Hodaka"Pops" Scout YOHO Camper Thread.
- Thread starter Hodakaguy
- Start date
Time to update the rear hold down points.
For the rear I ordered the Total Chaos bed stiffeners, they are very well made and tie into the frame with the bed bolts like the mounts I built for the front. The braces came well packed and ready to install with all hardware.
Supplies used:
Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!
2" BoatBuckle G2 Straps: CLICK HERE
SikaFlex 221: CLICK HERE
Tailgate camera: CLICK HERE
Bed Stiffeners: CLICK HERE
De-burring Tool: CLICK HERE
3M VHB Tape: CLICK HERE
Snap tie Mounts: CLICK HERE
Braided Split Loom: CLICK HERE
The OEM rear tie down point, shown next to the new bed stiffeners.
Build quality is top notch.
Here I've bolted the brace in place and I'm drilling the three new mounting holds down the side. You remove the OEM tie down and the bed hold down bolt, both of these locations will mount through the new brace.
With the tail light removed you can access the back side of the holes that were just drilled.
Using my de-burring tool to clean up the edges of the holes.
Painting the bare metal edges of the holes.
For extra rust protection I added a bit of Sikaflex 221 around the holes on each side of the metal.
Brace bolted in place. The mounts fit perfectly and will offer a much improved solid anchor point for the camper.
Next up.....Upgrade the tie down straps.
The auto retracting straps that come with the camper are 1" straps and rated for 466 lb working load and 1400 lb break strength. I'm sure they are adequate and I haven't read anyone having any issues with them but a bit more margin of security would be welcome. I ordered some 2" straps that have a 833 lb working load and 2500 lb break strength. These units are super easy to install, just unbolt the original units and bolt these in place.
New vs old.
Continued Below....
For the rear I ordered the Total Chaos bed stiffeners, they are very well made and tie into the frame with the bed bolts like the mounts I built for the front. The braces came well packed and ready to install with all hardware.
Supplies used:
Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!
2" BoatBuckle G2 Straps: CLICK HERE
SikaFlex 221: CLICK HERE
Tailgate camera: CLICK HERE
Bed Stiffeners: CLICK HERE
De-burring Tool: CLICK HERE
3M VHB Tape: CLICK HERE
Snap tie Mounts: CLICK HERE
Braided Split Loom: CLICK HERE
The OEM rear tie down point, shown next to the new bed stiffeners.
Build quality is top notch.
Here I've bolted the brace in place and I'm drilling the three new mounting holds down the side. You remove the OEM tie down and the bed hold down bolt, both of these locations will mount through the new brace.
With the tail light removed you can access the back side of the holes that were just drilled.
Using my de-burring tool to clean up the edges of the holes.
Painting the bare metal edges of the holes.
For extra rust protection I added a bit of Sikaflex 221 around the holes on each side of the metal.
Brace bolted in place. The mounts fit perfectly and will offer a much improved solid anchor point for the camper.
Next up.....Upgrade the tie down straps.
The auto retracting straps that come with the camper are 1" straps and rated for 466 lb working load and 1400 lb break strength. I'm sure they are adequate and I haven't read anyone having any issues with them but a bit more margin of security would be welcome. I ordered some 2" straps that have a 833 lb working load and 2500 lb break strength. These units are super easy to install, just unbolt the original units and bolt these in place.
New vs old.
Continued Below....
Continued from above....
The metal on the ratchet mechanism/frame is substantially thicker on the 2" than 1" unit.
Out with the old and in with the new.
Next up....Backup camera.
The back up camera on the Tacoma is built into the tailgate so once you remove the tailgate your left without a backup camera. We could remove the unit from the tailgate and make a mount for it but it's a pain to swap back and forth. To fix this we ordered an aftermarket plug and play camera that we will mount onto the camper, this setup will make installing/removing the camper quick and easy as we just have to unplug/plug each camera in.
The new camera arrived with a license plate mount.
The license plate is right below the entrance to the camper and it would just be a matter of time before a miss placed foot takes out the camera. After looking over the camper a bit I decided to modify the existing bracket and mount the camera directly to the camper itself.
Here I'm bending one side of the mount, I added an offset into the mount to clear the edge of the corner piece on the camper.
With the bracket bend into shape I cut off the opposite side of the mount and painted the bare metal edge.
Applying 3M VHB tape to the mount.
Continued below....
The metal on the ratchet mechanism/frame is substantially thicker on the 2" than 1" unit.
Out with the old and in with the new.
Next up....Backup camera.
The back up camera on the Tacoma is built into the tailgate so once you remove the tailgate your left without a backup camera. We could remove the unit from the tailgate and make a mount for it but it's a pain to swap back and forth. To fix this we ordered an aftermarket plug and play camera that we will mount onto the camper, this setup will make installing/removing the camper quick and easy as we just have to unplug/plug each camera in.
The new camera arrived with a license plate mount.
