Prepping a Tacoma for a FWC....and Europe

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GrayJ

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2016
Messages
13
Location
Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
WTW,

I have a Tacoma and just purchased a FWC Eagle shell. I also just found out I'll be moving to Germany for a 3 (possibly 6) year stay. I'll be shipping the truck and camper to Germany in March. I'm now prepping the truck and have a few questions I hope you all could answer.

I’m looking forward to exploring Europe, and I’m guessing I’ll see a lot more highway than dirt roads. In the past, I haven’t done any "real" off-roading, mostly highway along with forest service roads getting to trailheads or out of the way camping spots in OR, WA, and CA. I haven’t really had any problems with my stock setup, but I know I’ll need to make some changes to accommodate the camper. I travel pretty light (backpacker) and want to keep it that way, so I don’t plan on upgrading the bumpers or adding a winch until I know I’ll actually use them. The truck will probably be my only vehicle, so the camper will not be mounted full time.

The truck: 2010 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab SR5 V6 4x4 (stock, 85k miles)
16 in alloy wheels with P245/75R16 Michelin LTX M/S2 tires
recall rear springs installed (3 leaf w/overload)

The camper: 2016 Eagle shell with factory furnace, aux battery, and roll-over couch
Haven’t weighed it yet, but the data plate says 600 lbs
Planned add-ons: small solar setup, and maybe a fridge later on

As of now, I’m planning the following upgrades:

Suspension:

Boss air bags with Boss adjustable shocks front and rear. I would install custom leaf packs, but I’d like to be able to adjust when the camper is not mounted. Since the truck is at 85k, I'll probably replace the front springs with new stock springs at the same time.

- I’ve noticed references to air bags putting concentrated stress on the frame. Do I need to strengthen the frame at the mounting locations? Should I pair the bags with slightly upgraded custom leaf packs to help avoid this?

Tires:

I know I’ll need to ditch my passenger rated tires in order to better support the extra weight. I’d like to avoid E rated tires to preserve the ride quality, but it doesn’t look like I have much of a choice. I’m on the fence between staying with the stock 245/75’s and going to 235/85’s. I haven’t seen a 235/85 in anything less than an E, but I have seen a couple 245/75’s in a C. Right now I’m leaning toward Cooper Discoverer AT3’s, as they seem to be one of the lighter AT tires out there, or another set of Michelins.

- Would a C rated tire be up to the task?
- Anybody know of any D rated tires in either 245/75R16 or 235/85R16?
- Since the 235/85's are larger in diameter than the 245/75's by about 1 inch, would I have any trouble using chains?

Brakes:

I’ll be replacing my original front and rear brake pads at the same time as mounting the camper.

- Should I be looking at aftermarket rotors and pads, or am I ok sticking with stock parts?

Europe:

Since I'll be driving a U.S. spec Tacoma in Europe, I'm thinking I should take some parts with me to try and avoid any availability or cost issues later on. Just off the top of my head; bulbs, filters, wipers. Any suggestions?


Sheesh, I think that's it. Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance for any input and for all the info that everyone’s taken the time to post on here.
 
Thanks for the tip. I won't be allowed to ship the 2 10 lb tanks that came with the camper, so I'll have to get new tanks over there. I'm still looking into whether or not I'll have trouble with the actual camper fitting or the furnace itself.
 
You'll like the AT3's in comparison to the LT M/S2's. I just made the same switch on my 2010 Tundra. I needed to move from P series to E series. I really liked the Michellin's in Oregon's wet winter roads.
The Michellins are a little quieter and a softer ride but I have been pleased with the the AT3 tires thus far. Very quiet for a more aggressive tread and noticeably flatter in turns.

Paul
 
I put 235/85/16E Cooper Discoverer A/T3s on my 2004 Tacoma DC and the ride is much improved over the BFG ATs 265/75/16D that were on there. I'm running them at 35 lbs with stock suspension and a SnugTop camper shell as the only added weight. I love the ride - not rough at all, and the added MPG is an additional plus.

Try them - you won't regret it!
 
Hard to think about spending 6 years in Germany and not buying their Hilux turbo diesel pickup to put the camper on, especially with an exchange rate now of $1.12. More torque, better mileage, cheaper fuel in Europe, better resale, and higher load capacity. Wish they would sell it here. But if you do take yours over:

Brakes-the front rotors on our Tacos are notorious for warping. If you replace them getting slotted, with no drilling, will dissipate the heat much better than stock rotors. There are also much better pads on the market than stock. Going down off those Alps can be hard on brakes. Couple of friends have upgraded to Tundra brakes and rotors for the additional breaking without warping.

