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  • Welcome to Tacoma3G.com, a free resource for 2016-2023 Toyota Tacoma owners!

    This website is the passion-project of a USMC veteran/mechanic, @Tyler. I created Tacoma3G.com to share my knowledge of this subject with others and to provide like-minded folks with a comfortable space to ask questions and create 'build threads' within our Tacoma Forums. Now, if the format of this website is confusing to navigate for you, or if you're interested in my full mission and T3G's history, check out the Help and About pages.

Tyler's #VanLife on 37s Four Wheel Camper Build & Tacoma3G.com Shenanigans

Hang in there, you guys will be on the road before you know it. And we'll be trying to link up with you guys on the road as often as possible. Haha

I dig the pic as well. That highway through the valley is spectacular. Looks like you guys were there when everything was blooming as well.
 
Looking a little more modernized:

70BDC3E3-5420-4B14-93A6-80893BBAC224.png
 
lookin good buddy! I don't think it looks like 2005 I think it looks like you and your family have a vibe that translates into your design. Similar to your truck build. Good luck wiring the rest of it up and good luck on the upcoming adventures. When does that trip start? NY -> Out west?
 
midnight20pro said:
lookin good buddy! I don't think it looks like 2005 I think it looks like you and your family have a vibe that translates into your design. Similar to your truck build. Good luck wiring the rest of it up and good luck on the upcoming adventures. When does that trip start? NY -> Out west?
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Thank you! I think it did look 2005 in the first iteration and it's beginning to look more modern now.

The trip will start this spring/summer. The camper comes in March as I mentioned, but it won't have anything inside of it, because we want to DIY it (kitchen, etc.) So, however long the DIY part takes determines when we hit the road, and I'm guessing 2-4 months.
 
It will probably be NY to Maine, basically looping through all of New England, and back to NY. That will be our shakedown run. Once we get back after a month or two of that trip, we'll change things to our needs. Then I'm going to try to rush to that new Overland Expo in Utah. After that, say hello to California again, and then head way north to Alaska. After Alaska, as much of Canada as possible. Then the rest of the US, then South America.
 
Oh awesome man! DIY Van life setup for the camper then shakedown then endless road trip. Love it! Gonna be fun to follow the progress.
 
I guess having 24/7 back pain is good sometimes. We grabbed our 2020 Long Island beach permit yesterday. I think they cost around $200 but it was free for veterans with a service connected disability.

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sorry to hear about the nerve damage but congrats on making the best of it. Looks like a fun beach day was had :)
 
We get our camper this Tuesday and as a result, this week has been taking forever and I've really had no motivation to do anything. I know after Tuesday my motivation will skyrocket, but until then, I'm stuck with anxiety. That's what happens to me when big things are coming.
 
Instant vs Delayed gratification and the mini dopamine hits we get when you see the invoice number on screen :) what you're feeling is by design
 
I’m not sure if posting this here serves any purpose but it doesn’t hurt to just post it. There has been a lot of discussion in my veteran community about living the van life. It’s a total coincidence that this is coming up right when I’m about to start. So, for what it’s worth, here is my opinion on it:

I have been seeing a few posts here that are about living in a van full-time. It’s interesting this is suddenly coming up because this Tuesday, March 17, my wife and I are picking up our camper that we ordered on October 31, 2019.

A quick introduction about us and our plans, quoted from our website:

“We love to travel by land, which you may know as overlanding. We've been exploring various locations and countries together since 2010. We have traveled in a handful of different rigs, and we are always accompanied by our pigs, Nilla the (stinky) French Bulldog, and Penny the (...special) Pug. In 2019, I retired from the United States Marine Corps and after a few months being back in our hometown, we began to realize the standard 9 to 5 work grind is not for us. So, we made a leap of faith decision to live a van-life while we are still young. In summer of 2020, we will embark on our biggest journey yet: Living in our Toyota Tacoma, full-time, while wandering across all of North America.”

I have a 100% rating and between that and the small amount of money I make from my Tacoma website, and possibly a little more from our YouTube account, we will be living out of the truck for at least 3 years, probably more, while traveling North and South America, and maybe taking it overseas if everything is going well.

I thought I would do 20 years in the USMC but it was cut short at 6 due to a back injury and mental health. I was depressed to the point of not leaving the house once I moved back to my boring hometown. I basically made a YOLO decision to follow a dream and travel by vehicle, full-time. (Sorry about the YOLO, but it really is a great way to describe it.)

I know I’m lucky to have the 100% rating and I believe anyone else thinking about doing this should just go for it. To me, what is the point of life other than to make good memories? Fuck waiting to retire for something like this. I’m not interested in what I can and can’t do when I’m 60+ years old, if I make it that far. I’m interested in what would make me happy now, at 28, and what will make me thank my younger self for the wild decisions I made if I do become an old fart.

Again, I really encourage you guys to do this. I really think it will help with the depression. While I haven’t hit the road yet (looking at Summer 2020), I know a lot about the road life and have multiple long term nights spent in my truck via a tent. If you need advice or want to link up in the future, please hit me up.

