Wests (Desertboater) Tacoma Build
For starters, the truck is an 05 Access Cab, V6, 6 Speed, 4WD in Silver. I found it on Craigslist back in NH a couple of years ago and have really only changed the oil and whatnot since then. Just after I got it I had a cap put on the back and built a basic sleeping platform. Most of my driving is on highways or at least decent dirt roads with a lot of it being driving cross-country (6 times and counting,) however I've been known to take the long way to find put-ins and take-outs in rather remote locations. This summer I'm going to be driving to Alaska to guide sea kayak trips and figured now was as good a time as any to do a bit of work to get it into shape for a planned two and a half week roadtrip. Here are a couple of pictures mostly of the sleeping platform and whatnot.
Before the bumper and safari box:
I think we got 12 kayaks on top by the time we were done...
Here's the second generation bed
The drawers slide completely out and then the center pieces can also be taken out to have full bed space if I'm hauling a bunch of stuff around town. I can access forward of the wheel wells with the hatches up forward. The drawers were sized using milk crates...i can fit 3 in the skinny one and 5 in the wide one
Having studied both Bajataco's bed and one of the links from his site, I ended up enabling both drawers to be emptied, flipped, and used as tables.
I think they might also be strong enough to be used as a bed if I want to be outside under the stars but still off the ground.
It's not the greatest photo but this is the roof box
It was originally a cheap contractor rack that had a free sign on it on the side of the road, so I picked it up in a friends truck (no cap) and carted it home only to find out that the skirted cap that I have would require too much energy to make it worth modifying to fit...so I cut it up and welded some of the sections together along with some steel grating to make a box. I'll be hauling an 18' whitewater raft up to AK this summer for a class with school and I didn't want it inside the cap with me.
Here's what I've done since I've owned the truck:
Rear AAL
ARB winch bumper
Century Cap
Thule Rack 72" bars with Stackers
Custom Safari Box (Not actually Thule)
Bike Racks
Sleeping Platform (mostly permanent)
Slide out Drawers/Tables
On board air compressor
Bridgestone A/T Revos
Raft Paddle T Grip Shifter top
Soon to be added:
OME 886 Coils up front
Front Mounted Winch
Lights
CB Radio
That's about all for now. I'm open to ANY suggestions, tips or questions regarding my rig, the trip, etc and I'll try to keep y'all updated as I drive north/continue adding mods.
Cheers,
West
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