Wow, great photo, haven’t cone across a demonstration like this. This is a 5’ Canyon? Probably about the same as my Ranger. Super helpful, thanks!
Still liking yours? Any epiphanies after living with it?
Yes, Canyon and he said 5'2' bed.
Yep, we love it. We built our rig for more comfort than the 11 year old built out 2nd Gen Tacoma, with tent camping. But we also wanted to go anywhere we could with the Tacoma unless we just couldn't physically fit. Consequently, we actually go rougher, more difficult remote places with the Tundra + Overland, and are more comfortable and stay longer. ZERO problems with the camper and we use it (~150 nights and counting). The Tundra is a pretty flexy framed truck and with the lift, and suspension we go through some very off camber and/or rough washboard roads at some speed. The camper gets tossed about a bit and certainly gets plenty of vibrations. No loose bolts, no broken welds, no metal fatigue. I rarely have to tighten the clamps anymore (but I check them regularly)
Don't know about epiphanies, but some things we've learned or recommend from experience:
1) BEFORE you get the camper obsessively plug all the voids and gaps in your bed. Check under the bed top rails. If you have an OEM rail attachment system, take it off and look for all the holes and voids it's hiding (we had 32). If your tailgate has a removable inner panel, take that off and figure how to dust proof it. Lots of this stuff (less so the tailgate) will be much harder with a camper on.
2) Get the positive pressure vent (PPV) option. It works, and a Bedrug does a lot too. Buy a tailgate sealing kit from Amazon and do it carefully (check gaps with a flashlight at night). You can make it all essentially dust free
3) I find the window hatches to be well worth it, and so do most of the folks on the ~100 page Ovrlnd owners thread on Expedition Portal.
4) Ditto the barn doors, though that depends on how you want to use it. In our experience the barn doors with a 180º Awning over the tailgate works great. Gives you a LOT more real estate, even in the rain (you'll want a gutter between the awning and the camper wall). I'd think with your short bed this configuration would be very helpful. It's a great porch and living area extension.
5) Reist the desire to start building an interior and use it first, maybe with insulation added if you don't get that option. Find out how you want to use it. Buy a couple Plano boxes for gear and stack up to mimic cabinets, etc. Also resist the desire to make the inside look like a lux camper, unless you have unlimited payload. When you do build some interior stuff, keep it light and minimal.
6) It's a DIYers dream. I hope you liked Erector Sets as a kid! But it's also useable day 1. We just started using ours like our Tacoma with a hard shell tonneau cover, with the same gear boxes and moved our fridge over. Probably the only epiphany (figure I have to give you one!) was from our shakedown trips where we realized we really wanted some sort of counter readable from the pulled out bed to put stuff on that we might want without hopping up and down
Have fun and use it! Happy to answer any questions.
