Taco Habit Micro Camper Build

Finally getting a write up going on my bed replacement camper project. I realize the camper itself isn’t very Tacoma specific, but I’ve used so many resources here for this project, I wanted to share and help out anyone looking to do something similar. On that note, huge thanks to all the folks on here who helped me out without knowing. This project would be very different without TacomaWorld.

I worked on this project pretty much full time from January- March of 2022 and reached the point where it’s a functional shell, with the skin and bones all there, but with an unfinished interior and a lot more components sitting in the garage. Still, a few trips down and the overall concept has been pretty awesome for how I like to use my truck.

Here’s what I ended up building:

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Thats awesome!

 

Interested in how you mounted it to the Tacoma frame.

 

The Concept

Before building the camper, I was running a high top A.R.E. camper shell with a wood bed platform and a custom ladder rack for a light bar, 270 awning, and whatever toys were coming on a given trip. I really liked the functionality and versatility of the camper shell/ladder rack combo but the combination of wood, fiberglass, and steel was pretty heavy. I was also looking to add a rear plate bumper with a swing out. For all this weight in the rear, I wasn’t gaining a whole lot of space or comfort.

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I figured for about the same weight as the setup pictured above, I could gain way more usable space by ditching the factory bed. I’ve always loved the look of Aussie utes with flatbeds and canopies, and have thought for a while how standard truck beds, while more aerodynamic, are also a whole lot of wasted space. If I made the camper the width of the outside of my tires(about 6’4), even with angled walls, I would be able to fit my 5’11 frame just fine sleeping side-to-side. This would open up a whole lot more room on the other half of the truck bed.

So weight/usable space was the main motivator, but I also wanted to add some key features from my previous vehicles, friends’ rigs, and from the many awesome, creative builds I’ve seen in person and on the internet.


Key Features

• Indoor/Outdoor Layout

A lot of setups seem to be in one of two camps(intended). The first camp is the style of a 4 Wheel Camper, basically a little cabin where cooking and lounging is all inside and access to the outside world is through a small door. The other option is something like most trail rigs or Aussie Utes where sleeping is inside or in a tent and all cooking and hanging out is done outside or at the tailgate. My goal was to create something in between with an open feel and plenty of access from outside but where you could also batten down the hatches and ride out weather comfortably from inside. A lot of GFC and Alu-Cab folks have this down pretty well, my goal was to do it without a pop top.

• Non-Pop-Top

The most common question I get. “Is it a pop top?” Nope. While pop tops add significant volume and living space, I didn’t want to have any canvas that would flap in the wind and potentially let in water. I’ve heard that some of the pro manufacturers like FWC and OVRLND make great pop ups that don’t let water in and barely budge in the wind but I’m not too confident I could nail that challenge in my first attempt. The other big downside of pop-tops that I wanted to avoid is in the layout. Basically, having a pop top would mean all the interior surfaces are higher up to use them standing, which is nice but doesn’t fit my indoor/outdoor concept. Sure, I could still keep the surfaces low, and still have the extra head room, and maybe an extra sleeping area, but to me this didn’t seem worth the time, headache, cost, and weight.

• Steel and ACP Construction

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For the construction, I chose to go with a steel frame skinned with Aluminum Composite Panels. I first saw this construction used by Micah of @overlandunderbudget and for me it seemed like the best balance of weight, cost, and relative ease to work with. A few professionals have told me Aluminum would have been a better frame for this project and while they’re probably right but this was my first big welding project, and working with steel was much easier and accessible for a newbie. Not to mention the significant cost difference.

• Floor at Truck Frame

A tough decision for me was whether to make a two-part flatbed and camper combo, or to build a one-piece shell and bolt it directly to the truck frame. Ultimately, I decided on the single piece shell for the same reason I built the shell in the first place: space and weight. The lower floor would maximize headroom while keeping the roof lower. I also figured having the single floor structure would save weight over the redundancy of a flatbed as well as a camper floor.

• Small Cabover

This was another feature I went back and forth on. It was inspired by a Bel Air camper that I used to own. I remember thinking how silly such a small cabover seemed but the extra space just kept proving super useful. Not including a cabover would save weight, allow for a full roof rack, and I’m sure look better in a lot of peoples’ opinion. I ended up including the cabover as a space for lighter items like bedding and clothes, and I’m glad I did. It makes for a great spot to toss warm layers out of the way when getting into bed and also lets me carry multiple 9ft+ surfboards inside the camper.

