I’ve been slowly building my truck since purchasing it in Jan 2013 as a CPO. My build has been put on hold several times over the years due to cancer treatment but I feel like I’ve managed to make fairly steady progress and I’m excited about the next phase of the build.
I recently picked up a V1 for my 2nd Gen Tacoma to move the kids out of our trailer but have a faster setup/breakdown time than we did with our RTT.
The RTT was nice but we quickly out grew it and I got tired of having to load out the truck so we only used it for 3 years and 1 of those years we only got out a couple times due to cancer treatment.
I wanted an easier setup to load and go so we picked up a trailer. We previously camped with a 23ft trailer that was purchased after my first recurrence in 2014 but we prefer disbursed camping away from the crowds and that trailer wasn’t something that we could easily drag around on BLM and NF land so we sold it and ordered a Patriot X3. The new trailer is a beast and will go anywhere the Tacoma goes off pavement.
The downside to the trailer is the living space is taken up by the kids’ bed so we lose the table and bench area. It’s not a big deal but we have plans for some longer 4-8 week trips and I’ll need that space for working (which will typically happen when the kids are sleeping). The plan was to pick up a clamshell camper to replace the iKamper X-Cover but the weight of them all made me hesitant…I didn’t want anything heavier than the 120lb X-Cover. That lead me to the GFC. A V1 popped up locally when Relentless Fabrications was selling one of their shop trucks and the buyer didn’t want the camper.
The kids really missed the treehouse feel of being in the RTT so they were pretty excited to see the GFC setup and I’ve been told by them GFC is for kids only
Life has been busy the past few weeks so I haven’t done much but I managed to get the lower level lighting setup (I used LED strips I had leftover from the lighting I put in the LEER cap I was running previously and covered them with a yellow vinyl to cut the glare), mount the Viair compressor I’ve been using, and put some vinyl wrap I had from another project over the red tubes on the lid of the GFC since they didn’t match anything on the truck. I’ll probably re-wrap the bars next year when I address some clear coat issues on the truck with either a repaint or a full wrap. I’ve also installed the JE Design latches and gutter and some beef bars.
Here are the details on the build:
2012 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road double cab short bed
Body :
GFC V1 with red space frame, front/rear windows, a 3 bar beef rack, custom lighting, JE Design latches and gutters, Milky Way galaxy print vinyl on the GFC lid bars
Bedrug
Relentless hi-lift mount with 60" hi-lift
Quick fist shovel mount
Bed mounted Viair compressor
Cab Mount Chop, fender trimming, and pinch weld beating
TRD Pro headlights
color matched grill surround
derped front emblem +3hp
Armor :
Relentless bolt on 0° sliders with fill plate
Relentless stingray front winch tray/bumper
Relentless 3/16 steel IFS, transmission, and transfer case skids
Warn M8000S Winch
Bruteforce HC rear bumper with swingout
performance
Magnuson supercharger
2.8" quick change pulley
ECU swap with a modified TRD tune by JustDSM on TacomaWorld
High flow fuel pump
Long tube headers (URD Spec-U)
Interior :
tint on front windows to match the rears
RedARC Tow Pro trailer brake controller
Kenwood DNX996XR head unit with nav and CarPlay using a Maestro for steering wheel controls and OBD2 data
Kenwood KSC-SW11 under seat sub
Kenwood dash cam
factory rubber floor mats
red LED map lights
Wheels/Tires :
Gunmetal SCS F5 16x8 +0mm (matching spare and matching wheels on the trailer)
285/75/16 Duratrac
Suspension :
Fox 2.5 extended travel coilovers
Fox 2.0 remote reservoir rear shocks
Dakar leaf springs (CS047R)
Wheelers ubolt flip with superbump bumpstops
Lightracing UCAs
swaybar delete
Other:
Fumoto valve
Aux transmission cooler (B&M 70268 plate cooler)
Rear diff breather relocated to driver’s side bed cubby
LED reverse lights and license plate lights
LED bed-lights wired to a switch in the bed (update in process 9/2022 since the GFC install)
12v power outlet, USB quick charge, and voltmeter for the bed
20" LED lightbar mounted above the winch
CSI Black Ice 52q freezer/fridge
Thule Motion XT Alpine cargo box for the skis
Relentless Fabrications aluminum tailgate skin
Total Chaos bed stiffeners
Dual batteries: 107Ah deep cycle in the bed that is charged off the alternator and isolated from the starting battery. The house battery is in a box that I put in the bed and plug in via an anderson 30a plug when needed. It only powers a fridge and charging for phones/cameras/etc.
braided stainless brake lines. Stock length up front (wish I went with +1") and +3" on the rear
TRD performance ceramic brake pads
Stoptech cryo slotted rotors with directional venting
Exhaust cut at rear axle
Anderson plug at the rear bumper
10 year survivor patch #fuckcancer
sound deadening behind the rear seats and sound deadening/radiant barriers in the floor, and roof.
