OVRLND Camper Rig Tour

Truck Camper

Apr 2

A Tour of my 2016 Toyota Tacoma and OVRLND Truck Camper. In the tour I cover the truck chassis, camper, living space, cab, and gross weight. I am stoked with how the truck turned out. Stay tuned for more videos coming soon that will dive into the nitty gritty details of the everything featured!

I've had this setup for about two years now and spent months getting this thing dialed in and ready for full-time life on the road. This is a 2016 Toyota Tacoma with the SR trim, the 2.7L 4 Cylinder, Access Cab, six-foot bed, and two-wheel drive. I know, but it's what I have right now, and it's part of the reason I went with a bed rail camper, so if I ever find 40K lying around, it should be a pretty easy upgrade.

I'm going to harp on this all the time - if you have the cash for a big, awesome rig, go for it. But if you're redlining your bank account to live this lifestyle, then it's worth asking yourself if you've forgotten why you're doing it in the first place. If you're like me, you want to lower your overhead so that you can afford to live the way you want to. To create the conditions to spend more time outside hiking, camping, backpacking, fly fishing, surfing, spending time with friends, and hopefully being a little more present. So get creative. It's part of the fun.

Do I wish I had a four-wheel drive? Hell yeah. But this truck does have one thing going for it. Because it has the basic trim and powertrain, it actually has the lowest curb weight and, therefore, the highest payload capacity of any of the Gen 3 Tacomas. If you're a nerd like me and you want to know more about GWR gross weight, skip to the end. I am going to talk about that and share my truck's weight.

But for now, let's get the show on the road:

It's nearly a stock truck, but I added BFG KO2 all-terrain tires, which are great for on and off the road.

I installed heavy-duty leaf springs in the back to improve weight management, ride quality, and stance.

I bolted on an aftermarket receiver under the rear bumper. It's not for towing, but it works fine for my Waterport Shower. It has a 3.8-gallon freshwater tank that can be pressurized with a bike pump or an air compressor. These things have awful reviews online, but I've been really happy with them.

Now, the coolest part of the rig is the OVRLND Camper. These are built out in Flagstaff, Arizona. The crew over there has been an excellent resource. I have nothing but good things to say about them. My camper has all the basics: six latches, milled aluminum siding, and is featherweight, coming in at 300 lb.

For options, extra cabover height was a no-brainer. It allows my 3-in mattress to live up on the bed platform full-time. I went with the barn doors for style points and functionality. It makes your tail tailgate more like a back porch. And speaking of it, I found an affordable tailgate mod on Amazon and got rid of that corrugated plastic that's always spilling our beers and bumming us out.

In the camper, I have a bed rug that keeps things cushy for the feet and helps regulate temperature. Only a few windows on purpose. That keeps things low profile when the top is down, but I did go for the clear vinyl window pane and the canvas. That's nice if it's raining out or it's cold. I got the Maxxair fan, intake, and exhaust to keep the air flowing on those hot days. A standard queen up top. I had some condensation issues under the mattress but then found a product called Airflow by Tern Overland. Solved the problem and added a quarter inch of padding. I have two saddlebags on the walls for keeping those day-to-day items, and I have an 8020 frame with a plywood bench downstairs. Truth be told, it's off-brand 8020 from T- Nutz. They have better pricing, and you can order everything pre-cut.

I went with the Dakota Lithium Powerbox 135 for power, keeping with the modular theme. That's a 135 amp hour battery that comes in a hard case and has a 300 W inverter and some USB ports. I hook it up to a fuse panel and then run power wherever needed. I keep it topped off with a 160 W portable solar panel from Ecoflow. I like this setup because I can optimize the panel's position in relation to the sun, and since my power needs are minimal, one panel is plenty for now.

The Chuck Box was a labor of love. I built this thing last year. It's a hyper-organized camp kitchen. I use it daily, and it's been great for cooking on the road.

The removable countertop was my most recent addition. When attached to the wall, it lands at the same height as my chuck box, which creates more cooking area and doubles as my desk. Super simple; nothing but half in plywood, paracord, and two carabiners.

For heat, I went with a 2KW portable diesel heater from Planar and plumbed it into the camper through the bed.

Last, I keep food cold with the Yeti Tundra 65.

In the cab, I deleted a seat in the back with a surface of 3/4 plywood.

On top of that, I have an 8-gallon jug for drinking water and a rechargeable pump.

Next to that is a bag for dry food and a small toolkit.

I have a gear bin on the other side. I keep my clothes in here, too, and like any good gear closet, it gets a little crazy.

Below the ply, I keep recovery gear and a few camp items: a tow strap, shackles, an air compressor, a saw, a hatchet, and GoTreads. They're not great compared to traction boards, but I also use them for leveling.

As promised, let's talk about gross weight. Tacomas are midsize trucks through and through. Most Gen 3 Tacomas have a GVWR, that is gross vehicle weight rating, of around 5600 lb. GVWR is defined as "the maximum loaded weight of your vehicle set by the manufacturer at the time of the build." So what the heck does that mean? That means that the TOTAL weight of your truck, your camper, and all of your gear shouldn't exceed that number. You can do many things to improve ride performance and better distribute weight in your truck, but there's no official way to change the GVWR.

I weighed my truck with a full load of gear. It came in at 5,040 lb, which is under my GVWR by 560 lbs, which is awesome. This stuff is important. Take the time to consider it. It keeps you safe and keeps your rig on the road longer.

Feel free to comment below with any questions.

Cheers!

Jon

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This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something I'll receive a small commission. So thank you!

Truck Camping Essentials Gear List: https://amzn.to/4gccfF3

Camera Gear List: https://amzn.to/3z6PrWC

Chuck Box Gear List: https://amzn.to/4cSSPlD

Power System Gear List: https://amzn.to/3ZetsYl

Fly Fishing Gear List: https://amzn.to/3XxA4Qn

Archery Gear List: https://amzn.to/3AWU3iF

OVRLND Camper Rig Tour

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OVRLND Camper Rig Tour

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