A little background first. Got my camper in March of 2020, build #671 (perfect timing as all things went to sh#*) went camping with my 3 sons most weekends of the spring/summer/fall all over the pacific northwest. Caught whopper trout on the fly rod, drove hundreds of miles on dirt roads, ate more marshmallows than any human should consume in a a lifetime and created some amazing memories with my favorite humans in the world. My plans for 2021 are extensive as I am always looking to up the ante. So I did a few things to the old 2005 Tacoma this winter. Upgraded the suspension, custom fabricated my own bumper, got a winch and now am in the process of building a ladder. Now when I say fabricated my own bumper I know some of you are getting visions of the dudes who just bolt a metal fence post to the front of their truck and are ready to send it the next weekend, buuut I decided to go a little different route. I have a good buddy who owns a fabrication shop and is just a freakin’ whiz at creating and making all kinds of solutions for his customers and so we got to work on my bumper build. Long story short, that went so well that we are now in the process of making a ladder and I am pretty pumped about how it’s coming out. So I thought I would share. Pics of the the bumper, ladder, favorite humans (and doggo) below.
Some notes… my friend Luke specializes in aluminum fabrication (although he uses steel as well) but in my bumper build and in this future ladder build we are using aluminum. Should having a working prototype for the ladder this month. We already ordered gas struts for either side to lift it up, and will have a bumper plate and lock so it doesn’t rattle when I drive. It also will have a sleeve so that I can still hook up the boat or whatever I am towing behind the truck.
