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

solscooter said:
Fukkkkkk
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I know. And I've been putting off for way too long. They weren't leaking hard enough to force my laziness into fixing them for a while, but it is to the point where it will be mandatory to get it done this weekend. Exciting.
 
Right there with you. My dad in law has Parkinson's, mom In law with some dementia. Working on convincing them of the need to be living with us before a tragedy forces the issue.
 
Someone said to me, "No disrespect, but how are you able to afford to travel like this so young? Are you independently wealthy?"

I figured I would share my answer here because I imagine some of you guys have thought about this too.

I would be asking the same thing if I saw this thread posted by someone else, so no worries.

I'm able to do this because I did around 7 years in the USMC, made it to E-5 (decent rank that has decent pay), busted my back, and ended up getting medically retired. The last part means I get a disability check every month, forever. This equals to about $40k of "free", non-taxable income a year. I then make a very small amount from the Toyota Tacoma forum I run (like, very small, and I only use that money to put it back into the forum, so it is not even worth mentioning). My wife is working as a CNA, so her pay is decent too until she leaves for our road life (whenever COVID allows us to). We are aged 29 and don't have kids, nor do we plan to anytime soon.

That's the income. What about the expenses? The camper on the back of the truck was $15k. I paid in cash using a savings account. The truck itself was purchased in 2017 with no intent of using it like this. I think the loan is $470 a month (automatic payments; don't even need to think about it honestly). The modifications done to the truck itself are waaaayyyy more than I probably think they are because I don't keep track. My guess would be $10-15k? How is that justified? Am I crazy?

Nah, I don't think I am. The mods have been spread over 3 years, and while they're not fully done yet, they are all highly functional and really do make a difference. I don't add anything just for show. Also, trucks like this have been my thing since I was little, and my wife digs them too. Same thing with being in the outdoors and just seeing beautiful new places. What good is your money if you don't spend it to make the best memories you can until the day you inevitably die, right?

Last note about the truck and its mods: Taking it to the "extreme" that I do actually gets me "noticed" or "popular", if you will. This is NOT my intent and I will never sell out and accept sponsors and become a robotic advertisement. But. It is cool that people all over the country know who I am, know about my Tacoma forum, and know my truck. Plenty of people say hello to me in public because they recognize the truck. In the off-road world, this is a pretty common thing, so I'm not special or anything, but it does feel kind of wholesome sometimes.

Onward with the other expenses...

Two cellular data plans: $160
Two dog insurance policies: $60 each
Truck insurance: $90 per 6 months
Truck fuel economy: about 12 mpg, fill up is around $50 and happens once or twice a week
Health insurance: Free for both of us because of the military disability
iCloud and Spotify: $10 2 tb family plan, $15 family plan
Cost for food and dog food per month: I have no idea. Who cares. You gotta eat.

Bonus stuff that doesn't "count" to me because any of it can be stopped if we needed to:

Amazon Prime
Will probably have a subscription to a cell service booster for remote areas
Paying for my new iPhone 11 Pro and new MacBook Pro 2020 monthly, with the Apple Card. I don't count this because I only did that to have the iPhone yearly upgrade and be more in the Apple ecosystem by using the Wallet app. If these payments were to get annoying, I'd just pay them both off at once.
Buying crap at random: new gear, smaller truck parts, patches from National Parks, random Amazon Prime stuff, etc.


So, idk if this seems like a lot or a little, but to us, it is cheaper than what a normal lifestyle would be, especially if you factor in a mortgage and all other expenses that come with owning a house. I would honestly love to hear your guys' opinions on this post. Maybe we are crazy?
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You're crazy :) but as I've said before, we all are kinda there, so I think you're in good company :)
 
Always loved the Aussie overland look of the red ARB lights, but they’re $1,400. WHAT. So I ordered some $200 Amazon knock-offs last night and they came already. Build quality seems great too. Gotta drill the holes and mount them.

Primelux 8-inch 14400 Lumens Off Road LED Driving Light - 32x5W Cree Spot Beam for Jeep Wrangler JK TJ Cherokee XJ GMC Ford Raptor - PC Lens Cover - Waterproof IP67 (Red Ring) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K6JJ1R2/?tag=tacoma3g-20

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Also, Paige be gettin’ some on her Jeep today.

