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Hi Jon, My answer would depend on what you want to do with the truck and camper. If you hope to do a fair amount of exploring in remote spots, possibly solo, then reliability should be paramount in your priorities. Battery failure is, depending on which statistics you believe, the number two...

I agree. The F150 might technically have that much capacity but it will sag and handle very poorly (i.e. unsafely) without a rear suspension upgrade. New springs (or at least an added leaf) if you plan to leave the camper on permanently, or air bags if you plan to remove it between trips.

Yes, that one looks great. I attended the new Super Duty launch, and the Tremor winch is completely inaccessible.

If at all possible please stay away from "hidden" winch mounts. Safe winching requires the ability to visually and tactilely access the drum, to ensure proper spooling and to be able to correct snarls and bunched line if necessary. The new winch mount on the Tremor has utterly no visual or...

Absolutely. You shouldn't need to change springs in front; perhaps heavier duty shocks.

If you are going to be removing the camper between trips, adjustable air bags are really the only way to maintain acceptable ride quality and compliance both loaded and unloaded. Paired with adjustable shocks if possible. Air bags are easy to install with the camper on. We got talked into Sumo...

Thanks indeed for that link. The fight goes on to ensure we don't strip and log and drill every last acre of our country.

Uh, right. There were no Tundras in 1995! And the headline does say 2005. Still low mileage!

You were definitely pushing your luck on the timing belt! The consequences of losing a timing belt are significantly more severe than the ramifications of most other deferred maintenance. But you're right about Toyotas. I have to ask, though: 25 years and only 83,000 miles? That's 3,320 miles...

I agree about add-a-leafs. Too often they add stress risers in the existing spring pack for which it was not designed. Better to replace the entire pack. I don't think you'll need to do anything to the front springs; Toyota's front ends tend to be too stiff anyway, to this day. And no to...

You raise some very good points. As the past owner of two FWCs, my wife and I loved them but also at times wished for nicer, i.e. more aesthetic, interior materials as an option. An option for a chest-type fridge would also be an excellent addition. I think the simple fact is that as long as the...

Will, I left the stock springs in front; I've always thought Tacomas were way oversprung. Air bags in the rear, again on stock springs. And Boss adjustable shock absorbers front and rear. I didn't want to change the ride height.

Andy, with our combination at least (2012 Tacoma Access Cab, FWC Fleet), there was zero chance of any contact. And I've had that truck up on three wheels so far the doors wouldn't open.

SCHawk, I forgot to mention: Getting the batteries to "12.6" volts, as you mentioned, is not nearly enough. Twelve-volt batteries should really be brought to a float voltage of 13.5 every day to ensure long life.

I agree with the above comments—something seems off. We had 200 watts worth of PV panels on our FWC, and that kept up effortlessly with the fridge, lighting, and running/charging two laptops and camera equipment. You need to determine how much amperage you are getting from your panels, and...

Edit: Sold. We're selling our 2012 Tacoma, which has been a feature vehicle at the Overland Expo for many years when it was mounted with a Four Wheel Camper. Very carefully maintained and modified. More information here. Thanks, Jonathan

Frank, Please don't think your center of gravity will be unaffected, as someone suggested. Of course it will be. The effects will certainly be less than with many other campers, but it will be a factor. With that said, short of extremely intense rock-crawling you won't have any issues. On side...

If the wheels are pointed straight ahead there is no reason you cannot shift into four high on pavement. Everything is turning at the same speed. Only if you then start going around corners are the transfer gears going to bind. Engaging four high on pavement and driving straight ahead for a few...

I agree—there's no reason to come to a stop to shift into four high, especially if you're pointed straight ahead.

Thank you Vic!

Please read the article on Overland Tech and Travel, here, for some solid background on aftermarket brakes. You can gain a lot with a simple change in pads and a brake fluid upgrade. You can also waste a lot of money on "upgrades" that aren't. And I'd like to hear more about the Porsche race...

If you're referring to the flexible panels on ours, yes, they're extremely tough. Although it must be said conventional panels are tough as well.

I don't remember! We installed ours in 2012.

Our panels were from Global Solar in Tucson, here.

BBZ, Regarding your silicone roof coating, hard to say. But the adhesive on our panels is pretty darn sticky. I did quite a bit of talking with solar experts when I chose our panels, because I was writing it up on our Exploring Overland site and publishing the process in several magazines. The...