To be installed:
Headlight Services Harness
Camp lighting (under truck and flood)
LED courtesy/puddle lights wired to dome light
LED underhood lights on a pressure switch
10" sub in a sealed enclosure
I waited to build out the rear until because I wanted to use the space a bit more. But I ended up building a bench at the front of the bed that holds recovery gear, tools, the house battery, and compressor.
Thanks @TearingOut55. It has definitely evolved as the kids grow. Having an off-road capable trailer has huge for me since I can still use the bed of the truck for truck stuff and loading up to leave takes a lot less time…we really just have to fill the water tanks, pack our food and clothing, and then hitch up the trailer and go.
Much better now than when I was packing/unpacking everything into the bed of the truck for trips or being stuck in developed campgrounds due to the size of our old trailer. The downside was the sleeping space so I’m happy to have the GFC now (the iKamper setup/breakdown took longer than I liked for trips where we are moving daily or want the vehicle to explore during the day).
For sure. Definitely give you different perspective and priorities. I was diagnosed in 2011 and told I had 18-24 months in 2014.
Planning to keep these bonus years going as long as I can and hoping that my kids are old enough to remember our adventures when I do finally punch that card.
Quick outing with the kids. My wife was supposed to come but she messed up her back and bouncing around off-road wasn’t something that was going to help her get better so I left her with a selection of pharmaceuticals from my previous surgeries and packed up the kids to give her a quiet weekend to rest.
The playa is massive but you can cruise at a pretty good pace in the flats.
After checking out the hot springs and exploring a section of one of the migrant trails I hadn’t spent any time on before, we headed back out to the playa to set up camp. I like to set up camp on the edge of the playa where the surface isn’t ideal for hauling ass.
While I was cooking dinner and the kids were wandering around and checking out the Mars like features around camp, the sun dipped behind the mountains to the west and the moon popped up in the east.
In the morning the kids kept themselves busy while I made oatmeal and espresso to get the day going. I don’t always us the nespresso but the caffeine bump was perfect to help me keep up with the kids.
After I packed up and everyone was fed we headed back out to the flat section of playa to launch model rockets. My son flew the drone while I got the rockets set up and managed to snap a pic of us…pretty good for his first time flying it.
The flats are also a great place to let the kids have a turn at the wheel…after each kid had a half hour of seat time we were back on pavement. 127 miles of dirt and a lot of smiles.
Put the Thule cargo box (motion XT alpine) on the GFC a few weeks back to keep the skis in and installed a pair of chalk bags to use to hold beverages and other small items like ski wax, scrapers, or other small tools.
As for the kids, I’m just as lucky to have them in my life. They are awesome outdoor adventures buddies and pretty tolerant of sitting in the truck for 6 hours on road trips which is nice.
We found out my wife was pregnant with our oldest the day after I had a 14 hour surgery to treat my first cancer recurrence. Definitely gives you something to fight for. That was over 7 years ago and prior to that surgery I was told I had 18-24 months to live.
Dude! Talk about an amazing setup. Great time for the kiddos! Now this is the life
What a journey you have had as well. Happy to see they are still adventuring with their pops!
Congratulations on 7 years! I was diagnosed with colon cancer last summer, had surgery and chemo. I made it through everything and yesterday my 6 month CT scan shows cancer free! I just bought two Superlite’s for myself and my boys to go camping this summer. Going to take full advantage of my good health!
I cleaned up the 50a Anderson plug I had on the rear bumper a couple weeks ago. The shop we picked up our trailer from installed the plug on top of the bumper and routed the wires through the access to drop the spare, making it so I had to crawl under the truck to drop the spare…not a huge deal as it is my 2nd spare under there but still not ideal. The new trailer vision plug is much easier to use and more secure than the previous setup.
This would make for a clean setup if someone was looking to add a plug to connect a solar blanket or mobile solar panel too.
Skit plates came off today to give access for installation of some URD LT headers and a full fluid change. I should probably make time to prime and paint the skids before they go back on the truck.