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I'm trying to get better at graphic editing so I can make cool merch and new logos for T3G. Been messing with it for like 15 years but I still suck. Managed to get my avatar looking "special" compared to the usual WW logo that I use.
 
Can someone update this dang thread for me? Been wanting to do it for months but there are just so many things higher on the T3G priority list!
 
I generally don’t bother adding stuff to my truck to look pretty. Nor do I typically like recovery shackles that aren’t simply black. (Petty, I know.)

But I decided to try to come out of my shell and rock some red shackles to tie in the slight red accents I have. So: bumper fog lights, TRD letters in the skid plate, TRD OR logo on the bed, and now these shackles. Do you think my Instagram engagement will go up now? I hope so. :devilish:

Anyway, I dig them.

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Also, yes the p/s is sitting lower. Gotta add some air to the air bag on that side. Dang Taco lean problems. Can never get it perfect.
 
What is this thread and why are there cobwebs all over it?

Let's see...

2,000 miles past due to change my oil
Battery not installed correctly
Steering wheel is at 2:00 when driving straight
Rack and pinion bushings are busted
Serpentine belt is gonna snap soon
Headlights flicker while the truck is cold (I think?)
One suspension airbag might have a leak
...and a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting. But she's still kickin' despite the neglect.
 
Tyler said:
View attachment 19673INTRODUCTION
This is the build thread of the truck that inspired me to create this website!

It was a truck originally built to be abused pretty hard, despite its price tag, while still daily driven when things aren't too broken.
Two years later, I am now transforming it into a home-on-wheels that myself, @Paige, and our two dogs will live in, full-time, while we travel all of North and South America. #VanLife

Follow the build and our journey right here on the forum, on our Instagram page, and on our YouTube channel.
We are The Wandering Winterfields and we hope you'll wander with us!

RECENT PHOTO (OCTOBER 2020)​
THE NIGHT I BOUGHT THE TRUCK (7/24/2017)​
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Tons of additional photos, videos, and other shenanigans can also be found on my personal Instagram account (@sixlxvi) and occasionally on the Tacoma3G Instagram page. Photos of the trail carnage the truck has acquired are at the bottom of this post.

TRUCK
2017 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab -- 6-ft. "long" bed -- TRD Off-Road 4x4 -- Automatic
It came with a dealer-installed TRD Pro skid plate and useless OEM roof rack.

MODIFICATIONS *THIS PART IS SLIGHTLY OUTDATED. WILL UPDATE SOON.*
STUFF STILL SITTING IN MY GARAGE...​
TIRES / WHEELS​
  • Installed:
    • BFGoodrich 315/75r16 KM3 [photos]
    • Black Rhino Arsenal wheels in sand/black color with -10mm offset
    • Full-size spare on stock steelie, mounted to @Relentless Fabrication rear swing gate
  • Removed:
    • BFGoodrich 285/75r16 KO2s on stock OR wheels [photos]
    • Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers (front only)
    [*][*][*]
FRONT AXLE / SUSPENSION​
  • Installed:
    • Icon coilovers with extended length shocks and 700lbs coils (~3.2” lift) [photos 1, photos 2]
    • SPC adjustable upper control arms
    • Wheeler's Off-Road bump stops
    • Cab mount chop by @DrWeld, pinch weld flattened, and additional trimming of fender area to fit 35" tires
  • Removed:
    • Swaybar delete
    • OME 887 coils with Bilstein 5100 extended shocks, set to .85 notch [photos]
REAR AXLE / SUSPENSION​
  • Installed:
    • Icon remote reservoir extended length shocks [photos]
  • Removed:
    • Bilstien 5100 extended length shocks [photos]
    • Dakar heavy duty leaf spring packs (~4” lift) [photos]
ARMOR / BUMPERS​
PERFORMANCE / MECHANICAL / BRAKES​
  • Installed:
    • @OVTune ECU flash kit on Premium 4.88 octane flash
    • Nitro Gear & Axle 5.29 regear package
    • @Remmen Brakes front "Rocky" series brake kit (pads + rotors) (not yet installed)
    • Extended length rear braided brake lines (not yet installed)
    • @DobinsonsUSA snorkel kit
    • K&N air intake filter
  • Wishlist:
    • Harrop front E-locker
LIGHTING / ELECTRICAL​
EXTERIOR / APPEARANCE​
INTERIOR / QUALITY OF LIFE​
  • Installed:
    • Clazzio leather seat covers in matching tan insert, grey body, and red stitching, with embroidered front headrests [relevant photos]
    • @salex Vehicle OCD center console organizer and 2nd gen Tacoma top tray "hack" [relevant photos]
    • Installed driver side style hold downs for the OEM rubber floor mats on passenger side mat and rear mat [relevant photos]
    • A/C drain relocated to avoid rust to frame
    • @ExpeditionEssentials TPAM dash mount with Tackform his/her phone mounts
    • 12Volt.Solutions plug and play remote start kit (not yet installed)
UTILITY / RECOVERY​
  • Installed:
    • CB radio with antenna mounted behind driver side rear glass [relevant photos]
    • OEM cargo bed divider (expensive but very useful) [relevant photos]
    • Smittybilt 10k synthetic winch (not yet installed)
    • Two 3.5 gallon RotopaX
  • Removed:
CAMPER SHELL
Ordered a Four Wheel Camper shell model in black on 10/31/2019. Expected delivery around March 2020. We will DIY build the inside of it when we get it. I also have upgrades planned to help the truck handle the weight. Stay tuned!