The license plate is right below the entrance to the camper and it would just be a matter of time before a miss placed foot takes out the camera. After looking over the camper a bit I decided to modify the existing bracket and mount the camera directly to the camper itself.
Here I'm bending one side of the mount, I added an offset into the mount to clear the edge of the corner piece on the camper.
With the bracket bend into shape I cut off the opposite side of the mount and painted the bare metal edge.
Applying 3M VHB tape to the mount.
Continued below....
Continued from above....
We are mounting the camera off center and under the lip of the camper, just to the right of the propane storage locker.
i ran the wiring through some braided protective loom then used snap ties to secure the wiring to the camper.
The wide angle camera works great, the camera is slightly off center so the guidance lines may be off a bit.
An the camper is now secure with stronger straps and stronger tie downs. We now have a much better warm fuzzy feeling hauling the camper around.
Hodakaguy
We are mounting the camera off center and under the lip of the camper, just to the right of the propane storage locker.
i ran the wiring through some braided protective loom then used snap ties to secure the wiring to the camper.
The wide angle camera works great, the camera is slightly off center so the guidance lines may be off a bit.
An the camper is now secure with stronger straps and stronger tie downs. We now have a much better warm fuzzy feeling hauling the camper around.
Hodakaguy
Well done!
goinoregon
Senior Member
nice work tom. those tie down buckles are interesting.
Stray Dog
Senior Member
very nice work. Camera source?
Thanks Mate. Here's the camera we used: https://tailgatecamera.com/collections/toyota-tacoma/products/2005-2019-tacoma-camera-relocation-kit-with-oem-wiring-harnessStray Dog said:
Hodakaguy
Time for a mattress upgrade!
The 3" mattress that came in the YOHO is waaaaaay to firm for our liking, making for an uncomfortable sleep. We ordered up a 5" Gel/Memory Foam mattress in Medium Firm and set to work installing it.
Supplies used:
Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!
FDW 5" Mattress: CLICK HERE
3M 90 Glue: CLICK HERE
Electric Bread Knife: CLICK HERE
The stock YOHO Mattress.
Removing the original mattress from the cover. The cover is well built and we will modify/re-use this cover with the new mattress.
New vs Old. You can see that the fire blanket on the OEM mattress is coming unglued. I'm betting they are ordering mattresses, removing the fire blanket, cutting the foam to fit and re-gluing the fire blanket back into place.
Here I'm doing the same process I just described, I've cut open the fire blanket so I can remove it to cut the foam to size. The fire blanket will be re-installed and the seams glued back in place with a bit of 3M 90 after the foam is cut to size.
Using the old mattress as a template I traced the outline onto the new mattress.
An electric bread knife works great for cutting foam and leaves a nice clean cut.
Our cat kept wanting to attack the knife blades lol, had to keep her out of the way.
The new mattress is 1.75" thicker than the old unit.
With the mattress cut to size and the fire blanket re-installed it's time to get out the sewing machine and modify the cover. The cover is made to fit the stock 3" mattress and needs to have some material added to it to accept the new 5" mattress. We could have just put the new mattress in a new zip up RV mattress cover but the stock cover is very nice and matches the interior so we decided to modify/reuse it.
The bottom of the cover is vinyl, we will rip out the stitches and add the new material between the vinyl bottom and the upper cover.
Separated.
Cutting some filler material out of outdoor grey duck fabric. The solid grey should work well in this application.
I used seam tape to secure the new material to the vinyl bottom, this holds it in place and you sew right through the tape. Works sooooo nice!
Continued Below....
The 3" mattress that came in the YOHO is waaaaaay to firm for our liking, making for an uncomfortable sleep. We ordered up a 5" Gel/Memory Foam mattress in Medium Firm and set to work installing it.
Supplies used:
Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!
FDW 5" Mattress: CLICK HERE
3M 90 Glue: CLICK HERE
Electric Bread Knife: CLICK HERE
The stock YOHO Mattress.
Removing the original mattress from the cover. The cover is well built and we will modify/re-use this cover with the new mattress.
New vs Old. You can see that the fire blanket on the OEM mattress is coming unglued. I'm betting they are ordering mattresses, removing the fire blanket, cutting the foam to fit and re-gluing the fire blanket back into place.
Here I'm doing the same process I just described, I've cut open the fire blanket so I can remove it to cut the foam to size. The fire blanket will be re-installed and the seams glued back in place with a bit of 3M 90 after the foam is cut to size.
Using the old mattress as a template I traced the outline onto the new mattress.
An electric bread knife works great for cutting foam and leaves a nice clean cut.
Our cat kept wanting to attack the knife blades lol, had to keep her out of the way.
The new mattress is 1.75" thicker than the old unit.
With the mattress cut to size and the fire blanket re-installed it's time to get out the sewing machine and modify the cover. The cover is made to fit the stock 3" mattress and needs to have some material added to it to accept the new 5" mattress. We could have just put the new mattress in a new zip up RV mattress cover but the stock cover is very nice and matches the interior so we decided to modify/reuse it.
