Overland-ish Tacoma Flippac Build
- Thread starter Overlanerd
- Start date
Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Nice! I slept there with some friends years ago and 2 years ago with the family. Lots of firewood and a nice cast iron stove.
Love the cabinets you guys are making. High quality and very versatile.
Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Running Boards
My wife wanted steps for the kids. I couldn't convince her to remove the running boards on our previous 2005 4- runner. I went to Pep Boys to get some chrome Westin nerf bars, but they only had them in black. I like shiny things so that wouldn't do. I was forced to drive 3.1 miles to BAMFhttp://www.bayareametalfab.com to pick up these puppies. They aren't as shiny as I wanted, but they will work for now. :Wow1:
Seriously, Jerry Lee is a really nice guy and he fabricates quality products. I went with the bolt- on sliders because I have vehicle commitment issues....
Rattle-canned them with Semi-flat paint as I did with the front bumper. I used black "rust converter" primer before that. Really crappy nozzle and lots of dripping. Sanding before paint was necessary.
Mounted pictures of the installed sliders to follow.
My wife wanted steps for the kids. I couldn't convince her to remove the running boards on our previous 2005 4- runner. I went to Pep Boys to get some chrome Westin nerf bars, but they only had them in black. I like shiny things so that wouldn't do. I was forced to drive 3.1 miles to BAMFhttp://www.bayareametalfab.com to pick up these puppies. They aren't as shiny as I wanted, but they will work for now. :Wow1:
Seriously, Jerry Lee is a really nice guy and he fabricates quality products. I went with the bolt- on sliders because I have vehicle commitment issues....
Rattle-canned them with Semi-flat paint as I did with the front bumper. I used black "rust converter" primer before that. Really crappy nozzle and lots of dripping. Sanding before paint was necessary.
Mounted pictures of the installed sliders to follow.
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Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Snowboarding with a little side trip.
On the way to Kirkwood Friday night, I decided to explore some trails around Bear Creek Reservoir road. The trails were covered with snow that had melted and re-froze. Traction was an issue.
Sorry for the crappy picture.
The snow got deeper and instead of cutting down to the dirt, or packing the snow down, I just hit a layer of ice below. Got stuck, used A-Trac and the locker to get unstuck (about 5 times), and kept going until I could find a place to turn around. I finally called it after 2 miles and headed back to Highway 88. Had a few beers at the Towers bar, camped at the resort, and had a great high- speed day on the groomers.
On the way back down the mountain I did a little solo exploring in the Calaveras Forest north of Hwy 88. Trying to find a good camp spot in the dark was tricky. Many of the trails were overgrown (4-1/2' to 5' wide) and my truck has some nice pin striping now. I turned up the radio so I couldn't hear the painful sounds of the Manzanitas scraping my pretty paint.
I found a nice clearing at the end of a trail, but it was littered with shotgun shells, beer bottles, and there was a "Private Property - No Trespassing" sign. There was probably no one around, but I could hear banjo music playing in my head and got outta there...
Found a nice spot.
It started hailing/ raining at Kirkwood Saturday and the rainfly wasn't on. I quickly put it up over the already-wet tent. The fly was still wet when I left Kirkwood that evening, so I put it back on that night to dry it out. Then I had to take it off and re- deploy to dry the tent out. The inside of the fly was wet too, so it went back on, inside- out, once the tent was dry. Fun 3 step process. Can't wait until someone makes a replacement tent with an integrated fly.
Headed out for more exploring on Sunday until dead- fall stopped progress.
Without skid plates, the log was just high enough to possibly catch the transfer case and cross- over pipe. I didn't bring the chainsaw. I couldn't pull it out of the way without taking out 3 small trees. I thought of attaching a snatch- block to a stump, on the other side of the tree, and pulling it in the other direction with the winch; too much work. I was solo and didn't have a spotter. In the process of turning around, I looked back at the log and deciding to go with my original plan; use rocks (not the ones in my head) to ease up and over it.
1" of clearance below the factory IFS "skid plate". More like a cookie sheet.
1-1/2" of clearance below the transfer case.
Easy money.
The trailed narrowed, more pin striping occurred, then it opened up on a beautiful ridge with some really nice camp spots. I know where to go next time and maybe even have a few moments to relax...
On the way to Kirkwood Friday night, I decided to explore some trails around Bear Creek Reservoir road. The trails were covered with snow that had melted and re-froze. Traction was an issue.
Sorry for the crappy picture.
