To keep this alive...

[FshTaco]

Being from the East, and not having much "wheeling" besides mud, and some rocks...over three hours away, we are somehow forced to explore the area around as and usually much much further. I'm stuck somehow in between a cap or one of those gay truck tent jobbies. Cap has it's advantages and I'd much enjoy finding something cheap. How about something like http://www.adventuretrailers.com/trucks.html with a RTT?... Then I'll figure how to pull 5k out of my ass...

[luni]

sar squid is doing a trailer rebuild.

I snagged a Sportz 2 bed tent and took it to Colorado. I hate bed caps so it was perfect. Just had to empty the bed to set camp but it went up over my axe, shovel, and hilift.

[FshTaco]

That's my biggie. I don't enjoy emptying everything out of my bed to camp. Hence why I figured a cap with a rack would suit me perfect. BUT, you can't load to much on the rack nor be airtight. Miss my Cherokee a little bit because things were a tad more simple. Cap and a sleeping deck would be okay I suppose.

[devinsixtyseven]

Have you considered a tube frame over the bed, with the RTT on top? Seen a few builds like this, it works very well. You also get the advantage of a "front porch" over the cab, if you want one, and with a full cage in the cab you can tie in through the roof for a completely load bearing setup. Haven't see the latter done yet, but it wouldn't take more than a couple sandwich plates.

[FshTaco]

Tacodoc has a sweet setup. I've seen things similar on the 05+ but nothing of the previous generation. Hell, if I do that I'll modify a ladder rack to fit.

[luni]

My plan which I've only been able to get down on paper was a bed crossmember similar to sar squid's set up with cross members connecting the two. Perfect place to attach up tools, extra storage, a couple gas/water cans, and I've even seen spares slung over the side of the bed with this kind of set up. With a RTT on top of the cross members and the usual "bed stuff" strapped the the outside it leaves the bed completely empty for whatever. Camping or hunting supplies, spare parts, people, some sort of bed storage drawers. Enclose it with canvas or a tarp and get a second sleeping area.

I really like the versatility of it. My only concern is getting too top heavy but with some of the bed cap/RTT set ups I've seen weight distribution would be similar if not a little lighter. The pioneer tool rack set up posted in the begging and pleading thread was very low profile and I liked it a lot too.

That's been my pet project recently. Just need money available to pull the trigger on it as always. In the meanwhile I'll be constantly changing stuff on it. Really trying to avoid a trailer set up. As much as I like them it seems like I could do similar with a well organized but heavier rig packed to download at the campsite.

[pray4surf]

Another post-05 setup is/was cell4soul's setup. Last I heard he moved from the SD area to southern AZ and was trying to sell the truck.

I'm digging Jaime's trailer build, but would prefer not to pull a trailer. Space is tight on the pre-05 taco's, so to carry 'every' necessity space needs to be used wisely.

Rainy day's like today, I can sit here at my computer and look out at my truck and daydream

IMO - an expedition truck is not complete without someway of carrying surfboards :D

For a while I did have a lumber rack and had mentally designed modifications to it - sold it to finance other truck projects. Damn things are heavy. 1-3/4" tubing 2-1/2" angle iron base. mine probably weighed ~100lbs?

Caps are nice. So are the canvas toppers. Previous toyota 4x4 I had had a insulated shell with carpet kit and I could pack nearly everything I needed for a multi-day baja surf trip under the sleeping area (save for bedding and other loose items). Shell was tall enough that I could sit upright on the carpet kit withouth hitting my head which was nice. Two could sleep comfortably... Nothing like awaking in the morning and peering out the double doors only to see a perfect right-hander firing off the point. Damn mexican drug cartels have sure taken the allure out of surfaris south of the border :mad:

[Stealth 4x4]

I hear you on your last comment, Rick. We thought about doing yet another run down to Mexico this winter, but the problems we keep hearing about these days made traveling north sound a little more interesting. Don't get me wrong, I think in general people over-weigh the dramatic stories you hear that happen to a few people down there and tend to forget about the thousands of trips people take into Mexico and never run into any serious problems. I think generally people worry far too much about travel safety in Mexico. We've been there many times on different trips all over the place from coast to coast... even staying for 3 months straight and covering 8,000+ miles on one trip and never had any serious issues with the cartels - but we're fairly careful and try to be smart about it.

That said... But still, when economic times are tough in the States, they are way worse in Mex. And aside from the cartels, desperation leads some people to crime who might not have gone there if they had more opportunity. The short of it is that instead of being at our favorite surfing beach down in Oaxaca again this year, we're in Minnesota at the moment looking for those cool boreal species that just migrate far enough south in winter to make it to the northern Great Lakes region. Getting the rig into temperature extremes like this is part of the fun of taking a vehicle into remote areas and making the truck serve as a travel companion.

Also, I think that how people set up their sleeping arrangements in their rig is among the more interesting aspects of expedition vehicle modification. We've all seen some pretty darn creative solutions. You've seen our cheap-o homemade solution, but I like lots of the other methods you come across. Pop-ups or flip-tops, RTTs, etc. One of the coolest was a trailer my father-in-law built with a flip-open sleeping platform and a canopy similar to the covered wagons that brought so many of our ancestors out west. It's all good to me. Whatever gets people out there using their rigs to get into some remote areas and experience the outdoors... its all part of what we love and why we're all so tickled to have an expo section here on TTORA.

To the OP, you don't have to drop 5k to build something workable that will let you get out there, secure your gear and sleep comfortably while you're at it. We spent $500 on our cheap-o solution and it's been keeping the wife and I exploring remote areas for 4 years and counting. If you don't have the cash, don't let that stop you.