Air bags-I went over some very rough roads and non-roads in my last truck which had Firestone airbags and other suspension upgrades (no frame reinforcement) hauling loads of gravel and wood-way more weight than your camper and never a frame problem. I also had custom leafs and shocks and everything rode great when loaded, rode like hell when empty. If you tune your suspension for the camper with springs, shocks, and airbags I do not think you will like it when the camper is off-pretty harsh. Put quite a few miles on the current tacoma/camper with only air bags off road but not as rough and never a problem and my camper has about everything so is a bit heavy for the truck. Just a word of advice-make sure that you have quality airlines for the bags as leakage there is about the only issue I hear about with them. My experience was that a lot of the “off road” all over Europe was more like a logging road here in Oregon. If in your travel if you decide to go to Morocco or Tunisia then you’re into a whole different off road and might want to contemplate a very different kind of build.

Parts to take-Lots of Toyota dealerships in Germany. You should be able to find out which parts are the same between your Tacoma and the European trucks and then only take unique items that may need replacement with you. Toyota may use a lot of the same parts. I assume you are replacing belts, wipers, filters, etc on the truck before it ships.
 
Thanks for the feedback on the tires.

Knoxswift;

Haven't heard of the active suspension product before, thanks. Might take a closer look. I'm not after a lift, just some help with the load. If, however, I end up gaining an inch or so after it's all done, I wouldn't be disappointed.

Moveinon;

You're right, it is hard not to think about getting a Hilux, in fact, I think I still am a little. Thanks to FWC's impeccable timing with regards to canning the Eagle, I had to make my purchase before I actually knew where I'd be moving next. Now that I have the Eagle, I think I'll stay with the Tacoma. The Hilux bed looks to be too narrow for it. On the other hand, I could sell the camper and truck, get a Hilux, and then put one of those nice composite campers on it. Thanks for reviving that dilemma in my head, haha.

"Nice composite campers": http://expeditionportal.com/company-profile-uro-camper/

I'll start looking for brake upgrade options. Tundra brakes and rotors on a Tacoma? Any fit issues with 16 inch wheels?

As far as the frame problem, posts like this are what have me concerned:

"Too many people put airbags in leaf suspension vehicles, pump the bags up to 70 + psi and load the vehicle up and wonder why their chassis bends. It's due to transferring all of the weight to a single point when the chassis is designed for two points. The best way is to upgrade springs then if required use airbags at a moderate pressure to create three points of contact."

On the other hand, I haven't seen very many posts on this issue, so I maybe I'm just paranoid. In case it's not obvious, I'm following Jonathan Hanson's JATAC build pretty closely as far as suspension upgrades:

http://www.exploringoverland.com/overland-tech-travel/2014/8/10/two-thousand-miles-on-boss-shocks-and-air-bags?rq=boss

I'm hoping to make at least one trip down to Morocco or Tunisia. I figure I'll just go as far as my setup can reasonably take me.

Yes, trying to replace everything that may need replacing before I ship.
 
I think the active suspension does lift it a little because it keeps the leafs arched. But not like putting a different pack in. I like them. They reduce the sway.
 
Have not seen it before, but Uro camper looks nice, and lite too.

Friend who upgraded with Tundra brakes had 16 inch wheels without spacers. He used the 199mm S13WE brake calipers that he got from a junk yard, cleaned up and match painted to his truck. He said the only modification that he remembered making was to bend the dust shield some for the caliber to fit and drilling out the banjo bolt about 1/4 inch and says his braking has substantially improved- by about 1/3rd or more. I plan on doing the same modification when my brakes get bad if it will work with my 17 inch wheels.

Personally I like Firestone air bags better for some of the same reasons/problems that Hanson details on his build and because it is what the Baja racers use so I know it will hold up. I liked the adjustable shock upgrade he did. I also plan on doing that when mine weaken. The bags are supposed to enhance the springs, not pump up to ridiculous poundage and then go over jumps which I am sure could do some damage. I have about every option but AC on my fleet and fully loaded with water it is pretty heavy for the truck -have never needed to run over 35 pounds pressure in the bags.

Morocco is well worth doing. Went there on a Vanagon Syncro caravan many years ago and it was one of the most fun adventures ever. Sure hard on the Syncro though where we went. Hope you have a great time over there, lots of great camping all over Europe.
 
GrayJ, I think you're on the right track. If you plan to remove the camper between trips, air bags are the only way to go. I've never personally seen any adverse effects on a chassis from properly mounted air bags. Certainly never experienced it myself in what's now several hundred thousand miles of air bag/FWC combinations. The stock front springs should be fine unless you want to lift it.

Regarding the Hilux—the current Hilux and Tacoma are within fractions of an inch of each other in overall width, so I'd be surprised if the interior bed width is much different. And the new 2.8 turbodiesel is a really nice engine. But of course you couldn't import it to the U.S. (Ironically, when drooling over turbodiesel Hiluxes in South America I found that everyone there wishes they could get the U.S. TRD supercharged petrol V6 . . .)
 