• Large Cargo Door

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Multiple large access points were a must for me. Being able to open up almost and entire wall makes loading bulky items easier, preserving some of the truck functionality. It also really adds to the whole indoor/outdoor feel.

• Rear Door w/ Storage

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So I had wanted a swing out on the truck for a long time. Awesome having extra fuel/water, trash, plus drop down tables add a lot of useable space to the tailgate cooking setup. The idea of the rear door is to combine all the elements of my desired swing out bumper with the kind of galley doors people make on Toopys and Land Rovers. The best part about the rear door galley is that it can be used from either inside or outside of the camper.

• 270 Awning

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With a cargo door on the driver side, and another door at the rear, the 270 awning covers both access points from rain and does a great job of keeping the sun from shining directly into the camper. I went with the Ostrich Wing by Big Country 4x4 out of South Africa.

• Bed/Dinette

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This one is still in progress but the idea is to have the middle leaf of the bed platform to double as a table with booth-like seating. Ideally when I get it finished, up to 4 people(who don’t need a whole lot of personal space) would be able to play cards or eat a meal in bad weather and stay warm and dry.

 

Wow! Awesome build!

 

The Build

• Ladder Frame

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The base “ladder frame” tacked together. I used a combination of 2x1” 1/8 wall and some 2x1” 1/16 wall to make up the frame. Dimensions are 6’4 x 6’4.

Seeing the truck like this made part of me want to skip the camper and just make a flatbed.

• Mounting Feet

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Mounting feet are made out of 1/4” flat bar. This design was intended to keep the ladder frame as low as possible.

• The Bones

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I used mostly 1x1” 16th wall for the skeleton with 2x1” 16th wall for the lower roof rails and rear door frame. I also used 3/4x3/4” 16th wall for the roof supports and some portions of the doors.

I made the countertop structure in the passenger side rear corner out of steel so that it would reinforce the door frame. The hinges mounted there hold the weight of the door, the galley area, and the jerry can/trash storage.


I painted the bottom of the frame with chasis paint rattle cans from Auto Zone, I don’t remember which brand. The rest is painted with black Rustoleum.

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• Aluminum Composite Panels

I Attached the aluminum composite panels to the frame with a combo of rivets and Sikaflex 221. I only used rivets in the places that would later be covered with aluminum corner. To get the right shape panels, I’d measure out the shape on the frame, cut out the panels with a circular saw, then glue, clamp, and rivet to the frame.

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Bending the ACP wasn’t too difficult, I used a circular saw, set the depth to take about 80% of the plastic material, and scored down the fold line. That would allow the material to fold without cracking the thin aluminum on the outside of the fold.

In hindsight, I should have used a 45° router bit to create the groove. It would have allowed me to leave more plastic and get a cleaner bend without risking cracking the aluminum.

In most cases, the seam was glued with Sikaflex to try and improve strength at the fold.

• Aluminum Trim

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Aluminum was all cut to length and glued on with Sikaflex. This adds another layer of waterproofing and hides all the rivets. The aluminum pieces also offer a bit of protection to the corners of the camper and could be replaced easier than the panels.

I used black Raptor Liner for all the aluminum. I’ll probably end up repainting the aluminum trim because the lines didn’t turn out very well where there was excess Sikaflex exposed. You can see in the lower picture how some of the edges peeled/flaked a bit.

• Tail Lights

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For now, I’ve got the camper lights connected to a 7 pin harness and plugged in to the connection at the trailer hitch. Plugging in to the trailer harness was the easiest way I found to get taillight and blinker function out of a single red light(as opposed to the 2 separate red lights in the stock taillight assembly).

Also, not pictured but I added resistors to the factory blinker wires to avoid hyperflashing blinkers, given there are no bulbs in the factory taillights anymore.

• Mounting

Wish I had some pictures from the actual event. I found out later that professional camper builders call this “wedding day”. I think it was about 8 friends who came by and helped lift the camper on to the truck frame. It took a little widening of the mounting tab holes, I guess everything had settled a little with all the time and weight.

The moutning feet all sit on a 1/2" polyurethane body mount bushing and the bolts can all be snugged up/checked from the undercarriage, but need to be accessed through holes in the camper floor to be fully removed. Hopefully won’t need to happen often.

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Excellent camper build!

 

Sweet build!

 

I wonder if this is covered by home or renters insurance lol

“Yes I live here and pay monthly”

 

You, Sir, are a madman. Well done!

 

Wow, really great man!