The snow got deeper and instead of cutting down to the dirt, or packing the snow down, I just hit a layer of ice below. Got stuck, used A-Trac and the locker to get unstuck (about 5 times), and kept going until I could find a place to turn around. I finally called it after 2 miles and headed back to Highway 88. Had a few beers at the Towers bar, camped at the resort, and had a great high- speed day on the groomers.
On the way back down the mountain I did a little solo exploring in the Calaveras Forest north of Hwy 88. Trying to find a good camp spot in the dark was tricky. Many of the trails were overgrown (4-1/2' to 5' wide) and my truck has some nice pin striping now. I turned up the radio so I couldn't hear the painful sounds of the Manzanitas scraping my pretty paint.
I found a nice clearing at the end of a trail, but it was littered with shotgun shells, beer bottles, and there was a "Private Property - No Trespassing" sign. There was probably no one around, but I could hear banjo music playing in my head and got outta there...
Found a nice spot.
It started hailing/ raining at Kirkwood Saturday and the rainfly wasn't on. I quickly put it up over the already-wet tent. The fly was still wet when I left Kirkwood that evening, so I put it back on that night to dry it out. Then I had to take it off and re- deploy to dry the tent out. The inside of the fly was wet too, so it went back on, inside- out, once the tent was dry. Fun 3 step process. Can't wait until someone makes a replacement tent with an integrated fly.
Headed out for more exploring on Sunday until dead- fall stopped progress.
Without skid plates, the log was just high enough to possibly catch the transfer case and cross- over pipe. I didn't bring the chainsaw. I couldn't pull it out of the way without taking out 3 small trees. I thought of attaching a snatch- block to a stump, on the other side of the tree, and pulling it in the other direction with the winch; too much work. I was solo and didn't have a spotter. In the process of turning around, I looked back at the log and deciding to go with my original plan; use rocks (not the ones in my head) to ease up and over it.
1" of clearance below the factory IFS "skid plate". More like a cookie sheet.
1-1/2" of clearance below the transfer case.
Easy money.
The trailed narrowed, more pin striping occurred, then it opened up on a beautiful ridge with some really nice camp spots. I know where to go next time and maybe even have a few moments to relax...
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Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Thanks!
Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Kitchen Cabinet or Chuck Box
The rear left side of the camper has always been my ideal location for the kitchen. It should be reachable from outside because it's our most accessed storage area when camping. The kitchen in our Scout FWC was great. We did most of our cooking inside and used a small table & Coleman dual fuel stove when outside. In the Flippac, we like to burn food outside or on the fold-out table, but we still want the inside option for cold- weather camping. The plan was to build a removable chuck- box. That plan is still on the table, but I've thought of just making components of a kitchen cabinet removable instead. This is a possible solution:
The drawer units would be removable and there's a nice handle on the top. The're DeWalt 1 drawer and 2 drawer TSTAK units that latch together with plastic buckles. Not light at 8.4 lbs & 9.3 lbs respectively. They are very durable and much of the weight comes from the ball bearing slides. Do I really need this durability to protect my can opener and pepper grinder? Probably not. The positive latches, smooth gliding drawers, and easy access are really nice though.
My plan is to build a non- removable kitchen cabinet around these units. There is still plenty of space above them for food, pots & pans, and a sink. There's about 5" behind them and 4" to the side for additional storage.
The chuck box will hold my Coleman Dual Fuel or Century 2- burner stove. Because the tent tapers at the rear, cooking will be done above the storage cabinets instead of above the chuck box.
The biggest issue right now is the door. The plan is to use two small doors for easy access from the inside or out. A roll- up or removable door would be better though. Maybe a bi- fold door that folds down? Still throwing around ideas. Let me know if you have a solution.
The rear left side of the camper has always been my ideal location for the kitchen. It should be reachable from outside because it's our most accessed storage area when camping. The kitchen in our Scout FWC was great. We did most of our cooking inside and used a small table & Coleman dual fuel stove when outside. In the Flippac, we like to burn food outside or on the fold-out table, but we still want the inside option for cold- weather camping. The plan was to build a removable chuck- box. That plan is still on the table, but I've thought of just making components of a kitchen cabinet removable instead. This is a possible solution:
The drawer units would be removable and there's a nice handle on the top. The're DeWalt 1 drawer and 2 drawer TSTAK units that latch together with plastic buckles. Not light at 8.4 lbs & 9.3 lbs respectively. They are very durable and much of the weight comes from the ball bearing slides. Do I really need this durability to protect my can opener and pepper grinder? Probably not. The positive latches, smooth gliding drawers, and easy access are really nice though.
