TheSamba.com :: View topic - Tacom-afaila or Westy-coma

Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:43 am

Hi all,
It's been some time since I've been on here. When I moved out to Ohio with the Air Force I made the hard decision to leave my syncro back in Idaho in hibernation. It will rise again, 1.8t maybe... but that's another story.
One of the great things about our vans is their giant interior for quick camping. I got an 09 Tacoma for hauling boats, bikes etc when i got to Ohio. However truck camping leaes a bit to be desired compared to the vans (and yes i am looking for good backpacking out here). What I am fixing to do is build a shell/camper for the truck that uses a westfalia pop top.
Does anybody have rough dimensions of the westy roofs, i'm looking into proof of concept right now.

Thanks for the input!

Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:13 pm

although i hate being a stick in the mud and i love frankenstien projects, i wouldn't bother. get a pop up truck camper for camping trips. they are cheap on craigslist and since they have jacks they are easier to remove and put on by yourself than an normal campershell.

here's one in denver for $1250!... http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/1561614303.html

although i'm not sure what size truck bed you have.

still, if you have the money go that route and spend your time making something cool for your syncro instead :D

Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:50 pm

I don't have the dimensions handy, but I would think the pop-tops are quite a bit longer than a 6 ft. pickup bed. I do know of an EV Weekender (pop-top) for sale for parts in Columbus, if you're interested.

Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:26 pm

I have an '07.
You won't find anything used for cheap as the Taco has unusual bed dimensions. Meaning, all those cheap campers on CL won't fit.
I'm assuming you know about the Flip-pac and Wilder-nest? The Wilder-nest was never amde for our Taco and the Flip-pac is big money new, but they are interesting designs to study.

Before I got my Westy, I camped a lot under my canopy. I bought an ARE commercial shell and built a platform to sleep on. Kinda tight and a pain to move gear around. But reasonably priced and very stealth for camping. I camped in all sorts of illegal places and never got hassled.

Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:59 pm

Maybe this will give you some idea....I recently transported a pop-top on the back of my Toyota pickup (short-bed 94). It hung off the back by about 28-30" and over each side by about 2-3". Funny - I was thinking the same thing. I love my syncro, but the toy is better for serious offroading. I may build a Toy camper someday too.

Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:33 pm

westy-coma, sounds painful, :D , must be likea really bad version of vanagon syndrome, :twisted:

On a more serious note, I've thought about this too, but there is a huge difference in the dimensions, it could be fun to make your own bastardization though depending on your comfort level with metal or fiberglass fabrication. I saw a cool project on expedition portal with a guy making a custom pop-top for his full size 4x4 van. Doable if you really want to commit to it. Like others have said, for most mortals just buying one of the commercially available models would be most reasonable. But then again this is a community of high unreasonable individuals :twisted:

Thu Jan 21, 2010 3:44 pm

http://victoria.en.craigslist.ca/pts/1564021652.html