Great video! I love the story behind the truck and that you’re getting out there so much.
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Yesterday was my one year anniversary with my GFC, and I still love it as much as the day I got it. I’m a fair weather camper, so I really haven’t done much with it this winter.
I have been having some major water intrusion issues via the OEM Toyota bed rail caps, something I was aware of and should have handled sooner rather than later. But life got in the way and halfway through the winter, my bed subfloor was mildewy and I was bummed out. I knew I needed to get this issue tackled before camping season.
I decided to head back to my hometown so my Grandpa could give a hand, he loves projects like this. First, we lifted the camper off. This should have been easier than it was but I was being cautious. We used the A-frame to lift the front and his tractor/forks to lift the rear.
Next time, I’ll set up a system like GFC does at the factory and lift only with the A-frame
Naked!
I picked up a set of OEM Toyota bed rail caps to replace mine. Unfortunately, I had been lead to believe that the replacement caps did not have removable stakehole pockets. I am still not totally sure what the situation is, maybe its only Crewmax/shortbeds that dont have caps? Maybe its the 2.5gen Tundras? I couldn’t get a clear answer online so I made due. I used JB weld to glue the stakepocket caps in place. Next, I cut rubber weatherstrips and put them all along the bottom of the caps. I used foil tape on top of the bed, and used CR777 butyl rubber sealant on the plastic caps. God willing, no water will ever come through these again.
JB Weld and rubber seals
Foil tape
I did some testing with a hose yesterday and it seems like it is sealed. Its supposed to rain later this week, so we shall see if this all worked.
In other news, I picked up a daily so my GFC can rest at home. I’ve always wanted a hatchback WRX and this one checked all the boxes. Now that I have something to drive everyday, I plan on building the truck out further.
Otherwise, nothing much new. Starting to plan some tentative trips with the girlfriend. Gonna buy a Bedrug for the truck once I am sure it is no longer leaking. Need to do some maintenance here and there on the truck too, so should probably prioritize that first!
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Girlfriend and I have our first camping trip of the year planned, down towards Ashland OR to some hippy hot spring resort, then out to the coast/northern California and back up 101. Quick 4-day trip, since gfs schedule is all over the place. Really looking forward to getting out again.
Made some upgrades to the “basement”. Installed a Bedrug kit. The kit calls for you to trim it to fit under the bed rails, wishing I had installed the rails over the kit to make it a little more solid but c’est la vie. Should have spent some more time trimming around the bed stiffeners too.
Then, subfloor V2. The original subfloor had gotten beat up from truck stuff and was overkill with 3/4" baltic birch. I wanted to rebuild this one with 1/2" and change up the design a bit.
Im planning an 80/20 slide out cabinet on the passenger side, so I decided I didn’t need the plywood to go all the way over to save some weight. Installed 8 M8 rivnuts in the bed to mount the subfloor to. Ended up having to scrap the first sheet of plywood because I measured once and cut once. Did a better job scribing the wheel wells on sheet #2 and am very happy how it fits
CAD (cardboard aided design)
Try #2 fits pretty nice. Built a tick stick to trace around the wheel well
Peel and stick “wood” flooring installed. Feels like a stance Mk4 GTI circa 2011
Need to install the aluminum trim along the front, tore my thumb up last night while trying to install it and called it a day
Overall I’m pretty happy with the outcome. One minor annoyance, I got impatient and tried to install the bolts through the subfloor with a torque gun and spun two of the rivnuts out. They should be covered by the cabinet so not a big deal, but annoying after all that work. Gotta take a breath sometimes and think before I do…
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