The bottom of the cover is vinyl, we will rip out the stitches and add the new material between the vinyl bottom and the upper cover.
Separated.
Cutting some filler material out of outdoor grey duck fabric. The solid grey should work well in this application.
I used seam tape to secure the new material to the vinyl bottom, this holds it in place and you sew right through the tape. Works sooooo nice!
Continued Below....
Continued from above...
And sewing it all back together.
And the cover back on the new mattress.
Unfortunately I started and ended on the front side of the mattress instead of the rear and ended up with a couple spots that bunched. Is what it is....Dang! Still new to this sewing stuff but it's fun learning. Luckily it will be covered with the sheets.
The new mattress is a LOT more comfortable than the original unit, well worth the upgrade!
Hodakaguy
And sewing it all back together.
And the cover back on the new mattress.
Unfortunately I started and ended on the front side of the mattress instead of the rear and ended up with a couple spots that bunched. Is what it is....Dang! Still new to this sewing stuff but it's fun learning. Luckily it will be covered with the sheets.
The new mattress is a LOT more comfortable than the original unit, well worth the upgrade!
Hodakaguy
Scout YOHO Fridge Hold Open Mod.
When opening the lid on the fridge the bed cushion keeps the lid from being able to stay open on its own, resulting in having to hold the lid open with one hand while loading the fridge with the other...not the most convenient setup. Time for a fix!
Supplies used:
Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!
Door Stop: CLICK HERE
Adhesive Felt: CLICK HERE
Here's a photo of the stock setup. The cushion is close to the fridge, a limitation of maximizing space in such a small camper.
I'll be using this metal door stopper as the fridge door catch. The arm is 4" and the unit is nice and sturdy, it has indents that keep the arm in the up or out position....perfect!
Here I'm removing the end of the arm that holds the rubber foot. You could leave it as is and it would work the same but I prefer the more finished look that cutting it off provides.
Next I rounded the edges and painted the bare metal.
I added a piece of self adhesive felt to the back side to give the fridge door something soft to contact. The arm contacts the plastic door itself and not the seal on the door so there is no worries for damage.
Mounting up the new door catch.
And mounted! The unit looks great (Well in my opinion anyways lol) and is out of the way until needed. It's easily engaged with one hand (See video below) and is Waaaaay nicer than having to hold it open manually.
Here's a quick Youtube video showing the fridge door in action both before and after the mod.
https://youtu.be/SUF0Ujce6fM?si=MLyWdQyOcpmbtH0M
Hodakaguy
When opening the lid on the fridge the bed cushion keeps the lid from being able to stay open on its own, resulting in having to hold the lid open with one hand while loading the fridge with the other...not the most convenient setup. Time for a fix!
Supplies used:
Note: Some of the links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!
Door Stop: CLICK HERE
Adhesive Felt: CLICK HERE
Here's a photo of the stock setup. The cushion is close to the fridge, a limitation of maximizing space in such a small camper.
I'll be using this metal door stopper as the fridge door catch. The arm is 4" and the unit is nice and sturdy, it has indents that keep the arm in the up or out position....perfect!
Here I'm removing the end of the arm that holds the rubber foot. You could leave it as is and it would work the same but I prefer the more finished look that cutting it off provides.
Next I rounded the edges and painted the bare metal.
I added a piece of self adhesive felt to the back side to give the fridge door something soft to contact. The arm contacts the plastic door itself and not the seal on the door so there is no worries for damage.
Mounting up the new door catch.
And mounted! The unit looks great (Well in my opinion anyways lol) and is out of the way until needed. It's easily engaged with one hand (See video below) and is Waaaaay nicer than having to hold it open manually.
Here's a quick Youtube video showing the fridge door in action both before and after the mod.
https://youtu.be/SUF0Ujce6fM?si=MLyWdQyOcpmbtH0M
Hodakaguy
Just returned from a family road trip through NV. We had a great time chasing history, hunting ghost towns and soaking in all of the amazing views. We also jumped into CA a bit to check out the ghost town of Cerro Gordo. Soooo much to explore out there!
Waaaaaaay to many pics to post here. I have all the pics posted and arranged by day on my Facebook travel Page, feel free to join and follow along: https://m.facebook.com/groups/765075118271516/?ref=share&mibextid=IwceVr
Here's a few pics from the trip.
Hodakaguy
Waaaaaaay to many pics to post here. I have all the pics posted and arranged by day on my Facebook travel Page, feel free to join and follow along: https://m.facebook.com/groups/765075118271516/?ref=share&mibextid=IwceVr
Here's a few pics from the trip.
Hodakaguy
Gentle on my world
Advanced Member
I chose Pic No. 4 of the set in Post #34.
goinoregon
Senior Member
Nice work. that sewing machine... case is interesting. keep on sharing.
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