My plan is to build a non- removable kitchen cabinet around these units. There is still plenty of space above them for food, pots & pans, and a sink. There's about 5" behind them and 4" to the side for additional storage.
The chuck box will hold my Coleman Dual Fuel or Century 2- burner stove. Because the tent tapers at the rear, cooking will be done above the storage cabinets instead of above the chuck box.
The biggest issue right now is the door. The plan is to use two small doors for easy access from the inside or out. A roll- up or removable door would be better though. Maybe a bi- fold door that folds down? Still throwing around ideas. Let me know if you have a solution.
Dave Bennett
Adventurist
Nice, I like the direction your going here. I've been toying with the idea of a Dometic sink/hob on mine but they're stupid expensive.
The question of doors/drawers is a tough one. Anything you do will be a compromise. Inside access and tailgate access are at odds, that's why we went with rear facing drawers with a top opening lid over it.
The question of doors/drawers is a tough one. Anything you do will be a compromise. Inside access and tailgate access are at odds, that's why we went with rear facing drawers with a top opening lid over it.
Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Looks like the SMEV unit and comparably priced. Stupid expensive is right. It would be awesome if you could mount it in a removable cabinet/ box and bring it outside. Or swing down from the top like a Tembo Tusk fridge mount... if clearances and money permitted.
I noticed the dual access with your cabinets. Very nice! My fridge cabinet is set up the same way, but not nearly as well- built.
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Yeah, I got really lucky buying mine when Aery Corp was liquidating.
brianjwilson
Some sort of lost...
You know I look at your "kitchen" setup and it makes me waffle back and forth even more about how to order a four wheel camper. I'm closing on a house finally and trying to iron out the details to have a tacoma and camper for the summer.
There is something great about the simplicity of a portable stove and water container. When camping with the Jeep I used reliance water containers and mostly a jetboil (with a single burner coleman stove rarely used). It is nice to cook outside sometimes and not have to bring along "extra" equipment. I'm planning on order a fully setup fleet camper with smev stove and sink among other things. Financing a portion of the camper makes the price easier to stomach but then I realize that if I were building the interior myself and paying cash for everything, I would likely never spend that much money. I sure would go with a more simple setup if it weren't for keeping the wife and daughter comfortable camping year round. Hmm....
There is something great about the simplicity of a portable stove and water container. When camping with the Jeep I used reliance water containers and mostly a jetboil (with a single burner coleman stove rarely used). It is nice to cook outside sometimes and not have to bring along "extra" equipment. I'm planning on order a fully setup fleet camper with smev stove and sink among other things. Financing a portion of the camper makes the price easier to stomach but then I realize that if I were building the interior myself and paying cash for everything, I would likely never spend that much money. I sure would go with a more simple setup if it weren't for keeping the wife and daughter comfortable camping year round. Hmm....
Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Your setup is awesome. Glad you got a good deal. It's surprising that no one makes cheaper flush- mount RV appliances. After further research I realized that the Dometic makes the SMEV appliances... so my last quote was stupid, for those of you that already knew. Doh! I meant knew that Dometic made SMEV, not knew that my last quote was stupid...
Mmmm...waffles. I totally understand your position. It's a toss up. I really can't decide on the setup, so I made it modular. With our old FWC (and no kids), we had plenty of room to bring along an extra stove and water containers. If FRP made full camper set-ups... I still would have built the interior myself. I don't really trust them with that sort of thing. The interior would likely involve shag carpet and particle board. They are awesome with fiberglass.
Goose Gear is a different story though. They weren't building these cabinets when I started and, if money wasn't an issue, I may have "spread- out" the purchase of their cabinets and had more time on the trail. FWC makes great interiors and it's great that you'll enjoy a turn-key camper driving home from Woodland.
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Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
My truck got roofied.
Ok, that's not funny. "Slip em' a mickey" sounds funnier, but is equally distasteful.
This is hopefully the foundation for resolving storage issues that many Flippac owners have. I'm coordinating with Zach, the owner of Prinsu to come up with a solution. His racks are well- built and offer many options. There will be sliders involved to keep the camper set-up quick.
Ok, that's not funny. "Slip em' a mickey" sounds funnier, but is equally distasteful.
This is hopefully the foundation for resolving storage issues that many Flippac owners have. I'm coordinating with Zach, the owner of Prinsu to come up with a solution. His racks are well- built and offer many options. There will be sliders involved to keep the camper set-up quick.
Overland Hadley
on a journey
The rack is super slick!
Overlanerd
Vagabond Outdoors
Thanks! Hopefully the system will drastically improve my storage situation and speed up setup time.