Nomad Living in a 4x4 Tacoma for 4 years - Truck Camper Walk Through






I just got tired of the corporate to be honest with you, cuz like I was in the corporate world, I was killing it and I just didn't care about what I was doing. I kept on thinking like man there's something more out there and every time I go camp and I'd feel that something I was like man. I could do this full-time [, Music, ], Applause, ], [, Music, ], hey, what's up everybody, its Brian from Colorado, backcountry adventures. Today, I want to show you my rig: it's a 2005 toyota tacoma, which i've been living in for the last almost four years and when i first hit the road it was literally, i was thinking. Oh, my god, I'm just gon na be on the road for like a year, go see all these badass places in Colorado and Utah and just kind of hang out and do a bunch of fun stuff. But then, after that year came up. I'M like I want to stop doing this. This is a blast, and so I started hanging out in central Colorado and kind of camping, around Leadville, Buena Vista Salida Area and doing volunteer work for the Forest Service. So with that volunteer, where I could have to carry a lot of gear with me and I wanted to keep the roof rack above my topper, I wanted to keep that low profile. I didn't want to compromise my rig and where I could go with any sort of overhead clearance. So I kind of I kind of ruled out the camper, the pop-up camper as a solution for my truck, even dialed, one in more room, and I was sleeping diagonally in a five-foot bed and I'm 6 feet tall. So I'll sleep diagonally for two and a half years of that thing and after a while I was like man, I'm just I can't do it. My body hurts, and so I decided to do a pop-out extension in the back, which is what we'll get to shortly. So this is real quick, I'm running 34 inch tires. These are toy you open country. I'Ve got a 3 inch old man. Emu lifts on there with heavy-duty 2 car leaf springs in the back with a extra hat, a leaf on the front. Just a RB bumper. I'Ve got a 8500 Warn: winch 8,500 pound one winch back in Kansas waiting for me. I just haven't installed it yet, and I also got a light bar too. That way. We'Re gon na go up top here on the driver's side driver side. Here I've got the air B 2500 awning, which is 8 foot by foot awning. This comes out and then I have a drop down room for it. That'S fully enclosed! So that's nice during monsoon season, I'll set up at one spot and just like chill there for 3 or 4 days and I'll have. This is like my mobile office area that I can like get it working and everything and then I'll sleep in the topper. So for the roof rack I want with the mega warrior: roof rack, it's the biggest one from Yamaka. It'S really great. I mean I would carry a ton of firewood up here and then on top of T, like my chainsaw on a couple axes and different like an IDI tool and different things that I would need. When was doing. Forest Service trail ride, which I did pretty much full-time March through October every year. So that's why I wanted to keep the roof rack. You know in the roof profile. Small is because some of the trails I go on have really really limited overhead clearance. So you just can't get back in there and you got ta think like the most, the majority of the trails in Colorado or all the mining trails, so those mining carts are pretty narrow, and so those trails have a tendency to be narrow. So the mid-size truck works well for that, but you compromise, you know, for the convenience factor we'll be able to go wherever I want. I compromise comfort, so there's not there's no, like perfect rig for anybody. I always tell people that so the solution that I came up with is, I just wanted to have it to where I could extend the back of the camper area just about two more feet, and so I came up with this. The self design plan to where I would build a little box that slides out on Rails and then hangs out over my tailgate here and gives me some extra room. So what this did was it took the five foot bed and increase my sleeping area from five feet to 6 feet 10 inches, and I just get to camp slide. This out pull out a few items like my cooler and my water container, and then I've got a extra piece that goes down in the middle, where the opening was kind of this cause. When I slide that out whole set up times like five minutes, maybe then it's really comfortable in there I've got a got a memory, foam mattress and then a nice little big. This is a Cabela's Outfitters blanket. So it's real thick, it's kind of a bed roll and I provided some insulation for any cold air that comes up through the to the bottom of the topper. But I do have the bed rug as well and that's kind of helps as an insulation, so that bed rod lines the entire and inside of my my truck bed and I build everything on top of it. So I'm gon na take a peek inside there and kind of kind of see what all the room it's pretty spacious. I could sit up and have no problem, doesn't doesn't hit my head and I'm six feet tall and I've built little shelves up on the roof. That are that actually hanging down from the screws of the the roof rack, and so I just attached little L brackets to it and dropped down some support, beams and then attached it on the side where the the window jamb is for the window frame is for The for the topper and that's great, that's where I stroll all my clothes and then as far as a lighting solution in there I've got the bio light: solar home 620. It'S a 21-hour battery bank that provides three lighting, pods and one of which is a motion sensor. So I'll hang that off the back at night as a security measure - and it's great I mean it's sufficient for me - it's enough for one person for me and my dog to get in there and chill. And then you know when I'm done camping for the day and I'm ready to roll in the morning, just pack, everything up and break down camp in five minutes and be gone. So I used to use this yuko candle here. It'S a three candle candle lantern and it was good, but I was like you know. I want a little bit more heat than just the three candles can provide, and so there was a guy that I found online that made these little that they're like their candles but they're, but their power with, like the the clean fuel gas, and I another top Here actually fell into the container down there, so I got to get that outfit, but I had these little wicks in there and they're made out of a certain type of rope that you can use for this sort of purpose. And then you just get that clean fuel and you run that I'll. Take the the warming tray off the top here, because I can actually when I want to boil water in the morning for coffee or if I want to warm up some pizza or something like that when I'm in there I