12 replies to this topic

[Stan@FourWheel]

Here is another article from TruckCamper Magazine.

photographers might find the article interesting.

RE: Jack Dykinga

If nothing else, there are some spectacular photos attached towards the bottom of the article.




CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE


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Attached Thumbnails

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[Overland Hadley]

This is good advice.

My experience in the backcountry with seven pop-top campers, has taught me valuable lessons.

1. Smaller and lighter and narrower cannot be over-stated.

2. High clearance and four-wheel drive is essential. Not so much for getting “IN” …but getting “OUT”. The low range also lets this happen slowly when bouncing over rocks.

3. I need great gas mileage.

4. Finally, I need the durability of a welded aluminum frame camper.

These are opinions forged in real life experiences.

[ski3pin]

Stan, the article made for a nice break this afternoon. Thank you for posting it. I agree with my Mr. Hadley on Mr. Dykinga's advice with the addition of Mr. Dykinga's comments on a small narrow truck and camper unit.

[Kodachrome]

Jack is a nice guy, he is pretty much the one who talked me into getting a aluminum frame pop-up as we do basically the same thing for a living. I remember him telling me on the phone that he did not like the size of the newer style Tundras and I totally agreed with him.

However, I have a good bit more solar than his rig at 235 watts, 100 retractable, moveable. I also have a ton more power / torque than his 159HP and only lose about 2MPG over his 2.7 litre. I just got back from shooting an article for Outside in the San Juan Mountains of my home state of Colorado. My wife and I fueled up in Crested Butte after dinner, flew over Kebler Pass in 4WD on the dirt part for 22 miles for cornering reasons, then over McClure pass, passed a few hunting trucks on the way, all with the super charger, fuel mods and exhaust kicking out over 330 HP, got 19.3 MPG on that 84 mile leg.

If I am not in the mood to race and drive average on the highway, I get between 18-21 MPG with a full camper inluding the two of us, digital and film photographic equipment, climbing gear and sometimes even darkroom gear as we will soup black and white film on location. Part of it also has to do with my large wind fairing on the front, it makes an enormous difference at highway speeds, especially with nasty headwinds.

To me, the power adds up to safety more than anything. Power to really move when you need to, like today we had some serious rock crawling to do in order to get to our last shot and simply could not do any faster than 1/4-1/2 a mile per hour over these obstacles. With that much low end torque, it was literally a cake walk I would have normally seen some nasty wheel hop in. The front shocks are Camburg 2.5 inch coil overs and the rear is triple redundant with aftermarket reseviour shocks, big leaf packs and airbags. The only thing I really need to do to the ride is install a full air up / down system and it would be bomber. We do carry a small but able compressor for now.

I do at least 150 days and nights a year in my 05 Tacoma and pop-up, he is right, you *have* to live there to get the goods. My rig is one of the most important pieces of camera equipment I own.

[Jon&Sue_DeArman]

I guess I have never followed your other informative post closely enough, Kodachrome. Am I understanding correctly that you're get 330hp our of a 05 Tacoma? Although I have my Ranger mounted on a 95 T100 - V6, I also have an 04 Tacoma. How are you getting that kind of power out of your V6 combined with such great gas mileage?

[Overland Hadley]

I guess I have never followed your other informative post closely enough, Kodachrome. Am I understanding correctly that you're get 330hp our of a 05 Tacoma? Although I have my Ranger mounted on a 95 T100 - V6, I also have an 04 Tacoma. How are you getting that kind of power out of your V6 combined with such great gas mileage?

The 05 is the Gen2, so it is a different truck than your 04.

Koda has a supercharger, but I would be interested in knowing what other mods he has. I find that gas milage amazing considering the added grunt of his rig.

[TGK]

That's a great article and spectacular photographs. He sure gets around. I'd also like to know about what other modifications he made to the truck to realize the the type of MPG he references. I find it amazing given the weight he is carrying and some of the terrain he traverses. I have a 2010 4 cyl Tacoma Prerunner with the 5spd manual trans that I use as a daily driver/commuter. Empty bed, no camper or shell and I get 19 - 20 MPG in town with some freeway driving if I take it easy. It does have the 4:10 rear end same as the 4x4 and I have to drive up and over Portland's West Hills (800ft) on the commute. Best I ever saw on a straight freeway run is 23 - 24 MPG. In addition, Oregon does have all it's gas cut with ethanol, and that likely has an impact. So, I have the same base platform that he has minus the 4x4 running gear which would only add more weight to the setup. I would think with the base camper, upgrades and gear he is carrying, he is carrying well over 1,000 lbs more in his rig than I am.

TK

[Kodachrome]

I guess I have never followed your other informative post closely enough, Kodachrome. Am I understanding correctly that you're get 330hp our of a 05 Tacoma? Although I have my Ranger mounted on a 95 T100 - V6, I also have an 04 Tacoma. How are you getting that kind of power out of your V6 combined with such great gas mileage?

Stock the 4.0 puts out 236 HP at redline 5,500 RPM, max torque at 3,850. So what has been added is a TRD blower, smaller SC pulley, fuel control mods, cold air intake, headers and exhaust. The truck is tuned for above 5,000 feet which is the majority of where it operates. So if I am at sea level on the freeway, it totally screams but does not get better than 17MPG because the fuel mixture has to be increased to prevent a lean condition. While on the East coast last year, I hit 10 pounds of boost at 90MPH on interstate 95 in South Carolina, pretty insane, but also about 10 MPG. Even when the boost gauge reads zero or a little below, that blower is still ramming air in the motor making it a heck of a lot easier to aspirate and get power on.

Driving habits are everything and having the S/C on the motor makes the torque come alive much sooner than stock, so being able to pick a happy gear out of 6 speeds and using that torque curve in a smart fashion is how I get most of the way towards 18-21 MPG on the highway, below 65 and no big headwind or course. I think the wind fairing really pays off above 50 MPH, it is even dead silent above at 80MPH. Other little things like coasting to stop lights, driving at night in cooler temps, that helps too. But when I want to scram, even with the camper on, it just flys...

It's not cheap, I did all the truck mods before I even had the camper, pre-economic crash, about 10K in motor and suspension all told.

[Overland Hadley]

In addition, Oregon does have all it's gas cut with ethanol, and that likely has an impact.

Definitely.

Ethanol = Bad mpg

[chnlisle]

So much for Jack.