Can't wait to see you and your Dad put your skill set to work again, great craftsmen and your Dad's welding is the real deal, let the fun begin.
I thought your last rigs were the ultimate ones, looking forward to seeing what is next. Curious on how much you are going to trim it out inside for camping comforts/living? I really like the design and overall approach, I've been camping out of a truck canopy quite a bite this past year, and sure like the idea of being able to stand up in the morning.
We are really enjoying this second Gen, it drives soooo much nicer than the 3rd gen. The engine and trans are worlds better than the setup in the 3rd gen, someone at Toyota really screwed up on the newer trucks. This second gen has great power and shifting is spot on, it outperforms our 3rd gen trucks even after we had installed 4.88 gears and the OV tune! Hodakaguy
The trucks worked great, we took the truck and camper to Yellowstone last summer and had a blast. I put about 8K miles on the Unimog and it was a blast as well while we owned it. I enjoy the build as much as anything Hodakaguy
We will keep this setup light and basic. On the list is lighting and a heater install, maybe some sort of removable storage system for camping. We want the truck to be used as a pickup most of the time when not camping so want to keep the interior open. Time will tell what we come up with Hodakaguy
i think at this point you and your pop should probably just go ahead and start a overland 4WD shop, kind of like how ICON started in Jonathan Ward's garage....
I agree Lighter really is better, truck drives so much nicer and off road ability isn't compromised. Hodakaguy
That would be fun, I wouldn't mind taking on a winter project for someone if I could ever get my stuff caught up lol. Hodakaguy
I love the all aluminum camper! I've got an A.R.E. camper with their walk in rear door, it is really nice to be able to raise the entire rear or just open a door to get access to the bed. A combination of the the Vagabond with the A.R.E. rear door would be killer!! https://www.4are.com/product/walkin/
OH! as an owner of one, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do to this one. (here's hoping you are planning on doing something with it)
I believe Vagabond made a barn door version of the drifter early on, it may be an option eventually. Hodakaguy
Snagged a 3D pen for Christmas, yesterday decided to try it out by making a PLA plastic Drifter for my Matchbox Taco . Kinda crude since it was all free hand and no effort was made to smooth the surfaces out but this pen is pretty cool! Hodakaguy
Curious what about the drivetrain is so different. Disclosure: I've never driven or even been in a Tacoma of any generation.
Second gen got the 4.0, 3rd gen the 3.5 Not sure what the transmission difference is between the two, but the driveability difference is staggering The second gen Tacoma’s are great, third gen leave some to be desired on a lot of fronts, IMO of course
The only pics I have of my 2000 TRD have bikes in front I put a Gen II TRD supercharger on at about 36k miles. The excellent 3.4 V6 felt stronger than 250hp with the blower - I put close to 80,000 trouble free miles on it. Great truck