can. I can get this going and put it down the little warming tree on top. It will get warm enough. I can put a skillet on it and then it's like I heat up my pizza and I'm good to go so, but at night I'll take this warming tray off. So that way it doesn't absorb any of the heat that's coming off here. There just circulates all around in my top right it. I'Ve had it to where it's like there's one night that I was here was 17 degrees outside. It was 65 inside my topper yeah and I do vincit a little bit because there's a little bit of a little bit of an odor that comes from running this. But if you keep the the wicks on them, trimmed down pretty pretty small. The other is not really there so yeah, so I've got this crude little metal shield on here. I'M gon na make a better one, but I want to have it to where you know. One side comes up. So if you want direct lighting, it's really cold, a window that slides open on both the topper and on the cab that I can make like a little donut around it, let's just seal it off with, like. I just have something so like I got this little cat towel and then that creates a little seal. Then I'll run the heater inside the truck and warm everything up back here and you're good. So I've been like, I said: I've been on the road almost four years, and this is this was really ramped up the comforter over the platform bed. Alright, so here's how I stay clean in the backcountry hygiene yeah. You know I always tell people look just cuz. I'M living in my truck doesn't mean I turned into like a smelly hippie, so got to keep the hygiene on point, even though you're back here, and so I went with the road shower. This was one of the first prototypes that they came out with. I think they've gone to some different styles from here, but this one's the five gallon one and it's nice because you can heat it up. You can either heat up water when it's cold like this and put it in there, and then I've got a little bike pump on the top here, where I pressurize it to create some good flow with the water or if it's warm enough out like if you Have degree the temperatures out like say 70 degrees, but it's full Sun. You can get the water in here from like I'd, say: 40 degrees up to about 104 in two hours, Wow yeah, you know you just pressurize you're good to go and with a five gallon holding tank. Oh you got ta think when you're showering with it. It'S not constantly going like it's a lot nozzle! It'S like you, spray yourself down, lather spray yourself again. It lasts for like two or three good showers. That'S awesome and that's a nice water reserve too. So in case you run out your main drinking water. You got ta back up, but the only thing I plan to do different now, I'm gon na take the back of this, come entirely off and put a box like what down to my house fill your set up. Sick, probably filled that probably this winter. So I'm still full time in this throughout the rest of the year and then do a little bit of a different design. So I want to show you what I do for storage on the inside. I pretty much try to utilize all the spaces that I have for storing different gear and like quick grab items so up front here. I'Ll keep bungee cords and then also my flip-flops just right here, underneath where my bike kind of my feet go for my driving area over on the far side, I'll have my 22 rifle a solar panel, some books, my tarp, with some more guidelines to tie it Off and then my backpack and the backpack is ready to go like doesn't my was my water purifier? It'S got some food, a little backpacking stove, a little fuel canister and a light stuff, so I just had to throw it and whatever other items I need and I'm good. I can down the trail in like 10 minutes or less and then so. That'S the front that I've got a few more items down there. I'Ve got a loaf of bread and then also my Dutch oven, so so this is where I keep the majority of my stuff right here. This is actually my backpack. It'S fully loaded and ready to go, so all I got ta do is put my clothes in there and then I'm good, just some steaks that I'll use. I'Ve got a bunch of extra steaks that use with us for the awning over the four season tent or just my regular tent and then I'll keep a dirty clothes hamper, which is just an assented plastic bag. That way it doesn't smell. I mean I've a tendency to hike and stuff, so I can work up a little bit of an odor underneath here. I'Ve got. Let'S see why don't even know, what's underneath it? Oh some more books and a journal. This is actually the film Journal for the documentary. I'M working on so we're gon na include some of that into the website and talk about different days and what I was thinking about when we were filming and then I've got my yoga mat and then my my fly-fishing boots. My fly, fishing waders are back behind the deal here. Then I've got my two fly rods right here. I tink our fly fishing. So that's one of my huge passions and then backpacking. It'S just like a like a bear. Vault. I just keep some other cooking stuff in there for the moment and if I go back back in and if it's in bear country, then I'll use that to store my food and then this is the drop-down room. So for the side awning that I have on the right here on the driver's side, the other side is for Sierra she's got a full-on dog bed over there and she's in there just chilling right now, Sierra! What'S up babe, come here, hey what'd! You get for there, Sierra and she pretty much just rules the roost over on that side and everything over there is dedicated to her. So that's uh, that's it! That'S that's how I live and everything that I use for being out in the road full-time. I carry with me so this is it and I can pack up if you wan na check out what happen up to I've been camping in this. I also camp in a four season tent with the wood stove in the wintertime and travel all over Colorado and Utah, and obviously Arizona and New Mexico. So check me out Colorado, backcountry adventures here on YouTube and also on Instagram, and I will see on the road Music, ], Applause, ], [, Music, ], you [, Music ] heats your whole camper yeah. You know these will stay lit for like 15 hours and your fuel cars - probably amazing, yeah, it's not bad. It'S just that well and then I open the ceiling here. If you look, I put drop down, she'll, be helping them, and that's where I put my that's. Where I put my clothes and stuff and that's just attach to the screws and then the side of my true friend, this is also great, and this whole thing sucks it yep. It just goes right in now shut the tailgate and yeah. I'Ve got that. There'S there's a three running running tracks underneath there's your slides inside [, Music, ]

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