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I've seen more cracked spring leaves - especially add-a-leafs, which tend to concentrate stress - than I have torn air bags. Firestone or Boss bags have scant chance of failing without something really weird happening, or very poor installation. I had an Air Lift bag fail years ago due to a...

Tom Hanagan has been trying to find another source for those ever since, in lots of fewer than 10,000. NorCal Steve is spot on with his advice about discharge. We've lived exclusively on solar and wind power for 13 years now, and have learned the hard way that battery life is directly...

The problem with these threads is that the OP winds up with 20 mostly different opinions and perhaps is no more the wiser in terms of actually making a decision! There are several really good options listed so far. Some parameters might help: Do you plan to remove the camper in between trips...

Danno, To answer your first issue in two parts: We put 155,000 miles on our first Tacoma/FWC combination (2000 model truck, V6 auto) with zero issues, and a lot of off-highway use. Our current combination (2012 Tacoma V6 manual Access Cab plus FWC Fleet) only has a third that much mileage but...

I think it would be difficult to make the lift panels truly attractive. The new black ones are significantly better looking and more rigid than the older thin plywood versions. You could always paint the rivets if they bothered you . . .

If you plan to remove the camper between trips, air bags are really the way to go. Any leaf spring setup sufficient to level the truck with the camper on it will be absurdly stiff without it. We have stock Tacoma springs with Australian Boss air bags and adjustable Boss shocks on ours. With the...

We've been carrying kayaks on the roof since our first FWC in the early 90s, when I welded custom aluminum bases for our Thule racks and bolted them all the way through the roof frames into the interior. Never any problems, but it was a LOT easier to remove the boats before raising the roof. Our...

The BFG AT KO2s should build on the strengths of the original AT. However, I would definitely modify your suspension to handle the weight of the camper first. Air bags and heavier shocks at a minimum. We use Boss air bags (and shocks), but the Firestone bags are excellent as well. Even if the...

A turnbuckle should not break during an emergency lane-change maneuver. There's a difference between a safe failure point and a weak spot. I believe the stock turnbuckles are a weak spot - one of the very very few items I find inadequate on the FWC.

Paul, that's a brilliant idea. It would be easy to attach one end of each turnbuckle to the camper loops before you installed the camper, then tie them out of the way.

Longhorn, I should have been more specific. The model I used is here. On the closed end I used a suitably sized carabiner-style steel link to attach the turnbuckle to the truck. Installing them in the front of ours was a long, blind, curse-filled procedure.

Having 25 percent of the fittings holding the camper to my truck fail completely was enough to convince me to upgrade them. I used these. Given the documented failures we've seen in just this thread, I could envision a scenario - say on a long, rough backcountry route - in which one turnbuckle...

After also breaking a hook on one of our turnbuckles, I replaced them all with forged steel versions and closed threaded loops. It's easy to say "Drive conservatively," but in my case the break was caused by a violent maneuver to avoid a car that had pulled out directly in front of me on a 65mph...

I replaced the open-hook, aluminum-bodied turnbuckles that came on our camper with forged steel versions and closed threaded links to connect them. They might come loose but they won't come off. So far, with blue Loctite, they seem to be holding fine.

We carried our first FWC with a 22RE, so I know what you are experiencing. Skip the 3.0; it wasn't one of Toyota's better designs. The 3.4, on the other hand, is an excellent engine, and yes, you'd expect close to the same mileage (we swapped our camper to a Tacoma with this engine). There is...

Fred, While we run E-rated BFG All-Terrains on our Tacoma/FWC, I'll note here that tire ratings are not a linear issue—some D-rated tires will have a weight rating higher than some E-rated tires. On a two-wheel drive truck with no rear locker, in which you don't plan to do any rock crawling, as...

Kispiox, I can confirm what others have said: If the camper is level enough for you to sleep comfortably, the fridge will work fine - or at least as fine as I've ever seen a three-way fridge work. We're much, much happier with the two-way in ours, with a proper compressor. But we live in...

Everyone, I've been doing a massive amount of research on shock absorbers while considering replacement units for the JATAC. I've synthesized it all in an Overland Tech and Travel article that might be useful to some of you. It's HERE. Cheers, Jonathan

Nicely done, Bill!

There's no way a Hi-Lift will work anywhere on a stock Tacoma except with the Lift-Mate. We're consulting with Pronghorn Overland Gear on a prototype aluminum winch bumper for the JATAC which will be fully Hi-Lift compatible. That should be followed by a rear bumper, and skid plates. The Bogert...

Thanks Jason! I figured they must be.

Bdold, if I recall correctly the panels weigh about 20 pounds each. I would think that under many circumstances the back of a panel secured to the roof of a camper might be cooler than if it were exposed to air. But that's sheer speculation. In any case I think the tradeoff is well worth it.

The GS panels can be removed if needed, although they're certainly not coming off on their own. I can't remember the last time I heard of a PV panel failing - I have no doubt they do, but the technology is so simple and reliable the chance must be scant. I imagine you could damage flush-mount...

Longhorn, as Brian mentioned, we had FWC install two 100-watt Global Solar semi-rigid panels on our camper. We wanted the extra capacity to charge camera batteries and run our laptops for working in the field. FWC moved the roof vents on our camper to the center to accommodate the panels...

I can only echo the above comments. The Partner was originally sold as a guide's working tool for river trips, and the construction shows. You could probably use one as a truck ramp for working under the vehicle. I don't recall any issues with simmering on ours.