Example photo (not my truck):
View attachment 16662

WHY I ENDED UP BUYING A TACOMA
July 2017: I had been daily driving my 1986 Chevy M1008 CUCV (K30) for two years now. It never let me down and literally received compliments daily. The truck is my baby, and always will be, but I felt like although it has 37" tires, it is mostly a mall crawler. Paige has a 2013 Jeep JK that we bought new in 2013 and it has seen many trails across the country. My CUCV definitely wouldn't be able to keep up with it, so I decided I wanted a Jeep for myself.

We went around to some dealerships to see Jeeps. I knew what I wanted since I’ve already owned a Jeep for about four years. And because I knew what I wanted, it was kind of hard to find my desired configuration on any lots, and I would've had to order it. So we left the final dealership for the day and immediately drove by an adjacent Toyota dealership. That's when the Quicksand paint color caught our eyes. Our Jeep color is called Dune, which is similar to Quicksand, so naturally we were intrigued. Well, kind of — I never wanted to own anything other than an old Chevy pickup, with the exception being the Jeep JK. Regardless, we went in to compare the price of the Tacoma to the Jeep. I figured it would be a lot cheaper since Jeeps are notoriously expensive, but the Tacoma was actually not at all cheaper. But I decided to accept my guilty pleasure for the design of the 3rd gen. Tacoma and Paige was also digging it.

Fast forward to about six hours later, I'm now driving home in a brand new Tacoma — a truck I know nothing about, except that it has a rear locker. Mmmmm, that rear locker is so nice. I'm driving home thinking to myself, "What the hell did I just do?". I had a perfectly good crusty truck that was already paid off and I definitely didn't need a brand new truck.

I made a promise to myself after I got the truck. I want to put as many miles I can on it — driving it until it dies. Despite it being a brand new $38k truck, I will not be afraid to wheel it... hard. I've always had a passion for off-roading, and that wasn't going to stop with the Tacoma. Little did we know, two years later, we'd be living out of the truck, full-time!

THE ACCIDENT
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December 2017. Six months of having the truck and 4,000 miles on the odometer...

I’m on a military base headed back to work at 1200. I’m waiting to turn left in the turning lane and then get hit on the passenger side from a car behind me going straight. The dude told the police he fell asleep, but this was right at lunch time and he had someone else in the car. He was definitely texting. His car was totaled and leaking fluids everywhere.

My truck? $15,000 in damage. I’m someone that buys a vehicle with no intention of ever selling it. With that being said, my brand new truck needing this much work done to it at only six months old... it was very frustrating. For a while I didn’t want the truck anymore even though the repairs looked like it never happened. Then I guess I learned to accept it.

The only decent thing to come from this was the police ruining my rear bumper by trying to push the truck with their car. I was able to get the body shop to replace those nasty chrome bumper caps with color matched ones.

TRAIL CARNAGE
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RANDOM PHOTOS
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MY OTHER RIGS
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First time I have seen your build thread. I didnt realize we had the same truck, different color...
 
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