space open when at camp.

 

That's a good question. Sarah has been expanding out packing list slowly over the years.... Truck always seems to be packed full. A pop up canopy and a couple folding tables for the kitchen, the kitchen stuff, and our giant comfy AF folding chairs are the biggest things I can think of. We only set it all up if we're staying a couple days though. I prefer to leave it packed and cook dinner on the tailgate if we're just making a stop for the night. Can you crawl into the GFC from the outside like an old school RTT?

 

Sounds like you need to thin out your list lol

I do have the side door if I want to but carrying a ladder around seems dumb. Big reason why I like the camper setup is so we don't have to access from the outside. Side door is another window tho.


Pop up canopy- get an awning
Folding tables- get aluminum tables that store away like chairs in a bag
Big comfy chairs that take up a shit ton of space... well those can easily be taken out

 

I completely agree... But I'm not the one that needs convincing. My idea of truck camping used to be a sleeping bag, cooler, axe, and lighter. Hotdogs over a fire 3/3 meals kept things real simple.

I'm planning a possible trailer to haul the camp crap... But I like the idea of a sleeping area on the truck for solo adventures too. I keep going back and forth on whether I want to tow a trailer though. One week I'm super excited about it... The next week "hell no I am not dragging a 2000lb anchor through the bush"

 

whether or not you get a camper or trailer... doing an inventory on your camp gear is always a good idea and find ways to leave out items you can live without and find alternative solutions to things you need but can save space and weight on...

our trucks are not meant to carry a lot of shit without breaking the gears and/or sucking all the power from our trucks...

if all the gear stays.. i guess the arguement will be, i need a new axle if we continue to carry everything

 

I like the way you think. You towed a loaner trailer for a bit didn't you? How'd the taco handle it?

The "8.4" has been holding up really well considering 5400lb truck and supercharger. 90k since I swapped in the third with the ARB and no issues with the stock one or its replacement. Not much in the way of slickrock or other high traction surfaces around here though... Most of my problems are mud. I do take it a lot easier if we're loaded down too.

Other than trailer, I've been toying with the idea of a Tundra or even LX570 to handle our camping weight with ease. Pretty much ruled it out until after the next gen comes out though, and probably a couple years after that to see the bugs get worked out and be able to pick up a used one. Payload is not great on the LX, but it has much beefier components (than Tacoma) so I suspect the soft suspension is the limiting factor rather than things like axles and brakes.

Edit: also we failed to get our tickets for FJ Summit. Those suckers sold out quick

 

i barely noticed it back there... it tracked well behind me.. i still had to slow down when the trails got rough, more than i would have with just the truck. but it's still a trailer, so turning around and setting up camp takes longer since you have to maneuver the trailer as well.

sucks about the summit, but good thing you know some locals who could show ya around

 

i use my gfc with the gfc ladder. I have the optional side door on the tent and the standard rear door. To me this makes more sense than having to pull up a panel in the middle of the night and move sleeping bags and whatever else out of the way. The ladder is also convenient to have for other things like setting up a clothes line for wet clothes, or even just laying wet clothes on the rungs of it and set it against something in the sun.
To me, climbing up into the bed of the truck and then climbing up through the mattress, is a lot more work. But if it’s rainy it’s nice to have the option.

 

wrapped up a couple more projects this weekend...

@CBI Offroad Fab Bushmaster w/ dual swing out installed... with the camper, we wanted to get the tire out of the bed again and the dual swing is much easier to manage than the larger single arm. not worried about the fold down tables, so we opted out of that... planning to run one gas one water in the double can carrier.. just need to find a way to mount our 8lb propane take.





celebrated the bumper swap with some whiskey



even broke out our viking board by @tdubd




the other big project was a retrofit on the FJC. the halo is a switchback, but only hooked up the ambers. so much amber now

 

I love that rear bumper but hate the price tag it comes with, they're definitely proud of that thing haha.

And why is Skrewball so trendy now I tried it a couple years ago but it's way to sweet for my liking

Truck is looking good man!

 

another small update from the weekend too... swapped out the fan cover to a flat lid to save a couple inches of clearance. talked with dometic and they were able to warranty me a different lid since there was not an option to get the flat lid at purchase. it comes with the flat lid (i chose to go with white vs the smoked) and a new lever that needs to be installed since the slide track is different between the flat lid and the domed lid.

 

guess there is some benefit to the stay at home orders... finished up wiring up the Dometic fantastic fan during lunch break..








i have the fan going into my blue seas power bank which also is used to turn power to the bed lights and my hatch light. there's 2 usb ports as well as a cig lighter port. i still have some sealing to do behind the panel so i haven't final mounted it yet, so it's being held in with gorilla tape now

 

more updates...

dust and camp lights mounted up (i've now swapped so the dust is on the driver side) using some baja designs squadron angled flush. reverse lights cut into the CBI bumper using BD S1 flush. Dust and camp are on separate switches and reverse lights are on a switch.




also got my leitner designs awning mounts mounted up. had to trim them down a bit and enlarge the mounting holes to work with the GFC larger t-nuts.... now i just need to order up a CVT 55 awning and the camper will be ready to go! going to get walls with the awning so i have an annex room option available if needed.





new maxtrax mount location to work with the camper... on the prinsu access rack