 

Awesome build, started following you when you started the build process. Keep up the good work! Cheers from port Hueneme. #805

 

That is an awesome build! Props to you for building and designing.

Does your state not require a rear bumper? I would think that should be next on your fab list. A custom high clearance would give a little added protection to the underside of the habitat and hide some of the underworkings of the truck...not to mention avoid you getting pulled over in states that require bumpers.

Is the door strong enough to hold a spare tire? Getting that out from underneath would free up some additional storage space. I've seen people reuse old propane tanks and repurpose them as air tanks. I think you could potentially even use a larger fuel tank and take up some of that space as well.

 

As far as legality, the rules are pretty vague, but my trailer hitch does stick out a little further than the bottom rear of the camper, I've been calling that the "bumber". Also, the frame is 1/8" steel at the back, hopefully it can take a small impact pretty well.

My thinking on the spare tire is that nowhere I can put it will be better for me than the factory location. The door could handle the weight, but that would be 100lbs much higher and farther back than a standard swing out tire carrier. A larger fuel tank or even a fresh water tank would be awesome and a door mount would make the spare a lot more accessible, but I think keeping the spare down low makes more sense for me.

 

I totally get it. It's good that you have thought about what works best for you. I've got mine in the factory location because I haven't been able to pull the trigger on a swing out. I don't like the idea of getting bogged down in mud and trying to get to a tire, but our environments and use case are different.

The frame can take a pretty good impact, but it's not a bad idea to have something absorb some of that impact before hitting the frame direct. A bent frame is a lot harder to fix than a twisted bumper.

 

To-do

-Rebuild interior to incorporate 100ah lithium battery, dc-dc charger, 100W solar panel, and Dometic CFX28 fridge
-Insulate with 1” rigid foam and install interior siding
-Install fan vent
-Finish dinette setup
-Regear to compensate for added weight and taller tires
-More lights
-Fuel filler housing
-Third brake light
-Air bags?
-More windows?
-Bike Rack?

Common Questions

• What package Tacoma?

2008 TRD 4x4 Access Cab 4.0 6MT with about 140k on the clock.

• How much does it weigh?

The truck and camper weight 5040 lbs with a weekend sized load out and no occupants. I'm rebuilding the interior to be lighter but I've also got some more toys to add so weight will probably sit somewhere around there.
I haven’t weighed the camper alone but based on materials used, my guess for the whole camper when loaded is just under 900 lbs. So maybe a 700 lb. gain after ditching the factory bed and bumper.

• How much did you spend?

I also didn’t log exactly what I’ve spent on it, but my best guess is about $6000 including materials, accessories(some stuff I already had), and needed tools. Selling my truck bed and camper shell helped me recoup about $2,000. I also bought materials amid supply chain shortages so most everything was significantly more expensive than it had been a year prior.

• What are the dimensions?

6’4 (wide) x 7’6 (front wall to back wall)
Roof is 5’ x 10’ (largest panel size available)
Height is 4’6 floor to ceiling

• How long did it take to build?

To get to the point of starting this thread, where it’s a working yet unfinished shell, maybe 400 hours. Albeit, MANY of those spent scratching my head.

• How is it mounted to the frame?

Mounting feet on the camper frame are on polyurethane bushings bolted directly to the factory bed mount locations with the same pitch bolts only shorter.

• How does it drive?

Good but obviously not as good as stock. I cruise about 71 on the freeway. Acceleration is eh. Not nearly as quick as stock but quicker than my previous Toyotas. I’m running the heavy OME 886 springs up front with no sway bar and OME Heavy leaf springs in the back. Adding the heavy leafs improved steering significantly. Also looking to regear to 4.10 gears (I’ve got a 6MT) to help make up for 33” tires and the extra weight.

• MPG?

12 city 15 hwy. Hopefully regearing helps my cause an mpg or two.

 

Very True! Bending the frame would be a serious bummer

 

Other Additions

Replaced stock rear suspension and bent shackle hanger with OME heavy springs, nitrochargers, and Rago Fabrication hangers.

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Raised the trailer hitch to flush with the truck frame.

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Made a solar panel bracket out of scrap 1/4" aluminum flat bar. Ugly welds from a first-timer but they stick. Added the panel to my DIY 8020 Rack.

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This is awesome. Props to you on this build.

 

If it were me, I'd like to have a window cut in that faces the cab of the truck. Preferably one that opens so that you could pass things from the cab to the habitat (and back). You'd essentially break the tab that locks the slider shut so that you could open it at will.