Zam15's Adventure Build

Deployment!

 

Congrats! I remember those days...

 

Man, cant believe you sold it off!

Finding one now is like tracking down a unicorn, especially one in decent shape.

Still a deal used as its they can go for half the price of the new campers, but have more room.

 

I slightly regret it, but I don't regret having a 45+ year old, heavy design on the back of my truck. The real dealbreaker for me was not wanting to die in the middle of the night when the tent collapsed from snowfall piling up and breaking the aluminum tubing / plastic bimini hinges. (Not really die, but it's definitely not a 4-season tent and I want something that I can camp in the winter without waking up every 15 min to knock snow off of. If I lived in SoCal like you, it would be great.

 

If you haven't done a ton of research on the Flippac and its catastrophic failures, feel free to send me a DM and I'll send you a bunch of photos and tips to prevent them.

 

Yea here in SoCal I can't recall the last time I saw snow. Could also upgrade the plastic components to stainless pretty easily. Poles would be a little harder to upgrade but if its a serious enough issue. Still weights in close to pretty much any compact camper on the market right now. Seen plenty about exploding torsion bars and brackets, both luckily are available after market and may pick up a backup set. Torsion bar delete is also an option. My only worry is the tent long term as a replacement is not an option unless you find someone crazy enough to make one for you.

Ive also seen plenty of issues with all the new campers on the market

Still feel I saved weight, and have better aerodynamics than my previous combo

 

Can't get over how much cleaner the truck looks now! Now it will be even harder to figure out what to do with the paint.



New parts are starting to flow in! Picked up the new SLO Rain Fly with the Flip-Pac, its never been used and the Flip-Pac was only used twice
I'll probably use it more than that in the next month!
Upgraded the cap seal with a more heavy duty style, should hopefully keep everything secure and water tight on and off road.

Have a water fill port and lights on order, also looking at L-Track for inside and outside the camper and adding mounts for my sand ladders.
Also looking at awnings and debating of a 270 awning would work on the Flip-Pac, haven't seen any examples yet.

At any rate it will be hard to drill into the camper in such mint condition

Truck is also having the swing-outs modified, adding propane tank mounts, locking pins, and a bike rack.

Air tank will also likely be tucked under the cab for air tools, tires, water toys ect.

 

Trucks getting dialed in! Shop did a really good job on the air tank bracket!
Tucked high and away from any possible contact.

Locking pins/tabs for the swing-outs also work great.

Propane tank mount also coming along. Keeping it outside the cab and shell.

Tire has been leveled to clear the back window, now has tow hitch mount inside the spare for more accessories!
Bike rack is also being modified to work with new spare tire hitch!

 

Back end is coming together! Modified THULE bike rack (cut off about 40lbs!) to work with the spare tire swing-out and custom hitch mount! Should still work with Trasharoo and I'm able to strap some sand ladders on it if called for by the trip! Everything is off the roof and out of the air stream!

 

Nice! Although how far are the bikes going to stick out on the passenger side and catch the narrow rocks in SoCal with the rack lunged so far off-center?

 

Seen one or two other setup like this where its offset.

If its a major issue I can have it modified and moved over a few inches. But I plan on pointing the handle bar side towards the passenger side and then rotating the tire. Should help a lot, or I could just pull the front tire off the bikes 90% of the time its just my bike.

Also truck is super wide now with the fiber glass and long travel so I have to be aware of that anyways.

 

Derek, are there any deets on the alpine unit buried within here?

 

Not much, both my original unit and the replacement have been discontinued. Just a standard 6.5" or 7" Double Din should would for 1st gen Tacoma's heck with everything on the phones now I would just tun an AMP plugged into a tablet if I ever run another setup.

 

i am looking for a double din that retracts back into (hideaway) so that I can keep the precious pocket

the local car audio shop said there is a setup like it (a bit pricey over $500) but could not guarantee that my cup holders above would not be affected when the face is out and up

 

I recommend taking a look through the 1st gen forum here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/search/8790561/?q=stereo&t=post&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=4

 

So many options! Ready for any kind of trip!

 

Camping funk is no more!

Testing out the water setup but its coming along great! Flow is good, can turn off the nozzle and the pump will cut off at the desired pressure. 18 Gallon Tank allows for a few quick showers, but no heat yet, still deciding on the best heat exchanger. Bike rack seems to be the best place for the shower head, far enough away from the truck and the perfect height.

Air tank has also been hooked up! Still finalizing the quick disconnect mounting locations.

 

Fridge is in! This time I can actually use my ARB slide! Can open the fridge inside and outside the camper now. Also makes cleaning the fridge a whole lot easier! Also have another battery from the previous Flip-Pac owner and I'm thinking about mounting it behind the fridge on the slide. Everything clears just perfectly! No more fridge bouncing around the back of the truck! Also fridge vents right next to the window so hopefully that will help keep the heat and power usage down.

 

Love the new sleeping area and headroom the Flip-Pac provides. I loved my RTT but this is a huge improvement! New sheets!

 

Alright, final weekend project. No more bugs!!!