JHanson, thanks for the info. I may have missed it while on your site, but did you have any fit issues with chains and the 235's on the stock suspension?
 
JHanson, thanks for the info. I may have missed it while on your site, but did you have any fit issues with chains and the 235's on the stock suspension?
Click to expand...
No - plenty of room for chains with that tire size.
 
Alright, finally got the camper mounted on the truck. With everything else still stock, I was surprised that I didn't notice any significant handling problems. The truck squatted pretty good, and I definitely noticed the weight difference with regards to acceleration, but nothing scary. Still planning on air bags, E-rated tires, and probably upgraded shocks.

Just before mounting the camper, I drove the empty truck to a local truck stop and put it on their CAT scale. The stock Tacoma (including myself and a full gas tank) registered at 4380 lbs.

The next day I did the same after mounting the camper. This time the stock truck, empty eagle shell (including mounting hardware, rollover couch, furnace w/empty propane, and 1 ea stock camper battery), myself, and a full gas tank registered at 5360 lbs.

Here's the problem; the camper's data plate states 600 lbs delivered from the factory, but the math from the CAT scale weights gives me a camper weight of 980 lbs. That pushes me over my GVWR by 10 lbs....with an empty Eagle shell.

Does anyone know if these scales are accurate when weighing less than 10,000 lbs? The looks I got when I went through certainly indicate they don't see many vehicles beyond the usual commercial trucks. If those are accurate numbers, then I have a problem.

Some numbers:

2010 Tacoma ext cab 4x4 V6 automatic
Curb weight: 4,070 lbs
GVWR: 5,350 lbs
Payload: 1,280 lbs
Me: 200 lbs
 
Welcome to the club. My 2014 Hawk mfg plate says camper weighs 875 lbs. The documentation received with the camper new, indicated weight as built is 1481 lbs dry. Removing the jacks reduced this to about 1380 lbs. Adding camping gear, food, 26 gallons of water, propane, etc. runs it up even more. Look around the forum and you will find many discussions of this and whether it is better to carry a pop-up camper purchased for a 1/2 ton truck on a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck. Apparently, pop-up owners are more concerned about this than the much more common and heavier hard side campers on 3/4 ton trucks.

Welcome again. It's good to have new people worrying about what they have done. :) Read those other threads here and decide if you need to modify your truck, trade the truck in for a heavier truck, or just get out there and enjoy camping while sweating about your situation. Can't solve your situation, but can commiserate with you.

Paul
 
Haha, oops. I feel pretty stupid. My documentation does show a delivered weight of 967. I went through my notes, and it appears I knew this at one time, but apparently forgot and fixated on the 600 on the data plate. I guess that's what happens when you order a camper and have to wait a whole year to get it on the truck.


Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West
 
GrayJ:
Since I'm a retired german with some pacific-northwest years, planning to buy/borrow/rent a used truck and to buy a used pop-up-camper myself in north america, I'm interested into the issues you raised . And if the camper to buy (be) fits an european (= mostly japanese) 6'-pickup bed, such as a toyota hilux, isuzu d-max, nissan navarra, (thai) mazda b-50 or (thai=same factory) ford ranger with a 6-foot bed, ship the camper after 1 or 2 or 3 years of adventures (=WTW) in north america back to europe. And sell(or return) the american carrier truck in north america before leaving 'turtle island'!

Spare parts:
However, I did see some fresh=2016 toyota tacomas with german license plates here in germany last year, I wouldn't worry about spare parts to much !

Propane:
Propane standards ARE different in the US and EU! Since we do have a FWC-dealer in germany, selling european standard FWC campers, I should be able to find out about this issue. Usually, as a civilian, you return your empty propane/butan tanks and get freshly filled tanks in exchange (5 kg or 11 kg) at gas stations/dealerships. Americans usually get propane refills in US military compounds, as far as i know.

Safety:
What you want to consider is the 230 V public power supply. Usually you get used tranformers from 230 V to 120 V for different power ratings easily in US-compounds. Think about safety: F-I switch (Fehlerstrom-Schutzschalter).

.
 
GrayJ said:
Europe:

Since I'll be driving a U.S. spec Tacoma in Europe, I'm thinking I should take some parts with me to try and avoid any availability or cost issues later on. Just off the top of my head; bulbs, filters, wipers. Any suggestions?


Sheesh, I think that's it. Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance for any input and for all the info that everyone’s taken the time to post on here.
Click to expand...
Toyota parts might not be that hard to find in Europe. When in Spain I see a lot of Toyota products.
As for propane not sure if you will find that.
Again what I see in Spain is butane. Different but like natural gas conversion to propane here just a different orifice is needed.
You could check with Stan/FWC since they make campers for European sales.
Fave fun camping in Europe.
Frank
 
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