Disclaimer: I don’t think you should go into it without a plan. For example, we have vaguely planned routes, I know people around the country whose driveways I can use, I know my resources (iOverlander app, Walmart parking lots, free National Parks, free military gyms, etc.) I already know what it feels like to live minimally. We have already sold most of our unnecessary material items. We know the costs of living like this. My wife is a CNA, going for RN, and she knows she will be able to go right back into that when we stop. We know we love nature and surfing, hiking, etc. We know our two dogs love traveling like this. I have been preparing the truck for all the weight. Etc, etc.

I’ll be documenting my journey on Instagram and YouTube but I’m not going to put a link here because I don’t want this to seem like a self promotion.
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Those of you that follow my build might know that nothing ever goes right for me with truck related stuff.

Today we drove 300+ miles (almost two tanks of gas) to have our camper installed tomorrow morning.

5.5 hours later, 10 minutes from the hotel (which is down the road from the camper shop), they call me. As soon as I saw the call I said to my wife, I KNEW we wouldn’t be getting the camper tomorrow.

I answered the phone and sure enough, the delivery truck broke down, and they might have the camper this Friday.

So here I am on a pointless 600 mile round trip, in a $120 hotel for no reason, with my wife off from work Monday-Wednesday for no reason (but not Thursday/Friday), and I’ll have to do it all again later this week, unsure if she can even come.

Typical Tyler situation.
 
Tyler said:
Those of you that follow my build might know that nothing ever goes right for me with truck related stuff.

Today we drove 300+ miles (almost two tanks of gas) to have our camper installed tomorrow morning.

5.5 hours later, 10 minutes from the hotel (which is down the road from the camper shop), they call me. As soon as I saw the call I said to my wife, I KNEW we wouldn’t be getting the camper tomorrow.

I answered the phone and sure enough, the delivery truck broke down, and they might have the camper this Friday.

So here I am on a pointless 600 mile round trip, in a $120 hotel for no reason, with my wife off from work Monday-Wednesday for no reason (but not Thursday/Friday), and I’ll have to do it all again later this week, unsure if she can even come.

Typical Tyler situation.
Click to expand...
Sucks
 
Tyler said:
Those of you that follow my build might know that nothing ever goes right for me with truck related stuff.

Today we drove 300+ miles (almost two tanks of gas) to have our camper installed tomorrow morning.

5.5 hours later, 10 minutes from the hotel (which is down the road from the camper shop), they call me. As soon as I saw the call I said to my wife, I KNEW we wouldn’t be getting the camper tomorrow.

I answered the phone and sure enough, the delivery truck broke down, and they might have the camper this Friday.

So here I am on a pointless 600 mile round trip, in a $120 hotel for no reason, with my wife off from work Monday-Wednesday for no reason (but not Thursday/Friday), and I’ll have to do it all again later this week, unsure if she can even come.

Typical Tyler situation.
Click to expand...
Damnit! So frustrating!
 
Tyler said:
Those of you that follow my build might know that nothing ever goes right for me with truck related stuff.

Today we drove 300+ miles (almost two tanks of gas) to have our camper installed tomorrow morning.

5.5 hours later, 10 minutes from the hotel (which is down the road from the camper shop), they call me. As soon as I saw the call I said to my wife, I KNEW we wouldn’t be getting the camper tomorrow.

I answered the phone and sure enough, the delivery truck broke down, and they might have the camper this Friday.

So here I am on a pointless 600 mile round trip, in a $120 hotel for no reason, with my wife off from work Monday-Wednesday for no reason (but not Thursday/Friday), and I’ll have to do it all again later this week, unsure if she can even come.

Typical Tyler situation.
Click to expand...

That is so irritating! Have had it happen to me and know the feeling.
 
Tyler said:
So I just had my truck weighed for the first time ever. 5800 lbs with me in it. That’s almost the weight of my one ton Chevy. Holy shit, lol.
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My truck is a pig as well. I need to weigh it again, but in the old configuration I was at 5,990 pounds. I'm sure it's above 6,000 now with bumpers, and the new camper.

Tyler said:
Those of you that follow my build might know that nothing ever goes right for me with truck related stuff.

Today we drove 300+ miles (almost two tanks of gas) to have our camper installed tomorrow morning.

5.5 hours later, 10 minutes from the hotel (which is down the road from the camper shop), they call me. As soon as I saw the call I said to my wife, I KNEW we wouldn’t be getting the camper tomorrow.

I answered the phone and sure enough, the delivery truck broke down, and they might have the camper this Friday.

So here I am on a pointless 600 mile round trip, in a $120 hotel for no reason, with my wife off from work Monday-Wednesday for no reason (but not Thursday/Friday), and I’ll have to do it all again later this week, unsure if she can even come.

Typical Tyler situation.
Click to expand...

Ah damn it. That sucks. I was coming here specifically to pester you to post pics!!
 
I’ve been extremely busy, sorry about my lack of posts on the forum. I’m in NH again to pick up my camper, which did arrive this time. It will be on the truck first thing in the morning. Until then, I’m just gonna drop this teaser photo here:

E54DBD3C-470A-4A07-B96E-B78F69E69ACF.jpeg
 
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