The ultimate

Here is an in depth look at our 2012 Tundra #truckbedcamping setup. In this video you will find information on the suspension, interior, cooking, power, storage, and sleeping arrangements, use the chapters as necessary to skip around. Please feel free to ask a question about anything you see in the comments below, and thank you for watching
0:00 Intro
1:30 Tires and Suspension
3:12 Roof rack storage
5:10 Interior and mapping
6:54 Living quarters
18:46 Cooking and power
22:35 Awning and room
24:50 Conclusion
25:59 Old man moment

[@garywells3874]

Nice setup. We have a Tundra also, great truck. They make the small fan that sits on top of wood burning stoves that will work on top of you Mr. Buddy heater. No power required works from the heat.

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you for the mention! I thought about the wood stove fans for sure. We may still end up with that, but the fans I have now work for when the Mr Heater is on, as well as in the warmer months to try and draw cooler air in through the canopy slider window. So far they have been working great! Not too much draw either.

[@PrimalOutdoors]

I love the survival box😂🥃

[@subjectadventure]

Ha! Thanks Jason, gotta have the necessities! We got all of those little bottles for Christmas, so they ended up there for emergency use only.

[@Mike-te1xx]

Nice setup!

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you, I appreciate that!

[@user-rk2ww2cm4v]

I have a power wagon with a softtopper on it. We sleep in the bed when camping and it has worked great for us. Less expensive than a roof top tent and camper shell and we can remove it in 5 minutes when we have to use the truck bed.

[@subjectadventure]

That's what I like about the truck bed camping, you pretty much show up and you're ready. Usually takes us about 10 min to get fully set up with the awning and kitchen setup.

[@OverlandAdventureTimes]

Great job, Chris! I keep putting a walk-around off. "Maybe after (whatever the current project is)" 😄

[@Western-Wild]

Right? It's been on our list for awhile too. Never really a right time I guess with mods and projects being endless.

[@subjectadventure]

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words! It took three different shoots on three different weekends (weather related stuff) to finally get something somewhat good.

[@Western-Wild]

Really appreciate the clean solutions that you have come up with for virtually every aspect of year round camping! Also like the stealth nature of your build, outside of the awning it would be very difficult to tell that you have a comfortable camper setup!

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you! I wanted to be able to use the truck as a truck if we need, and also have it be somewhat stealthy.

[@carlospalooza]

Nice build. I went from this type of set up to an All Terrain camper a couple of years ago. I actually miss my old topper set up. Life was simpler and more fuel efficient. Camping was also stealthier. Thanks for sharing.

[@subjectadventure]

Thanks for the compliment! It's been a long time coming, and a lot of camping trips to get where we are, and we aren't done yet!

[@TMC_818]

This video is underrated what an amazing job. Truck is a masterpiece!

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you! We really appreciate the kind words!

[@christianjensen3182]

Love the drawer slide idea!

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you! I found a few videos on KZbin that had something similar and went from there. They work very well!

[@VegaVenturing]

Great walk around, Chris! I still love these truck bed set ups. Awesome job on the build. Thanks for sharing!

[@subjectadventure]

Thanks guys! Hope to see you out in the woods soon!

[@heathercockrell7074]

Great setup! It was fun to see your suburban. Everyone has to have their survival box, for sure! Lol! I am always excited to find Maxi Trac deals at Napa.

[@subjectadventure]

The Maxi Trac stuff works well too, we have the air compressor and it fills our 33" tires from 20psi up to 40psi in about 1 minute each tire. Thanks for the like!!

[@roberta4989]

That was great, thanks.

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback! Take care

[@squatchfoot5971]

Great job on the build. I'm working on my wife's 2nd gen tundra and I'm looking into another tundra for me. I love your ideas on you platform and everything on the truck.

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you for kind words and feedback! It took awhile to get the design where I wanted it, and the implementation was along process since I'm not all that good with cutting wood correctly!

[@kennb.3389]

Excellent tour of a beautiful setup ! Thank You.

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you for the feedback, we appreciate it!!!

[@wildernessrecon]

Great job on the show and tell. Great camera persona, looking forward to more vids !

[@subjectadventure]

Thanks man! Hopefully we can get some better lighting for our future videos......

[@jeremydelisle5407]

Great video. Love these practical ideas.

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you! It's our goal to try and keep it easy and useful

[@Yooper05]

Great setup! Thanks for sharing!

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you for the kind words!!

[@dad_wagon1976]

Awesome setup!

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words!

[@590studio]

Regarding the rear sag when over loaded: Rather than installing taller rear spring spacers I recommend Airlift brand air bags. I've done mild leveling kits in conjunction with bags (on my Dodge) and you can fine tune the height depending on your varying load. They're about $150.00. I pull trailers occasionally.

[@subjectadventure]

Thanks for the heads up! I've looked into bags, and have been back and forth about them for awhile now. For now, I'm going to add the spring shackles (not additional spacing blocks) and see how that goes. I don't necessarily want to add any more spring rate to the rear, and I also need to get some more suspension travel overall. I've had the shackles in my possession for some time now, but have some rusty bolts to deal with to get them installed. If the shackles don't work, I'll go the airbag route. Thanks again and take care!

[@katekeller823]

Wow Chris! Deluxe

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you Katie! I appreciate it!

[@lodysseederuben2838]

Il love it ❤❤❤

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you!

[@buscampers]

Mountain Houses and liquor, hell yeah! lol I have the same awning on my bus. I was worried about the legs not reaching the ground since I had to mount it a little higher than whats recommended (otherwise it would have blocked my windows) but it came out fine. I just had to do a little modification to the brackets and turn from from Ls into Js. I'm very happy with the Napa awning. Thanks for the tour.

[@subjectadventure]

It's a great awning, especially for the price!

[@buscampers]

@@subjectadventure Yeah can't beat it.

[@michaelkramer111]

Love the setup and thanks for sharing. Question about the roof rack. It sounded like you installed the tracks yourself ??? Any chance you could share the details on that process? I recently purchased a leer topper but it does not have tracks installed and I really want one.

[@subjectadventure]

I got the tracks from our local pick n pull yard from a newer Suburban. They were 7 feet long so I had to cut them down and drill a new hole in the rail for the end caps on that end. Then I measured (5 times) and drilled holes in the topper and used stainless bolts to mount the racks. I couldn't find any affordable low profile rails and these worked perfect. They were $30 for both.

[@michaelkramer111]

@@subjectadventure so awesome. Do you have any concerns with structural integrity after drilling through the topper ? And did you drill through the flat top surface or through the curved edge area ? I’ve heard the curved area is thicker and a little more robust.

[@subjectadventure]

Our topper has a square insulated section on the inside of the roof. I drilled the holes at the edge of that and used aluminum plates on the underside to distribute the stress evenly.

[@michaelkramer111]

@@subjectadventure nice! I think I have the same insulation section you are talking about. Did you go through the insulation or on the outside of it to avoid it ?

[@subjectadventure]

Sorry for the late reply! I went through the insulation. Somewhere on the internets I found an install guide from Leer on how to install their rails and just followed that.

[@Mainley-Free]

Pfffttt... Old man moment amateur. Wait a few more years son.🤣

[@subjectadventure]

Ha, I get that. I am waiting for the day when I can't bend down at all!

[@thutranglu9141]

Boring

[@subjectadventure]

Thank you, we'll get it someday